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.
ServLife Photo
The Light and Love of Jesus
In Matthew 5:16 Jesus says to “let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.” In the beginning, God created light. Then Jesus came and said that He was the light, and if we follow Him we will have the light of life. Then before leaving earth Jesus says that his followers, you and me and the family of God, are the light, because we are the incarnation of Jesus to the world ...
• CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post from ServLife ...
From Adam Nevins
Executive Director
ServLife International Inc.
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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
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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: "Renewing Joy"
In Latin America, many young people look forward to the opportunity to meet with friends and dance the night away on Fridays and Saturdays. Others live for Sundays, when they can go to church and serve.
Julia used to enjoy all of these activities.
Her daughter, Yamileth, describes her as a “very spirited person” who used to love dancing with friends and serving at her church, but at her advanced age – Julia is 100 years old, though you’d never tell by her quick wit and her vibrant personality–she had become too weak to walk on her own. Her days were spent lying in bed, reminiscing about things many of us take for granted, with Yamileth taking care of her.
MIDLAND, TEXAS - On Sunday, the Rev. Steve Brooks, new pastor of First Methodist Midland, will deliver his first sermon. He, his wife and six children are settling in fast to their new Midland home since their arrival on Monday. And Brooks is looking forward to saying hello to his new congregation.
Brooks spoke about what he plans to talk about on Sunday as well as his vision for the church and how his appointment here is something of a homecoming ...
[One of the most unpopular of the Christian virtues] is laid down in the Christian rule, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ Because in Christian morals ‘thy neighbour’ includes ‘thy enemy’, and so we come up against this terrible duty of forgiving our enemies.
Every one says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive, as we had during the war. And then, to mention the subject at all is to be greeted with howls of anger. It is not that people think this too high and difficult a virtue: it is that they think it hateful and contemptible. ‘That sort of talk makes them sick,’ they say. And half of you already want to ask me, ‘I wonder how you’d feel about forgiving the Gestapo if you were a Pole or a Jew?’
So do I. I wonder very much. Just as when Christianity tells me that I must not deny my religion even to save myself from death by torture, I wonder very much what I should do when it came to the point. I am not trying to tell you in this book what I could do—I can do precious little—I am telling you what Christianity is. I did not invent it. And there, right in the middle of it, I find ‘Forgive us our sins as we forgive those that sin against us.’ There is no slightest suggestion that we are offered forgiveness on any other terms.
The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)in intercessory prayer.
Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 30, 2017
JINISHIAN MEMORIAL PROGRAM - “The Promise” is no mere period love story but a “fight to end genocide and injustice,” promoters say. In the recently released film, actor Christian Bale plays an American journalist trying to expose the Ottoman plot to exterminate millions of Armenians.
Modern denial of the genocide persists and that’s one reason that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to recognize the Armenian genocide and urged congregations to commemorate its centennial in 2015. The cruel and systematic massacre of 1.5 million Armenians is remembered each year. Worship and study materials, including a printable Minute for Mission, are available online as resources for this observance ...
The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)in intercessory prayer.
Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 29, 2017
OHIO CHURCH AND THE ENVIRONMENT - Conserving energy and caring for the environment are not new tasks for Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Since the mid-1990s, the congregation has been committed to finding ways to cut energy costs while improving the environment in its own community ...
"The Word at Work is a ministry that mobilizes churches and individuals to answer God's call to minister to those in need," writes Rev. Tim Tam, Director of the Amarillo, Texas-based ministry. "Through our relationships, God reveals needs and opportunities for service. As we come along side the poor, new friendships develop and doors for ministry open. As we serve, God provides the resources to supply for the needs he reveals." WAW Wednesday: "Summer is on! Pray! Give! Go!"
Dear Friends,
This month I’ve been catching up on all I’ve missed while on Sabbatical; and I’m even more convinced that God is not only using The Word at Work in mighty ways today, but that He has great plans for our future!
Thank you for standing with us financially so that we are able to link the people of God to the causes that matter to God. Our partners in Belize are working hard to bring hope to the hopeless and help to those who cannot help themselves.
Just last week we were encouraged by the progress our friends at Eben-Ezer are making in the Burial Grounds. Dreams for a new building that will hold all of the children who matter to God in that area are being realized. The rooms were overflowing at worship last week!
We know this ministry matters to God and we are grateful for the church partners and individuals from the U.S. who have come alongside this community of faith. We’re excited to see relationships continue to grow!
In Belize, and in our U.S. office, our TWAW team is preparing for the arrival of many groups over the next 2 months. Team members are anxious to renew friendships; our friends in Belize are also anxious to see their friends and see how God will move during their time together. And God will use His people to care and provide:
• Progress on church buildings and homes; • Physicians and nurses will provide care and compassion at medical clinics; • Youth leaders will be poured into as they prepare for a reverse mission trip to the U.S.; • Teams will meet new partners and pray about where God is leading them to serve long-term; • and those are just the things we have planned! What will God do? We can’t wait to see!
And now I invite you to play your part.
• You know giving to TWAW is a smart investment of your charitable dollars. • You know how much you have to invest. • But you DON’T how much you should pledge, • Until you pray and ask.
We are anxious to hear what comes out of your prayers. Feel free to email me back – or use this card and send it in.
We’ve reached 30% of our annual goal as of today!
Please Pray if you’ve not made a commitment and Give as you are led; and, Go with us to Belize soon! Together we are the Word at Work!
Gratefully,
Tim Tam #wearethewordatwork
EDITOR'S NOTE: Speaking from my own first-hand experience - working side-by-side with Tim, Kenny and our brothers and sisters in Belize - won't you give thoughtful, prayerful consideration to supporting the efforts of Tim, the Word At Work staff and their partners? Please please fill out this Commitment Card and return it to their office!
Burgers and Blessings continues this Wednesday - TONIGHT - starting at 6:00 p.m. at Grace Presbyterian Church, 2801 N. Garfield Street in Midland, Texas.
Burgers and Blessings is a time to get together for for fellowship, mid-week. The church provides burgers, hot dogs, fixin's and drinks. We set up 'teams' to take turns preparing. If you would like to be on a team, please contact Suzi Thompson, Judy Brown or Cheryl Truzkowski at the church - phone number (432)-684-6542.
The men's study group will be taking turns cooking the meat, so we will all be bringing side dishes and dessert ... if you have a new recipe you would like to try, we are willing guinea pigs!
Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Their mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, they 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 - TODAY - at 11:30 a.m., in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. The church is not currently offering lunch service. If you'd like to have lunch together, please bring a sack lunch and we can eat 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.
"By the end of 2016, more than 65 million people worldwide were forced to leave their homes due to conflict and persecution, data published by the U.N. Refugee Agency reveals. That's an average of 28,300 people per day, almost 20 people every minute."
Over half are children under the age of 18.
As is always the case with big numbers, we run the risk of them becoming meaningless simply because they are so massive. Please join me in praying that God helps us to see each of these people for who they are -- His sons and daughters, crafted in His image, whom He loves.
As you pray for refugees this week, please join me in praying for their:
• Safety: May they find places of safe shelter. May they be protected from traffickers and criminals who would seek to profit from their despair. • Mental and Physical Health: May they receive the medical care they need. As many of them have experienced great trauma and witnessed horrific violence, please pray for their emotional healing as well. Ask God to strengthen the medical professionals and organizations who are seeking to bring healthcare, counseling, and support to suffering communities. • Torn-apart Families: It seems many refugees find themselves separated from their families. Pray for them to be reunited so they can rebuild a life together. • Basic Needs: Many migrants and refugees live essentially homeless existences as they seek to find a stable place to rebuild their life. For families in camps and on the move, they often face hunger and mistreatment and an inability to meet their most basic needs of safe food, water and shelter.
Not all refugees end up in foreign countries. In fact, some of the most vulnerable people are internally displaced... forced out of their homes, but still remaining in their country where they often have little support and protection. Groups like Partner's Relief and Development and Preemptive Love Coalition and Free Burma Rangers are working with IDP communities in Iraq and Syria right now. Please pray for them, as well.
In addition to praying for VBS this week, I'd like to invite you to join me in praying for:
Reuters Photo by Robert Carrubba
CONGO // Militia mutilates toddlers, burns villages in central Congo - UN
"The U.N. rights chief said on Tuesday a militia linked to Democratic Republic of Congo's government has committed a string of ethnically-motivated attacks in recent months, including cutting off toddlers' limbs and stabbing pregnant women. Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein called for an international investigation, saying the Kinshasa government had not done enough to look into the atrocities. Congo's human rights minister dismissed that statement. Zeid told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva he had reports the Bana Mura militia was backing the government in its fight against insurgents in the central Kasai region, and had focused attacks on two ethnic groups, the Luba and Lulua. "Refugees from multiple villages in the Kamonya territory indicated that the Bana Mura have in the past two months shot dead, hacked or burned to death, and mutilated, hundreds of villagers, as well as destroying entire villages," Zeid said. Congo's government has been fighting insurgents in Kasai since last August, triggering fears of a wider conflict in the large central African country, which is a tinderbox of ethnic rivalry and competing claims over mineral resources." Learn more here ...
Please join me in praying for the Luba and the Lulua people from the Kasai region of the Congo. Pray the government forces cease the ethnically-motivated attacks and that further loss of life is prevented. Pray for the government to be held accountable by the UN Human Rights Council and for that agency to have the political might necessary to protect innocent lives.
IRAQ // Joy in the Shadows
Sahale Eubank, daughter of Dave Eubank, shares her experience with an elderly Iraqi woman in this beautiful video that takes you to the front lines of the fight against ISIS.
Let's pray for the Eubank family and their partners, including the Partner's Relief and Development team as they seek to literally bring Good News to the people living in the wake of war. Pray for God to continue to protect these teams and for Him to fill them with His Spirit so that the message they bring is one of God-filled hope, transformation, and life.
Reuters Photo by Siegfried Modola
SOUTH SUDAN // More South Sudanese go hungry but worst of famine eases -U.N.
"More South Sudanese people are going hungry and 45,000 are still living in famine-like conditions even though South Sudan is no longer classified as being in famine, a U.N.-backed food security report said on Wednesday. An estimated 6 million people, half the population, were expected to be in a "crisis, emergency or catastrophe situation" this month and next, 500,000 more than in May, the report by government and U.N. officials said. "I do urge caution, as this does not mean we have turned the corner on averting famine," U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien told a U.N. meeting in Geneva. "Across South Sudan, more people are on the brink of famine today than were in February." Learn more here ...
With severe food shortages spreading across Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, and into Uganda, please pray for the people who are living in the midst of this crisis. Pray for our ministry partners and the communities they serve in Uganda who are also experiencing the impact of the drought, not to mention the people pouring over into Uganda from South Sudan.
* Name changed to protect her privacy. 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
“I say—where’s Edmund?” There was a dreadful pause, and then everyone began asking “Who saw him last? How long has he been missing? Is he outside?” and then all rushed to the door and looked out. The snow was falling thickly and steadily, the green ice of the pool had vanished under a thick white blanket, and from where the little house stood in the center of the dam you could hardly see either bank. Out they went, plunging well over their ankles into the soft new snow, and went round the house in every direction. “Edmund! Edmund!” they called till they were hoarse. But the silently falling snow seemed to muffle their voices and there was not even an echo in answer. . . .
“What on earth are we to do, Mr. Beaver?” said Peter.
“Do?” said Mr. Beaver, who was already putting on his snow-boots, “do? We must be off at once. We haven’t a moment to spare!”
“We’d better divide into four search parties,” said Peter, “and all go in different directions. . . .”
“Search parties, Son of Adam?” said Mr. Beaver; “what for?”
“Why, to look for Edmund, of course!”
“There’s no point in looking for him,” said Mr. Beaver.
“What do you mean?” said Susan. “He can’t be far away yet. And we’ve got to find him. . . .”
“The reason there’s no use looking,” said Mr. Beaver, “is that we know already where he’s gone!” Everyone stared in amazement.
“Don’t you understand?” said Mr. Beaver. “He’s gone to her, to the White Witch. He has betrayed us all.”
“Oh, surely—oh, really!” said Susan; “he can’t have done that.”
“Can’t he?” said Mr. Beaver, looking very hard at the three children, and everything they wanted to say died on their lips, for each felt suddenly quite certain inside that this was exactly what Edmund had done.
The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)in intercessory prayer.
Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 28, 2017
MISSION PRESBYTERY, TEXAS - Mission Presbytery, a mid council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), awarded “Better Together” grants at its recent gathering to strengthen ties between Presbyterians. At a time when some congregations have chosen to leave the denomination, the presbytery awarded the grants to reaffirm its belief that the presbytery and its member congregations are “better together.” With funds received from the recent settlement agreement with First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio, the presbytery elected to strengthen the bonds between those who have chosen to stay and witness together to the grace and love of God in Jesus Christ ...
Steve and Oddny Gumaer started Partners Relief and Development in response to the needs of refugees and displaced people from Burma, and now in the Middle East, as well. Their mission is to demonstrate, through holistic action, God’s love to children and communities made vulnerable by war in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other conflict zones.
Partners Photo
Education In Remote Areas of Burma, from a Shan perspective
There are three major problems with education in remote communities. These are finances, language barriers, and politics. First, the villagers have to build the school, run the school and support the teachers. This makes it very expensive. Second, most of the time the teachers who were picked up and sent by the government to different states do not speak the local language but only speak Burmese, and the kids do not understand Burmese. The teachers go only to get experience to apply for a better job in the city. The third is unstable politics. In areas of ethnic army influence the government will not provide education ...
Partners Relief and Development is a registered charity in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. "We’re a small, grassroots nonprofit passionate about making a big impact in communities affected by conflict and oppression, demonstrating God’s love to children and giving them the opportunity to live free, full lives." For more information aboput Partners, visit their website at partners.ngo/
Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Their mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, they 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 ... Tomorrow
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. The church is not currently offering lunch service. If you'd like to have lunch together, please bring a sack lunch and we can eat 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.
"By the end of 2016, more than 65 million people worldwide were forced to leave their homes due to conflict and persecution, data published by the U.N. Refugee Agency reveals. That's an average of 28,300 people per day, almost 20 people every minute."
Over half are children under the age of 18.
As is always the case with big numbers, we run the risk of them becoming meaningless simply because they are so massive. Please join me in praying that God helps us to see each of these people for who they are -- His sons and daughters, crafted in His image, whom He loves.
As you pray for refugees this week, please join me in praying for their:
• Safety: May they find places of safe shelter. May they be protected from traffickers and criminals who would seek to profit from their despair. • Mental and Physical Health: May they receive the medical care they need. As many of them have experienced great trauma and witnessed horrific violence, please pray for their emotional healing as well. Ask God to strengthen the medical professionals and organizations who are seeking to bring healthcare, counseling, and support to suffering communities. • Torn-apart Families: It seems many refugees find themselves separated from their families. Pray for them to be reunited so they can rebuild a life together. • Basic Needs: Many migrants and refugees live essentially homeless existences as they seek to find a stable place to rebuild their life. For families in camps and on the move, they often face hunger and mistreatment and an inability to meet their most basic needs of safe food, water and shelter.
Not all refugees end up in foreign countries. In fact, some of the most vulnerable people are internally displaced... forced out of their homes, but still remaining in their country where they often have little support and protection. Groups like Partner's Relief and Development and Preemptive Love Coalition and Free Burma Rangers are working with IDP communities in Iraq and Syria right now. Please pray for them, as well.
In addition to praying for VBS this week, I'd like to invite you to join me in praying for:
Reuters Photo by Robert Carrubba
CONGO // Militia mutilates toddlers, burns villages in central Congo - UN
"The U.N. rights chief said on Tuesday a militia linked to Democratic Republic of Congo's government has committed a string of ethnically-motivated attacks in recent months, including cutting off toddlers' limbs and stabbing pregnant women. Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein called for an international investigation, saying the Kinshasa government had not done enough to look into the atrocities. Congo's human rights minister dismissed that statement. Zeid told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva he had reports the Bana Mura militia was backing the government in its fight against insurgents in the central Kasai region, and had focused attacks on two ethnic groups, the Luba and Lulua. "Refugees from multiple villages in the Kamonya territory indicated that the Bana Mura have in the past two months shot dead, hacked or burned to death, and mutilated, hundreds of villagers, as well as destroying entire villages," Zeid said. Congo's government has been fighting insurgents in Kasai since last August, triggering fears of a wider conflict in the large central African country, which is a tinderbox of ethnic rivalry and competing claims over mineral resources." Learn more here ...
Please join me in praying for the Luba and the Lulua people from the Kasai region of the Congo. Pray the government forces cease the ethnically-motivated attacks and that further loss of life is prevented. Pray for the government to be held accountable by the UN Human Rights Council and for that agency to have the political might necessary to protect innocent lives.
IRAQ // Joy in the Shadows
Sahale Eubank, daughter of Dave Eubank, shares her experience with an elderly Iraqi woman in this beautiful video that takes you to the front lines of the fight against ISIS.
Let's pray for the Eubank family and their partners, including the Partner's Relief and Development team as they seek to literally bring Good News to the people living in the wake of war. Pray for God to continue to protect these teams and for Him to fill them with His Spirit so that the message they bring is one of God-filled hope, transformation, and life.
Reuters Photo by Siegfried Modola
SOUTH SUDAN // More South Sudanese go hungry but worst of famine eases -U.N.
"More South Sudanese people are going hungry and 45,000 are still living in famine-like conditions even though South Sudan is no longer classified as being in famine, a U.N.-backed food security report said on Wednesday. An estimated 6 million people, half the population, were expected to be in a "crisis, emergency or catastrophe situation" this month and next, 500,000 more than in May, the report by government and U.N. officials said. "I do urge caution, as this does not mean we have turned the corner on averting famine," U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien told a U.N. meeting in Geneva. "Across South Sudan, more people are on the brink of famine today than were in February." Learn more here ...
With severe food shortages spreading across Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, and into Uganda, please pray for the people who are living in the midst of this crisis. Pray for our ministry partners and the communities they serve in Uganda who are also experiencing the impact of the drought, not to mention the people pouring over into Uganda from South Sudan.
* Name changed to protect her privacy. 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
They [Adam and Eve] wanted, as we say, to “call their souls their own.” But that means to live a lie, for our souls are not, in fact, our own. They wanted some corner in the universe of which they could say to God, “This is our business, not yours.” But there is no such corner. They wanted to be nouns, but they were, and eternally must be, mere adjectives.
The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)in intercessory prayer.
Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 27, 2017
SYRIA AND LEBANON: FIRST ARAB WOMAN ORDAINED AS PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER OF WORD AND SACRAMENT - Though we often hear only the dark and disturbing stories coming out of the Middle East, Presbyterians there recently celebrated a historic milestone. The Presbyterian Church in Tripoli and the National Evangelical (Presbyterian) Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL) have ordained the Rev. Rola Sleiman as the first Arab woman to serve as a minister of Word and sacrament ...
The China Aid Associationis 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.
CAA Photo
Officials arrest pastor detained on falsified damage charges Distributed by ChinaAid, June, 2017 ...
HUAIBEI, ANHUI, CHINA – After deceiving a pastor into police custody, a recent report revealed that authorities in China’s eastern Anhui province formalized his arrest on May 18 ...
Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Their mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, they 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 ... Wednesday
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. The church is not currently offering lunch service. If you'd like to have lunch together, please bring a sack lunch and we can eat 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.
"By the end of 2016, more than 65 million people worldwide were forced to leave their homes due to conflict and persecution, data published by the U.N. Refugee Agency reveals. That's an average of 28,300 people per day, almost 20 people every minute."
Over half are children under the age of 18.
As is always the case with big numbers, we run the risk of them becoming meaningless simply because they are so massive. Please join me in praying that God helps us to see each of these people for who they are -- His sons and daughters, crafted in His image, whom He loves.
As you pray for refugees this week, please join me in praying for their:
• Safety: May they find places of safe shelter. May they be protected from traffickers and criminals who would seek to profit from their despair. • Mental and Physical Health: May they receive the medical care they need. As many of them have experienced great trauma and witnessed horrific violence, please pray for their emotional healing as well. Ask God to strengthen the medical professionals and organizations who are seeking to bring healthcare, counseling, and support to suffering communities. • Torn-apart Families: It seems many refugees find themselves separated from their families. Pray for them to be reunited so they can rebuild a life together. • Basic Needs: Many migrants and refugees live essentially homeless existences as they seek to find a stable place to rebuild their life. For families in camps and on the move, they often face hunger and mistreatment and an inability to meet their most basic needs of safe food, water and shelter.
Not all refugees end up in foreign countries. In fact, some of the most vulnerable people are internally displaced... forced out of their homes, but still remaining in their country where they often have little support and protection. Groups like Partner's Relief and Development and Preemptive Love Coalition and Free Burma Rangers are working with IDP communities in Iraq and Syria right now. Please pray for them, as well.
In addition to praying for VBS this week, I'd like to invite you to join me in praying for:
Reuters Photo by Robert Carrubba
CONGO // Militia mutilates toddlers, burns villages in central Congo - UN
"The U.N. rights chief said on Tuesday a militia linked to Democratic Republic of Congo's government has committed a string of ethnically-motivated attacks in recent months, including cutting off toddlers' limbs and stabbing pregnant women. Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein called for an international investigation, saying the Kinshasa government had not done enough to look into the atrocities. Congo's human rights minister dismissed that statement. Zeid told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva he had reports the Bana Mura militia was backing the government in its fight against insurgents in the central Kasai region, and had focused attacks on two ethnic groups, the Luba and Lulua. "Refugees from multiple villages in the Kamonya territory indicated that the Bana Mura have in the past two months shot dead, hacked or burned to death, and mutilated, hundreds of villagers, as well as destroying entire villages," Zeid said. Congo's government has been fighting insurgents in Kasai since last August, triggering fears of a wider conflict in the large central African country, which is a tinderbox of ethnic rivalry and competing claims over mineral resources." Learn more here ...
Please join me in praying for the Luba and the Lulua people from the Kasai region of the Congo. Pray the government forces cease the ethnically-motivated attacks and that further loss of life is prevented. Pray for the government to be held accountable by the UN Human Rights Council and for that agency to have the political might necessary to protect innocent lives.
IRAQ // Joy in the Shadows
Sahale Eubank, daughter of Dave Eubank, shares her experience with an elderly Iraqi woman in this beautiful video that takes you to the front lines of the fight against ISIS.
Let's pray for the Eubank family and their partners, including the Partner's Relief and Development team as they seek to literally bring Good News to the people living in the wake of war. Pray for God to continue to protect these teams and for Him to fill them with His Spirit so that the message they bring is one of God-filled hope, transformation, and life.
Reuters Photo by Siegfried Modola
SOUTH SUDAN // More South Sudanese go hungry but worst of famine eases -U.N.
"More South Sudanese people are going hungry and 45,000 are still living in famine-like conditions even though South Sudan is no longer classified as being in famine, a U.N.-backed food security report said on Wednesday. An estimated 6 million people, half the population, were expected to be in a "crisis, emergency or catastrophe situation" this month and next, 500,000 more than in May, the report by government and U.N. officials said. "I do urge caution, as this does not mean we have turned the corner on averting famine," U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien told a U.N. meeting in Geneva. "Across South Sudan, more people are on the brink of famine today than were in February." Learn more here ...
With severe food shortages spreading across Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, and into Uganda, please pray for the people who are living in the midst of this crisis. Pray for our ministry partners and the communities they serve in Uganda who are also experiencing the impact of the drought, not to mention the people pouring over into Uganda from South Sudan.
* Name changed to protect her privacy. 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
Burgers and Blessings continues this Wednesday, June 21st, starting at 6:00 p.m. at Grace Presbyterian Church, 2801 N. Garfield Street in Midland, Texas.
Burgers and Blessings is a time to get together for fellowship, mid-week. The church provides burgers, hot dogs, fixin's and drinks. We set up 'teams' to take turns preparing. If you would like to be on a team, please contact Suzi Thompson, Judy Brown or Cheryl Truzkowski at the church - phone number (432)-684-6542.
The men's study group will be taking turns cooking the meat, so we will all be bringing side dishes and dessert ... if you have a new recipe you would like to try, we are willing guinea pigs!
The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)in intercessory prayer.
Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 26, 2017
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO, AFRICA - Five representatives of the Congo Mission Team at Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church (LOPC) recently traveled to Sacramento for a meeting with the staff of Kamala Harris, California’s new junior senator and former attorney general. They were joined by two members of Congo Prosperity Catalyst, a Bay Area organization for Congolese nationals in diaspora ...
TO EDWARD LOFSTROM: On his need to think less and to fulfill his daily duties with charity and justice.
8 March 1959
I very much doubt if any book, least of all a book by me, would much help anyone in the condition you describe. For a book can offer only thoughts and thoughts are not what such a person, perhaps, needs most. One can argue against egoism, but then egoism is not his trouble. If he were a real egoist he would be either bliss- fully unconscious of the fact or else fully convinced that egoism was the rational attitude. You, on the other hand, suffer from a more than ordinary horror of egoism which you share with us all. And therefore, as you will see, the thing you need is not to think more or better about it but to think less: to act unselfishly—that is, charitably and justly—and leave the state of your feelings for God to deal with in His own way and His own time. And this of course you know better than I do.
But how to do it? For the very effort to forget something is itself a remembering of that something! I think, if I were in your shoes I should try to regard this sense of self-imprisonment not at all as a sin but as a mere tribulation, like rheumatism, to be endured in the same way. It has no doubt its medical side: diet, exercise, and recreations might all be considered. And, though this is a hard saying, your early upbringing may have something to do with it. Great piety in the parents can produce in the child a mistaken sense of guilt: may lead him to regard as sin what is really not sin at all but merely the fact that he is a boy and not a mature Christian. At any rate, remember: ‘I cannot turn one hair black or white: but I can brush my hair daily and go to the barber at regular intervals.’ In other words we must divert our efforts from our general condition or frame of mind (which we can’t alter by direct action of the will) to what is in our power—our words and acts. Try to remember that the ‘bottomless sea’ can’t hurt us as long as we keep on swimming. You will be in my prayers.
Then Peter, leading Caspian, forced his way through the crowd of animals.
“This is Caspian, Sir,” he said. And Caspian knelt and kissed the Lion’s paw. “Welcome, Prince,” said Aslan. “Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?”
“I—I don’t think I do, Sir,” said Caspian. “I’m only a kid.”
“Good,” said Aslan. “If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been a proof that you were not. Therefore, under us and under the High King, you shall be King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Emperor of the Lone Islands. You and your heirs while your race lasts.”
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.
Enduring Love
Udaya Bhatta’s life and ministry are perhaps best summed up in one word: love. This love is seen most clearly in his deep commitment to the message of Jesus and his unwavering care for the children of Nepal. Udaya first encountered the message of Jesus as a teenager. Raised in the mountains of west Nepal, he worked on his family’s farm alongside his father. The hardships of rural farming began to take their toll, and his father became gravely ill. When all hope was lost, his father found physical and spiritual healing in the good news of Jesus. This experience was so powerful that the entire Bhatta family began following Jesus, and Udaya’s life would never be the same ...
• CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post from ServLife ...
From Adam Nevins
Executive Director
ServLife International Inc.
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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.
