Monday, December 16, 2013
Taking a Break for Christmas
We will be taking a break from our normal praying through the world routine for the Christmas season. We will return in the New Year by turning our hearts and minds in prayer toward Europe. May the Lord bless you and keep you and continue to give you a burden of prayer for the peoples of the world.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Haiti: Land of the Mountains
Haiti: Land of the Mountains
Map It Monday:
Map of Haiti to print. Today we place Haiti on our refrigerator.
Our Prayer:
"Jesus, Haiti needs you, just as we need you. Today as we begin to go to the throne of grace for the people of Haiti, we stand on the hope and promise of Your Word that says,"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." Amen."
Stats and Facts Tuesday:
Check out these informative links to learn more about the country of Haiti and the needs of the people there.
Our Prayer:
"Father God, we ask you to come and to provide real lasting answers to the hopeless and dying in Haiti. Pour out true gospel help upon these people that have faced so much pain and death. May the love of God in Jesus Christ be shed abroad in the hearts of these people. Amen."
Walk In My Shoes Wednesday:
Our friend Olivia Sultenfuss, and her father Mark, have a beautiful heart for Haiti. They have recently spent some time in a place called The Village of Hope, located in Les Cayes, Haiti.
This video gives a brief tour of The Village of Hope.
Today, we will read about Olivia and how God has taken her to a beautiful place and pray for her as God continues to lead and guide her.
Our Prayer:
"Oh God, we thank You for the beautiful places that Your gospel takes us to! Please continue to gently lead and guide Olivia as she seeks to care for these precious children that You have made in Haiti. We ask that you provide all that Olivia and the Sultenfuss family needs as they reach out to the people of Les Cayes, Haiti. Amen."
Take Action Thursday:
Today we will pray specifically for the requests that Olivia has shared with me for herself and for Haiti. Let us remember that God is no respecter of persons in any way, not in skin color, culture, nor in socioeconomic class. Olivia and her family will be traveling to the Village of Hope again in the beginning of 2014. We are each going to take one prayer request and lift it up to God as we pray for them as a family.
*The name of the location that we are going to is called Les Cayes, Haiti (about 5 hour from Port au Prince.) The name of the village is called the Village of Hope (they have about 40 families here) and the name of the orphanage is called the Consolation Center (they have about 54 orphaned girls here).
*We need prayers for the locals specifically, that despite the hardships that they continually go through that their hearts would not be turned away from Christ and that they would have continuous hope.
*The same for the village. The village consists of shelters for a lot of single mothers, and as you can imagine being a single mother in Haiti is horrific, so prayers that these wonderful people would not give up and would be encouraged by the Hope and Promise of the Lord.
*Also, the missionaries that we became great friends with is also a way that I pray for Haiti-- they are great tools of ministry and hope and need prayer.
*our prayer right now is for provision. That God's will would be done and that He would provide for us every step of the way (i.e. health, travel, finances, etc.)
Our Prayer:
"Lord, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! We ask that You would provide for all that we have asked for Haiti and the Sultenfuss family according to Your riches in Christ Jesus. We are so encouraged that You continue to place this country and its people on the hearts of so many. Your will be done in Haiti, Amen."
Monday, December 2, 2013
Puerto Rico: The Beautiful Island
The Beautiful Island: Puerto Rico
Map It Monday:
Today we begin praying for Puerto Rico and place a map of the country on our refrigerator.
Our Prayer:
"Lord we ask that many would believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved in the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. Amen."
Stats and Facts Tuesday:
Puerto
Rico Statistics
·
Population: 3.8 million
·
Unemployment Rate: 16.3%
·
Puerto Rico is 2nd only to
Bahrain in highest suicide rate in the world.
·
Puerto Rico is 3rd in the world
(behind Colombia & El Salvador) in murders committed by youth per capita at
42%
·
Poverty in Puerto Rico (a US
territory) is THREE TIMES higher than the poverty rate of the USA mainland, at
nearly 50% for the total population. But nearly 60% of children and teens
under 18 live in poverty.
·
Current teen birth rate in
Puerto Rico has been increasing and is currently around 62 teen births per
1,000 births (the US teen birth rate is currently around 42 teen births per
1,000)
·
25% of the population is
identified as evangelical Christian, though the population is plagued with
apathy, practicing various Caribbean ritualistic traditions such as ancestor
worship, and many have no spiritual direction whatsoever. Another
statistic says that Protestant Christians make up only 8% of the population of
Puerto Rico.
·
Drug trafficking throughout
Puerto Rico is a huge problem and a large part of the extremely high crime rate
on the island. The murder rate in Puerto Rico has held the #1 spot over
US states and territories in the last decade.
·
The dropout rate amongst Puerto
Rican teens stood at 42% at the beginning of this decade...as compared to 10%
of teens from the US mainland.
·
In the first 42 days of 2011
there were 150 murders committed in Puerto Rico! 110 murders alone
happened during the month of January 2011. This is 34 higher than
occurred in Puerto Rico in January 2010. Los Angeles is nearly identical
in size of the population as Puerto Rico. In 2010 Los Angeles only had an
average of 24 murders each month.
Our Prayer:
"The problems of Puerto Rico seem so overwhelming Lord, but You see every person and You want them all to hear the life saving gospel of Jesus Christ and be saved. Jesus, please revive Your church and send her out to the people enslaved by drugs, gang activity, poverty, and false religions in Puerto Rico. Amen."
Walk in My Shoes Wednesday:
Today we will look at the Dressel family's ministry to at risk youth, young adults, and those who are at risk on the streets. Check out there website and watch a video about the beginning of their ministry in Puerto Rico.
Our Prayer:
"We pray for the Dressel family today, Lord. We ask that they would not grow weary in well doing. Please continue to provide for their needs financially and physically. We ask that you would give them many creative ways to reach out to the youth and young adults on the streets and to be a vital part of the church as it endeavors to share the gospel with the lost of Puerto Rico. Amen."
Take Action Thursday:
The Dressel family reaches out to the broken, hurting, and lost in Puerto Rico. We too are surrounded by people who are just as lost. Think as a family of a local outreach such as Food For Thought that you would like to get involved with or to help support in any way you can. But more importantly, pray that God would give you a heart of compassion for those that so many overlook. Watch a video about the Dressel Family's Thanksgiving Day outreach to the homeless:
Our Prayer:
"We pray for the believers in Puerto Rico to be broken for the lost and the hurting in their country. We ask that they would make a great impact with those who are homeless, addicts, and hopeless. Father, we ask that You would pierce our hearts for the unlovely all around us too, Lord. Show us how we too can step out of our comfort zone and be Christ to the lost and dying. Amen."
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