Nubian, Fedicca-Mohas, Sudan

Country: Sudan
People:   Nubian
Population: 125,00
World Population: 458,000
Main Language: Nobiin
Main Religion: Islam
Bible: None
Status: Unengaged
Christ-Followers: Few, less than 2%

What are their beliefs?
The Nubians were converted to Christianity during the sixth century. They remained so until the gradual process of Islamization began taking place from the fourteenth until the seventeenth centuries. Today, the Nubians are almost all Muslims. However, their traditional animistic beliefs (belief that non-living objects have spirits) are still mingled with their Islamic practices.

The traditional beliefs of the Nubians were centered on the spirit of the Nile. The Nile is believed to have life-sustaining power and to hold the power of life and death within it. The people believe that the river is endowed with angels, sheiks (religious leaders), and other powerful beings. The sheiks are sought daily for their advice in the areas of health, fertility, and marriage.

The Kenuzi Nubians have an annual festival known as the “Saints Day Celebration,” or moulid. This holiday reinforces the history of the Kenuzi. Gifts are presented at the ancestral shrines in the fulfillment of a promise made the previous year. Colorful processions are held during this time of celebration. Dancing, singing, and feasting are also included in the festivities. The moulid is still celebrated in New Nubia each year.

What are their needs?
The Nubians in Kenya and Uganda have few Christian resources or missions agencies working among them. Most of these tribes have not heard a clear presentation of the Gospel.

Intense prayer, increased evangelism efforts, and additional Christian resources are necessary to reach these tribes who were once a Christian people.

Prayer Points

• Pray that the Lord will raise up laborers who are willing to invest long term service as missionaries to the Nubians of Central Africa.
• Pray that loving African Christians will gain a vision to see the Nubians reached with the Gospel.
• Ask the Lord to save key leaders among the Nubians who will boldly declare the Gospel.
• Pray for cooperation among missions agencies that are ministering to these tribes.
• Pray that God will raise up linguists to translate the Word of God into each of the tribal languages.
• Ask God to send medical teams and humanitarian aid workers to minister to the Nubians.
• Pray that strong local churches will be planted among each of these tribes.
• Pray for completion of Bible translation in this people group’s primary language.
• Pray for the availability of the Jesus Film in the primary language of this people.
• Pray for Gospel messages to become available in audio format for this people group.

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Download: Nubian, Fedicca-Mohas, Sudan Kids’ Prayer Card

Hazara of Afghanistan

Country: Afghanistan
People: Hazara
Population:  2,789,000
World Population:  3,257,000
Main Language:  Hazaragi
Main Religion: Islam
Bible: None
Status: Unreached
Christ-Followers: Less than 2%
Persecution Rank:  3 (1=highest)

What are their beliefs?
The Hazara are Muslims (mostly Imami Shi’ite, otherwise known as “Twelvers”, who hold a particular reverence for the son-in-law of the prophet Mohammed). A number of Hazara who have strong ties with the Tajik people are Ismaili Shi’ites (also known as “Seveners”). Strong feelings prevail between the two sects, each one often denying they have any ethnic affinity with the other at all.

What are their needs?
The Hazara are in urgent need of basic health care and clean water. Illiteracy is high. Adequate educational opportunities need to be provided for both boys and girls. There are opportunities for missions work, but those involved (mainly medical and humanitarian in nature) are doing so under extreme  difficulties. There are no official missionaries working among the Hazara.

Access to the Hazara’s homelands is difficult in summer and virtually impossible in the winter. Christian converts are hesitant to meet with other believers for fear that a spy may be present among them. Christians turned in by government informants may face torture and even death unless they renounce their faith in Christ.

Prayer Points

• Ask the Lord to call people who are willing to share Christ with the Hazara and to help meet their physical needs.
• Pray that God will call doctors and nurses, construction volunteers, and agriculturists to Afghanistan.
• Pray that God will send Christian teachers and literacy workers who can minister to the Hazara.
• Ask God to protect medical and benevolent workers in Afghanistan.
• Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send forth laborers into the fields where the Hazara are located.
• Ask the Lord to help you learn more about the Hazara and what you can do to reach out to them.
• Pray that the Christians who live near and among the Hazara will be bold in sharing their faith in Jesus.
• Pray for translation of the Bible to begin in this people group’s primary language.

Download: Hazara of Afghanistan Kids’ Prayer Card