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,
Happy 4th of July! We will be meeting for prayer. If you're in town and free, please join us to pray together 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,
Do you ever stumble upon little hidden gems in plain sight? Bright spots in a world that sometimes can seems mostly dark? Today was a day like that for me. I joined our Children's Ministry Director, Chrissie, and a few volunteers from our church, and went to St. Andrew's Mission here in Midland to help with a VBS program.
For many of you, this place was never hidden, but I hadn't visited before and I thoroughly enjoyed my time. The children were happy and precious and you could tell they felt safe and secure at the center. The staff and teachers were gentle and patient. It felt like a safe haven, and I left being grateful for all these little spaces and corners that often make do with fewer resources, older facilities, and smaller staffs... yet make a big difference in the lives of the children they serve. I left feeling grateful for the places we do have where children ARE loved and precious and safe and protected.
If you're in Midland,
check St. Andrew's out on the web or maybe visit sometime in person. And if you're in another city, maybe see if you can find the little hidden gem in your community. I think you'll find God dwells there.
In addition to praying for the work of St. Andrews this week, please join me in praying for the following matters: :
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| Guardian Photo by Sune Engel Rasmussen |
AFGHANISTAN // 'Before my brother died, I had dreams': the Kabul attack that unravelled a family
"As an only son, Hossein Panahi was his family's sole provider. He supplied his sisters with clothes, his ailing parents with food and medicine, and built them all a house to live in. His salary meant his two older sisters did not have to marry young for dowry, but could wait for men they loved. He also put his third sister through law school. Having postponed his own marriage plans, Hossein was finally due to get engaged, at 28, after Ramadan. On 31 May, he was riding his bicycle past the entrance to Kabul's green zone on his way home from a night shift as an electrician at the Canadian embassy, when he was engulfed in an enormous blast. The bombing, one of the worst of the entire Afghan war, killed about 150 people. Its barbs of destruction put Hossein's family on a path they had struggled to avoid. Hossein was more than a breadwinner. As with many Afghan households dependent on one provider, his family's future was so interwoven with its only son that it immediately began to unravel once he died."
Learn more here ...
A few weeks ago, we prayed for the families who lost loved ones in recent Kabul bombings. And while we understand the death of a loved one is tragic, we may not realize all the implications it might have for the surviving family in traditional Arab cultures. Please pray for Hossein's family and his sisters, especially that they would not be forced into early marriages. And for all the other girls and young women vulnerable to marriages under such circumstances, pray God gives their fathers wisdom and insight and a vision for how they can best ensure their daughters have happy, healthy, and productive lives.
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| Photo by Pear Video |
CHINA // Desperate father from rural China has dug a grave for his critically ill daughter to 'prepare her for her death.'
"Mr Zhang Liyong, a farmer from Sichuan province, had spent all his savings treating the toddler, who was born with a serious blood disorder. The father said he brings the two-year-old to play and rest at grave every day to get her 'familiarized with her future burial space'. In the video, the father lay in the grave while holding his daughter, Zhang Xinlei. Little Xinlei was diagnosed with thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder, at two months old. Mr Zhang and his family had spent over 100,000 yuan (£11,490) treating Xinlei, but they could no longer afford the medical bills."
Learn more here ...
As our own country continues to grapple with healthcare and questions of how to provide medical coverage for our most vulnerable members of society, other countries face similar struggles. And in some cases -- like in China -- there are not adequate social support networks to provide medical care. Though this is an extreme reaction to the impossible circumstances, it is indicative of what happens to many families. Children either die without medical help since their families cannot pay, or they are abandoned in hopes that the would be helped by the government or private organizations through the orphanage system. Please pray for families facing situations that seem to have very little hope.
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| Guardian Photo by Isaac Kasamani |
UGANDA // 'The refugees are like our brothers': Uganda's example to the world
"With a refugee population of 1.25 million - and more new arrivals each day than any other country - Uganda has earned a reputation as a haven for those fleeing violence. In Refugee Week, few countries merit greater recognition."
See the collection of pictures here ...
Please pray for the country of Uganda as they grapple with a huge influx of refugees and seek to treat them with kindness, dignity and support. In a world that is often fearful of refugees, Uganda's approach is unique. But as an under-resourced country themselves struggling with drought, Uganda's resources are stretched thin. Pray for relationships between Ugandans and the refugees to remain good and for their needs for clean water, food, shelter, clothing, and medical care to be met.
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
