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 02/10/10

Burma/Myanmar
• Pray for the 2,000 people displaced in one week by Burma Army attacks last month. Pray for the children who must run for their lives when the Burma Army attacks their villages, often without any warning. Pray for those who are in hiding sites in the jungle with their families. Give thanks to God for organizations like Free Burma Rangers that come alongside these internally displaced people and help and serve them.
A report from the Free Burma Rangers

China
• Please keep the 100 children in Pishon Family Ministry’s orphanages held close in prayer. Pray for children in the orphanages who are “illegal” and unwanted. Many of these children have some kind of physical or mental impairment and have been discarded by their parents. Because of China’s strictly enforced one child policy, often the parents of a disabled child will dispose of her in favor of having a healthy child, preferably a boy.
• Pray that God will provide encouragement and support for the orphanages’ caregivers and volunteers. Pray also that God will bless this ministry with the resources necessary to care for these forgotten children. Give thanks to God for the love of Jesus Christ that is being made known to some of China’s most vulnerable children.

Haiti
• Please continue to pray for the children and people of Haiti as they struggle with the aftermath of the earthquake last month. Pray for children who are suffering serious health problems in Port-au-Prince’s crowded camps. Pray that food and clean water sources will multiply enough to handle the hundreds of thousands of people in need.
• Please keep in prayer the estimated 200,000 children younger than age 7 staying in temporary camps throughout the city. Crowded and inadequate living conditions are contributing to illnesses like diarrhea, measles, tetanus, and diphtheria. Give thanks to God for the new vaccination campaign that will help protect children from many of these diseases during this challenging time.
• Pray for children who have been traumatized psychologically—who have lost relatives, friends, schools, and homes. Pray that God will comfort those who are feeling the deep loss of security, protection, and love.
A report from the Washington Post

Kenya
• Give praise to God for Kevin’s rescue from his abusive grandmother. Abandoned by his mother, 5-year-old Kevin and his 2-year-old sister went to live with their alcoholic grandmother who would lock them out of the house and deny them food while she went off to drink all day.
• Pray that the burns and injuries inflicted on Kevin by his grandmother will continue to heal. Thank God for the Good Samaritan who rescued Kevin from this horrible situation and for the pastor and his family that have now adopted this little boy. Pray that Kevin will come through the surgeries to repair the hand and foot deformities with which he was born, and probably because of which he was tormented.
A report from Mendonsa Family Mission

United States
• Please continue to keep 18-month-old Amonnie in prayer as she struggles with liver disease that’s caused her body to become very swollen. Pray that God will sustain and comfort Amonnie and her family as they wait for a new liver for her. Pray for her mother who is struggling as she watches her child suffer.
• Pray for 4-year-old Anna, her parents, and grandparents during this difficult time in their lives. Anna’s grandfather is dying of pancreatic cancer and her grandmother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Anna’s mother is overwhelmed with the struggle to care for all of them. Pray that God will sustain Anna’s mother for the difficult work of caregiving and bring comfort to her grandparents.
• Please pray for God’s healing and comfort for Russell, a father of three boys, who has recently been diagnosed with cancer. Pray that God will bring comfort to 11-year-old Ethan, 13-year-old Cory, and 15-year-old Kyle, their mother, and the rest of their family and friends.

Faces of Children
• Please keep in prayer the Faces of Children mission team working in Thailand this week. Pray that they will be blessings to the children, IDPs, and organizations for which this ministry provides prayer support.
• 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.