Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ... TODAY

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,

If you're in Midland this week, we'll be meeting at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 20 - TODAY - for prayer. We meet in the prayer closet at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Please join us in lifting up the needs of vulnerable children in our community and around the world!

Blessings,

Carrie

Dear Intercessors,

My 8-year-old daughter Cora came home yesterday concerned about one of her classmates. I guess he was sharing his story at lunch... dad in jail for 13 yrs, mom out of work, living in an apartment (where I'm guessing rent is climbing) but afraid he'll have to move soon. "She has three kids, mom. It must be really hard to take care of 3 kids by yourself." (No joke!) Cora is concerned about the condition of his shoes and that he wears the same thing every day. "He doesn't have many friends, mom. Some kids say he is a jerk because he yells at you if you do something to upset him."

Though she's only 8, she understands the severity of the situation... and reading in between what she's saying, I hear even more. Trauma. Fear. Unmet needs. Earlier this month, I was decorating a classroom door with valentines the kids in her class had made for their teacher. On his, he said something about how he loves his teacher because she's so kind to him. When she saw it, his teacher raised her eyebrows in surprise: "I'm always on his case!" she said, "I'm surprised he thinks I'm kind!" She shook her head and sighed, "Sometimes you just wish you could take a kid home ..."

It'd have been easy to hear the stories Cora has shared about his behavior and choices this year and feel frustrated and annoyed instead of feeling compassion and concern. But one lunch-time conversation reframes the whole thing. He's scared, hurting and unsure what's happening next. This is one little boy in one little class in one little elementary school in one small community. But there are more little boys and little girls just like him in your community and in your schools.

God, give us eyes to see your children and a heart to engage. Break our hearts for what breaks yours.

Here are three other stories this week that can lead us to prayer:

GLOBAL // Knock-on effects of war kill 300 babies every day

Reuters Photo by Siegfried Modola

"Starvation, disease and a lack of aid are killing 300 babies a day in warzones around the world, with the number of children caught up in conflicts nearing a 30-year high, Save the Children said on Friday."   Read more here ...

CHINA // Southeast Asian Trafficked Brides in China

Reuters Photo by Rina Chandran

"China's decades-long one-child policy has left the country with far fewer women of marriage age than men. This has caused a spike in women being trafficked over the border from Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, researchers and rights groups say. Women are usually approached in the village by brokers with promises of a job in the city, or they come to the city themselves, and are preyed on by traffickers.

"The women often do not know they are to be married to a Chinese man," said Christina Cilento at VFI, which runs shelters for trafficking victims in the Laotian capital, Vientiane, and the southern city of Pakse.

"Once there, they don't know the language and don't know where to go for help, so we train girls at risk to post a message on WeChat or find the Laos embassy," she said.

While globally, most human trafficking cases are for sexual exploitation and forced labour, Southeast Asian women are especially vulnerable to trafficking for forced marriage, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

China is driving much of that demand: there will be up to 40 million more Chinese men of marrying age - more than the population of Canada - compared to women by 2020, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences."   Read more here ...

HAITI // Violent Protests in Haiti Endanger Children

AFP/Getty Photo by Hector Retamal

"Even in the best of times, the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince doesn't have running water and has to truck it in. But since violent protests and flaming roadblocks erupted in major cities around the country a week ago, the facility, which usually sees anywhere from 400 to 500 patients a day, has endured burning tires and police tear gas outside its doors, and on Saturday a thrown Molotov cocktail in its yard." ... "With Haiti once more in the throes of a popular revolt over a president's legitimacy, the violent unrest is beginning to take a humanitarian toll as protesters clash with police, stone ambulances and erect roadblocks shutting off major highways and roads. On Thursday, Canada advised citizens to avoid all travel to Haiti and the U.S. State Department raised the travel warning to a level 4, telling U.S. citizens: "Do not travel to Haiti due to crime and civil unrest." The Department of State also ordered the departure of all non-emergency U.S. personnel and their family members.

"I'm afraid we are going to see many women with complicated pregnancies die unnecessarily," said Dr. Winfred S. Tovar, the founder and executive director of Mimsi International, a nonprofit that provides free pregnancy care to women in the country's rural south and operates a monthly mobile pregnancy clinic.""   Read more here ...

Whether we're praying for matters close to home or far away, I pray we continue to "devote [ourselves] to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2, NIV.

All the best,

Carrie

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