While the signs of Christmas maybe overwhelmingly evident in your hometown or country, you will find no outward signs of it in the this land. However, this does not mean that Christmas has not come, for it has...it is in the hearts of the few who have chosen to follow Christ as Savior. Pray for national believers this week as you celebrate with family and friends and in large numbers, for many of them will be alone in remembering Christ's birth and will have no open opportunity to express their joy over the coming of Christ to this earth. Pray that they will be encouraged in reading the story of Christ's birth, remembering that He came to the poorest and lowliest of places, among the humblest of people. May they be reminded that when He comes again, it will be with power and glory, and on that day, they will be able to openly proclaim Him their King!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is a great time to reach out to your neighbors from all nations. Foreign-born believers will be pleased when you wish them "Merry Christmas" in their native language. (And they'll enjoy helping you with the pronunciation!) Here are Christmas greetings in over 75 languages.

Afrikaans
'n Geseende Kersfees en 'n voorspoedige Nuwejaar
Afrikander
Een Plesierige Kerfees
Albanian
Gezuar Krishtlindje
Arabic
I'D MIILAD SAID OUA SANA SAIDA
Armenian
Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand
Azeri
Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun
Basque
Zorionstsu Eguberri. Zoriontsu Urte Berri On
Bengali
Bodo Din Shubh Lamona
Bohemian
Vesele Vanoce
Breton
Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat
Bulgarian
Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo
Celtic
Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Chinese (Mandarin)
Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan
Chinese (Catonese)
Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Chinese (Hong Kong)
Kung Ho Hsin Hsi. Ching Chi Shen Tan
Cornish
Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth
Cree
Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
Croatian
Sretan Bozic
Czech
Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
Danish
Gladelig Jul
Dutch
Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
English
Merry Christmas
Esperanto
Gajan Kristnaskon
Estonian
Roomsaid Joulu Puhi
Farsi
Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
Finnish
Hyvaa joulua
French
Joyeux Noel
Frisian
Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!
German
Froehliche Weihnachten
Greek
Kala Christouyenna!
Hawaiian
Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew
Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Hindi
Bada Din Mubarak Ho
Hungarian
Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
Icelandic
Gledileg Jol
Indonesian
Selamat Hari Natal
Iraqi
Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Irish
Nollaig Shona Dhuit
Italian
Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese
Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Kala
Khristougena kai Eftikhes to Neon Etos
Korean
Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Latvian
Priecigus Ziemas Svetkus un Laimigu Jauno Gadu
Lettish
Priecigus Ziemassvetkus
Lithuanian
Linksmu Kaledu
Manx
Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa
Maori
Meri Kirihimete
Marathi
Shub Naya Varsh
Navajo
Merry Keshmish
Northern Sotho
Matlhatse le matlhogonolo mo ngwageng o moswa
Norwegian
God Jul Og Godt Nytt Aar
Pennsylvania German
En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!
Papiamento
Bon Pasku i Felis Anja Nobo
Polish
Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia
Portuguese
Feliz Natal
Rapa-Nui
Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua
Romanian
Craciun Fericit
Russian
Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva i s Novim Godom
Serbian
Hristos se rodi
Slovakian
Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce
Samoan
La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Scottish
Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna Mhath Ur
Serbian
Hristos se rodi!
Singhalese
Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Slovak
Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok
Slovene
Vesele Bozicne. Screcno Novo Leto
Spanish
Feliz Navidad!
Swedish
God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt Ar
Tagalog
Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon
Tamil
Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal
Thai
Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish
Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian
Srozhdestvom Kristovym
Urdu
Naya Saal Mubarak Ho
Vietnamese
Chung Mung Giang Sinh
Waray
Maupay nga Pasko ngan Mainuswagon nga Bag-o nga Tu-ig
Welsh
Nadolig Llawen
Zulu
Nginifisela inhlanhla ne mpumelelo e nyakeni

From an IFGF pastor.

"Yeshu-gi Trunggar-la Drashi-Deley Sho!" Have a Blessed Christmas!

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Brigada Today: December 18, 1998 = 33 ways to say "Merry Christmas."

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Now Brigada.org points you to these:

http://www.flw.com/merry.htm
(350 ways to say Merry Christmas & detailed information about each language / cultural group. Turn down volume to minimize midi music, if you wish.)

http://users.aol.com/WSCaswell/message.htm
(Bill Caswell collected 100's of ways to greet others this season.)

http://silentnight.web.za/translate/index.htm
(Jako Olivier posts the words of "Silent Night" in 100+ languages. Sometimes including more than 1 version where dialects differ.)

http://www.holidays.net/christmas/voices.htm
(Plays *audio* of some of those greetings in the original languages.)

http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/holidays.htm
(Provides links to MANY other sites which give literally *books* full of information about Christmas & other holidays.)

Monday, December 19, 2005

"Everybody who heard was amazed at what the shepherds said!" - Luke 2:18

PRAISE:
God is so gracious! Recently, one of the PTAP requests was that more financial resources would be made available for a national worker in the AP. A church within the region heard of the need and responded in large measure. Added to this blessings, was the opportunity for the national worker to meet a new Muslim Background Believer from his own country living in a neighboring AP country.

PETITION:
Please pray for some seasoned workers who are quietly being deported from our country – 5 families in total. Pray for the many lives of Muslim Nationals that they have touched over the years. Pray that their transition back to their home countries as God supplies all their needs in His perfect timing.

Pray for the National Muslim Background Believers. Some of them are not able to celebrate Christmas to any extent due to family pressures and the inability to attend any events. Pray for Christ's love and joy to be with them. Pray for those who disciple them that they together would be able to celebrate, even in twos and threes.

Pray against the use of Qatt in the Yemeni culture. It is a drug that has made the workforce highly ineffective. This drug also affects the young, scattered and immature Yemeni church. Pray that Muslim National believers would break free of the use of this drug.

Pray for the upcoming Asian Games 2006 to be held in Qatar. Pray that sports ministries would be able to partner with the expatriate churches – of all ethnicity, to be able to reach out to the many Muslim athletes and supports attending the games.

Pray for G, a middle aged single lady who is seeking. She has rejected her Muslim roots but is groping for truth. She recently met with several Christian ladies – one she worked with several years ago. She initiated contact because of the joy she saw in this woman’s life. Pray that G would meet Jesus during this holiday time.

TESTIMONY:
Sitting in my apartment studying, I heard a knock at the door. It was my downstairs neighbor, Latifa. She needed me to help her with her sister’s homework. Happily, I agreed to help and we started reviewing parts of speech (thankfully now I know them in Arabic). After we finished with the homework, we started chatting and somehow she started asking me spiritual questions. Then she asked, “How are you clean before God?” To her, there are certain things you do to be clean: wash, pray, and follow various laws. I was able to explain stories from the Scriptures about what it means to be clean before God. I explained that Jesus alone makes our hearts clean. At the end of our conversation, she walked away wondering what it all meant. Please pray for Latifa. Pray that she would realize that Jesus alone cleanses her. Pray for more opportunities to share Christ with Latifa, her sisters and her family during this festive season – Christmas, New Years and Eid Al Adha happening over the next 4 weeks.


<>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Praying Thru the Arabian Peninsula
www.pray-ap.info
USA #: 800-376-5876 (Eastern Time)
Encouraging & equipping believers & churches everywhere to pray through the heart of the Muslim world so that church planting movements will spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula and beyond for the Lord's glory.

====
To learn how you can support this & other work in the Middle East, visit:
http://www.srginc.org

Or write:
ptap@srginc.org

Or:
PTAP
c/o Strategic Resource Group
P.O. Box 1809
Easton, MD 21601
USA