Faces of Children: Prayer Requests

Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Our mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, we seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).

Prayer Concerns for the week of 09/30/09

Burma
• Please keep in prayer Nancy* and the 11 children/orphans she cares for in her small home in Burma. While working with women in Thailand who were prostituted, Nancy learned that many of them were from Burma, were very poor, and had been orphaned as children. She felt God’s call to leave the work with prostituted women and tackle the situation at its root cause by helping orphans. Pray that God will provide the resources necessary to continue this demanding, but much needed work. Pray for encouragement and support for Nancy and her helpers.

Indiaa
• Please be in prayer for children receiving help and support from the Sahaara Charitable Society in India.
• Pray for good health for all the little ones in the home for destitute children in Mumbai.
• Pray for all of the children in the Mumbai children’s/observation homes—that God’s wisdom will be upon them and that they can focus on their studies. Pray that God will provide them with the resources they need and bless them with healing. Pray for their protection from snake bites.
• Please be in prayer for the new children from the slums who are attending preschool (balwadi) for the first time. Pray that they will be able to attend regularly. Pray that God will heal Priyanka as she has a hole in her heart. • Pray that the children will be protected from fever and colds.
• Pray for the children living in red light districts who are helped by Sahaara Charitable Society. Pray that Rizwana would be healed from white spots and that Shehnaz, Sahil, and Nasir would be healed from fits.
• Pray for the children of prisoners served by Sahaara. Many suffer from mental and physical handicaps.

Thailand (Garden of Hope - www.thegardenofhope.org/)
• Please keep 16-year-old Wee held close in prayer. She came to the Garden of Hope rescue center to escape a difficult family life. Pray that God will protect Wee, who is at great risk to be trafficked into prostitution. Both of Wee’s sisters are prostitutes and her alcoholic mother is pressuring Wee to follow the same path.
• Please pray for God’s healing hand to be upon Wee—that the debilitating headache from which she has been suffering for over a month will lift. Wee has been unable to sleep well, eat very much, or attend school (where she is the top student in her class).
• Pray for the Garden of Hope staff as they travel with Wee along the long road to healing from abuse and neglect.

Uganda
• Keep the people and children of Kampala in prayer as rioting and fighting between tribal groups immobilizes parts of this city. Pray for a peaceful resolution to the complex issues at the heart of this struggle.
A report from BBC News
• Please keep the 90 orphans of Lulwanda Children’s Home in prayer as they begin their third term in school. Pray that God will open the minds of these students and that their teachers would remain encouraged and enthusiastic. Pray for the health and safety of these children. Give thanks to God that the children’s home is in a small community that isn’t affected by the rioting in Kampala.
A report from ugandaorphans.org
• Pray for Natalie, a young foreign missionary, as she enters her second year teaching at the Lulwanda school. Pray that she would wait patiently for God’s guidance and plans for her future.
• Pray for Lulwanda ministry leaders Pastor Morris and Aidah as they serve the children of Lulwanda and other areas. Pray for Dyana, the children’s home nurse, who had to leave when she was diagnosed with leukemia.

United States
• Please keep Marielle and her two young children in prayer during a very stressful and dangerous time in their lives. Marielle is involved in a bitter divorce from an abusive husband who has threatened to kill their children.
• Pray for the safety of Marielle and her children as they return to their hometown to attend court. Pray that the judge in the case will see the situation clearly and make a fair decision regarding this hurting family.
• Pray for God’s arms of comfort to be wrapped around Marielle and her children.
• Pray for God’s presence and calming peace for her husband.

Faces of Children
• Please continue to pray that more churches and individuals will join with the ministry of Faces of Children in spreading awareness about children in crisis and inviting more people to pray for children at risk.
* Name changed for confidentiality and/or protection.