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 08/04/10

Cambodia
• Please pray that God will guide Lida as she begins the process of forming a ministry in Cambodia to serve children in high-risk situations. Pray that God will provide the resources, volunteers, and staff members to build a drop-in center for children in a red-light district. Children of prostitutes, street children, and ethnic hill tribe children can often spend the nights roaming the bar areas of major cities selling flowers or trinkets and are at great risk to be exploited or sexually abused.

India
• Give thanks to God for new initiatives in India that help reduce the maternal mortality rate, which is ten times that of China. Indian women from poor, rural areas are given about three weeks' wages to give birth in hospitals- cleaner, safer environments than their homes. The government of India has also hired an army of women and trained them to become local health assistants called Ashas (which means "hope" in Hindi).
• Thanks be to God for the work of these Ashas in encouraging expectant mothers to go to the hospital and for accompanying them there.
A report from the Washington Post
• Give God praise for the Dharhara villagers' tradition of planting trees to celebrate the births of girl children.
• Thanks be to God for this generational tradition in which families save a portion of the profits from selling the fruit to pay for their daughters' dowries. Traditionally, boys have been preferred over girls in India, often because a girl's dowry can bankrupt a family.
• Give thanks to God for this tradition that reduces sex selective abortions, the killing of female babies, and dowry deaths (common in Bihar state in which this village is located).
A report from the BBC

Europe, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran
• Pray that God will protect and provide for Afghan child migrants who are making the difficult and dangerous overland journey to Europe, Pakistan, and Iran, often without their parents. Pray for those who travel with human smugglers and are exposed to trafficking and abuse.
• Please pray for the parents of these children ... that they are made aware of the dangers of putting their children in the hands of human smugglers.
• Pray for the 5,900 Afghan children, mostly boys, who sought asylum in Europe last year and for those continuing to arrive.
• Pray for Afghan child migrants who are forcibly deported back to Afghanistan where child protection and welfare services are nonexistent.
• Please pray that the situations causing children to leave Afghanistan will change ... that the fighting and violence will cease, the political situation will stabilize, widespread poverty will be eliminated, improvements will be made to the educational systems, and that families and children will have hope for a better future because of these changes.
A report from Reuters AlertNet
Another report from Reuters AlertNet

Philipines (Love146 – love146.org/)
• Give thanks to God for the work of Love146 in the Philippines with children rescued from trafficking and prostitution. Please continue to pray for the 10 girls living at the Round Home, a Love146 safe home.
• Pray for the three newly-rescued girls, all of whom have recently given birth to babies. Pray for these new mothers, that they would be filled with patience, love, and kindness for themselves and their children.
• Give God thanks for the successful reintegration of several rescued girls. Two have received small grants to start businesses in their villages and several have already been able to make small profits selling fresh vegetables, cooked food, mobile phone cards, and handmade greeting cards.
• Pray that these girls would grow in confidence as they develop healthy and sustained relationships with people in the community.
• Pray that their businesses would thrive. Pray that they would continue to develop their independent living skills, especially with using their free time in a positive way.

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.