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).Hello Friends,
I hope you can join us TOMORROW (Wednesday, November 11) at 11:30 for prayer in the gym conference room.
Dear Intercessors,
Sunday, November 8 is known in many churches around our country as Orphan Sunday. It's an opportunity for the church to come together and "defend the cause of the fatherless." (Isaiah 1:17) through focused attention, energies, and prayers. This week, I wanted to encourage us to lift up the needs of children who are orphans or who are at risk of becoming orphaned. And since this is a truly global issue, I wanted to look at the crisis from a few different cultural perspectives.
USA //
Yesterday on social media, I saw this graphic posted many times by friends involved in foster care.
The top blue number is the number of US Foster Children in each state whose parental rights have been terminated and are ready to be adopted. The bottom black number is the number of churches in each state. In almost every case, the number of churches is at least twice that of the number of children available for adoption... sometimes it is nearly 8-fold! Not to overly simplify a challenging issue, but if every church in our country decided to try and support one of their families in adopting a single child out of foster care, we could provide a family to every single orphan in our own country. Please pray that God would raise up adoptive families within the church, and surround them with a supportive church community ready to walk with them through the hardest and darkest days of that journey.
China //
Earlier this month, the People's Republic of China surprised the world by changing its 35-year-old One Child Policy to a Two Child Policy. While it is still population control, and it can still be enforced in draconian ways like forced abortions and forced sterilizations, it does mean that for many Chinese families, they are now free to have a second child without facing the stiff fines and social shunning that came with defying the law. Praise God for this opportunity and the ways this can strengthen and enrich thousands of Chinese families.
Unfortunately many experts do not think it will significantly impact the number of children in China who are abandoned, as most of the children in orphanages were born with special needs and their abandonment is likely due to either economic reasons (families can't afford medical expenses) or deep-seated cultural bias towards disabled children. Please pray that God works in the hearts of families who give birth to children with disabilities, helping them to see their potential and value more than their "imperfections." Also pray for charitable organizations like Love Without Boundaries, Morning Star Foundation, and other groups working to provide medical care to economically-disadvantaged children, which is a form of orphan-prevention in China.
Haiti //
In many parts of the world, children are abandoned or relinquished as a direct result of poverty. In some cases, mothers cannot keep their children because they have nothing to feed them and no way to meet their most basic needs. Far too many times around the world, mothers do not survive childbirth and so their children come into the world already motherless. With poverty comes violence, and as a result of that, in some cases, mothers cannot properly care for their children because they have been raped and abused, and they do not have the necessary mental healthcare to find healing and wholeness.
In Haiti, Heartline Maternity Center is a well-established and effective ministry serving pregnant women by providing prenatal care, delivery services, and parenting classes. Heartline prevents children from being orphaned by saving their mother's lives and by empowering them to be the mamas they want and need to be. Tara Livesay, one of the midwives on staff at Heartline, says: "Prayer is no small thing. For each of these women we know that intercession is powerful and that God must work on their behalf. Some of the soon-to-be moms have suffered from abuse and/or rape. They have trauma to process in addition to the challenges of the pregnancy. The odds are against pregnant women in Haiti. The vast majority of the pregnancies are considered "high risk". As you likely know, the maternal death rate is very high in Haiti as is the infant mortality rate. Every healthy birth at our maternity center is a miracle given the obstacles the women must overcome. Thank you for lifting up the women and their babies to the only One who knows their every need. Thank you for praying for all of the Heartline staff as we discern how to best come along side and encourage the women in our programs. We ask you to pray for unusual wisdom in every woman's care and delivery."
All the best,
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
