Prayer Update – November 2017

‘Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always’

1 Chronicles 16:11

As we edge closer to the year’s end, we praise God for the good things that He is doing around the world and here in Rwanda. It’s a busy time of year for the artisans!  Thank you for joining us in prayer.

RWANDA

• Azizi Life was honoured to be recognised as one of the ‘Top Taxpayers in the Region’! We pray for wisdom in how to respond to tax obligations with the artisans specifically.
• As it is now rainy season, we ask for God’s protection over people’s homes; that they can withstand the strong winds and exceptionally heavy rains during storms.
• Some of the artisans that we work with have recently lost children. We pray for God’s comfort and peace for these heartbroken parents, as well as more knowledge and understanding to recognise symptoms of poor health to get timely treatment.

AZIZI LIFE CRAFTS AND ARTISANS

• It’s that time of year where we are preparing Christmas orders, including our popular nativity sets. Please pray that artisans would be able to complete on time while maintaining the good quality that Azizi Life has gained a reputation for.
• We are involved with a new cooperative, so please pray that high standards would be maintained with them so that the partnership will become established and be fruitful for all involved.
• We have just started working on a new product – a travel wallet. It is a market in which there is already competition, so please pray for wisdom in how we move forward with this, and that we can succeed in that market.
• Last month we asked for prayer for one of our artisans, Berethilde (a weaver from the Abarikumwe group), and for her husband who was seriously ill with lung cancer. Her husband sadly passed away recently, so we pray for God’s peace over Berethilde and the rest of the family during this upsetting time.

EXPERIENCES

• We praise God for new Experience Day bookings for 2018, including a number of larger groups.
• We are thankful for newly hired facilitators for the Experience Days and ask for continued prayer for their ongoing training to make things run smoothly and help the visitors have the best day possible

UBI (AZIZI LIFE IMPACT PROJECTS)

• There is a significant exam coming up this month for this year’s cohort of Adult Literacy Students. We are thankful for the blessing that literacy will be to these students, and pray for success in their exams so that they can go out into the world with new understanding to help them with their everyday lives.

BEEUTIFUL CREATIONS

• We are thankful for the appointment of a new member of staff to assist the Director of Beeutiful Creations, as well as UBI projects.  She will also be working with the beekeepers at the grassroots level.   Natalie joins the team having also worked as a facilitator for the Experience Days.  She clearly has a heart for rural artisans and has already proved to be a quick and capable learner who has a strong desire to grow in her role and move Beeutiful Creations forward as an up and coming social enterprise.
• Training has begun on the new apiary. We pray that the weather isn’t too extreme so that they can harvest just before Christmas. This would bolster the artisans’ income and be a blessing to their families as they celebrate Christmas together.

AZIZI LIFE US

• We ask for prayer for the series of promotions and campaigns to encourage sales and giving during the run up to Christmas, which will be a huge blessing to the artisans and their families.
• Please pray for safe travels for Christi to and in the US. She heads out on the 1^st November and will return around the middle of January.  Pray that she has times of both good connections and productivity for Azizi Life during Church visits and craft fairs, as well as restful time with family and friends.
• We ask for continued guidance to find a Volunteer Coordinator and a new team of volunteers for Azizi Life’s work in the US