(is-tan-BULL) - One afternoon, while meeting with believers in a café, Turgut asked questions and had an opportunity to hear the gospel. The following Sunday, he visited an evangelical church for the first time. Through text messages, he has asked spiritual questions and has shown a strong interest in learning more about Christianity. On Christmas Day, Turgut, along with his wife and their young child, visited the church again. In January, as a family, they accepted an invitation to have dinner in a believer's home. Turgut also made another visit to the church's Sunday worship gathering with his child. Pray that they will regularly come to the church as a family. Intercede for the salvation of Turgut and his family.

(KAH-zahks) - Ask God to help believers grow as disciples within the context of Christian community. Give thanks to Him that there are now three generations of believers who can encourage those coming along behind them. Pray for older believers to take seriously the responsibility to disciple the next generations. May followers of Jesus increasingly exhibit the fruit of transformed hearts as they trust God, grow in knowledge of Him, and obey His call on their lives.

(cry-MEE-un tuh-TARS) - When war broke out in Ukraine, Rick and Zoe hoped to stay. But when their preschooler started showing signs of anxiety due to the frequent air-raid sirens, Zoe took him across the border for a few weeks. As the time approached for their baby to be born, the young family desperately wanted to be together, so Zoe took her son back to Ukraine. For nearly a year, they tried to make life work in that country, but the toll of months of fighting and power outages and the fear of major offensives to come pushed them to the end of their rope. In mid-February, they crossed the border, leaving their homeland behind to become refugees. They know no one in the country they hope to settle in. They only know that for now, there's no life for them in Ukraine. Pray that Rick and Zoe's hearts will be tender to call out to God in their distress and that the gospel message they've heard will penetrate their hearts and lead to repentance and salvation. Pray that God will send believers in their new country to help them adjust to life in that new place and faithfully proclaim the gospel to them.

Thank you for praying for the community groups hosted by believers for Afghan refugees. The women's tea community group has deepened relationally. Pray that the men's group, which has been sporadic, will get off to a good start this year in developing strong relational connections toward trust building. The goal for both the men's and women's groups is to build community together toward gospel sowing done in their social spheres of influence, not just extracting people for one-on-one evangelism and discipleship.

(ru-ME-lee-an) - Rumelian Turks will begin fasting for the Islamic month of Ramadan on March 22. Pray that they will realize that fasting cannot earn them favor with God. May God's words spoken through the prophet Isaiah fill the mind of each person satisfied with their human efforts: "Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? . . . Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord? "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" (Isaiah 58:4-7 ESV). May the Rumelian Turks come to know the Bread of Life and be changed in their priorities toward the poor and suffering around them.