The fourth annual Young Anabaptists (YABs) Fellowship Week, to be held June 16-23, is on the theme “Salt & Light: Exploring our identity then and now,” based on Matthew 5:13–16. Materials on Mennonite World Conference’s website (mwc-cmm.org/yabs), provide ideas and content to young adult groups around the world as they plan their time of celebration.

Prayers from several YABs of Mennonite World Conference:

Kenya (Wycliff Ochieng):

1. Currently, we are experiencing drought in some parts of the country and people are starving.
2. Peace for our country and good leadership.
3. Peace and good leadership in our churches.
4. Youths are planning for regional conferences at the end of this year.

Congo (Felo Gracia):

1. Pray for the newly elected leadership team of Communauté des Églises Frères Mennonite en Congo (CEFMC), that the Lord will grant them wisdom, intelligence and strength to lead the community for the next six years.
2. Let us pray for our country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), that the Lord will grant peace and that we might experience the rule of law in our nation.
3. That the Lord will grant strength to young Christians in the DRC to continue to fear God in spite of the uncertain economic situation of the country.
4. Many of the young people of our country do not yet know the Lord Jesus Christ. They engage in all kinds of abuses: sex before marriage, drugs, banditry, robbery, rape and other evils. Let us pray that the Lord Jesus will accompany the church in the work of evangelization so that these young people will come to a knowledge of the truth – Jesus Christ – and that they will transform their lives.

Zimbabwe (Sineculo Ncube):

1. Currently we are experiencing a serious economic recession. Fuel prices are rising every day and so is everything else in the stores. May God touch our leaders that their minds may be renewed and come up with new ideas, that our leaders may stop turning deaf ears to the pleas of people.
2. Let’s pray for the young people. This situation is very conducive for crime, alcohol and drug abuse. May God be with all young people and give them comfort and show that it’s not the end of the world.
3. Pray that we may always learn to depend on God through all good and bad times.

A special prayer for the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai, which affected Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe (from YABs Maka Ngulube and Sineculo Ncube):

Recently there was a cyclone that came all the way from Mozambique and affected some areas in Zimbabwe. A lot of people lost their loved ones and some lost all their property. May God use his people to show the affected families that his love is sufficient for all of them.

Tanzania (Elisante Daniel Lulu):

1. Our country’s peace, especially in political matters.
2. Economic stability.

Philippines (Ebenezer Mondez):

Pray for the current government transitions after the recent elections.

India (Chris Abishek):

1. Young Anabaptists are becoming driven toward churches that are more appealing to them and losing out on our core values and being unaware of Anabaptist distinctives. There is a need for revival in most churches.
2. Most of the Anabaptists are confined to their own churches and lack the awareness of the bigger church (fellowship as Anabaptists) around us. Pray for the unity.
3. Pray for our leadership in church, so that we could have less of politics and more of God’s work.
4. Many Christians in general are being persecuted, which is making a lot of young people apprehensive to share God’s Word. Yet with God with us, nobody can be against us. The harvest is plenty.

Netherlands (Jantine Huisman):

1. Compassion from governments for refugees.
2. Empowering more youth to make sensible choices in regard to the environment.
3. For young people in the church not to be discouraged by the dwindling members in church.

Mexico (Crisol Gonzalez):

1. Pray for equity in the distribution of resources in our country, for peace in our families and communities, and that our hunger to follow Christ and share His message may be sustained.
2. For the economic, social and political crisis in Venezuela. For all the families that have migrated to Colombia and other South American countries.
3. For the countries in Central America, in particular Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala, who live every day with the reality of migratory exodus toward North America.
4. For the peace process in Colombia.

Costa Rica (Paula Marchena):

1. Pray that leaders with a desire to serve, filled with passion and dedication to our Lord, may be raised up among youth with firm convictions.
2. At a national level, that youth ministries may blossom in the churches and that they may be a support to their congregations.
3. Pray that we may stand firm against any religious current that does not come from God.

United States (Larissa Swartz):

1. Pray for peacebuilding and reconciliation across the growing political divide.
2. Pray for the church to maintain a relevant witness without compromising on truth.