CFC Missions Partners Prayer Requests | March 2018

 |  Missions

Krista in Central Asia

Ways to praise:

-I praise God for His faithfulness. I praise Him for being my rock, my refuge and my foundation. I praise Him for allowing me to experience the outpouring of His character in fresh ways -through trials and triumph, through unrest and peace, through struggle, victory, frustration and internal joy- He is my resting place!

-I praise the Father for bringing a mentee into my life. I am eager to grow alongside of this friend in the area of discipleship.

-I am grateful for older and wiser friends who speak into my life regularly. I am thankful for ministry partners, supportive friends, and family who cheer me on when ministry gets tough. I am thankful for peace and guidance in decision-making.

Ways to ask:

-Pray for family who will be visiting including safe travels, good fellowship, and fun exploring my city. Ask for good contacts with friends and nationals we meet on the street.

-Plumbing. Recent heavy spring rains outside my apartment have resulted in major roof leaks through my kitchen ceiling. Next week, my landlord hopes to start the huge project of replacing my entire roof.

-In April, I`ve been invited to speak with a group of special-needs doctors and therapists in my city to explore the topic of autism and the role of behavior therapy. This is an amazing opportunity in my area of expertise, but also very nerve-wracking! Ask for clarity on which important values and skills to share as I prepare to lead this group session. Ask that I would have time to adequately prepare. This will be my first time teaching among professionals and addressing a group through use of a translator.

BCM Sri Lanka

-Please continue to pray for our children’s ministry - this year we have been able to start 2 bible clubs. These are all done among non christians. We are using strategy to reach out the gospel as the parents would not send their kids if we tell its a christian children’s program.

-For few years we have not had a Teachers training program for all our children’s ministry leaders. Please pray that we will be able to help find the resources to help bring down these teachers from various parts of the country help with their travel expenses and meals. We are hoping to organize this towards the end of April.

-Please uphold the the individuals who i have been mentoring and training as new leaders. They are involved in Youth and Children’s ministries. Samith, Danu, Watson, Ragu, Frank, Deshan, Yohan, Susima, Fazmila, Christine, Faith.

-Please pray for me as well for wisdom with the many decisions i have to take daily with ministry work and for providence with our personal needs.

-Please pray for our church brother Daniel who is admitted to undergo a bypass surgery

Water Street Ministries

- Pray for the families of our guests. Pray for restoration in family relationships.

- Pray for guests seeking employment. Pray that they won’t get discouraged when doors keep closing.

-Pray for hope and perseverance.

- Pray for a guest who is getting shoulder surgery. Pray for an easy recovery and that he will feel encouraged and supported by staff, volunteers and fellow guests.

Life Cycles

Overall: God has been good to us (as always). He has rested us and prepared us for the ride season that will take us to new places (literally and figuratively) in our fourth year.

Energy: The team is rested and ready to go full speed again from now through the end of November before pulling the throttles back for the winter program and the end of year administrative work. We pray with gratitude for God’s establishment of our whole team for the year ahead.

Leaders: God has added three more high-capacity leaders to our team of 50 in the last month. We welcome prayer for Godly leaders who enjoy working together to raise up a generation of equipped boys with servants’ hearts.

Boys: More new boys are starting, and even more will come out when we ride in April. We welcome prayer for life change and growth in these boys’ hearts.

Calendar: We start our spring ride season on Thursday, April 12 at Amos Herr Park at 6:00. We’ll ride Tuesdays at Riverfront Park (551 Vinegar Ferry Road) near Marietta and Thursdays in Landisville from mid April through the first week in September. We welcome prayer for safe riding and respectful conduct on the road.

Expansion: After two years of prayer, we are starting a new team with a Christian volunteer leader. It meets in New Holland and rides on Wednesday nights.

Future Growth: It is our prayer that we can apply lessons learned from this summer’s New Holland experiment to refine it and plan to launch two additional Lancaster County teams in 2019. We welcome prayer for God-honoring leadership and safety as we replicate our mission in a new part of Lancaster County.

Financial Health: We welcome prayer for sound stewardship and confidence in the long road ahead.

Strategic Growth: The leadership team is learning how to scale up (grow) in a way that honors God and doesn’t just seek to grow for growth’s sake. We welcome prayer for discernment, humility, and a joy in God’s purpose.

Compassion International

-Both Mexico and Uganda have recently had pretty serious flooding disasters, displacing and causing hurt to a lot of families. Could you pray for families in these countries?

Hope International

-Praise God that HOPE’s savings group program has eclipsed 500,000 members worldwide! We continue to be amazed at how local churches and partners are eagerly owning the savings group program to reach families living in poverty in their communities. Pray that even more men and women join these groups and that they experience material, spiritual, personal, and social transformation as a result.

- It’s coffee harvesting season in Burundi and Rwanda! Pray that farmers would reap a bountiful harvest and receive enough profits to provide for their families’ needs and save for the future. Pray for HOPE’s microfinance institutions and savings group programs in these countries as they seek to be a safe place for coffee farmers to save and find the capital they need to invest in their farms.

-Pray for the Batwa people of Burundi. HOPE is involved with the Batwa people (commonly known as Pygmies) by training them to save money for their futures in a culture where they are often excluded and discriminated against by financial institutions because of their ethnic identity. In one particular Batwa community that works with HOPE, it is common to make and sell pots made out of river clay for income (clay which they carry on their heads from ~20 km between the river and their village!) Pray for encouragement, prosperity, and spiritual strength for this community.

IJM
-Please pray for the Department of Investigation of Sexual Offenses of the Guatemalan National Civil Police across Guatemala. They partner with IJM to find and protect children who have experienced or are vulnerable to sexual abuse. Pray that all their personnel will be guided by God to find, rescue and protect children who currently live in fear and shame as they suffer as victims of sexual violence. Pray for wisdom and safety as they put their lives at risk to rescue and protect others. Finally, pray that our good relationships with this department will continue to grow and to prove that justice for the poor is possible!
-Please pray for a large number of cases where slave owners have been charged with hate crimes against families from the bottom of the caste system. Traffickers often prey on these impoverished caste groups because they know society doesn’t offer them much protection. Our legal cases can be struggles because some judges still hold prejudice against them. Pray that we could reach a breakthrough on these cases — that righteous judges would rule strongly on hate crimes and protect vulnerable, low-caste groups. Pray for convictions against these predatory slave owners and for strong sentences that show the severity of these crimes.
-Pray for IJM Bangkok as they continue recruiting and onboarding new staff. IJM Bangkok hired a core team in 2017 and is now working to fill out the initial team in the first half of 2018. Please join us in praying for skilled, Christian professionals who are called to the work of justice and able to work well in English. Please pray for well-equipped candidates to apply for our open positions, and that we will find and identify those God calls.

Africa

-Praise God for the opportunity IJM had to participate in a Women in Leadership Conference in Uganda. An IJM Kenya aftercare staff member presented about the progress the team has made in combatting child sexual assault and shared recommendations for how the same success could be seen in Uganda. Those in attendance, including members of the judiciary and the First Lady of Uganda, expressed a strong desire to see an end to violence against women in the country. Pray that the ideas shared would encourage leaders to see violence against women and children as an issue that impacts all aspects of society and that they would be committed to ensuring a public justice system response that makes it clear this violence will not be tolerated.

Latin America

South Asia

Southeast Asia