by Joshua and Joanna Bogunjoko | “But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.” — Exodus 18:21.
Happy Thanksgiving to those in the United States! Three of us in our family (Joanna, Joel and Joshua) joined friends at the home of our dear friends the Ogunros to celebrate the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness over the past year. It is always good to get together with friends and family to give thanks to the Lord. Jochebed celebrated her Thanksgiving by volunteering to serve the homeless in San Francisco. It is a very special way to give thanks to the Lord for all He has given to us by giving to others.
This is a special request for prayers as we (Joshua and Joanna) leave on Monday morning for Kenya. We will be getting together with the new SIM International Leadership Team for a week of fellowship, training and also meetings. This is a very important meeting for Joshua and his team especially because this is the first time that the new teams, his six Executive Team (ET) members and his larger International Leadership Team (ILT), will be getting together since the new structure came into effect in October. We invite you to join us in prayer through this time together. Members of the team started arriving in Nairobi on Saturday, the meetings start this Tuesday night and will finish next week Tuesday.
Please pray for safe travel for all those who will be traveling to this meeting.
Pray for a good fellowship and a spirit of unity in all that we would share, learn and discuss.
Pray for the Holy Spirit’s work in our midst and in each of us, that our hearts will be in tune with the Lord’s. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” — Proverbs 4:23
Pray for David Sherbino who will be teaching on “the spiritual formation of a leader”. Pray that the Lord will speak through him and that our hearts will be open to what the Lord wants to teach us. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” — Psalm 32:8
Pray for good health for everyone throughout the meeting.
Pray for the families that each of us will be leaving behind in our various homes that the Lord will watch over them.
Pray that we will be able to focus on our time together and we will not be distracted by any emergencies in our personal lives or in our mission as a whole.
Pray that this meeting will give us a good foundation to serve as a team, to serve SIM well and to serve our Lord with commitment, grace and love for Him and for one another.
Please pray for a leadership rooted in righteousness, integrity, capability and hearts seeking to delight in the Lord!
Thank you for joining us in prayer. Please remember us each day through this week and the next.
“And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” — Psalm 78:72
Dr. Joshua Bogunjoko has been the SIM’s International Director since June 1, 2013. Joshua and his wife, Joanna, began their mission careers as members of the Evangelical Missionary Society (EMS), the mission arm of the ECWA church, which today sends more than 2400 Nigerians cross-culturally. They were commissioned by the national ECWA church in 1993 and their home church in Lagos in 1995, where they were sent out as seconded associates of SIM. They have served at three mission hospitals in West Africa and became full members of SIM in 2001. Joshua served on the SIM International Leadership Team since 2006, dealing with global issues related to mission.
