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 05/29/14
Columbia
On May 18, 2014, an overcrowded bus returning from a church service in Fundacion, Colombia caught fire. At least 32 children were killed as the fire spread quickly. Twenty-five others, including an adult, were injured and seriously burned. Reports vary as to the cause. Survivors report the bus driver was handling a gasoline container on the bus and emergency responders say he was trying to start a broken down engine.
• Please hold close in prayer the loved ones of those killed in this tragedy. Pray for God’s comfort and peace to surround them in this difficult time.
• Pray for healing for those who were burned or injured in the vehicle fire. Keep in prayer the families of those injured as they help care for their loved ones.
• Pray for the bus driver who disappeared after the accident. Local residents blame him for causing the fire.
Kenya
There are an estimated one-and-a-half million Somalian refugees living in Kenya following Somalia’s 1991civil war. Because of the string of terrorist attacks in Kenya, believed to have been committed by Somali-based al Shabaab, Kenyan authorities have been arresting thousands of immigrants. Last month, authorities began arresting people and deporting them or sending them to overcrowded refugee camps. Since the operation began, Kenyan police have arrested more than 4,000 immigrants and refugees, many of them ethnic Somalis. Authorities have also arrested and deported hundreds of other illegal immigrants, including those from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Congo, Cameroon, and Uganda. Non-government organizations are discovering a number of children and babies have been left behind unattended when their parents are deported or sent to refugee camps.
• Keep in prayer children left without caregivers when their parents were arrested. Pray for their safety and provision. Pray God will provide for all refugee children who’ve been separated from their parents in this anti-terrorist operation. Pray for the 9-year-old who was left to care for her twin siblings who are less than a year old.
• Pray for anxious parents who were taken from their children and not given an opportunity to obtain interim caregivers. Please pray these families will be reunited soon.
United States, Mexico, Rwanda, South Korea, China
Presbyterian Pan American School (PPAS) is a college preparatory boarding school in Kingsville, Texas that educates high school students from around the world, including China, Mexico, Rwanda, South Korea, and the United States.
• more on this issue in the PPAS website
• Thanks be to God for the graduating class of PPAS, the largest one in the school’s 100-year history. Pray for these 56 students as they continue their education in universities throughout the U.S. and abroad.
• Pray for the faculty and staff of the school as they take a much-needed break from a busy school year. Pray especially for the dorm parents and supervisors who work 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the school year, including all holidays.
• Please continue to pray for students who are starting their summer break from PPAS. Pray for those from South Korea and Rwanda who aren’t able to return home because of the high cost of travel or visa issues. Keep students from Mexico close in prayer as they return to homes in areas of drug cartel violence.
United States
Four-year-old Jordan had surgery to remove a kidney with a fist-sized-tumor wrapped around it and several days later had surgery to remove another tumor in one of her lungs. Jordan finished 10 days of radiation and chemotherapy the day before her baby sister Leslie was born. She recently completed weekly chemotherapy treatments and will only have to go back every three weeks for treatment until she finishes in August.
• Pray for God’s healing touch to be upon Jordan. Pray she will feel God’s comfort and love during this difficult time. Give God thanks Jordan is feeling better and has a break from chemotherapy treatment for a little while.
• Please continue to pray for Jordan’s parents, Jerin and Kristen, as they navigate the medical issues facing Jordan and care for newborn Leslie.
Faces of Children
• Please keep Lindy, the sister of Faces of Children prayer partner Bridget, close in prayer as she continues treatment for cancer. Give thanks to God Lindy has recovered enough to be released from the hospital after having life-threatening complications during her treatment.
• 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
No comments:
Post a Comment