Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ... WEDNESDAY

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).

Invitation to Prayer, TODAY

Hi Friends,

Thank you for joining me in prayer for the children of the world. If you can, we'd love to have you pray together with us this Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, followed by lunch together.

Also, Faces of Children is now on Facebook ! I invite you to like our page so that you can see regular stories, prayer needs, and updates from partner ministries.

All the best,

Carrie

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Dear Intercessors,

Have you been watching the Olympics? A couple of stories have caught my attention and highlight particular areas that I think we, as intercessors for children, can lift up to the Father.

Getty Images Photo by David Ramos

There is a refugee team made up entirely of refugees representing no nation. While they may not be winning gold medals, the team has received a lot of support and has succeeded in bringing global attention to the plight of the world's refugees. But in his New York Times op-ed, Roger Cohen bluntly pointed out "the world is moved by Team Refugees. Yet, it is unmoved by refugees. They die at sea. They die sealed in the back of a truck. They die anonymous deaths. Fences are erected, walls mooted. Posters decry them. They represent danger and threaten disruption. They are freeloaders. They are left in festering limbo on remote Pacific islands... The glorification of Team Refugees and the vilification of refugees coexist. How can they? It's the old principle: Not in my backyard."

Father, convict us as we watch these Olympians and remember the millions they represent. Help us examine our hearts and allow you to reveal any biases we may have, and then empower us with courage to stand against the tide of anti-refugee sentiment and ask our leaders to not turn their backs on the world's vulnerable. For those children and adults currently living as displaced people or in refugee camps, we pray over them Your protection, sustenance, and hope.

Washington Post Photo by Jonathan Newton

Simone Biles is dazzling the gymnastics world with her impeccable skills and brilliant smiles. And you may have heard, she was adopted as a young girl. "They may be mom and dad but they are NOT her parents," tweeted Al Trautwig, NBC's gymnastics announcer for the Rio games, Sunday. For thousands of adoptees, they hear language like this every day and it touches a primal wound. As an adoptive mom, I cannot tell you the number of times I've heard people refer to my oldest (biological) daughter as my "own" child, while adding the adjective "adopted" in front of my youngest's name -- as if clarification about the way they came into my life is needed when discussing their place in my heart now.

In an OpEd piece in the Washington Post this week entitled 'As seen at the Olympics, there is still a lot of ignorance about adoption/u>,' Jenn Morson said it well:

"So to Mr. Trautwig and all of those who see my family, or more widely, see Simone Biles's family, and instead of seeing love see only technicalities, look again. Ask yourself, what tethers you to your own parents or to your own children? Is it a shared recessive gene that caused you to both have green eyes? Do you immediately think of the fact that you are both blood type B negative?

Rather, isn't it the time your heart was shattered and your father hugged you tightly and let you cry on his shoulder? Isn't it the moment you let go of the back of the bicycle and your daughter soared away from you, squealing with delight because you gave her the confidence she needed? That is what makes us parents. What makes us sons and daughters. That is what makes us real."

Father, for every adopted child who ever endures questions about their legitimacy in their family, please give them deep and strong roots. Help them to know they belong both to their family and also to you. And for those of us who interact with adopted children, please give us wisdom in our words -- help us use language that uplifts and strengthens their identities and does not unnecessarily undermine it to satisfy our curiosity about their biology. Thank you for putting Simone Biles on the world's stage and raising attention for adoption... may it result in many more families looking at adoption as one way they might grow their families.

Praying with you,

Carrie

Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director
First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153

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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