Burundi

We Give Praise For:

• Peacefully caring for our staff and their families throughout August 2026.
• The visit of Peter and Marvin, adult learning practitioners and videographers. This team is helping to facilitate the Growing Beyond Harvest initiative. The GBH adult-learning workshop was held in Bujumbura as a capacity-building training-of-trainers session, and the field visit they conducted to produce the agroecology technical videos and a participant story proved very fruitful.
• The interfaith youth conference sessions currently taking place on-site are being met with great satisfaction by the local churches.
• The ongoing community tree nurseries which demonstrate positive results and advanced community performance.

We Pray For:

• Continued protection for our staff and their family members throughout September.
• The return of the rain, eagerly awaited by farmers at a time when we are facing seasonal disruptions that are impacting the agricultural calendar.
• The socio-economic conditions in our country, as market prices are gradually rising and households are struggling to adjust, leading to a deterioration of living conditions and fear for the future.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

We Give Praise For:

• God’s protection over our staff and the communities we work with, and for the improvement in security, including all our watersheds.
• The good start to fiscal year 2027, and for activities continuing to run and staff being able to make regular field visits safely.
• The annual board meeting held last week to share operational improvements and updates about the program activities and planning for fiscal year 2027.
• Our spiritual renewal supervisor who was sick for the past months. We thank God that he has improved. 

We Pray For:

• Peace and security in our country, and especially pray for the Ebola outbreak in the region. In North Kivu, new cases of Ebola increased last week.
• The EMI staff member who lost his mom last week. We pray for God’s comfort during this hard situation.
• The start of activities in the two newly selected watersheds. We pray for a good start and strong collaboration with communities.
• Churches that have started peace and reconciliation meetings across different watersheds. We pray for their positive impact.

Dominican Republic

We Give Praise For:

• The successful completion of Floresta’s General Assembly meeting and for the positive outcome of the work presented. We thank God for guidance, support, and faithfulness throughout the entire process.
• The CRA (Community Readiness Assessment) conducted in the El Maniel watershed. We pray that the Lord will continue to bless this area, protect the members of the community, and allow the work that has been carried out to bear positive fruit.
• God’s protection over the staff as they travel to different locations, especially when facing dangerous roads and difficult access conditions. We recognize that, even in the midst of these risks, God has been present and has protected their lives.

We Pray For:

• Our interim director as he travels to Thailand for the strategic meeting with all global partner directors and the Plant With Purpose U.S. leadership team. May God guide him through every stage of the journey, and may the strategic planning meeting be a great blessing and produce positive results. Let us also pray for God’s protection over each participant as they travel and throughout this important meeting.
• The close of the July-September quarter. May God enable the team to achieve the established goals, complete the planned activities, and work so that everything that has been planned can be accomplished.
• Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, and all countries that have been affected by earthquakes and other situations that have caused hardship and loss of life. We pray for the families who have lost loved ones, for all those who have been affected, and for the recovery, stability, and strength of each nation.

Ethiopia

We Give Praise For:

• God’s protection and safety over the Ethiopia staff and the U.S. team.
• The continued partnership and support of the International Programs & MERLIN team and PWP Global Partnership.
• Thanks for the Foresta Ethiopia board’s productive discussion and joy over the fiscal year 2026 report and successes.

We Pray For:

• A fruitful and wise board discussion on the fiscal year 2027 plan.
• The successful delivery of the planned Growing Beyond Harvest training.
• Safe travel and a smooth stay in Ethiopia for Peter and the staff attending the training.
• The smooth transition and start of the program in new watersheds.
• A successful planning workshop in Thailand and for God’s protection over all participants.

Haiti

We Give Praise For:

• The ongoing safety and security of the staff, the farmers, and their families in spite of the ongoing security situation in Haiti.
• The recovery of our Purpose Group facilitator after a motorcycle accident, and also for our team member’s health with her new baby.
• The preparation of the impact evaluation and the DID baselines in three watersheds in three regions during September. 
• The smooth end cycle for many purpose groups, even with a worsened security situation.

We Pray For:

• A smooth preparation and carrying out of the impact evaluation and DID.
• The wisdom and the discernment of the surveyors to collect good data during the DID and the impact evaluation process.
• Abundant rain so that the farmers can plant their farms for the late summer season.
• The improvement of the security situation so that the circulation of goods and people will be possible all over the country.
• The security of the staff, the farmers, and their families.
• The recovery of certain staff members and the farmers who have health problems.

Malawi

We Give Praise For:

• Our environmental restoration officer who has returned from her maternity leave. We praise God for her safe return and the dedicated spirit she brings to her duties.
• The gift of good health and God’s faithful provision for the Floresta Malawi staff and the farming families within the Lwafwa watershed.

We Pray For:

• Floresta Malawi’s Programs Director as he travels to Thailand for the strategic meeting with all global partner directors and the Plant With Purpose U.S. leadership team. We pray for traveling mercies, safety, and fruitful meetings during his time there.
• A successful review meeting in the coming weeks. May this time with Plant With Purpose, local board members, and the entire Floresta Malawi staff be productive and encouraging.
• God’s wisdom and guidance as Floresta Malawi is in the process of selecting a new potential watershed.

Mexico

We Give Praise For:

• The new Purpose Groups currently forming in the watersheds of Puebla, Oaxaca, and Chiapas and the new participants being reached and trained.
• The work in local nurseries and plant production across the three regional programs, and the efforts in reforestation activities during this first quarter in the Oaxaca watersheds.
• God’s care, protection, and provision for our staff and the communities.
• The rains benefiting participants and their farms, specifically in the Chiapas region.

We Pray For:

• Rain in the Oaxaca watersheds, as it has been scarce and corn crops are being lost.
• Strength for community participants facing illness and for their health to be restored soon.
• Provision for the work as staff advance new Purpose Groups in the Chacté, San Juan, and Zempoala watersheds, so that goals may be achieved on schedule.
• The strategic planning meeting taking place in Thailand in September. May the participants have safe travels, and may God guide the workshop and provide all that is needed.
• The Vision Trip to the Puebla Program in October. We pray for the planning process, safe travels, and that the time would be a great blessing for the trip participants and the communities.
• God’s care for the staff as they travel the roads to the communities.

Tanzania

We Give Praise For:

• God’s faithfulness, protection, provision, and guidance throughout August, sustaining our staff, partners, and communities and enabling us to continue the work with strength and commitment.
• The progress made in implementing August program activities and for the wisdom, dedication, and cooperation of our teams and participants in achieving planned activities.
• The progress made in preparing for the Saseni watershed graduation and for the transformation, growth, and commitment demonstrated by the communities throughout the program period.
• The opportunities God continues to provide for collaboration and demonstrating Christ’s love, strengthening relationships between our teams, communities, government, partners, and other stakeholders.

We Pray For:

• A successful September and completion of the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, asking God to give us wisdom, strength, good health, and provision to complete all planned activities and targets successfully.
• A successful monitoring and evaluation exercise and impact evaluation preparation. We ask God for wisdom, good coordination, reliable information, and cooperation from staff, partners, communities, and other stakeholders.
• Successful final preparations for the Saseni watershed graduation ceremony. We ask God to provide the necessary resources, unity, wisdom, and coordination for a successful celebration of community transformation.
• God’s guidance, wisdom, protection, good health, provision, and strong cooperation as we prepare to work in the new Ngarenanyuki watershed and implement the new Purpose Groups opening strategy. We pray for unity and effective collaboration among communities, government authorities, partners, staff, supporters, and their families as we build strong foundations for the next phase of the program.

Thailand

We Give Praise For:

• God’s guidance and blessing of the organization's operations throughout fiscal year 2026. 
• Farmer and community cooperation. We praise God for the good relationships, trust, and cooperation from farmers and communities in the watershed areas who worked together to drive operations and various activities to successful fruition. 
• God’s protection and safety. We praise God for protecting the team during travel, field visits, and seedling transport, keeping everyone safe from accidents and various dangers throughout the operations. 

We Pray For:

• Operations and collaboration with farmers and partner networks. We pray that God will guide watershed work with farmers, communities, donors, and partners for good cooperation, wisdom in execution, and blessings upon activities—including tree planting in 2027—so they proceed as planned and achieve sustainable impact. 
• Team members and health. We pray that God will grant wisdom, unity, and encouragement to the team, especially during times of transition, along with protecting everyone's physical and mental health and granting strength in service. 
• Field visits and safety. We ask God to protect travel and field operations next month, particularly the Ecosia project area survey and seedling transport, so that everyone travels safely, free from danger, and operations are successfully completed as planned. 
• Our upcoming Plant With Purpose Global Partnership Thailand visit and meetings in September, and for the Growing Beyond Harvest filming taking place afterwards. We pray for God's protection over all travel, wisdom in our preparations, and God’s blessing upon every meeting and activity. 

United States

We Give Praise For:

• A constructive and effective Board of Directors meeting that was held August 21. Board members engaged in strategic reset planning through a focused activity, providing valuable insights. The board will be reviewing and adopting a revised strategic plan at the November meeting.
• All the staff and volunteers who are working tirelessly behind the scenes to support the upcoming Planting Hope Gala on September 19 at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla. We pray for their health and continued well-being as they push toward the goal of setting the stage for a truly inspirational evening.

We Pray For:

• Our strategy refresh workshop, which meets the first week of September in Thailand. The Plant With Purpose U.S. leadership team, global country directors, and board members will gather together to co-create a renewed strategic plan that will help us be more globally inclusive, agile, and resilient to increasingly complex environments, ultimately generating greater impact for smallholder farmer families.
• Our country teams and the communities we partner with who are experiencing additional hardships due to local conflicts and global uncertainties. We specifically lift up the Democratic Republic of the Congo as they continue to battle the deadliest Ebola outbreak to date. We ask for God’s protection and safety for the healthcare workers and an end to the outbreak.
• A successful and impactful gala event on September 19. We pray that attendees will develop a deeper connection to Plant With Purpose and be inspired to join or strengthen partnership with our movement of transformation in significant ways.