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,
Please join us to pray together 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.
All the best,
Carrie
Dear Intercessors,
We're in the midst of summer, and my kids are enjoying it immensely. Swimming pools, camping trips, time with grandparents, staying up late eating root beer floats with their daddy. It's been a great summer to be a kid at my house. That being said, when I consider the world around me -- not just the other side of the world, but sometimes just down my street -- I think about how for many children, summer isn't anything special. For kids in my own neighborhood, community, and country, summer can be a time of too-much-time-alone. Of course kids don't need to be entertained all the time, but for some kids summer is filled with isolation, loneliness, and hunger.
And this past week as my girls watched in wide-eyed-wonder as fireworks filled the sky, I thought about kids in war-torn countries for whom rockets streaking through the night mean terror and not delight. There are so many ways a child can loose her innocence, and I find it difficult to live in the tension of gratefully protecting my own children and aching for the children who don't ever get the chance to just be an innocent little kid.
I know that God never grows comfortable with this tension. He didn't create some children to suffer and some children to thrive. He didn't design destruction. So when we see it -- whether it's in the neglect of a child in our community or in the violence directed towards a child on the other side of the world -- may we speak out against it, rise up to stop it, and lift our hearts in prayer.
This week please join me in praying for the following:
 |
| REUTERS Photo by Erik De Castro |
Sunday, July 8 can be remembered as the day ISIS was pushed out of Mosul! Praise God for the liberation of this city. But may we not stop praying for the people of Mosul. "After three weeks of fighting in the narrow streets of the Old City where Islamic State is making its last stand, state TV said on Saturday that Iraqi security forces expected to take full control of Mosul in the coming hours. The final phase of the battle has proved the bloodiest, with Islamic State trapped in a shrinking corner of the city. For displaced inhabitants, the ordeal may soon be over but the future remains uncertain. "There is no work there (in Mosul) and the situation is still not stable," said Hussein, 18, who has fled Mosul twice this year. "It's safer here than there," he said. Many at the Hassan Sham camp are from the eastern half of the city, even though it was retaken in January and normal life has to some extent returned there. Aziz Ahmad, 43, said he would return to Mosul if he could, but cannot afford the fare back to Mosul, let alone rent a place to live in the city, where increased demand for housing has pushed up prices." Learn more here ...
Of course many of the families hoping to return to Mosul have children; children haunted and traumatized by war waged in their own streets. Pray for families who are trying to rebuild in the city, and pray for the organizations like Partner's, Free Burma Rangers, and Preemptive Love Coalition who are on the front lines with them.
 |
| REUTERS Photo by Soe Zeya |
"More than 80,000 young children may need treatment for malnutrition in part of western Myanmar where the army cracked down on stateless Rohingya Muslims last year, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday." ... "Not one of the children covered in the survey was getting a "minimum adequate diet," the report said, adding that an estimated 80,500 children under the age of five would need treatment for acute malnutrition in the next year. Suu Kyi's administration is refusing to grant access to a United Nations-mandated mission tasked with investigating allegations of abuses by security forces in Rakhine and elsewhere." Learn more here ...
Please pray for Partner's as they seek to feed Rohingyan children. Praise God for global attention being focused on this matter; pray the negative spot-light serves to motivate the Burmese authorities to allow more food aide into the region and to change their inhumane treatment of the Rohingyan people.
 |
| MRT Photo |
As Midland welcomes a new superintendent, residents of Cedar Hill, the community where he has most recently served describe a superintendent who is engaged in the local community through non-profit organizations, churches, and businesses. Learn more here ...
As Mr. Riddick begins his time at Midland this week, please be praying for him to have similar success building partnerships and relationships with Midland residents, community groups, and churches. Let's also pray for MISD teachers, staff, and students as they transition to a new administration.
Praying with you,
Carrie
Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director
First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153
* 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
No comments:
Post a Comment