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).Hello Friends,
First of all, thank you for your warm welcome as I’ve stepped into the role of director of Faces of Children. If we’ve already had a chance to chat, you know that this position fits me like a glove. And if we haven’t had a chance to chat, you can learn more about me and why I say that by reading this little bio. In short, I come to this position with a heart for the needs of children in hard places and experience working on their behalf, and I’m so thankful to have the opportunity to again work at the intersection of my skills and passion. It feels like such a gift.
Prayer Concerns for the Week of 09/23/15
This week, I’d invite us to pray for:
The needs facing child refugees around the world, but in particular those coming out of Syria.
Please pray for them to find safety and refuge; for their physical well-being in their journeys to safety and for their emotional well-being in times of great chaos and uncertainty. It recently struck me that for many of these children, they’ve never known a life without war. Let’s pray for God to supernaturally meet their physical and emotional needs and for the global church to stand up and welcome these children and their families with open arms and hearts. Let’s also pray for wisdom and insight about how we can respond in meaningful ways, even though it all feels very far away. I’m attaching a prayer guide created by We Welcome Refugees, an online advocacy group seeking to help connect churches with positive ways to respond to the refugee crisis. There are many detailed prayer points for each day of the week, and I invite you to use this as you feel led.
The needs facing children who suffer neglect and abuse.
This week, the world learned the identity of Baby Doe, a little girl whose body was found washed up on Boston Harbor beach and who remained unidentified for nearly three months. Baby Doe was 2-year-old Bella Bond. “In her short, tumultuous life, Bella Bond loved cats, dancing to country music and the color green. Those were but brief flashes of happiness in a life marked by neglect, abuse and a horrible ending.” The world lost Bella, but there are still so many invisible children suffering the same sorts of horrific abuse behind closed doors; many in our own community. Pray for the abuse to stop. Pray for abusers to be held accountable and for people who notice something suspicious to report it to the authorities. Pray for our own eyes to be opened to what is happening around us, letting the Spirit show us if there are children in our neighborhoods or schools who need us to be their voice. Pray that no other child can vanish for 3 months without someone noticing.
The Dunn/Wimberly Family in the loss of their little girl, Moriah Constance Wimberly.
Moriah, a beautiful 23-month old little girl, passed away in her sleep on September 18, 2015 here in Midland. Services for her were held today, September 22. Please pray for her grieving family… for her mom, dad, and big sister. Pray for their extended family, known and loved by many here in Midland. Pray the family knows God’s love, mercy, and a peace that passes understanding as they mourn.
Children living in orphanages and the staff caring for them.
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to bring two items each time we meet to represent different prayer needs facing children who live in institutions and the staff who care for them. The kit I’m using is prepared by The Sparrow Fund and focused on China, but the prayer needs are relevant regardless of what country the orphanage is in. This week I will be bringing a tea bag and chopsticks.
Tea: Drinking tea started in China more than 4,000 years ago and is still an important part of Chinese culture. Pray for purpose. As Chinese ayis (nannies/caregivers) start their day, pray that they would be encouraged and know that what they do matters.
Chopsticks: Chinese people use chopstics or kuaizi, literally “fast sticks,” in cooking and eating. Pray for provision. There is not enough healthy food and clean water in China. Pray that God would provide these for the ayis and the children living in orphanages.
In recent weeks within the Chinese adoption community, there have been multiple instances of families traveling to adopt children and upon meeting those children, they have decided the children are too ill or too sickly or too frail to adopt. As a result, they have sent the children back to the orphanages, in many cases to situations that might lead to their demise. Please pray for those same children to receive favor and extra attention from the caregivers in the orphanages or for them to be transferred to private facilities that might be better equipped to care for them. Pray for adopting families to be able to see past the present moment and look to the future with hope rather than fear so that they can complete the adoptions. Pray for the orphanage officials and Chinese government not to respond to these incidents by refusing to allow their most vulnerable children to be eligible for adoption.
I’m sure God has placed other needs facing children on your hearts this week. Please come prepared to share those needs so that we can pray for them as a group. And of course, please continue to lift up our local church up in prayer. You may have already heard, but tonight from 6:30-7:30, members of First Presbyterian are invited to come to the sanctuary to pray for our Session while they meet to receive a report from the discernment team regarding recommendations for our church regarding denominational affiliation moving forward.
Thank you for your continued passion for vulnerable children around the world. There are a lot of hurting and broken and dark places in this world, and I think as a church, we most look like Jesus when we show up in those places, lifting them up in prayer and extending our hands in love.
Blessings,
Carrie
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 info@facesofchildren.net
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