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 01/22/14
Colombia
• Please pray for girls and boys who have been lured by false promises into Colombia’s largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). This formerly agrarian movement is now heavily involved in cocaine trafficking, kidnapping, and extortion. Pray for poor girls and young women who are easy targets for recruitment into the FARC because of high levels of sexual abuse and domestic violence in their home lives.
• Pray for women and girls in the FARC who have had their newborn babies taken away from them and then killed. Pray for girls and women who’ve experienced forced miscarriages. Having babies is forbidden in the FARC.
• Pray for girls who are forced to serve as sex slaves for commanders and for those who must fight on the frontlines. Pray for those who have to prepare and serve meals, haul firewood, stand guard, dig trenches and latrines, gather intelligence, and recruit other children to fight.
• Give thanks to God for the government program that helps former rebels reintegrate into civilian life. Pray for former child soldiers who experienced great cruelty while in the FARC.
• Pray for an end to this 50-year-old war between the FARC and the Columbian military. Pray the peace talks in Havana will bear fruit and end this conflict in which 220,000 people have been killed and almost 5 million displaced.
Haiti
• Please continue to pray for the 170,000 children, youth, and adults of Haiti who are still homeless four years after a massive earthquake rocked this impoverished country. Pray for those living in approximately 300 temporary tent settlements in and around Port-au-Prince where they have little or no access to safe drinking water or toilets.
• Pray for children who have become ill with a water-borne disease (like cholera) and for those at risk of getting one because of the poor sanitation in these settlements. Pray for children and families living in flimsy shelters in these makeshift camps as they are very vulnerable to flooding during the hurricane season.
• Please pray for the estimated 78,000 homeless Haitians who are at great risk of being forcibly evicted from the tent settlements in which they are living because land owners want to reclaim their land. Pray for those who have been forced out of their temporary shelters and have no other options available to them.
• Give God thanks for a rental subsidy program that’s helped more than 55,000 people relocate from the tent settlements into housing of their choice. Pray government and international aid agencies’ programs that help homeless families move into safe housing will overcome the challenges posed by corruption, political uncertainty, poor coordination, land tenure problems, and a cholera epidemic .
Tonga
• Keep in prayer the children and people of the South Pacific island nation of Tonga who were affected by Cyclone Ian. This category five tropical storm destroyed an estimated 90 percent of the homes on the northern Ha’apai Islands chain.
• Pray for those on the Ha’apai outer islands of Foa, Ha’ano, and Mo’unga’one where there was 90 percent destruction. And pray for those in Pangai, the capital of Ha’apai, where there was about 80 percent destruction.
• Please pray emergency relief teams will reach everyone in need on these northern islands. Pray God will provide those affected by this massive storm with the resources they need to make shelters and begin again. Pray they will have access to safe water as most homes relied on rooftop water collection systems which were probably destroyed in the cyclone.
United States
• Please keep 17-year-old Kailey close in prayer during a difficult season in her life. Kailey is struggling in high school with classes and friendships. Pray she will seek comfort from God in this challenging time in her life.
• Continue to pray for 14-year-old Dallas who recently ran away from home with his mother’s 37-year-old “boyfriend” who has a criminal record. Give God thanks this man turned himself into police ... he didn’t want to be arrested on charges of kidnapping.
o Pray Dallas will come out of hiding and seek help. He’s thought to be staying with friends and Dallas’ mother believes her boyfriend may have introduced Dallas to drugs.
o Please pray for this family as they continue to struggle with the consequences of poor life choices. Pray Betty can maintain her sobriety throughout this challenging season.
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.
If you have prayer requests about children, those who care for them, those who have authority over them, or those who harm them (the really hard prayers to say sometimes), please send them to Chris Laufer, FOC Coordinator, at claufer@facesofchildren.net
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