Faces of Children: Prayer Requests

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).

Prayer Concerns for the week of 08/11/10

Burma/Myanmar
• Continue to pray for Nancy *, her family, and the orphaned children they care for in their home in Burma. Pray for their health during this rainy season when many people become ill. Pray that God will protect the children and adults from getting influenza or dengue fever. Please pray for God's healing touch on Zoe * and Ben *, two children in Nancy's home who are sick. And pray that God will comfort and heal Nancy who isn't feeling well either. Pray for her sister who will have a baby very soon.
* Name changed for confidentiality and/or protection.

Cambodia (Love146 – love146.org/)
• Please pray for the work of the staff and volunteers with Love146's prevention partner Cambodia Anti-Trafficking Coalition. Give thanks for their efforts to empower young people through catering and food service training and job opportunities.
• Pray for the young men and women in Cambodia who will be employed in the first project initiative, a new café in Phnom Penh called Jacob's Well. Give God thanks that these young people will be employed in dignifying jobs and positive work environments and that they will be offered competitive compensation enabling them to enjoy economic and social security. Pray that God will give them confidence in these new job situations.
• Give thanks to God for the recent graduation of 11 girls from a vocational training program in hairdressing skills. Pray for job placements for each of the hairdressing school graduates and that they wouldn't be easily discouraged as they venture into the "real world." Pray that they will make healthy social and professional relationships.

India
• Please be in prayer for the children and people of northeast and southwest India as they deal with flooding triggered by heavy monsoon rains. Pray for the half million people who have been displaced from their homes by this flooding. Pray for those who have lost crops, homes, schools, and businesses. Pray for children who are at greater risk of developing diarrhea or dysentery because of contaminated water.
A report from Reuters/AlertNet

North Korea
• Keep the children of North Korea in prayer as the government currency devaluation last November continues to cause devastation and suffering. One in three North Korean children under the age of 5 is malnourished according to the UN World Food Program. Pray for children who are too hungry to study or learn and who have dropped out of school. Pray for teachers who can't afford to teach because the schools are closing and government salaries are paltry, insignificant. Pray for parents whose life savings were wiped out by the devaluation and who are struggling to provide for their children.
A report from the New York Times

United States
• Please keep Kimberly, her husband Keith, and their two young daughters held close in prayer as Kimberly begins treatment for brain cancer. Pray that the surgeries to remove the cancer will go well and that she will heal fully and quickly. Pray that God will wrap arms of comfort around this young family. Please pray that God will provide a circle of compassionate friends to support them, especially the little girls, during this challenging time.
• Thanks be to God for the work of the Dreamcatcher Foundation with Chicago youth most at-risk of being lured into prostitution. Pray for the staff and volunteers with this organization as they work to combat human trafficking and raise awareness and support in the community. (Love146 – love146.org/)
• Please pray that God will provide the resources necessary for this ministry to reach girls desperately in need of mentorship and intervention.
• Pray that God will encourage the new peer volunteer advocate who is a graduate of the Dreamcatcher program. When this formerly homeless young woman entered the program, she had no income and had been in jail. Give God thanks that she was able to find housing, food services, and mental health counseling services through the program and is now a peer volunteer advocate, empowering other girls like her through sharing her story.

Faces of Children
• Please continue to pray that more churches and individuals will join with the ministry of Faces of Children in spreading awareness about children in crisis and inviting more people to pray for children at risk.