Brazil
With the 2014 FIFA World Cup
a month away, organizations serving vulnerable children in Brazil are working
hard to raise awareness about the potential for increased sexual exploitation
and violence against children. Groups working with vulnerable children fear the
massive influx of people attending World Cup events will cause the already
occurring commercial sexual exploitation of children to skyrocket. Sexual
violence is the second most reported crime against children in Brazil with more
than 10,000 children and adolescents reported to be victims of sexual abuse in
2011 alone. Most of the victims were between 10 and 14 years old. http://tinyurl.com/mlbt3rh
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Give God
thanks and praise for children’s charity organizations like Plan International
that work to protect children and educate the public about child sex tourism
during the World Cup. Thanks be to God for the programs Plan International has
created to aid at-risk girls, boys, and young people. Pray these programs will
help vulnerable children develop their potential and reduce their risk of
exploitation.
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Please pray
for the safety and protection of children at risk of sexual abuse in Brazil,
and especially those in the World Cup host cities. Pray the campaigns to raise
awareness about this sexual exploitation of children will spread throughout
Brazil and create a community that is alert to the abuse and will work to stop
it.
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Please pray
for law enforcement officials and government authorities as they work to prevent
the abuse of children. Pray the focus will be on the arrest of those who abuse
children, from the pimps to the customers.
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And pray for
those who prey upon children in order to fulfill their sexual or financial
cravings. Pray for justice for children who have been abused by such predators.
Thailand
On Monday, May 5, 2014, a
strong earthquake hit northern Thailand near Chiang Rai, a mountainous region
popular to foreign tourists. The 6.3 magnitude quake, the strongest in decades,
had more than 100 aftershocks and caused multiple injuries and damage to roads,
houses, hotels, hospitals, schools, shops, and temples in the area. Faces of
Children has provided prayer support throughout the years to the children and
staff of the Mae Ka Children’s Home, a home for 150 at-risk, ethnic hill tribe
children that is located near the epicenter of this quake. http://tinyurl.com/n29g9of http://tinyurl.com/nxfjfl5 http://tinyurl.com/mt6hxvp
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Please pray
for those affected by this major earthquake. Pray for children whose schools
and homes have been destroyed or damaged. Pray for those injured by the quake
or its multiple aftershocks. Keep in prayer those who are still displaced from
their homes.
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Give God
thanks that all the children and staff at the Mae Ka Chan Children’s Home are
okay. Pray for children who were frightened by the earthquake and aftershocks.
Thanks be to God the children’s housing wasn’t damaged. Pray for the staff at
the children’s home as they provide selflessly for so many vulnerable children.
United States
A southern Minnesota teen was
arrested earlier this month and charged with planning an attack on a school in his
rural community. The 17-year-old had planned to kill his family, set a fire to
distract authorities, and then attack a building that houses both the
community’s junior and senior high schools. There are more than 900 students
that attend these schools. He had also planned to set off bombs during lunch,
set fires in the school, shoot students and staff, and then be killed by law
enforcement authorities. The 17-year-old had collected bomb-making materials,
firearms, and ammunition as well as detailed his intentions in a journal. He
idolized one of the Columbine gunmen and referred to that 1999 shooting at
Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in his journal. http://tinyurl.com/lyj64a5
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Give God
grateful thanks this young man was arrested before he could inflict pain and
destruction on others. Thanks be to God for the vigilant person who observed
the 17-year-old acting suspiciously and called police.
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Please keep
the students and staff at the schools close in prayer as they deal with the
effects of this close call. Pray God will comfort them and their
parents/families. Pray the peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding
will guard their hearts against anxiety and fear.
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Pray for the
17-year-old young man…that God will bring healing into his brokenness. Pray for
his parents and siblings as they deal with the consequences of his actions.
Pray for God’s comfort and peace for these family members, as well.
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Please keep
the family of 20-month-old Lilly close in prayer as they mourn her death. Pray
for God’s comfort for her parents, brothers, grandparents, and extended family
in this season of deep grief and loss.
