Today in the Mission Yearbook: May 10, 2016
CLICK HERE to read more.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: May 10, 2016
CLICK HERE to read more.
Monday, May 9, 2016
From @chinaaid : "Lawyer granted permission to meet with incarcerated pastor"
The China Aid Association is 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.Lawyer granted permission to meet with incarcerated pastor
Distributed by ChinaAid, April, 2016 ...
 |
| CAA Photo |
GUIYANG, GUIZHOU, CHINA – A lawyer received permission to meet with an incarcerated pastor on Friday, despite previous government refusal. Authorities granted Chen Jiangang permission to meet with his client Yang Hua, the incarcerated pastor of Huoshi Church, on April 22. This allowance comes after Chen and another lawyer, Zhao Yonglin, were repeatedly denied meetings with Yang ...
• more on this story from China Aid
From ECPAT-USA ... "Travel with PURPOSE! Join us on a journey to Colombia and Thailand!"
ECPAT USA is part of a global network of organizations and individuals working together for the elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. It seeks to encourage the world community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights free and secure from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation. |
| EPCAT Photo |
Last year ECPAT-USA announced a ground breaking journey where travelers learn about trafficking and sexual exploitation, and how it is being combated. The trip was a life-changing experience for participants; our group described the trip as "AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, and THRILLING!!" On the heels of that successful journey, join us again in Thailand this November, or to Colombia this May. Meet the heroes on the ground who are working to build a world where no child is exploited.
Like the inaugural journey to Thailand last year, our Colombia journey will give travelers an educative perspective about the issue of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, along with sharing the inspiring work being done on the ground to combat it. This journey focuses on how the travel industry fights trafficking, and how you as a traveler can Travel for Good.
Can't make Colombia this May?
For more information on this and other ECPAT USA efforts, please email us at info@ecpatusa.org
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, 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 on Wednesday, May 11, at 11:30, in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, followed by lunch.
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.
Thank you!
Carrie
Dear Intercessors,
Recently First Presbyterian Church enjoyed a visit from Annie Dieselberg and Natalie Shirley, our ministry partners at NightLight International Ministies. Nightlight is an international organization working with women negatively impacted by sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. While Annie lives and works in Bangkok, Natalie is based in Houston. In addition to her work with NightLight, Natalie is also one of the founders of Freedom Place., the first long-term, comprehensive care facility in Texas for underage victims of domestic child sex trafficking. It is one of only five such facilities in the United States.
According to Natalie, Texas has emerged as a hub for human trafficking. Consider the following statistics collected by Freedom Place:
• 100,000 - 300,000 American children are likely victims of human trafficking in the United States compared to 17,500 international victims trafficked into the United States each year
• Texas houses the I-10 corridor, which the Department of Justice designated as the number one route in the USA for human trafficking.
• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children say 74 percent of those caught in trafficking are children from our foster care system.
• The average age that a girl enters prostitution in the USA is 12 to 14.
• There are over 6,000 runaways in Houston and according to National Incidence Studies of Missing Abducted Runaway and Throwaway Children, an estimated 1 out of every 3 children who run away is lured into sex trafficking within 48 hours of leaving home.
Please pray for local community leaders, law enforcement agencies, and social service groups to join forces to form a comprehensive and holistic response to trafficking in our area.
Please pray for teachers, schools, counselors, social service agencies, and youth workers to recognize those children who are at risk of running away or being trafficked.
Please pray for children who grow up in homes marked by violence, abuse, and neglect and do not understand they are created in the Image of God. Children with this background are particularly vulnerable to traffickers.
If you want to be a part of an ongoing local conversation about what we can do about trafficking in our area, please email me at info@facesofchildren.net.
Sincerely,
Carrie
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
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: May 9, 2016
CLICK HERE to read more.
Sunday, May 8, 2016
From "I Am Second" ... Jerry Zucha
Life, for some, can be as simple as existing; achieving the bare minimum of morals, right and wrong, good and bad. It can be as easy as figuring out what you want to do in life, how much money you want to make and how much fun you want to have. So it seems you have all the answers. But what if you don’t have all the answers?
Jerry Zucha has a story of chasing after something – something that made sense in an uncertain life. Dedicating his life to motorcycling and coming to a serious accident, his perspective changed and he asked himself, “Is this what it’s all about?”
So what is life? His journey explores living a life beyond existing. Life is worth living and living with purpose.
Inspiring the Revolution of Second
You are here for a reason. We all have needs and could use some help. Talk to us. Call, chat, or email. 24 hours a day.
Go a step further ... talk with the people in your life. Spread the revolution of Second. Share the videos with friends. Gather a group of friends to discuss the films. Start an I am Second group.
Volunteer at concerts. Serve through I am Second community service events. Organize your own I am Second events. Sign up for an I am Second Expedition to help people in other countries. Check out Live Second for other opportunities. Connect with us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
I am Second is designed to help people discover their purpose in life. Have you discovered yours?
To find out more about the people and leadership team behind I Am Second you can check out Who We Are.
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: May 8, 2016
In January 2014, Linley attended a local program sponsored by a Presbyterian World Mission partner, the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, and learned about a project funded by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to help rural women save money and obtain loans ...
CLICK HERE to read more.
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: May 7, 2016
NORTHERN PLAINS PRESBYTERY, NORTH DAKOTA/MINNESOTA/MONTANA - “First I thank God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world” (Romans 1:8).
These words of Paul may have been written to the people of Rome, but the people in the Presbytery of the Northern Plains take them personally ...
CLICK HERE to read more.
Friday, May 6, 2016
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: May 6, 2016
CLICK HERE to read more.
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: May 5, 2016
CLICK HERE to read more.
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
WAW Wednesday ... Refugee Support in the Valley of Peace
Refugee Support in the Valley of Peace
Hello Friends,
Refugees continue to flow into Belize.
Mostly from El Salvador and mostly coming into southern districts of Belize. Yet over 200 are currently in The Valley of Peace. Many fleeing under death threats from gangs, and families arriving with just the clothes on their backs. The organization dealing with refugees, Help for Progress, reports1500 in the last 18 months ... 40% of those have arrived since January - currently at a pace of 150/month.
Oddly, it has not yet been featured in local news.
Amilcar Amaya from the Valley of Peace is now TWAW Liaison for refugee support. He is ready to organize and mobilize efforts of the local church. I asked what we could do to help ... here is his response:
"I am ready to get involve in whatever humanitarian assistance that can be rendered to the hundreds of refugee families coming to Valley of Peace and different parts of the country. On Thursday I participated on day of registration of new refugees. It was astonishing to see more that two hundred people just in Valley of Peace. I feel that there is an urgent need to assist these people.
What is needed? Blankets, dehydrated food, clothes for children and adult, shoes, exercise books, pencils, crayons for those children attending school, sleeping bags, vitamins for children, tooth paste and brushes, farming tools, cooking utensils, chairs, small tables... and so forth I hope these list can help. I believe that many families are struggling to survive. They need help immediately ... I pray that there will be kind- hearted people to provide these needs."
I am willing to go into the settlements and distribute the items personally to the refugees ..."
Kind regards,
Amilcar Amaya
If you can help with this effort, please begin acquiring and getting new or used items to our shipping points in ...
Amarillo, TX
Ocean Springs, MS
Paoli, PA
Thanks for being the Word at Work!
tt (Tim Tam)
The Word at Work
ps: Our Ministry Associate team gathers school supplies, toys, and stuffed animals through out the year ... we've discovered blankets are an ongoing need as well, so please be saving them, too. Click here to learn more about becoming a TW@W Ministry Associate, or get in touch with Tim Hagen for more information!
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!
Also, remember that you can follow The Word At Work on their Facebook page!
FBR Report: "Introducing Our New Foundation: Free The Oppressed"
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| FBR Photo |
Introducing Our New Foundation: Free The Oppressed
Dear Friends, Family and Team,
Thank you so much for your love and support for the ministries of the Free Burma Rangers, Christians Concerned for Burma and all of our other ministries in Thailand, Burma, Sudan and Kurdistan. Thank you too for your prayers, love and encouragement for our teams and family.
Currently, we are receiving support through the Thai Christian Foundation (TCF). In 2016 we have started a new foundation called Free The Oppressed (FTO), which is a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt foundation. Free The Oppressed is inspired by the words of Jesus in Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” We are now transitioning to full fiscal sponsorship through FTO. TCF has been our strong support and fiscal sponsor and has helped send donations designated for the Free Burma Rangers, Christians Concerned for Burma and other ministries under our care in Burma and Thailand for many years. We are very grateful for their help and for the work that continues through TCF.
From now on, please send your tax-deductible gifts to:
Mailing Address:
Free the Oppressed
PO Box 912938
Denver, CO 80291-2938
Overnight Address:
Lockbox Services 912938
Free the Oppressed
MAC C7301-L25
1740 Broadway St – LL2
Denver, CO 80274
Our EIN is 47-4648581.
Make your check payable to Free The Oppressed. You no longer need to designate the funds for FBR (Free Burma Rangers), but you may designate a specific project if you prefer, on the memo line of your check. Donations may also be made online at www.freeburmarangers.org .
Thank you for your understanding during this transition, and always for your prayers, love, encouragement and support.
For questions or more information, please feel free to contact me or Karen, or Jim Geisz – FTO Chairman – at jim.geisz@rlholdings.com , Wes Price – FTO Accountant – at wes@priceacct.com , or Hosannah Valentine – FTO Administrator – at hosannahvalentine@gmail.com .
May God bless you,
David and Karen Eubank and all at Free the Oppressed
 |
| FBR Photo |
In the News ... "Stadler applies prior experiences"
 |
| OA Photo by Edyta Blaszczyk |
By Bob Campbell, Reporter
Odessa American
ODESSA, TEXAS - The Rev. Erik Stadler, the new pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church at 824 E. 18th St., says his work as a hospital and hospice chaplain gave him a different perspective on his ministerial career.
“You learn to read a situation quickly and see a connecting point,” Stadler said. “You do a lot of listening and provide presence.” ...
• read the rest of this OA report ...
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. 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,
I look forward to our prayer time together this Wednesday at 11:30, in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, followed by lunch.
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.
Thank you!
Carrie
Dear Intercessors,
This last week, I had the incredible opportunity to attend International Justice Mission's Global Prayer Gathering in Washington DC. Along with 3 other members of our Faces of Children Leadership Team, I gathered with 1,600 of our brothers and sisters from around the world to learn about the anti-slavery work of IJM and pray for God's justice to roll down like a mighty river.
There are so many things that I learned in my time there. But perhaps the most impactful was a simple exchange with one of IJM's staff from India. An attorney who works to free slaves named "R" and I had a chance to pray together during one of the sessions. After our prayer time, I opened up my schedule to see what was next on the day's agenda, and the booklet fell open to a photograph of an Indian family joyfully clutching their official Release Certificates, the legal papers proving they are no longer slaves. "R" pointed at the picture and rather casually said, "They were my first case. I helped free them."
I paused to really take the picture in... to let their joyous smiles of freedom sink deep into my heart. Relief, hope, expectation, pride - all of this shone through the picture, and I knew I was seeing the Imago Dei; the image of God. Freedom is the mark of His sons and daughters, and this family was radiant with it.
I asked R about what happened next... did they go home to their village? What kept them from being snared again in slavery's dark net? His answer surprised me. He told me about IJM's two-year aftercare program every freed slave participates in. In a country thick with complicated caste-system rules and traditions, resulting in generations of people vulnerable to the abusive power of others, R said the key to protecting former slaves from becoming slaves again is their own understanding.
"When they understand they are free, no one can enslave them again."
When they know who they are, they are truly free.
I came back to Midland and joined others in my community to listen to the co-founders of NightLight International Ministies, Natalie Shirley and Annie Dieselberg, talk about the root causes of human trafficking in the commercial sex industry. NightLight staff work both in Bangkok and the USA with women in the commercial sex industry, and they said that regardless of the country, a common denominator among the women is that their childhoods were almost always characterized by abuse, neglect, and rampant devaluation. They are susceptible to traffickers because they do not understand they have value. They do not look in the mirror and see the Imago Dei.
They do not know who they are, so they are not free.
Father, help us to raise a generation of children who know their value and understand they are created in your image. For those children who have been discarded, thrown away, and scorned, help us to be instruments of their healing; piecing together shattered lives with joyful expectation they will someday understand they are created in your image. Father, help us to slow down in our busy lives so that we can notice those around us and really see the Imago Dei in them; in your mercy, enable us to call it forth and fan it into flames when it seems to be only the faintest of flickers. And perhaps most of all, help us to see the Imago Dei in ourselves and live in the freedom that comes from knowing who we are as your sons and daughters; for until we walk in the truth of our identity in you, we cannot fully bring this truth and freedom to others.
Sincerely,
Carrie
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
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: May 4, 2016
SRI LANKA - Despite Dangers, Jesus‘ Followers Find Comfort in His Words: ‘Do Not Be Afraid’ ... A letter from Gary and Marlene Van Brocklin, serving as regional liaisons for South Asia, based in Sri Lanka:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27b)
“I sought the Lord and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.” (Psalm 34:4–5)
The hospital staff lived out the psalmist’s experience ...
CLICK HERE to read more.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Word from Uganda: "Flashback ... "
"2nd May, 2007 ... nine years ago ..."
"... I remember the feelings of anxiety from being in a totally foreign land and of sheer joy in beginning my dream since childhood ..."
"... I arrived in Uganda for the first time ..."
"... but I had no idea that this place would become my home ..."
• read the rest of Natalie's post ...
• help raise funds for Natalie's mission ...
Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ... TOMORROW
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, TOMORROW
Hi Friends,
I look forward to our prayer time together this Wednesday at 11:30, in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, followed by lunch.
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.
Thank you!
Carrie
Dear Intercessors,
This last week, I had the incredible opportunity to attend International Justice Mission's Global Prayer Gathering in Washington DC. Along with 3 other members of our Faces of Children Leadership Team, I gathered with 1,600 of our brothers and sisters from around the world to learn about the anti-slavery work of IJM and pray for God's justice to roll down like a mighty river.
There are so many things that I learned in my time there. But perhaps the most impactful was a simple exchange with one of IJM's staff from India. An attorney who works to free slaves named "R" and I had a chance to pray together during one of the sessions. After our prayer time, I opened up my schedule to see what was next on the day's agenda, and the booklet fell open to a photograph of an Indian family joyfully clutching their official Release Certificates, the legal papers proving they are no longer slaves. "R" pointed at the picture and rather casually said, "They were my first case. I helped free them."
I paused to really take the picture in... to let their joyous smiles of freedom sink deep into my heart. Relief, hope, expectation, pride - all of this shone through the picture, and I knew I was seeing the Imago Dei; the image of God. Freedom is the mark of His sons and daughters, and this family was radiant with it.
I asked R about what happened next... did they go home to their village? What kept them from being snared again in slavery's dark net? His answer surprised me. He told me about IJM's two-year aftercare program every freed slave participates in. In a country thick with complicated caste-system rules and traditions, resulting in generations of people vulnerable to the abusive power of others, R said the key to protecting former slaves from becoming slaves again is their own understanding.
"When they understand they are free, no one can enslave them again."
When they know who they are, they are truly free.
I came back to Midland and joined others in my community to listen to the co-founders of NightLight International Ministies, Natalie Shirley and Annie Dieselberg, talk about the root causes of human trafficking in the commercial sex industry. NightLight staff work both in Bangkok and the USA with women in the commercial sex industry, and they said that regardless of the country, a common denominator among the women is that their childhoods were almost always characterized by abuse, neglect, and rampant devaluation. They are susceptible to traffickers because they do not understand they have value. They do not look in the mirror and see the Imago Dei.
They do not know who they are, so they are not free.
Father, help us to raise a generation of children who know their value and understand they are created in your image. For those children who have been discarded, thrown away, and scorned, help us to be instruments of their healing; piecing together shattered lives with joyful expectation they will someday understand they are created in your image. Father, help us to slow down in our busy lives so that we can notice those around us and really see the Imago Dei in them; in your mercy, enable us to call it forth and fan it into flames when it seems to be only the faintest of flickers. And perhaps most of all, help us to see the Imago Dei in ourselves and live in the freedom that comes from knowing who we are as your sons and daughters; for until we walk in the truth of our identity in you, we cannot fully bring this truth and freedom to others.
Sincerely,
Carrie
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
In the News ... “Under construction: Young Life upgrades facilities with larger complex"
 |
| Courtesy Photo |
Trent Johnson, Reporter
• Midland Reporter-Telegram
MIDLAND, TEXAS - At the Young Life Center on Wadley Avenue, the building has been surrounded by a significant amount of construction. What looks like one building enveloping another is actually the organization’s eventual new dig ...
• read the rest of this MRT report
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: May 3, 2016
PRESBYTERY OF WESTERN NEW YORK - Being mindful of mission opportunities locally as well as worldwide, we discovered such an opportunity one day when we stumbled upon a group gathered in our local mall, creating tied fleece blankets. The recipient of these blankets was the Southern Tier Child Advocacy Center, which provides multidisciplinary services in cases of child abuse. When children come to the center, the staff provides them with comforting items—a toy, a book, a fleece blanket. What a comfort a fuzzy blanket can be! The idea of creating blankets to benefit the center was brought to the mission committee of First Presbyterian Church of Portville, New York,and voilà ! The Fun Fleece Festival was born! ...
CLICK HERE to read more.
Monday, May 2, 2016
From @chinaaid : "Church leader’s wife dead after buried alive during church demolition"
The China Aid Association is 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.Church leader’s wife dead after buried alive during church demolition
Distributed by ChinaAid, April, 2016 ...
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| CAA Photo |
ZHUMADIAN, HENAN, CHINA – (Two members of a church demolition team in China’s central Henan province buried a house church leader and his wife alive on Thursday when they tried to prevent the destruction of their church. Though the church leader managed to escape, the wife had suffocated to death by the time she was freed ...
• more on this story from China Aid
From ECPAT-USA ... "Anti-Trafficking Accessories"
ECPAT USA is part of a global network of organizations and individuals working together for the elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. It seeks to encourage the world community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights free and secure from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation.Anti-Trafficking Accessories
Purchase and use of ECPAT luggage tags help ...
• contain warning signs of human trafficking and how to report it
• spark conversations about the issue while traveling
• show that are you an advocate
• provide skills and opportunities for vulnerable women
• support our work to train the travel industry
• help you find your luggage on the carousel
... and ECPAT USA has other accessories for sale, as well!
• CLICK HERE to go shopping with ECPAT USA
For more information on this and other ECPAT USA efforts, please email us at info@ecpatusa.org
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, WEDNESDAY
Hi Friends,
I look forward to our prayer time together this Wednesday at 11:30, in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, followed by lunch.
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.
Thank you!
Carrie
Dear Intercessors,
This last week, I had the incredible opportunity to attend International Justice Mission's Global Prayer Gathering in Washington DC. Along with 3 other members of our Faces of Children Leadership Team, I gathered with 1,600 of our brothers and sisters from around the world to learn about the anti-slavery work of IJM and pray for God's justice to roll down like a mighty river.
There are so many things that I learned in my time there. But perhaps the most impactful was a simple exchange with one of IJM's staff from India. An attorney who works to free slaves named "R" and I had a chance to pray together during one of the sessions. After our prayer time, I opened up my schedule to see what was next on the day's agenda, and the booklet fell open to a photograph of an Indian family joyfully clutching their official Release Certificates, the legal papers proving they are no longer slaves. "R" pointed at the picture and rather casually said, "They were my first case. I helped free them."
I paused to really take the picture in... to let their joyous smiles of freedom sink deep into my heart. Relief, hope, expectation, pride - all of this shone through the picture, and I knew I was seeing the Imago Dei; the image of God. Freedom is the mark of His sons and daughters, and this family was radiant with it.
I asked R about what happened next... did they go home to their village? What kept them from being snared again in slavery's dark net? His answer surprised me. He told me about IJM's two-year aftercare program every freed slave participates in. In a country thick with complicated caste-system rules and traditions, resulting in generations of people vulnerable to the abusive power of others, R said the key to protecting former slaves from becoming slaves again is their own understanding.
"When they understand they are free, no one can enslave them again."
When they know who they are, they are truly free.
I came back to Midland and joined others in my community to listen to the co-founders of NightLight International Ministies, Natalie Shirley and Annie Dieselberg, talk about the root causes of human trafficking in the commercial sex industry. NightLight staff work both in Bangkok and the USA with women in the commercial sex industry, and they said that regardless of the country, a common denominator among the women is that their childhoods were almost always characterized by abuse, neglect, and rampant devaluation. They are susceptible to traffickers because they do not understand they have value. They do not look in the mirror and see the Imago Dei.
They do not know who they are, so they are not free.
Father, help us to raise a generation of children who know their value and understand they are created in your image. For those children who have been discarded, thrown away, and scorned, help us to be instruments of their healing; piecing together shattered lives with joyful expectation they will someday understand they are created in your image. Father, help us to slow down in our busy lives so that we can notice those around us and really see the Imago Dei in them; in your mercy, enable us to call it forth and fan it into flames when it seems to be only the faintest of flickers. And perhaps most of all, help us to see the Imago Dei in ourselves and live in the freedom that comes from knowing who we are as your sons and daughters; for until we walk in the truth of our identity in you, we cannot fully bring this truth and freedom to others.
Sincerely,
Carrie
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
In the News ... "Crises of health test faith"
 |
| OA Photo by Mark Sterkel |
By Bob Campbell, Reporter
Odessa American
ODESSA, TEXAS - There is no separation between physical and spiritual health, Odessa ministers say.
If you’re depressed or frightened, any physical problems you have will get worse, and if you don’t deal with your emotions, you probably won’t get well, they say.
The Revs. Farrell Ard, Griffin Jones, Samuel Buhl, David Mossbarger, Jimmy Braswell and Steven Adair say health crises require a multifaceted approach ...
• read the rest of this OA report ...
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: May 2, 2016
Three years ago the presbytery reviewed its organization and discerned that the Holy Spirit was leading it to engage congregations in seeing God’s vision of the church as a house of prayer for all nations ...
CLICK HERE to read more.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
From "I Am Second" ... Anne Rice
After thirty-eight years of authoring books about vampires and darkness, Anne Rice grew up in a devoted Catholic family, knowing the importance of God and obtaining something in life beyond materialistic things. Still, she felt unshakably confined within the parameters of religion. At the age of eighteen, she walked away from it all and chose to live a life believing that ,”In order for me to grow up, I have to put God aside.”
Though her professional career was very successful as an author of Vampire tales, she was a Christ-haunted person. “I knew that as long as I denied Him, I wouldn’t know rest or peace. You must know that you can’t save yourself through art of music. You can’t do it through travel or wealth. Your attempts to achieve salvation alone ultimately amounts to nothing.” She found herself very ready to go back to God.
Anne had to stop. “Writing about vampires were no longer relevant in my life because they were stories about a person in a godless world. They were stories about me.” That, however, is no longer the case. Now, I have to write for Him.
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In the News ... “Midlander Ken Marks joins FCA Hall of Champions at induction event"
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| Courtesy Photo |
Trent Johnson, Reporter
Midland Reporter-Telegram
MIDLAND, TEXAS - For more than 30 years, Ken Marks held meetings for young athletes tackling subjects of faith, leadership and life. As a volunteer for Midland’s branch of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Marks has seen the organization grow throughout the region. Those years has left an impression not only on student athletes but the organization itself. Marks will be inducted into the FCA’s National Hall of Champions ...
• read the rest of this MRT report
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: May 1, 2016
MINUTE FOR MISSION: WILLS EMPHASIS SUNDAY - Inky and Harriet Inscoe were very involved with their church community at First Presbyterian Church of Morganton, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina. After his wife’s passing in 2004, Inky continued his commitment at the church until his death in 2013.
... For Inky and Harriet, the church had been their life, pure and simple.
The Inscoes had not necessarily been thought of as “rich people,” but after Inky’s passing, the richness of their lives was made manifest ...
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