From ChinaAid: "Zhejiang Christians detentions upgraded to 'black jail' "

The China Aid Association is a non-profit Christian organization - based in Midland, Texas - with a mission to uncover and reveal the truth about religious persecution in China, focusing especially on the unofficial church. They do this, they explain in their website, by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping the saints to advance the kingdom of God throughout China.

Zhejiang Christians detentions upgraded to 'black jail'
Distributed by ChinaAid, October, 2015 ...

China Aid Photo

WENZHOU, ZHEJIANG, CHINA – Authorities placed at least 20 Christians under residential surveillance in China’s coastal Zhejiang province over the past two months.

In China, “residential surveillance in a designated location,” also known as holding in “black jails,” is a more severe form of holding than “criminal detention.” Individuals under residential surveillance are held in undisclosed locations and are unable to speak with family or legal representation ...

• more on this story from China Aid  

In the News ... "Editorial: Giving Tuesday offers worthy challenge"

MRT Photo by James Durbin

• You may find a perfect way to spend some time this holiday season

Editorial
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Most of us know about Cyber Monday -- the first Monday after Thanksgiving, which is one of the busiest shopping days online. We expect many of our readers will participate in this capitalistic tradition.

Today, though, we will talk in-depth not about Cyber Monday but the day after, which is “Giving Tuesday" ...

 • read the rest of this MRT editorial

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

And now we begin to see what it is that the New Testament is always talking about. It talks about Christians ‘being born again’; it talks about them ‘putting on Christ’; about Christ ‘being formed in us’; about our coming to ‘have the mind of Christ’.

Put right out of your head the idea that these are only fancy ways of saying that Christians are to read what Christ said and try to carry it out—as a man may read what Plato or Marx said and try to carry it out. They mean something much more than that. They mean that a real Person, Christ, here and now, in that very room where you are saying your prayers, is doing things to you. It is not a question of a good man who died two thousand years ago. It is a living Man, still as much a man as you, and still as much God as He was when He created the world, really coming and interfering with your very self; killing the old natural self in you and replacing it with the kind of self He has. At first, only for moments. Then for longer periods. Finally, if all goes well, turning you permanently into a different sort of thing; into a new little Christ, a being which, in its own small way, has the same kind of life as God; which shares in His power, joy, knowledge and eternity.

• From Mere Christianity
• Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis

From Austin Seminary: "Advent Devotional" for November 29

"A gift from our community of faith to you. We at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary are devoted to preparing outstanding leaders for Christ’s church. One of the ways that we nurture leaders is by building a loving community of faith and extending God’s grace to others. In this season of anticipation, we extend God’s grace to you and invite you to explore this book of Advent devotions. Through this collection, please join us as we prepare to receive God’s greatest gift—the birth of Jesus Christ."

• CLICK HERE for a complete schedule of this season's devotionals.
• CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary

Advent Devotional for Sunday, November 29

• Jeremiah 33:14a

“The days are surely coming, says the Lord ...”

We are called to see the world through the frosted windowpanes of nostalgia and memory. It is, after all, a “wonderful life,” isn’t it? Turn away from the broken systems, broken cities, and broken lives around us. It’s Christmas. Lighten up.

Advent is made of sterner stuff. Like the prophet Jeremiah of today’s reading, the season of Advent calls us to reality. For Jeremiah, the reality was impending destruction, the razing of Jerusalem. We, too, must see the world as it is. Like Jeremiah, we must name those places where, as Yeats once wrote, “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.”

But facing reality does not lead to despair, for Advent is built on hope, hope in God and hope in God’s promises. Only in light of that hope can Jeremiah face a city about to be pillaged and prophesy that God will once again establish a just ruler in Jerusalem. Only with a hope stronger than nostalgia and “Christmas Spirit” can Jeremiah declare that, one day, the Holy City will be justified by the Creator of heaven and earth.

As Christians, we claim the fulfillment of God’s promise in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. But, we claim even more. Looking soberly at the world through Advent-colored eyes, we claim our own sturdy hope. We hope in a God of restoration, a God who once more will break into this world and bring justice, like a branch stubbornly rising from an old stump. Advent calls us to stand in the midst of a broken world, with hope on our lips, proclaiming “the days are surely coming, says the Lord …”

Eternal God: Advent is that season of life when we rouse ourselves to cling to you. No matter how much or many we have lost, Advent is our time to begin again with you, our living God, who does wonders we dare not even hope for. We ask—in our self-disgust, despair, depression, and grief—“Can we be saved?” Now we wait, longing for the angel’s promise: with God, all things are possible. Amen.

Margaret Aymer
Associate Professor of New Testament

---

For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.

---

This post produced with Bible Gateway reference/link 

In the News ... "West Texas Food Bank in Need of Volunteers, Donations"

KWES Photo

• Ways to help the food bank during these tough times

Eric Onyechefule, Reporter
KWES-TV

ODESSA, TEXAS - With the holiday season in full swing, one local organization is doing their best to make sure families have food on their plate.

It’s been hard for some families to put food on the table but members of the West Texas Food Bank have been working diligently, supplying emergency kits for families in need ...

 • read/watch the rest of this KWES report ...

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

TO FATHER PETER MILWARD, sj: On the evil of Christian disunity; and on prayer and cooperation in works of charity as the means of reunion.

6 May 1963

Dear Padre,

You ask me in effect why I am not a Roman Catholic. If it comes to that, why am I not—and why are you not—a Presbyterian, a Quaker, a Mohammedan, a Hindu, or a Confucianist? After how prolonged and sympathetic study and on what grounds have we rejected these religions? I think those who press a man to desert the religion in which he has been bred and in which he believes he has found the means of Grace ought to produce positive reasons for the change—not demand from him reasons against all other religions. It would have to be all, wouldn’t it?

Our Lord prayed that we all might be one ‘as He and His Father are one’ [John 17:21]. But He and His Father are not one in virtue of both accepting a (third) monarchical sovereign.

That unity of rule, or even of credenda [things to be believed], does not necessarily produce unity of charity is apparent from the history of every Church, every religious order, and every parish.

Schism is a very great evil. But if reunion is ever to come, it will in my opinion come from increasing charity. And this, under pressure from the increasing strength and hostility of unbelief, is perhaps beginning: we no longer, thank God, speak of one another as we did over 100 years ago. A single act of even such limited co-operation as is now possible does more towards ultimate reunion than any amount of discussion.

The historical causes of the ‘Reformation’ that actually occurred were (1.) The cruelties and commercialism of the Papacy (2.) The lust and greed of Henry VIII. (3.) The exploitation of both by politicians. (4.) The fatal insouciance of the mere rabble on both sides. The spiritual drive behind the Reformation that ought to have occurred was a deep re-experience of the Pauline experience.

Memo: a great many of my closest friends are your co-religionists, some of them priests. If I am to embark on a disputation—which could not be a short one, I would much sooner do it with them than by correspondence.

We can do much more to heal the schism by our prayers than by a controversy. It is a daily subject of mine.

• From The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis
• Compiled in Yours, Jack

From ServLife International ... "Exponential Change"

ServLife International is a movement defined by values of God’s kingdom, not programs built around human efforts and activities. The reign and rule of God should be made apparent to every person on the planet, despite their religion, race or socioeconomic status. We believe that issues of justice are inseparable from the good news that Jesus Christ came to proclaim. ServLife exists to take the gospel of Christ and the hope of a better, more just, world to the lives of people we touch. This happens through individual contributions of time, creativity, resources and dreams.

---

Exponential Change

ServLife Photo

The remote HOPE Fund village in the Surkhet Valley of west Nepal is 4.5 hours from the nearest city. It is accessible only by crossing a river and climbing treacherous mountain roads, a hardship that isolates the community and stunts economic growth. Villagers there live on a less than $1 per day, with very few ways to grow their income. A small loan from the HOPE Fund provides a family with livestock or supplies to run their own small business. Breeding animals or doing small jobs like carpentry or tailoring can make all the difference for an impoverished family. With the help of micro-finance loans being repaid and redistributed, entire villages are escaping the cycle of poverty. Tulisara’s family has experienced just this affect ...

• CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post from ServLife

---

 
From Adam Nevins
Executive Director
ServLife International Inc.


Join Our Mission

ServLife International propels reconciliation and justice by building global community to plant churches, care for children and fight poverty. Compelled by the message, life and love of Jesus Christ, we seek to care for the spiritual, physical, social, and economic areas of life in northern India and Nepal.  Learn more about our latest news, featured stories, and how to get involved at servlife.org

Support a Pastor Our church planters spread the love of Christ in some of the most difficult  environments in the world. • Support Them ...	Sponsor a Child For only $30 per month you can help give a child food, education, care and, most importantly, hope. • Sponsor Now ...	Fight Poverty The HOPE Fund, our micro-finance program, provides start-up funds for a small business, paving a way out of poverty for families in need. • Learn More ...

---

ServLife International, Inc.
P.O. Box 20596
Indianapolis, IN 46220
USA

From @FWMission ... Friday Story: "Married in a Wheelchair"

Founded in 2001, Free Wheelchair Mission

is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing wheelchairs for the impoverished disabled in developing nations. Headquartered in Irvine, California, FWM works around the world in partnership with a vast network of humanitarian, faith-based and government organizations, sending wheelchairs to hundreds of thousands of disabled people, providing not only the gift of mobility, but of dignity, independence, and hope.

FWM Photo

Friday Story: "Married in a Wheelchair"

Greetings, and Happy Friday!

We received the following story from our Distribution Partner Mission Eurasia, and we couldn’t wait to share it with you ...

A little less than a year ago, Evgeniy, a young soldier from Kremenchug, Ukraine, was seriously injured in the fighting that still grips the eastern region of the nation, and his lower body was completely paralyzed. His family and friends spent a lot of time and money trying to help him regain his mobility, but it looked like only a miracle could help him ...

• read the rest of this story ...

In the News ... "Ochiabuto relishes religious work"

OA Photo by Edyta Blaszczyk

• Nigeria native overcomes language barriers

By Bob Campbell, Reporter
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - As one of the nine African-born priests working in the San Angelo Diocese, Father Isidore Ochiabuto assumed a heavy workload as associate pastor of the Catholic churches of South Odessa, but that hasn’t diminished his enjoyment since he arrived here 14 months ago.

While not yet fully conversant in Spanish, the Rev. Ochiabuto is fluent in his reading and writing of the language and reads some of his homilies, or sermons, in it at St. Joseph’s and St. Anthony’s Catholic churches and St. Martin de Porres’ Mission, which have predominately Hispanic attendance ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ...

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).

Hi Friends,
Happy Thanksgiving! This week we will not be meeting for our normal intercessory prayer time, as the church will be closing early Wednesday in observance of Thanksgiving. Please take some time on your own this week to celebrate God's faithfulness to the world's children.

---

Dear Intercessors,

If there is any risk in what we do each week as Faces of Children intercessors, it is that if we are not careful, we pick up a far heavier burden than we can possibly carry. The weight of the world is on our shoulders, and the pain and suffering and injustice children face around the world feels like it may crush us.

In his sermon, A Room Called Remember, Frederick Buechner said "We listen to the evening news with its usual recital of shabbiness and horror, and God, if we believe in him at all, seems remote and powerless, a child's dream. But there are other times--often the most unexpected, unlikely times--when strong as life itself comes the sense that there is a holiness deeper than shabbiness and horror and at the very heart of darkness a light unutterable. Is it only the unpredictable fluctuations of the human spirit that we have to thank? We must each of us answer for ourselves, remember for ourselves, preach to ourselves our own sermons. But "Remember the wonderful works," sings King David, because if we remember deeply and truly, he says, we will know whom to thank, and in that room of thanksgiving and remembering there is peace."

So this week, as we look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving, I'd like to invite you to joyfully praise God for his compassion and mercy and tender loving care seen in the lives of children around the world. And as we thank God for his goodness, may we each know his deep peace.

THAILAND
Praise God that 426 children in Thailand officially received their citizenship this month! These 426 children make up the largest group of citizenship applications that IJM has ever assisted with passing through the justice system. Praise God that these Thai citizens now have access to everyday rights such as schooling, healthcare, and the right to move freely around the country. From International Justice Mission

PR&D Photo

BURMA
Praise God for expanded services to families in Burma! Over the last few weeks, our Kachin Community Care Network has kicked off in two new locations! Communities are working together so that families are strengthening, kids are growing and life is being given to people affected by conflict and oppression. From Partners Relief and Development

IRAQ
Praise God that Sinjar has been liberated! Over a year ago, this little mountain in western Iraq caught the world's attention. ISIS militants swept across the Nineveh plain, attempting to exterminate one of Iraq's most persecuted minorities, the Yazidis. Thousands escaped up Mount Sinjar and became stranded there, surrounded by ISIS forces. Now, as their homeland is being liberated, many Yazidis still plan to go back. They know the risks, and they know what it means to be friendless and surrounded by enemies...but they're going back anyway. Home is home. As one returning Yazidi farmer put it, "This farm is how I show ISIS they haven't won." From Preemptive Love Coalition

MIDLAND, TEXAS
Praise God for children who are no longer orphaned! Previously in foster care, six children had their adoptions finalized in Midland last week. November 20 is National Adoption Day, and the finalizations were planned as part of a celebration by CASA workers, the children's families, and members of the court system. "It's one of the best days of the year because we get to see the culmination of a lot of really hard work by a lot of people," said Angie Voss, CPS program administrator for Region 9. "Coming to National Adoption Day is the prize we are all working for. It's a gift. Some of the kids come from such awful circumstances but to see them today ... and the kiddos know, as young as they are, they know, 'I'm OK now. I can rest.'" Midland Reporter-Telegram
(Editor's Note: A special thanks to Edna Hibbitts for bringing this story to my attention!)

Blessings,

Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director

First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153

---

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

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

But how could it be true, sir?” said Peter.

“Why do you say that?” asked the Professor.

“Well, for one thing,” said Peter, “if it was real why doesn’t everyone find this country every time they go to the wardrobe? I mean, there was nothing there when we looked; even Lucy didn’t pretend there was.”

“What has that to do with it?” said the Professor.

“Well, sir, if things are real, they’re there all the time.”

“Are they?” said the Professor; and Peter did not know quite what to say.

“But there was no time,” said Susan. “Lucy had had no time to have gone anywhere, even if there was such a place. She came running after us the very moment we were out of the room. It was less than a minute, and she pretended to have been away for hours.”

“That is the very thing that makes her story so likely to be true,” said the Professor. “If there really is a door in this house that leads to some other world (and I should warn you that this is a very strange house, and even I know very little about it)—if, I say, she had got into another world, I should not be at all surprised to find that the other world had a separate time of its own; so that however long you stayed there it would never take up any of our time. On the other hand, I don’t think many girls of her age would invent that idea for themselves. If she had been pretending, she would have hidden for a reasonable time before coming out and telling her story.”

“But do you really mean, sir,” said Peter, “that there could be other worlds—all over the place, just round the corner—like that?”

“Nothing is more probable,” said the Professor, taking off his spectacles and beginning to polish them, while he muttered to himself, “I wonder what they do teach them at these schools.”

“But what are we to do?” said Susan. She felt that the conversation was beginning to get off the point.

“My dear young lady,” said the Professor, suddenly looking up with a very sharp expression at both of them, “there is one plan which no one has yet suggested and which is well worth trying.”

“What’s that?” said Susan.

“We might all try minding our own business,” said he. And that was the end of that conversation.

• From The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Compiled in A Year with Aslan

In the News ... Empty Stocking Fund begins today

• 2014 goal set at $150,000

Staff Report
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - A single mother of five children was already struggling to make ends meet in this difficult economy and now she faces another challenge — one of her daughters has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

Joanna, not her real name, doesn’t have much hope for a Merry Christmas for her children. This family can be helped through the Empty Stocking Fund, an annual fundraising effort by the Odessa American and the Salvation Army ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

In the News ... "Orthodox Rabbi coming to Midland this weekend for a Shabbaton"

• Help break down some barriers that exist between Orthodox and the non-Jewish in the area

Erin Stone, Reporter
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - James Schoonover doesn't look like your typical Midlander. That’s because he is wearing tzitzit and a kippah, traditional garb worn by Orthodox Jewish men. And there are few Orthodox Jews in the Midland-Odessa area.

Even within Judaism, Orthodox Jews are a minority, but on Nov. 27 and 28, there will be an opportunity for community members who are Orthodox, reform, or simply interested in learning about Judaism to come together and participate in a Shabbaton, a weekend of teaching and fellowship ...

 • read the rest of this MRT report

In the News ... "Promise of better future becomes reality"

Photo by Curtis Routh

• Area churches a part of Family Promise partnership

Erin Stone, Reporter
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - As soon as she could get a job at age 16, Lorraine Delgado started working and quickly became self-sufficient. By age 23 she had moved into a retail management position and was making more than she ever could have imagined.

Ten years later, Delgado thought she had it all — a baby girl on the way and an annual salary of $55,000 a year — a real coup for someone without a high school diploma.

However, her world quickly turned upside down and due to pregnancy-related health concerns she found herself unemployed, unable to afford her apartment and moving back to Midland ...

 • read the rest of this MRT report

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

Just as Mr. Beaver had been repeating the rhyme about Adam’s flesh and Adam’s bone Edmund had been very quietly turning the door-handle; and just before Mr. Beaver had begun telling them that the White Witch wasn’t really human at all but half a Jinn and half a giantess, Edmund had got outside into the snow and cautiously closed the door behind him.

You mustn’t think that even now Edmund was quite so bad that he actually wanted his brother and sisters to be turned into stone. He did want Turkish Delight and to be a Prince (and later a King) and to pay Peter out for calling him a beast. As for what the Witch would do with the others, he didn’t want her to be particularly nice to them—certainly not to put them on the same level as himself; but he managed to believe, or to pretend he believed, that she wouldn’t do anything very bad to them. “Because,” he said to himself, “all these people who say nasty things about her are her enemies and probably half of it isn’t true. She was jolly nice to me, anyway, much nicer than they are. I expect she is the rightful Queen really. Anyway, she’ll be better than that awful Aslan!” At least, that was the excuse he made in his own mind for what he was doing. It wasn’t a very good excuse, however, for deep down inside him he really knew that the White Witch was bad and cruel.

• From The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Compiled in A Year with Aslan

Equal Exchange Blog ... "On Coffee Farmers and Thankfulness"

Equal Exchange's mission is to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate, through our success, the contribution of worker co-operatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world.

---

On Coffee Farmers and Thankfulness

Every year, small groups of Equal Exchange worker-owners journey to Nicaragua to meet small-scale coffee producers and to experience what it feels like to pick coffee. The trip often evokes feelings of connection with the farmers and an appreciation for the hard work that they do ...

• CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post

In the News ... "Curb Side Bistro Feeds for Free on Thanksgiving"

KMID Photo

• People offering to donate whatever they could

Lupe Zapata, Reporter
KMID-TV

ODESSA, TEXAS - Free food on Thanksgiving?

That's exactly what locals can expect from Curb Side Bistro Food Truck in Odessa, just off the corner of North Grant Avenue and West 10th Street ...

• read/watch the rest of this KMID report

In the News ... "Church enjoys a fresh perspective"

OA Photo by Edyta Blaszczyk

• “Brings something to our area that has not been here before.”

By Bob Campbell, Reporter
Odessa American
 

ODESSA, TEXAS - Descended from the Choctaw and Maricopa tribes, the Rev. Buddy Monahan has spent most of his career working in the context of his Native American heritage, but now in Odessa, he is broadening his ministry.

The interim pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church at 4901 Maple Ave., says he works “knowing that everyone is a child of God and is seen equally in the eyes of God ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ...

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).

Hi Friends,
Happy Thanksgiving! This week we will not be meeting for our normal intercessory prayer time, as the church will be closing early Wednesday in observance of Thanksgiving. Please take some time on your own this week to celebrate God's faithfulness to the world's children.

---

Dear Intercessors,

If there is any risk in what we do each week as Faces of Children intercessors, it is that if we are not careful, we pick up a far heavier burden than we can possibly carry. The weight of the world is on our shoulders, and the pain and suffering and injustice children face around the world feels like it may crush us.

In his sermon, A Room Called Remember, Frederick Buechner said "We listen to the evening news with its usual recital of shabbiness and horror, and God, if we believe in him at all, seems remote and powerless, a child's dream. But there are other times--often the most unexpected, unlikely times--when strong as life itself comes the sense that there is a holiness deeper than shabbiness and horror and at the very heart of darkness a light unutterable. Is it only the unpredictable fluctuations of the human spirit that we have to thank? We must each of us answer for ourselves, remember for ourselves, preach to ourselves our own sermons. But "Remember the wonderful works," sings King David, because if we remember deeply and truly, he says, we will know whom to thank, and in that room of thanksgiving and remembering there is peace."

So this week, as we look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving, I'd like to invite you to joyfully praise God for his compassion and mercy and tender loving care seen in the lives of children around the world. And as we thank God for his goodness, may we each know his deep peace.

THAILAND
Praise God that 426 children in Thailand officially received their citizenship this month! These 426 children make up the largest group of citizenship applications that IJM has ever assisted with passing through the justice system. Praise God that these Thai citizens now have access to everyday rights such as schooling, healthcare, and the right to move freely around the country. From International Justice Mission

PR&D Photo

BURMA
Praise God for expanded services to families in Burma! Over the last few weeks, our Kachin Community Care Network has kicked off in two new locations! Communities are working together so that families are strengthening, kids are growing and life is being given to people affected by conflict and oppression. From Partners Relief and Development

IRAQ
Praise God that Sinjar has been liberated! Over a year ago, this little mountain in western Iraq caught the world's attention. ISIS militants swept across the Nineveh plain, attempting to exterminate one of Iraq's most persecuted minorities, the Yazidis. Thousands escaped up Mount Sinjar and became stranded there, surrounded by ISIS forces. Now, as their homeland is being liberated, many Yazidis still plan to go back. They know the risks, and they know what it means to be friendless and surrounded by enemies...but they're going back anyway. Home is home. As one returning Yazidi farmer put it, "This farm is how I show ISIS they haven't won." From Preemptive Love Coalition

MIDLAND, TEXAS
Praise God for children who are no longer orphaned! Previously in foster care, six children had their adoptions finalized in Midland last week. November 20 is National Adoption Day, and the finalizations were planned as part of a celebration by CASA workers, the children's families, and members of the court system. "It's one of the best days of the year because we get to see the culmination of a lot of really hard work by a lot of people," said Angie Voss, CPS program administrator for Region 9. "Coming to National Adoption Day is the prize we are all working for. It's a gift. Some of the kids come from such awful circumstances but to see them today ... and the kiddos know, as young as they are, they know, 'I'm OK now. I can rest.'" Midland Reporter-Telegram
(Editor's Note: A special thanks to Edna Hibbitts for bringing this story to my attention!)

Blessings,

Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director

First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153

---

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

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

Screwtape expands on developing church participation for evil ends:

Surely you know that if a man can’t be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhood looking for the church that ‘suits’ him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches.

The reasons are obvious. In the first place the parochial organisation should always be attacked, because, being a unity of place and not of likings, it brings people of different classes and psychology together in the kind of unity the Enemy desires. The congregational principle, on the other hand, makes each church into a kind of club, and finally, if all goes well, into a coterie or faction. In the second place, the search for a ‘suitable’ church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil. What He wants of the layman in church is an attitude which may, indeed, be critical in the sense of rejecting what is false or unhelpful, but which is wholly uncritical in the sense that it does not appraise—does not waste time in thinking about what it rejects, but lays itself open in uncommenting, humble receptivity to any nourishment that is going. (You see how grovelling, how unspiritual, how irredeemably vulgar He is!) This attitude, especially during sermons, creates the condition (most hostile to our whole policy) in which platitudes can become really audible to a human soul. There is hardly any sermon, or any book, which may not be dangerous to us if it is received in this temper.

• From The The Screwtape Letters
• Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis

Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ...

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).

Hi Friends,
Happy Thanksgiving! This week we will not be meeting for our normal intercessory prayer time, as the church will be closing early Wednesday in observance of Thanksgiving. Please take some time on your own this week to celebrate God's faithfulness to the world's children.

---

Dear Intercessors,

If there is any risk in what we do each week as Faces of Children intercessors, it is that if we are not careful, we pick up a far heavier burden than we can possibly carry. The weight of the world is on our shoulders, and the pain and suffering and injustice children face around the world feels like it may crush us.

In his sermon, A Room Called Remember, Frederick Buechner said "We listen to the evening news with its usual recital of shabbiness and horror, and God, if we believe in him at all, seems remote and powerless, a child's dream. But there are other times--often the most unexpected, unlikely times--when strong as life itself comes the sense that there is a holiness deeper than shabbiness and horror and at the very heart of darkness a light unutterable. Is it only the unpredictable fluctuations of the human spirit that we have to thank? We must each of us answer for ourselves, remember for ourselves, preach to ourselves our own sermons. But "Remember the wonderful works," sings King David, because if we remember deeply and truly, he says, we will know whom to thank, and in that room of thanksgiving and remembering there is peace."

So this week, as we look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving, I'd like to invite you to joyfully praise God for his compassion and mercy and tender loving care seen in the lives of children around the world. And as we thank God for his goodness, may we each know his deep peace.

THAILAND
Praise God that 426 children in Thailand officially received their citizenship this month! These 426 children make up the largest group of citizenship applications that IJM has ever assisted with passing through the justice system. Praise God that these Thai citizens now have access to everyday rights such as schooling, healthcare, and the right to move freely around the country. From International Justice Mission

PR&D Photo

BURMA
Praise God for expanded services to families in Burma! Over the last few weeks, our Kachin Community Care Network has kicked off in two new locations! Communities are working together so that families are strengthening, kids are growing and life is being given to people affected by conflict and oppression. From Partners Relief and Development

IRAQ
Praise God that Sinjar has been liberated! Over a year ago, this little mountain in western Iraq caught the world's attention. ISIS militants swept across the Nineveh plain, attempting to exterminate one of Iraq's most persecuted minorities, the Yazidis. Thousands escaped up Mount Sinjar and became stranded there, surrounded by ISIS forces. Now, as their homeland is being liberated, many Yazidis still plan to go back. They know the risks, and they know what it means to be friendless and surrounded by enemies...but they're going back anyway. Home is home. As one returning Yazidi farmer put it, "This farm is how I show ISIS they haven't won." From Preemptive Love Coalition

MIDLAND, TEXAS
Praise God for children who are no longer orphaned! Previously in foster care, six children had their adoptions finalized in Midland last week. November 20 is National Adoption Day, and the finalizations were planned as part of a celebration by CASA workers, the children's families, and members of the court system. "It's one of the best days of the year because we get to see the culmination of a lot of really hard work by a lot of people," said Angie Voss, CPS program administrator for Region 9. "Coming to National Adoption Day is the prize we are all working for. It's a gift. Some of the kids come from such awful circumstances but to see them today ... and the kiddos know, as young as they are, they know, 'I'm OK now. I can rest.'" Midland Reporter-Telegram
(Editor's Note: A special thanks to Edna Hibbitts for bringing this story to my attention!)

Blessings,

Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director

First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153

---

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

In the News ... "Refugees in Midland"

• Despite concerns of state and local leaders in Texas, the displaced find a home in Midland

Brandon Mulder, Reporter
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Midland is a community that prizes its philanthropic reputation. Numerous nonprofits and churches regularly combat poverty, addiction, homelessness and, not least of all, dispossession. In the last decade, Midland has provided asylum for more than 1,200 refugees from the farthest reaches of the world ...

But ...

• read the rest of this MRT report ...

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

On Worship

He demands our worship, our obedience, our prostration. Do we suppose that they can do Him any good, or fear, like the chorus in Milton, that human irreverence can bring about “His glory’s diminution”? A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word “darkness” on the walls of his cell. But God wills our good, and our good is to love Him (with that responsive love proper to creatures) and to love Him we must know Him: and if we know Him, we shall in fact fall on our faces. If we do not, that only shows that what we are trying to love is not yet God—though it may be the nearest approximation to God which our thought and fantasy can attain.

• From The Problem of Pain
• Compiled in Words to Live By

From ChinaAid: "Sisters detained in continuing persecution against Guizhou church"

The China Aid Association is a non-profit Christian organization - based in Midland, Texas - with a mission to uncover and reveal the truth about religious persecution in China, focusing especially on the unofficial church. They do this, they explain in their website, by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping the saints to advance the kingdom of God throughout China.

Sisters detained in continuing persecution against Guizhou church
Distributed by ChinaAid, October, 2015 ...

China Aid Photo

DAGUAN, GIZHOU, CHINA – Police detained three house church members in mid-October, all sisters, as authorities increased persecution and restricting communication with the outside world.

Daguan House Church came under pressure from authorities after two raids on May 24 and June 7. The May raid was carried out by dozens heavily armed anti-riot police who released attack dogs on members of the church during service and closed down the meeting place. The raid in June took place during a church gathering in the home of Xu Guoqing, when three officers climbed over the building’s wall while two others waited outside to catch those who attempted to leave. Twelve people were administratively detained and eight were criminally detained for “unlawful assembly and organizing cult activities.” ...

• more on this story from China Aid  

Student group's annual canned food drive begins TODAY at Midland College

File photo from the start of last year's drive.

From Terry Gilmour
MC Government Professor, Honors Program Director

The Student Government Association (SGA) at Midland College will be holding its annual Canned Food drive to benefit the Memorial Christian Church Food Pantry beginning next week, on Monday, November 23..

If you notice some good sales on canned goods, please pick up a few and bring next week. There will be boxes in the MHAB Atrium, Fox, AFA and the Student Center. The drive will continue for two weeks, unril Friday, December 4, and then the proceeds will be picked up during the week of finals.

All food pantries seem to be experiencing shortages this year so we really appreciate your support!

---

From Deonne Pressley
Secretary to Institutional Advancement & MC Foundation

I can attest to the food pantries running low. See [this link] about the shortage of food at the West Texas Food Bank. Also, see attached a few pictures of the food pantry (not Memorial Christian Church’s Pantry) that I work at on Saturdays. We served 1000 individuals (more than half are children under the age of 18) and you can also see our lines. Hunger is a REAL thing in Midland right now (and most of our clients are holding 2-4 jobs). Please support this great cause with Student Government.

From Pamela Howell
MC English Professor

I know of the Jubilee Center that I help support: their family volume is WAY up, too.

All food is good food! Be thoughtful and generous to our fellow Midlanders if you can! Be the Light.

From Nancy Hart
MC Professor (retired)

Yes, Jubilee Center had their Thanksgiving pantry last weekend and the shelves are bare. They fed 240 families.

In the News ... "Bell ringers needed"

OA File Photo

• Salvation Army Red Kettle fundraiser set for $100,000

Nathaniel Miller, Reporter
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - Despite the cold, blustery day, the warmth from Craig Abernethy’s smile greeted people Tuesday morning. As a paid bell ringer for the Salvation Army, Abernethy stood outside of the Hobby Lobby at 4642 E. University Blvd. Abernethy says hello to those walking in through the store’s door, even if they do not put any money in the red kettle next to him ...

... The annual Red Kettle fundraiser, the organization’s largest fundraiser, started Tuesday, and will run in locations throughout Odessa until Dec. 24. The fundraiser runs at the same time as the Salvation Army’s Empty Stocking fundraiser ...

 • read the rest of this OA report