She could have easily been just another statistic. Married as a teenager, against her parents’ consent, Judy Mbugua faced a tough reality. Being a wife and mother of five required more than the storybook endings she was used to reading in dime store, romantic novels.
With bills piling up, few employable skills and hungry mouths to feed, Judy was forced to seek some answers. And her answers came from God. In desperation, she sought the God of her praying grandmother, asking Him to save her. During an evangelical crusade in 1967, Judy accepted Christ.
Giving her a chance to be all He intended, God restored Judy’s determination and strength in herself to change the course of her life and that of her family. Soon after her conversion, Judy returned to the classroom. Eventually, she landed a job with the Kenyan Government.
Though it wasn’t easy going to school, working full-time and raising a family, Judy credits the Lord with providing her with the strength and stamina she needed to continue.
Today, Judy Mbugua is a renowned international Christian leader, evangelist and teacher. She travels throughout Africa and around the world with the Commission of Women Affairs for the Association of Evangelicals in Africa, educating men and women about the plight of girls and women suffering from FGM, wife inheritance, female discrimination and domestic violence.
Judy Mbugua, WOGA’s International Chair, will be one of the plenary speakers at the Global Celebration for Women in Houston. To contact her directly, email pacwa@insightkenya.com.

• Pray for Mary Lance Sisk as she chairs Mission America’s National Coordinating Council for The Lighthouse Movement.
  
• Pray for the multiple language translations and printing of the "Love Your Neighbor As Yourself" booklet. Pray for the groups in Sydney that have it will faithfully pray for their neighbors to be brought into the Kingdom.
  
• Pray for peace to prevail in Papua New Guinea, for a stable government there and for the rebuilding of relationships. Pray, too, for the Solomon Islands and Fiji. Women are spending much time in prayer for these islands where many families have little or no income.
  
• Pray for Juliet Thomas as she travels to expand the women’s network in North East India.
• Pray for the women there who have received training so they will be challenged to do more for God.
  
• Pray for that the new Philippines government will be stable and free from corruption, and that church-planting activities will prosper, despite political and economical challenges.
  
• Pray for open doors in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar. WOGA Regional Leader Thelma Pantig plans to visit and renew the vision in these countries.
  
• Pray for the Unreached People Groups in Brazil, and the WOGA women who are adopting them in prayer until they are reached for Christ. An indigenous church has been planted among them.
  
• Pray for each of the six WOGA regional coordinators in Brazil: North (western), Rebeka and North (eastern), Ana Lucia: May the Lord break down the strong idolatry in the state of Para. There is extreme poverty here, along with child prostitution and overwhelming violence. Northeastern, Maria Luiza: We need rain, a lot of rain, and only the Lord can provide it. We need strength and courage and only the Lord can give it to us. We need hope and faith for better days, knowing only God’s Word contains their source. Southeastern, Ester Ruth: Thank God for touching the heart of the mission Home Bible School which offered us wonderful interdenominational quarters for the WOGA meetings. Let us pray for a Coordinator for the states of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo. Central-western, Maria Vitoria. South, Karin de Moraes: The churches are growing slowly and there isn’t much unity among the leaders.
  
• In the last 16 years, AIDS has continued to rise steadily throughout Africa, with new infections reported annually. There are currently 2.2 million Kenyans with HIV, including 106,000 children under age five. More than 500 people die daily with AIDS. Pray for Africa’s AIDS crisis.
  
• Poverty in Africa is increasing with 56 percent of people living below the poverty line.
  Ungodly practices, i.e. FGM, wife inheritance and false religions are a problem in various parts of Africa.
  
• Pray for the upcoming General Elections in Kenya.
  
• A group of business women from Taiwan and Singapore are working with women in Cambodia to help them sell their beautiful products throughout the world and enabling them to provide for their families. God is at work, and we praise him for what has happened so far. Please continue to pray that more women will be saved and helped through this practical ministry.