Cameroon, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Central African
Republic
·
Pray for West
African girls who have suffered excruciating pain as well as physical and
psychological scarring because of the practice of “breast ironing.” The custom
of putting hot stones on the breasts of girls just entering puberty is believed
to have started in the 1930s as a way for mothers to protect their daughters
from premarital sex, early pregnancy, and rape. Pray for the estimated 1.3
million girls who are victims of this brutal cultural practice. http://tinyurl.com/m9hrksp
·
Give God thanks
for the nationwide campaign in Cameroon that has raised awareness about the
harm breast ironing does to developing girls. And thanks be to God there has
been a decline in practicing this custom in Cameroon because of the national
awareness campaign in schools, churches, and the media. Pray all countries in
which breast ironing is practiced will work to raise awareness of the harm it
causes.
China
·
Give thanks to
God for the rescue of six babies who had been sold to traffickers by a doctor.
Thank God these little ones were reunited with their parents who had been
tricked into giving them up. The doctor convinced parents that their babies had
incurable diseases or deformities then sold them to traffickers.
·
Pray God will
comfort the family of the baby that was ill and thrown into a garbage ditch by
traffickers. The baby was never found. http://tinyurl.com/nmkdgex
·
Pray for the
doctor who confessed to this horrific crime and give thanks to God she is being
held accountable for her actions. Pray the suspended death sentence she was
given will send a strong message to others in the medical community and to
traffickers that the practice of selling babies is intolerable.
·
Please pray the rampant
practice of child trafficking in China will cease. Pray for a change in
cultural attitude in communities where there is a traditional bias for male
children. Male offspring are considered preferable as they support elderly
parents and are heirs to the family name. Pray for an end to the abortion of
females and the killing and abandonment of baby girls.
Philippines
·
Please continue
to keep the children and people of the Philippines in prayer as they deal with
the effects of a tropical depression just two months after super typhoon Haiyan
struck the country on November 8, 2013. Pray for those made homeless by Haiyan who
had to flee emergency shelters when this recent tropical storm destroyed or
damaged tarps and tents. http://tinyurl.com/mp56zma
Syria
·
Please keep the
children and people of Syria close in prayer as the three-year-old conflict
between the Syrian government and opposition forces continues. Pray for the 9.3
million Syrians in the country and the 2 million outside of it who are in
urgent need of humanitarian aid. http://tinyurl.com/nu8d94l
·
Pray food and
medical aid will reach the estimated 18,000 people living in a Palestinian
refugee camp near Damascus that is under siege. Pray for children, youth, and
adults who are at risk of starving because their camp has been blocked from
receiving humanitarian aid. Pray for those who’ve been surviving on lentils,
onions, powdered tomato paste, animal feed, and sometimes, boiled grass. Pray for
the loved ones of those, mainly children and elderly people, who have died of
hunger or hunger related illnesses.
·
Pray for an end
to this long-running conflict and for peace and reconciliation between opposing
factions.
United States
·
Give thanks to
God that 14-year-old Dallas was found and the 37-year-old man with whom he ran
away was arrested. Pray for healing, peace, and comfort for Dallas during a
very difficult season in his life.
Faces of Children
·
Please keep Faces
of Children prayer partner Allegra Boone and her family close in prayer during
their season of sorrow and loss. Pray God will bring them comfort as they mourn
the death of Allegra’s husband Bob on December 21, 2013.
