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,

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.

All the best,

Carrie

---

Dear Intercessors,

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Micah 6:8, NIV

I just happened across an article about the homily Pope Francis gave on Ash Wednesday 2015. His words ring true today. In his homily, Pope Francis warned against the "globalization of indifference." (Which seems to me to probably be an even more pernicious threat today than in 2015.)

"Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God's voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades." Pope Francis continued, "We end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people's pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else's responsibility and not our own."

In the article I read today, the author concludes: "But when we fast from this indifference, we can began to feast on love. In fact, Lent is the perfect time to learn how to love again. Jesus-the great protagonist of this holy season-certainly showed us the way. In him, God descends all the way down to bring everyone up. In his life and his ministry, no one is excluded.

"What are you giving up for Lent?" It's a question a lot of people will get these next few days. If you want to change your body, perhaps alcohol and candy is the way to go. But if you want to change your heart, a harder fast is needed. This narrow road is gritty, but it isn't sterile. It will make room in ourselves to experience a love that can make us whole and set us free.

Now that's something worth fasting for."

As you enter the Lenten season, I pray through your prayers and daily walk with God, you find a way to open your heart to the journey of children around you and fast from indifference to them. May our love abound and multiply for all the children of God as we walk through this holy season.

In addition to that, please join me in praying for the following matters this week:

FBR Photo

IRAQ // Free Burma Rangers Front-line Report on ISIS Landmine Devastation

Shortly after befriending an Iraqi family whom they were providing food and supplies to in the wake of ISIS being pushed out of their area, Free Burma Rangers witnessed the family driving over a landmine and rushed to provide medical assistance. Sadly, a little three-year-old girl, who had been playing with their team and beautifully, vibrantly alive only minutes before, perished, and many of her family members were severely wounded."

• Read more here ... (WARNING: Graphic Pictures)

Please pray for the family who was just torn apart by the landmine. For those wounded, pray for their physical healing. And for the entire family as they grieve the loss of their daughter, please pray for their emotional healing as well. Also, please lift up the FBR team which is undoubtedly shaken from this deeply personal encounter... may they not grow weary in doing good. Finally, there are undoubtedly landmines left throughout the countryside, waiting to claim the lives of innocent bystanders. Please pray for them to be found and disarmed before lives are lost.

Reuters Photo

BURMA // Thousands of children's lives at stake as 'indirect victims'

Fears are growing for the lives of several thousand children in northwest Burma suffering from severe malnutrition and lack of medical care but denied vital aid after a sweeping military crackdown against suspected Rohingya militants. UN agencies were unable to maintain lifesaving services for more than 3,000 registered children, mostly from the minority Rohingya Muslim community, in two townships of northern Rakhine state after the military sealed off the area during operations in response to the killing of nine policemen in attacks on border posts on 9 October.
• Read more here ...

Please pray for these children to receive food and medical care in time so that they will not die from malnutrition or related problems. And please pray for the hundreds of thousands of children around the world in Sudan, Yemen, and many other countries also facing malnutrition.

UGANDA // Billhimers + Water Wells

Please continue to pray for the Billhimers who are visiting well sites and completed projects around the country. They will be in Uganda March 2 through 11. Pray for their well-being, successful relationship-building visits, and new doors of opportunity to open.

Praying with you,

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

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: March 4, 2017

MINUTE FOR MISSION: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY - Jesus’ concern and respect for women are evident in Scripture—and quite astonishing for the day. He healed a very ill woman on the Sabbath (Luke 13:10–17); stood by a woman accused of adultery (John 8:1–11); raised from the dead the only son of a grieving mother and widow (Luke 7:11–15); publicly recognized the extravagant gifts of the poor widow (Mark 12:41–44) and the “sinful woman” (Luke 7:36–50); gave permission to set aside domestic chores for more important matters (Luke 10:38–42); shared the message of living water with a Samaritan woman at a well (John 4:7–30); and even appeared first to women after his resurrection (Matthew 28:1–10). Despite his radical care and consideration for women in his day, in our day many girls and women struggle to find a way to thrive in a world that often disregards (sometimes violently) their right to live into God’s intended abundance ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Partners Blog: "Change Comes Slowly"

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

Change Comes Slowly

Something I’ve been learning in my time at Partners is something the vast majority of people already know: change takes a lot of time ...

• read the rest of this post ...

---

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/

40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer ... "Day 1"

Presented by Bible Gateway

"Day 1"

"Those who follow Jesus’ commandment entirely, who let Jesus’ yoke rest on them without resistance, will find the burden they must bear to be light. In the gentle pressure of this yoke they will receive the strength to walk the right path without becoming weary.…Where will the call to discipleship lead those who follow it? What decisions and painful separations will it entail? We must take this question to him who alone knows the answer. Only Jesus Christ, who bids us follow him, knows where the path will lead. But we know that it will be a path full of mercy beyond measure. Discipleship is joy."

Biblical Wisdom

"Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." — Matthew 11:28–30

Questions to Ponder

• What is Jesus’ “commandment” that we are to follow? (See John 15:12)
• If this commandment is Jesus’ “yoke,” how might we be changed if we bear it without resistance?
• Why might following Jesus’ commandment lead to tough “decisions and painful separations”?

Psalm Fragment

“Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.” — Psalm 25:4–5

Journal Reflections

• To be a disciple is not just to believe in Jesus, it is to follow Jesus. In your journal, reflect on the ways in which you are presently following Jesus.
• Do you experience your discipleship as “joy”? Is the “burden” of your discipleship “light”?
• Do you sense there are places Jesus might want to lead you where you would rather not go? If so, where are they and what is holding you back?

Intercessions

Pray specifically for family, friends, and colleagues that they might clearly hear the call to discipleship (which is the call to love and justice), and that they might experience following Jesus’ commandment as joy in the concrete realities of their lives.

Prayer for Today

Lord Jesus, only you know where my path will lead, but I trust that, even if I do not know either the way or the destination, you are with me and before me, and I follow you with joy.

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. 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.

All the best,

Carrie

---

Dear Intercessors,

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Micah 6:8, NIV

I just happened across an article about the homily Pope Francis gave on Ash Wednesday 2015. His words ring true today. In his homily, Pope Francis warned against the "globalization of indifference." (Which seems to me to probably be an even more pernicious threat today than in 2015.)

"Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God's voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades." Pope Francis continued, "We end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people's pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else's responsibility and not our own."

In the article I read today, the author concludes: "But when we fast from this indifference, we can began to feast on love. In fact, Lent is the perfect time to learn how to love again. Jesus-the great protagonist of this holy season-certainly showed us the way. In him, God descends all the way down to bring everyone up. In his life and his ministry, no one is excluded.

"What are you giving up for Lent?" It's a question a lot of people will get these next few days. If you want to change your body, perhaps alcohol and candy is the way to go. But if you want to change your heart, a harder fast is needed. This narrow road is gritty, but it isn't sterile. It will make room in ourselves to experience a love that can make us whole and set us free.

Now that's something worth fasting for."

As you enter the Lenten season, I pray through your prayers and daily walk with God, you find a way to open your heart to the journey of children around you and fast from indifference to them. May our love abound and multiply for all the children of God as we walk through this holy season.

In addition to that, please join me in praying for the following matters this week:

FBR Photo

IRAQ // Free Burma Rangers Front-line Report on ISIS Landmine Devastation

Shortly after befriending an Iraqi family whom they were providing food and supplies to in the wake of ISIS being pushed out of their area, Free Burma Rangers witnessed the family driving over a landmine and rushed to provide medical assistance. Sadly, a little three-year-old girl, who had been playing with their team and beautifully, vibrantly alive only minutes before, perished, and many of her family members were severely wounded."

• Read more here ... (WARNING: Graphic Pictures)

Please pray for the family who was just torn apart by the landmine. For those wounded, pray for their physical healing. And for the entire family as they grieve the loss of their daughter, please pray for their emotional healing as well. Also, please lift up the FBR team which is undoubtedly shaken from this deeply personal encounter... may they not grow weary in doing good. Finally, there are undoubtedly landmines left throughout the countryside, waiting to claim the lives of innocent bystanders. Please pray for them to be found and disarmed before lives are lost.

Reuters Photo

BURMA // Thousands of children's lives at stake as 'indirect victims'

Fears are growing for the lives of several thousand children in northwest Burma suffering from severe malnutrition and lack of medical care but denied vital aid after a sweeping military crackdown against suspected Rohingya militants. UN agencies were unable to maintain lifesaving services for more than 3,000 registered children, mostly from the minority Rohingya Muslim community, in two townships of northern Rakhine state after the military sealed off the area during operations in response to the killing of nine policemen in attacks on border posts on 9 October.
• Read more here ...

Please pray for these children to receive food and medical care in time so that they will not die from malnutrition or related problems. And please pray for the hundreds of thousands of children around the world in Sudan, Yemen, and many other countries also facing malnutrition.

UGANDA // Billhimers + Water Wells

Please continue to pray for the Billhimers who are visiting well sites and completed projects around the country. They will be in Uganda March 2 through 11. Pray for their well-being, successful relationship-building visits, and new doors of opportunity to open.

Praying with you,

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 ... "Noodles do oodles of good in Odessa"

William Shear Photography

• Church's annual Spaghetti Day turns 62 on Thursday

Staff Report
• Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - Look out — the spaghetti is back and it’s bigger than ever.

The co-chairs for the First Christian Church Spaghetti Day met last week at Taco Villa to map out their plans, which includes 100 pounds of hamburger and 30 pounds of spaghetti.

Marita Hendrick, Penny Boss and Jim Gilliland ate Mexican food but planned Itallian. The three co-chairs have the big job of wrangling the spaghetti lunch fundraiser that will ultimately feed 400 to 500 people and raise money for this year’s designated charity, The Crisis Center ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

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: March 4, 2017

COMING OF AGE AND PRESBYTERIAN IDENTITY - Does coming of age in a particular era decisively shape people’s values, habits and personalities?

Yes, say some analysts. They argue, for example, that the “Greatest Generation” — Americans who grew up during the Great Depression, World War II and the Korean War — is known for being loyal, hardworking and disciplined. Other generations have been influenced by times of economic affluence, stock market crashes and wars ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

From @chinaaid : "Yunnan court to further investigate Christian accused of cult crimes"

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.

China Aid Photo

Yunnan court to further investigate Christian accused of cult crimes
Distributed by ChinaAid, February, 2017 ...

DALI, YUNNAN, CHINA – Authorities in China’s southern Yunnan province detained a Christian woman, accusing her of cult crimes late last year, according to an update on Feb. 7 from her lawyer.

Tu Yan, a Christian originally from Hunan province, was doing ministry work in Dali, Yunan on Oct. 22, 2016, when officers from the public security bureau arrested her and four other Christians ...

• more on this story from China Aid

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. 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.

All the best,

Carrie

---

Dear Intercessors,

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Micah 6:8, NIV

I just happened across an article about the homily Pope Francis gave on Ash Wednesday 2015. His words ring true today. In his homily, Pope Francis warned against the "globalization of indifference." (Which seems to me to probably be an even more pernicious threat today than in 2015.)

"Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God's voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades." Pope Francis continued, "We end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people's pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else's responsibility and not our own."

In the article I read today, the author concludes: "But when we fast from this indifference, we can began to feast on love. In fact, Lent is the perfect time to learn how to love again. Jesus-the great protagonist of this holy season-certainly showed us the way. In him, God descends all the way down to bring everyone up. In his life and his ministry, no one is excluded.

"What are you giving up for Lent?" It's a question a lot of people will get these next few days. If you want to change your body, perhaps alcohol and candy is the way to go. But if you want to change your heart, a harder fast is needed. This narrow road is gritty, but it isn't sterile. It will make room in ourselves to experience a love that can make us whole and set us free.

Now that's something worth fasting for."

As you enter the Lenten season, I pray through your prayers and daily walk with God, you find a way to open your heart to the journey of children around you and fast from indifference to them. May our love abound and multiply for all the children of God as we walk through this holy season.

In addition to that, please join me in praying for the following matters this week:

FBR Photo

IRAQ // Free Burma Rangers Front-line Report on ISIS Landmine Devastation

Shortly after befriending an Iraqi family whom they were providing food and supplies to in the wake of ISIS being pushed out of their area, Free Burma Rangers witnessed the family driving over a landmine and rushed to provide medical assistance. Sadly, a little three-year-old girl, who had been playing with their team and beautifully, vibrantly alive only minutes before, perished, and many of her family members were severely wounded."

• Read more here ... (WARNING: Graphic Pictures)

Please pray for the family who was just torn apart by the landmine. For those wounded, pray for their physical healing. And for the entire family as they grieve the loss of their daughter, please pray for their emotional healing as well. Also, please lift up the FBR team which is undoubtedly shaken from this deeply personal encounter... may they not grow weary in doing good. Finally, there are undoubtedly landmines left throughout the countryside, waiting to claim the lives of innocent bystanders. Please pray for them to be found and disarmed before lives are lost.

Reuters Photo

BURMA // Thousands of children's lives at stake as 'indirect victims'

Fears are growing for the lives of several thousand children in northwest Burma suffering from severe malnutrition and lack of medical care but denied vital aid after a sweeping military crackdown against suspected Rohingya militants. UN agencies were unable to maintain lifesaving services for more than 3,000 registered children, mostly from the minority Rohingya Muslim community, in two townships of northern Rakhine state after the military sealed off the area during operations in response to the killing of nine policemen in attacks on border posts on 9 October.
• Read more here ...

Please pray for these children to receive food and medical care in time so that they will not die from malnutrition or related problems. And please pray for the hundreds of thousands of children around the world in Sudan, Yemen, and many other countries also facing malnutrition.

UGANDA // Billhimers + Water Wells

Please continue to pray for the Billhimers who are visiting well sites and completed projects around the country. They will be in Uganda March 2 through 11. Pray for their well-being, successful relationship-building visits, and new doors of opportunity to open.

Praying with you,

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 ... "Brem emphasizes grace"

OA Photo by Mark Sterkel

• Second Baptist pastor has led churches in Branch, Rochester and Colorado City

By Bob Campbell, Reporter
• Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - It’s not easy to understand God’s love, but it is a necessity if one is to love mankind, says the Rev. Jackie Brem.

“Once we begin to grasp the height, depth and width of God’s love for us, our response is to love God back,” said Brem, pastor of the Second Baptist Church at 711 E. 17th St. “Then as we love God, we begin to have his heart for people.”

Citing Romans 5:8, he said, “God loves the world and the people of the world when they do right and when they don’t ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

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: March 4, 2017

COLLEGE CONFERENCE AT MONTREAT - If every waiter is said to be an aspiring actor, might every barista somehow be a future campus minister?

Such was almost certainly the case at the College Conference at Montreat, where on January 4, some 30 campus ministers from across the country were served their morning coffee by a group of keenly interested and highly motivated seminary students ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

In the News ... “Decaying tree stump leads to Lenten opportunity"

MRT Photo by Melanie Nicholas

• "Instead of giving up something this Lent, I’m going to add something"

Melanie Nicholas, Columnist
• Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Happy Lent, everyone!

The word “lent” comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, and it means spring. The Lenten season lasts 40 days and represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry. Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection, focusing on relationships with God. In my youth and early adulthood, I thought that Lent was purely about sacrifice, the time of year when my Catholic friends gave up meat on Fridays and my Episcopalian friends stopped eating chocolate for a month ...

 • read the rest of this MRT column

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

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: March 5, 2017

MINUTE FOR MISSION: CELEBRATE THE GIFTS OF WOMEN SUNDAY - This past electoral campaign brought up issues that were disturbing to many women. The criteria for fitness for the office of president for the woman candidate, such as comments about the clothes she wore, were standards seemingly not imposed on male candidates in the race. The comments surrounding women’s bodies were also alarming. These conversations brought up a sort of PTSD for some women, as they themselves have experienced sexual harassment and discrimination ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

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: March 4, 2017

GREATER ATLANTA PRESBYTERY, GEORGIA - For the past seven years, the Rev. Byeongho Choi, pastor of Bethany Presbyterian Church in Marietta, Georgia, has served as the board chairperson for the Asian American Resource Center in Atlanta. However, Choi’s efforts in the Korean community of Atlanta go back much further ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

From @FWMission ...Friday Story: "Freedom From Isolation and Danger"

• https://www.freewheelchairmission.org/

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: "Freedom From Isolation and Danger"

For many years, Svetlana worked on a collective farm in a small village in the Chernigov region of Ukraine. This was very challenging because she was often in poor health but didn’t have time to take care of herself. For 15 years, the only thing that kept her going was her dream of retirement. She longed to spend time with her grandchildren and have a small farm of her own. In Svetlana’s words, “Life is so unpredictable.”

When she was finally able to retire, Svetlana’s health worsened and she needed help with even the simplest household tasks. Her husband lovingly cared for her, but sadly, he died not long after Svetlana’s retirement. His death was too much for Svetlana to handle, and she suffered a stroke, which left her bedridden.

After the war broke out in eastern Ukraine, things only got worse for Svetlana ...

• read the rest of this story ...

In the News ... "Priest speaks out after church is vandalized"

KWES Photo

• He's praying for those responsible

By Chelsey Trahan, Reporter
• KWES-TV

ODESSA, TEXAS - Two vandals broke into a Catholic church and caused destruction just days before Ash Wednesday.

"They don't know what they are doing. They are bad because I'm not working hard. I need to work more," said Father Juan Fernando Bonilla.

While they should have been preparing for Ash Wednesday, instead Holy Redeemer Catholic Church was cleaning up a mess vandals left behind ...

• read/watch the rest of this KWES report 

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

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: March 3, 2017

YOUNG ADULT VOLUNTEERS: KOREA - The moment the teachers said they wanted to take pictures of the Americans, I got nervous. There was a Korean-language contest that we weren’t part of, but they wanted our pictures—or rather, I thought, my white housemates’ pictures. This type of near unabashed racial selection isn’t uncommon in Asia, and for universities, I knew that looking international and showcasing their diversity was good for their reputations. The only problem was that in Korea my Chinese face didn’t look diverse. My roommate, Emily, assured me she wouldn’t let them leave me out ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Student group hosts Ash Wednesday Mass at campus chapel

The Catholic Student Association of Midland (CSAM) welcomed all to an Ash Wednesday Mass, yesterday in the Dollye Neal Chapel, on the Midland College main campus. Father Kumar from St. Ann's Catholic Church presided over the mass

"Ash Wednesday - the first day of Lent in Western Christianity - derives its name from the practice of blessing ashes made from palm branches blessed on the previous year's Palm Sunday, and placing them on the heads of participants to the accompaniment of the words 'Repent, and believe in the Gospel' or 'Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.'"
• more about Ash Wednesday on Wikipedia ...

To receive info about future CSAM events, text @CSAM17 to 81010. Be sure to include the @ sign.

Questions about the student group and its activities can be directed to the Midland College CSAM Advisor Cindy Madewell, cmadewell@midland.edu, 686-4243.

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

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: March 2, 2017

PRESBYTYERY OF SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - In September the Presbytery of Sacramento hosted a group of 14 health care professionals from the Indonesian Christian Association for Health Services. Among them were nurses, chaplains, physicians, chaplains and administrator ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

WAW Wednesday ... Setting our feet on solid ground

"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."

---

Setting our feet on solid ground

Hello Friends,

We are praising God that Dallan has been released from the hospital! He is doing great at his host's home in Lubbock - thank you for continuing to pray for healing and for generously giving to our Medical Fund so that we can help cover his extensive medical expenses. Dallan's life won't ever be the same!

We are getting ready for our busy month of March in Belize...several groups will arrive soon from Texas and Mississippi to serve in Belize City, El Progresso, and Valley of Peace. I'm grateful for your prayers for our teams and our Staff - please pray for lives to be changed and for God to be glorified in all that we do.

This week our team from Christ the King Church in Oxford, MI is having a great time renewing relationships with friends in Valley of Peace (where they've been pouring concrete floors with Valley of Peace Partners) and with the girls at Marla's House of Hope (the house got a new coat of exterior paint, and the girls learned crochet).

It's special to be here as Lent begins today -- as we are reminded of our own desperate need for a Savior -- and that Christ is the solid foundation upon which we stand.

Sadly the internet is not cooperating and I've been unable to upload photos to this email -- please be sure to check us out on Facebook (TWAWMinistry) as I'll try to get some more pix uploaded there!

Thanks for being the Word at Work!

Mollie and the Staff
The Word at Work

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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!

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,

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. We will not have lunch together after the prayer time this week because of the Ash Wednesday service at noon.

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

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Dear Intercessors,

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward."
Matthew 10:42, NIV

Please join me in praying for the following matters this week:

UGANDA // Water Wells with the Billhimers

This week, Ramon and Bob Billhimer are preparing for their trip to Uganda to check on the water well project they oversee. As they prepare for the trip, I'd like to invite you to join me in praying for their safe travels, their wells, and the lives they will impact through the ongoing work of their project.

While they are there, the Billhimers are going to be visiting the site of a potential new well. The site is at a Secondary School, and in addition to the 670 students served by the school, the well would also supply clean water to the neighboring 3,000 people who live in the area. Currently the people draw well from this cistern; which has tadpoles and frogs in it. And as Bob pointed out, if the frogs and tadpoles can't get out of the cistern due to the depth and the small hole at the top, the cistern also has dead frogs and tadpoles ... which leads to water borne disease.

Please pray for it to be clear whether or not this is a good site for a new well. Pray that if construction begins, it moves quickly and smoothly and that the community has reliable access to clean water in a timely manner.

While they are in Uganda, the Billhimers will also be visiting the sites of recently completed wells, like this one. This well serves a community of 10,000 people and is located near the grounds of a primary school with 896 students ranging in age from 3-14 years old. The community hopes to collect the run-off water and use it in a fish farm, which the Billhimers are also involved in starting.

Please pray for this well to be a source of life and peace and hope for the community. Pray it brings people together and breaks down barriers; pray for local church leaders to have opportunities to share about Jesus, the source of Life and water that makes people never thirst again.

Finally, the Billhimers will also be visiting the sites of some of their fish farms. Using runoff water from the wells, the fish farms provide vital nutrition and income to the communities surrounding the wells.

Please pray for the farms already in existence to flourish, and please pray for the Billhimers and their teams to have good wisdom and discernment about where future farms should be located.

Praying with you,

Carrie

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

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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

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: March 1, 2017

MINUTE FOR MISSION: ASH WEDNESDAY - Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice? ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.