Southern Cross personnel estimate that the Bibles volunteers hand out will be seen by 10 people. As of Sunday evening, 13,543 Bibles have been distributed.

If the theory holds true, 135,430 people have the potential of seeing and reading the Bibles.

Pray for the Bibles Southern Cross volunteers have distributed to have an exponential impact. Pray for those who’ve received Bibles to share the Good News with others.

Pray for the Word of God to spread like shattered glass throughout China.

Hundreds of Chinese men, women and children heard the Good News this week in Southeast Asia.

But countless men, women and children from a myriad of countries also saw and heard the witness of Southern Cross volunteers.

Pray for all of the international tourists who crossed paths this week with Southern Cross volunteers. Ask that when they return to their home countries they would seek out believers and find a church to attend.

Discarded — two red packets and Bibles are left on the bench, sitting next to bawdy fliers advertising adult entertainment and cheap alcohol.

Finding this is nothing new for Southern Cross teams, but for some reason, these two red packets left behind are disheartening today. One of the volunteers stuffs them in his backpack, thinking he’ll take them back to the distribution site later. He continues on his way, prayer walking with other volunteers through one of the spiritually darkest parts of town, Walking Street.

The American men walk down the street in a single file line, watching the ground to protect their eyes from the flamboyant debauchery. The women look into the eyes of the prostitutes, silently praying for their safety and courage to break out of this lifestyle. As the group prays, they hear a cacophony of languages — Arabic, Hindi, Russian, Mandarin, Thai and Cantonese — melting together into a swirl of sound.

Something familiar breaks through the chaos.

“Do you speak English?”

Cardboard boxes sit half-opened in the back of the truck. An elementary aged Chinese boy sneaks away from his grandparents in the long line of tourists to take a peak.

The sign leaning against the boxes states the books inside are free. He glances around to see if anyone will help him. The volunteers, however, scurry around setting up their distribution spot for the night. No one sees the little boy, so he reaches his pudgy arms into the box and grabs a Bible and red packet of literature.

The satisfied smile on his round face is quickly wiped away when his grandfather grabs him by the arm and demands that he give it back. The boy refuses to let go of the Bible, engaging in a tug-of-war. Through clenched teeth, he tells the older man that the book is his now because it’s free.

“No one gets anything for free,” the older Chinese man says sharply, wrestling the Bible and packet from the hands of the young boy. “People don’t do things for free. They expect something in return.”

As the hostess seated the tour group in the restaurant, one young Chinese woman kept looking outside. She knew she couldn’t sit down to enjoy the buffet until she got something off her mind and heart.

“Can I pray for you?” Felicity Wong,* a Chinese Malaysian university student, asked Southern Cross volunteers from First Baptist Church, Thomasville, Ga. “I felt the Spirit leading me to come back.”

Wong introduced herself as a fellow Christ-follower and thanked the volunteers for coming on her way into the restaurant, but that wasn’t enough interaction. She needed to encourage them to continue distributing Bibles to her fellow Chinese on vacation.

Join us in prayer. Post yours by clicking on “read more” and writing it under comments:

Pray that the Word of God will not return void. Pray people will not cast aside this free gift. Pray for Chinese Christians to stay strong in their faith and take steps of obedience. Pray for God to give translators words to share the truth effectively.

Join us in preparing the way. Post your prayers in the comment box by clicking read more.

Help prepare the way for a productive week of Bible distributions. Many teams are in route while others are arriving onsite. Pray for travel mercies and that volunteers will remain healthy. Pray the volunteers will come in contact with Chinese tourists with open hearts toward the Gospel.

A shepherd walks down the street outside Bethlehem, as scripture is presented: “I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them in also. John 10:16″ “Thank you for praying that Northern African and Middle Eastern families know Jesus.”

Thank you for praying for South Africa during the World Cup. God has demonstrated His power in amazing ways. The Gospel was proclaimed freely and with eternally significant results throughout the nation. Those who wanted to perform animal sacrifices inside stadiums, believing this would please their ancestral spirits, were prohibited from doing so. Efforts to legalize prostitution came to nothing, and prostitutes moan that business actually waned during the event. The problem of human trafficking has received nationwide attention, and more individuals and organizations are becoming involved in efforts to curb it.

Please continue to pray for South Africa. Particularly remember the urban centers, where problems of unemployment, poverty, violent crime, racism and human trafficking demand urgent attention. Intercede for new followers of Christ, for whom learning to walk with Him is particularly challenging in a country with these issues.

Stay connected to South Africa, and learn how God is at work on the African continent by visiting www.africastories.org and www.imbafrica.org.

The World Cup is over (sigh) and the nations are departing from South Africa. The Great Commission is once again “out there,” and South African believers must rejoin followers of Jesus around the world in focusing on the Lord’s command to take His Gospel to the ends of the earth. Pray that insights gained and lessons learned during the past month will be implemented in evangelistic efforts both within and without South Africa. Rejoice that God’s Word promises every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.