Afghanistan
- Please pray for the children of Afghanistan…the hardest place in the world to be a child, according to UNICEF. More than a quarter of Afghan children will die before they reach age five and almost one sixth will die in the first year of their lives. Pray for better medical care for children and for an increase in prenatal care for mothers.
- Pray that children and women will be treated with dignity and esteem—not as objects or chattel. Pray for girls who are forced to marry before they turn 18, often to men twice their age.
- Give thanks to God for the progress being made in Afghanistan—that a great number of girls are now able to receive an education. Pray for continued progress in this area.
- Pray for children who have fled the violence in Afghanistan and are showing up as far away as Western Europe. Many have traveled there without their parents. http://www.alertnet.org/
thenews/newsdesk/SGE62G0G9.htm
- Please keep the women and girls of Afghanistan held close in prayer as their hard-won rights seem to be at risk of disappearing. Pray for a peace settlement between the Afghan government and Taliban leaders that won’t compromise the progress women and girls have experienced so far. Pray that women will be fully included in the governing of this country and that pressure from Taliban leaders will not keep this from happening.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
China (China Aid Association – http://www.chinaaid.org/qry/
- Give thanks to God for the recent news that Chinese legal advocate Gao Zhisheng has been confirmed alive after being abducted by police more than a year ago. Thanks be to God for the international interest in Gao’s case and wellbeing. Pray that he will be reunited with his family in the United States soon. Continue to pray for Gao’s wife, teenage daughter, and 8-year-old son who were granted political asylum by the U.S. government last fall. Pray for his wife’s parents who have been severely harassed in recent months.
India
- Give thanks to God that Jonnina was able to gain admission into a good school and that most of the funds needed to pay for this education were provided. Pray that God will continue to bless Jonnina and her family with the resources needed to continue her education. Pray for the foster care ministry in which her parents, Amigo and Rejeena, are involved…that God will open the doors for them to minister to children in Manipur this summer.
United States
- Give thanks to God for the life of 22-month-old Amonnie Hayes who died March 26, 2010 following complications from surgery. Amonnie was on the transplant list for a liver for many, many months. Pray for her mother, two brothers, her grandparents, extended family, and friends as they mourn the loss of this precious little girl. Pray that God will bring them comfort and peace in their time of sorrow.
- Please pray that God will protect and provide for two children in a very dangerous situation. Six-year-old Ethan and 9-year-old Amaris have witnessed their mother being viciously beaten by her abusive boyfriend who also drives with them when he is very drunk. Thank God for the compassion and outreach of a local minister in building relationships with these children. However, Ethan and Amaris’ mother is moving them to a different city soon. Please pray that God will send someone else to invest in their lives and build relationships with them in this new location.
- Pray for 8-year-old Megan as she grieves the sudden death of her mother, Valerie. Pray for Megan’s father, their extended family, friends, and the children in the school where Valerie taught. Pray that this grieving little family might know God’s comfort and peace in abundance. Pray that God will guide Megan’s father in the decisions that he will need to make regarding his daughter’s care. Pray that Megan’s friends would show her great compassion and mercy during this season of sorrow.
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.
