Please Pray!

There is so much turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire right where we were!"

This is what I read yesterday in an email from my dear friend, Sandra, who has been in the process of raising funds for orphans in Cote d'Ivoire, Africa. (check out an earlier post here)  We traveled there together last September and I can hardly believe what's happening there now.

For those of you who don't know, Cote d'Ivoire is on the brink of another civil war... their first one lasting from 2002 to 2007, and attributing greatly to the orphan crisis they currently have.  According to the UN, since the beginning of this year, there have already been over 300 people killed, dozens raped, and an unknown amount of abductions and disappearances.

My heart breaks.  It breaks for the Ivorian people as a whole.  But mostly it breaks for children that I saw... the children I spoke to and held and laughed with.  I can only imagine the fear and pain they now live with daily.

Please pray with me...

Our Dear Father,

Lord, You are a mighty, mighty God.  This we know.  We also know that you are full of love and compassion.  But sometimes, Lord, we look at the world and it doesn't make sense.  We see children struggling to survive.  We see war and brokenness and we don't know what to make of it.  We don't understand it, Lord, but we do know that You are good!

And it's with this knowledge that we lift up the nation of Cote d'Ivoire to You.  We pray that You will be merciful to these people.  We pray that You will touch the hearts and minds of the leaders so that healthy change can happen.  We pray that You will give wisdom and guidance to Sarah as she strives to serve 200 children in the midst of very dangerous times.  We pray that You will protect her, her family, and the children she serves.  We pray, Lord, that in the midst of great darkness You will be there!

In the might name of Jesus,

Amen.

If you want to check out more on the project in Cote d'Ivoire check out Sandra's blog here.

Urgent: Please Pray!

*UPDATE* A family has come forward to adopt Davids! (click here for more info)  Praise the Lord!! Our God's hand is mighty indeed and His children are LOVED!

Some of you have already heard this little boy's story and are already active in spreading the word.  But for those who don't know, there is a boy in Latvia who desperately needs a forever family... FAST.

Read is his story here

Could this be part of YOUR story?  

Please READ!  

Please PRAY!  

Please ACT!  

Help Davids find his forever family!

~

Also, today The Christian Alliance for Orphans is having a prayer webinar for Haiti.  Can you believe the earthquake happened a year ago today?  Click on the register button to sign up!

Goodness, it can be overwhelming how much pain is in the world, right?  

There's so much to pray for!  

Today I am thankful that my God hears my prayers... and cares!  

Isn't that amazing?

He has a plan for Davids!  

He has a heart for the people of Haiti!

Today, let us pray... and let us wait expectantly.

Prayer Leads to Action

Wow!  Thank you for all of your responses this week!  So many great ideas.  Keep 'em coming!  You still have until 11:59 Sunday night to have a chance to win a new t-shirt!  ... oh the excitement of it all.

Recently we received an update from Ginny Stoller, one of our missionaries in Ethiopia.  I want to include a little excerpt from what she wrote.  I'll warn you... it's heart breaking... and oh so common...

Last week I had a young mother sit in the school office and beg us to take her seven year old son—not to merely register him, but to literally take him... for adoption—something we are in no way equipped to do.  Her eyes were pleading and hopeless.  A widow, she had lost her husband about three years ago, and has three children.   Her landlord gave her a week to get out of her home. Because she must care for her children, she cannot hold a job and earn money to support the family.  One child is already up for adoption in a town to the south, and the youngest is a three year old strapped to her back—too scared to even look at me. The 7 year old is recovering from TB, and has been on medication for four months.  He was registered in another school but has to take his medication with food, something our school provides for our students.  We were able to register him in kindergarten and ensure he can be fed, but this doesn’t solve his mother's desperate situation, and she’s terrified of having to live on the streets.

I also recently found out one of our 3^rd grade students lost her mother after a long illness (probably HIV).  Her father died a while ago.  Her uncle and his wife brought her in to discuss their living situation.  They were trying to keep her mother’s house to live in, but were unsure if they would be allowed to stay there. She sat quietly behind them, her head down.  Surely the loss of a mother and the threatened loss of a home is more than any child should have to bear.

I know that God has a plan for each of us.  I believe He loves and cares for the destitute.  I have faith that His heart breaks when He sees another family... another child thrust out on the streets.  

I also know that He desires to use His body to help protect the weak.  He wants to raise up His church to do powerful things... will we let Him?  

I won't pretend to have the answers.  When I look at situations like this I feel overwhelmed and small.  But i know God is faithful!  I KNOW it!  And HE has the answers.  He is not overwhelmed or surprised by any of this.  He is not small or weak.  He is BIG and mighty!

Will you join my in prayer this week? Pray that God's body will rise to the occasion of caring for the vulnerable.  Pray that He will give clear insight and direction.  Pray that we will take hold of His grace that is so sufficient and respond when we feel the Spirit move.

Pray... and then act!

Prayer, T-shirts, and Songs

*Warning* this post requires group participation

Last year I participated in my first Orphan Sunday.  It wasn't a big event.  There were only 8 of us.  But it was powerful.

I was involved in a small group study and at the end of every session we would share prayer requests and pray together.  Well, on this night instead of sharing personal requests we took turns reading stories about real people, real ministries, real children.  

Then we prayed.  We prayed for the fatherless.  We prayed for the hurting.  And we prayed for those who are doing something to help.

Now it's your turn...

Do you have plans for Orphan Sunday?  Have you participated in the past?

Leave a comment and automatically get entered in a drawing to win...

1 Gobena t-shirt and...

1 Journey On CD!

Our winner will be announced Monday morning!

Looking forward to hearing your stories!

2010 National Foster Care Prayer Vigil

The National Foster Care Prayer Vigil is calling followers of Christ together across the country this week (May 16-23) to cry out to God on behalf of children and youth in our nation's foster care system, their families, their workers, and the church as it responds to the needs of those involved in the foster care system.

A prayer vigil can take on many forms. It can be a formal, church-wide event, or it can be an informal gathering with your family after dinner. In fact, the possibilities are endless. 

A prayer vigil can be:

• Part of a regular Bible study group in your home
• Part of a regular Community Group meeting
• Part of a Sunday School class
• A prayer walk through your city
• A gathering of friends at a park, or the beach
• A lunchtime gathering with co-workers
• Whatever and wherever you want it to be

Please join us in committing to pray this week for the children in our country, our state, our county, our neighborhood!

For more information or how to find a group meeting in your area, click here.

Father, thank You for being a personal God...for allowing our prayers to come to Your ear.  Give us the faith to believe that You will hear and answer our prayers for Your children in our communities that will be prayed for today, this week and forever.  Let us pray for Your glory, Your fame, Your name...