Elderly healthcare is today’s challenge for tomorrow. Between 2015 and 2030 people aged 60+ will grow by 56% globally, to nearly 1.5 billion. By 2050 it is expected to be two billion. Americans aged 65+ will double to nearly 100 million by 2060. Central and South America face similar challenges. In every country in the region, the proportion of elderly will increase significantly. Similar demographic changes apply to the Caribbean where falling fertility rates compound the problem. After the 2008 financial crisis European governments reformed pension systems and retirement ages, creating a commercial care challenge. China and India’s large numbers of older people are expected to jump from 8% to 24% of the population in the next thirty years.

The Bishop of Makurdi, Nathan Inyom, was attacked by gunmen in Nigeria’s Benue state on 6 May. None of the five passengers (who included his wife Becky and his chaplain) was injured, but his car was stolen in the attack. Benue is an area that has been beset by increasing levels of violence in recent weeks. Last month two Catholic priests, Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha, were killed when herdsmen stormed the church in Ukpor where they were celebrating Mass. ‘This was an attack on everything that we ever stood for and believed in’, a spokesman said. See

The UN has declared South Sudan a famine nation. People receive food, humanitarian aid, and English lessons. A pastor passionately shouts slowly in English to the community attending English classes. In Juba there are 21 learning centres with 2,100 learners and 61 volunteer teachers. In Ugandan refugee camps there are 22 learning centres with 647 students and 32 volunteer teachers. They come to centres only to learn English, but through a discipleship programme some are giving their lives to Jesus. The impact of learning English is transformative, but what they read in English is the Word of God - even more transformative! Hostile groups are being transformed into peacemakers. They are learning to love God, and love each other. Only God can make this happen: this is the answer to prayer, the sword that cuts through war.

In Malaysia's national election on 9 May, there has been a stunning victory for the opposition led by former PM Mahathir Mohamad. Aged 92, he came out of a long retirement to take on the current PM Najib Razak and his Barisan National party, who are widely considered to have become terribly corrupted and self-serving. After some Christian leaders were kidnapped (they are still missing), and with laws threatening their religious freedom increasingly being enacted, the churches decided to join together in an all-out initiative of desperate prayer called ‘Light up Malaysia’. It looks as if their prayers are now being answered, thanks be to the Lord! Let us continue to pray with them that the results of the election will be quickly and widely accepted, and that the ruling party will accept the results and relinquish its hold on power gracefully.

On 10 May, Israel said it had struck almost all of Iran's military infrastructure in Syria following an Iranian attack. After twenty rockets were fired at Israeli positions in the Golan Heights, it responded by launching what a spokesman called ‘one of the broadest aerial operations in recent years’. There was no immediate comment from Iran, whose deployment of troops to Syria to back the government in the country's civil war has alarmed Israel. Iran has repeatedly called for an end to the existence of the Jewish state.

All mighty spiritual revivals have had their roots in prayer. Years ago a missionary revivalist reported that in England he talked to a lady about the revival in China. She gave him certain dates when God specially pressed her to pray. He was startled to find that they were the very dates when God was doing his mightiest work in Manchuria and China. The day will come when the history of revival will be unveiled and show that it was brought about mainly by God's saints hidden away with Him in prayer. There will be an international prayer day for the unreached peoples of the world on 20 May. Will you pray? To find out more, go to

Conflict over land used by herdsmen and farmers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is sending thousands into Uganda. Wycliffe Associates in Uganda invited members of DRC people groups to learn Bible translation for their individual tribal dialect. People attending the workshops found that their neighbouring enemies were at the same workshop at the same time - then the Holy Spirit went to work, as they were being equipped to steward God’s Word for their people. The power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit bring reconciliation. Many DRC tribal groups function without any written language: about 242 languages are spoken. Translators use translation recorders in French, the majority language, and then record the same portion of scripture in their dialect to share with their communities. Pastor David Platt said the greatest social injustice today is the 2 billion people who have never heard of God's redeeming love. Bible translation is addressing that injustice.

Thy Kingdom Come 2018 will see thousands around the world, praying for friends, neighbours, colleagues and workmates to come to know Jesus Christ. Churches, chaplaincies, prayer houses, 24/7 prayer rooms and schools are using a range of fresh ideas from the Thy Kingdom Come website. It also has ideas for retreats, special events, booklets, posters, bands etc. to be used throughout the ten day event, plus inspirational videos and blogs on topics including how to pray for others, how to get started in prayer, and encouraging others in prayer. Pray for many more individuals and groups to be involved this year. Pray for the planning of events across the UK and farther afield. Pray for all the preparation that will take place after the planning. Most of all pray that millions will do whatever they hear God telling them to do.

The Financial times recently asked what Sajid Javid’s becoming home secretary means for Brexit. Some suggest that his appointment on Monday, Tuesday’s Lords vote preventing a ‘no deal walk away’, and Wednesday’s customs union defeat (see next article) create additional challenges for our Prime Minister and her government at this strategic time. Pray for God to strengthen, clarify and bless every communication, written and spoken, between London, Ireland and Europe. May confusion in departments be replaced with precise fact finding, mistrust replaced with confident expectations, turmoil replaced with peace, and God to strengthen all who are weary from heavy workloads. Ask God to exchange blame strategies for honest appraisal where it’s due and inaccuracies for wise revisions, and inject integrity into current circumstances.

A crisis Cabinet meeting failed to back Theresa May's plan for a ‘customs partnership’ with Brussels. Key Brexit sub-committee members tried to thrash out a model for the UK's future trade links with Brussels in two hours of tense discussions that ended in deadlock. Insiders said that Sajid Javid had been instrumental in rejecting her plan. Mrs May ordered ministers and officials to carry out ‘further work’ on two options and return with revised proposals at a later date. Whitehall sources reported that six ministers oppose her option and want a looser customs arrangement with Brussels. Boris Johnson urged Mrs May to stick to the principles of her keynote speech at the Mansion House earlier this year which clearly stated that Britain would not form any customs union with the EU after Brexit. International trade secretary Liam Fox said the customs partnership was ‘not compatible’ with Brexit.