March 21 : Salons for Jesus. Earlier this year, a group of women from the northwest conducted “TLC Salons” in area villages. Initially they had planned to wash and condition the hair of the women in the villages. However, the weather was too cold, so instead, they gave hand massages with lotion and painted the women’s fingernails. Over a period of seven days, they visited 10 villages and physically touched 700-plus village women and children. In addition to the physical acts of kindness, they also shared their testimonies, sang songs and allowed God to use them. Give thanks to the Lord for their success!

March 22 : Rami Navami Celebrated. Hindus across South Asia will celebrate Rama Navami in commemoration of the birth of Lord Rama on Wednesday, March 24. They believe that Rama was an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, and the hero of “Ramayana,” an epic story of 24,000 stanzas. This book is read continuously for several days preceding the holiday. Houses are thoroughly cleaned and decorated, and families place offerings of fruit and flowers on the family shrine. The youngest female in the home applies a red “tilak” (dot of powder) on the foreheads of her family, and then everyone offers “puja” (prayers) of worship. An image or picture of Rama as a baby is placed in a cradle as part of the rituals. Rama was considered an ideal human being, portraying a good son, a doting husband, a mighty king, wonderful brother and great father. Pray for Hindus celebrating Rama Navami to have the opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. Pray that they will be able to recognize Him as the Son of God, our Almighty King, and our perfect sacrificial Savior. Pray that families will be gathered together to read the Bible and receive its truth, leading them to worship the one true God in their hearts and homes.

March 23: True Freedom. Throughout the centuries, the Sindhis have rarely been independent, and the people long ago began searching for other expressions of freedom. That search is exemplified today in mystic saints, involvement in politics, and interest in things Western. Pray that this search will open the door to reaching into people’s lives with the true freedom of the Gospel. From among the millions of Sindhi people, only a handful of men and even fewer women have accepted the claims of Christ and become His followers. Pray for opportunities for these believers to share the Good News with others who are without a knowledge of Jesus. When Jesus looks upon the Sindhi people, He sees that they are people without hope. The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray earnestly that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into the Sindhi harvest.

March 24 : Spirit of Boldness. “As 2010 is underway, please pray that this year will be a turning point for North Pakistan. Just like the Apostle Paul was radically changed, pray that men and women will be radically transformed from wanting to be suicide bombers to becoming mighty preachers of the Gospel of peace. May the scales fall and the veil be removed from their eyes so they can see their glorious Savior who, because of His great love, died for them. Pray for your representatives who are working here, asking that we will not live with a spirit of fear, but with a spirit of boldness and love. This year could be the turning point for North Pakistan because of your prayers.”

March 25 : Translation Needed. An international brother is asking for prayer regarding the translation of some discipleship material that needs to be put into the Devanagri Script. This needs to be done in a “Muslim-friendly” way so that believers and Indian workers can understand and also share as they seek the lost Muslims in Rajasthan. Please pray that the Lord will give wisdom to those who are working on this project so that He will be glorified in Rajasthan.

March 26 : What’s Most Important? Give thanks that in answer to your prayers, God has opened doors among university students across one Pakistani city in different avenues in the past year. One avenue involves a team member’s teaching at a local university. After the final exam this month, one student commented to this team member, “Since I was a kindergartener, I have been taught to work hard and make lots of money, and then I will have a nice car, a big house, etc. For the first time in my life, one of my teachers has told me that it is more important to love God and live to please Him all my days. I learned in this class that we should ‘Do unto others as we would have them do unto us.’ Thank you for teaching me about really important things in life.” Thank you for making this work possible. Please continue to pray for students across this Pakistani city to see that truth is found in Jesus Christ!

March 27 : Childhood Suicide. A concerned mother writes: “In India, education is very important, so much so that they start sending their children to school by the age of 2. Some call it ‘play group,’ but all children are expected to start attending school in some fashion so that by the time they start the first grade, they can read, write and do math. I was talking with a friend, and she said that children in India today have such pressure to perform well in school that many are committing suicide by the seventh grade!” Please pray that whole households in India will come to know Jesus like they did in Acts 16:31-34 and that they will seek to please Jesus rather than society.