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 07/31/14
Burma
In Burma’s western Rakhine (formerly Arakan) state, more than 140,000 Muslim Rohingya people have been displaced by inter-religious violence between Burma’s majority Buddhist Rakhine population and its ethnic Muslim minority. Most of those displaced live in squalid IDP (internally displaced people) camps in Rakhine state where they have very limited access to basic health, education, water, and sanitation services. Their freedom of movement inside and out of the camps is also severely restricted. The level of human suffering in the camps is the worst one senior UN aid official said she’d ever witnessed. Many aid groups have left the region because of attacks on their personnel and offices. This departure has resulted in a major health crisis in the camps; one which the Burma government has dismissed. Muslim Rohingya people aren’t recognized as citizens of Burma by the government. They’re considered Bengalis—illegal immigrants from Bangladesh—even though some families have lived in camps in Rakhine state for generations.
• Please pray for Rohingya children and families struggling to survive the appalling conditions in these IDP camps. Pray God will provide for their deepest and most immediate needs. Pray God’s comfort and peace will heal children traumatized by the violence and suffering in Rakhine state.
• Pray for the staff and volunteers of aid organizations still struggling to work under very difficult circumstances in the IDP camps. Give thanks to God for their commitment to stay and serve this marginalized population.
• Give thanks to God for the work of the staff and volunteers with Partners Relief and Development and other humanitarian aid organizations as they bring hope, help, and love to those in need in Burma.
• Please pray for peace between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya ethnic groups in this region. Animosity between the groups goes back many years when the Rohingya first came to Burma from Bangladesh. Pray for reconciliation and understanding between these two ethnic people groups.
Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone
West Africa is experiencing its largest outbreak of the Ebola virus since its appearance in Africa in 1976. More than 500 people have died and almost 900 confirmed cases have been recorded since last February. The Ebola virus causes vomiting and diarrhea, impairs kidney and liver function, and can cause internal and external bleeding. It is spread by close contact with the body fluid, blood, or tissue of those infected by it. There is no treatment or vaccine for the virus which can kill up to 90 percent of those infected. Cultural burial practices—like cleaning the corpse, attending funerals for Ebola victims, and stroking their bodies as part of the mourning ritual—can contribute to the spread of the virus. The disease has continued to spread in Sierra Leone and Liberia (but slowed somewhat in Guinea) and is straining the resources of aid groups. The scale of the Ebola epidemic hasn’t been acknowledged by civil society groups, governments, and religious authorities in these three countries, making it much harder to stop the outbreak.
• Please pray for children, young people, and adults who have contracted the Ebola virus. Pray for God’s healing touch upon each one. Pray for the loved ones of those with the virus as they help care for them.
• Pray God will comfort the loved ones of those who have died from the virus.
• Pray for staff and volunteers with medical aid organizations as they try to treat victims of this deadly virus.
• Please pray God will provide the resources to bring this Ebola epidemic under control and prevent it from spreading further. Pray for education on how to handle the virus and not spread it.
• Pray for good coordination and communication between the governments of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea.
Ukraine, Netherlands, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Vietnam, Philippines, United States, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong
On July 17, Malaysian Airlines flight MH 17, a Boeing 777 passenger jet, was shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired from Ukrainian separatist territory. All 298 people on board, including 77 children and three infants, were killed in the crash near the eastern border of Ukraine. The majority of victims were from the Netherlands and Malaysia, but also included people from Australia, Indonesia, the U.K., Germany, Belgium, Vietnam, the Philippines, the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Hong Kong.
• Please keep close in prayer the loved ones of those killed in the crash of this flight. Pray God will bring healing and peace to each of them in this season of sorrow and tremendous loss.
• Pray for authorities working to secure information from the crash site in Ukraine’s separatist-held territory.
• Pray for those who shot this jet down, possibly mistaking it for a Ukrainian military airplane. Pray for justice for the victims of this horrific incident.
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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