40 Days of Prayer

Day 25 - Community Gardens

You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.- Psalm 65:11

Our dream is to continually build resilience in our Care Workers, the most vulnerable children, and their families, so that when challenges come they are better equipped to stand. One way that this is done is through the provision of community gardens, enabling greater support and sustainability for whole families. Pray for all the logistics involved in these gardens, that God’s hand will be upon them. Pray that there will be a bountiful harvest and that the right amount of rain will fall. Pray for our Care Workers and Primary Caregivers to feel empowered and better equipped to care for their own families.

Read more about how we build resiliency in our communities through community gardens: www.handsatwork.org/newsroom/2022/3/17/community-gardens

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Day 24 - Under 5s

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22:6

Recognising that a significant amount of a child’s development happens between the ages of zero and five, Hands at Work is developing facilities and programmes at Care Points for children under the age of five. These include simple routines and tailored programmes incorporating breakfast, play, rest time, and learning basic skills – all whilst their older siblings are in school. Pray for each Care Worker and Primary Caregiver to understand the vision behind these under-fives programmes. Pray for the Care Point to be a safe place for the children, where they can experience the love, care and nurturing that they need.

Pictured here are photos from several of our communities across Africa where under-five programmes have been started!

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Day 23 - Youth Discipleship

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. - 1 Timothy 4:12

Our dream is to raise up a generation who love Jesus, are committed to their families, belong to a local church, are generous to the poor and are positive role models in their communities. This is done through activities such as youth discipleship programmes, youth leader exchange visits, youth camps and community-based youth groups. Pray for each of our youth, that they will know the depth of Christ’s love for them. Pray that they will experience healing from their brokenness and trauma; enabling them to bring the love and hope of Christ to others in their community.

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Day 22 – Supporting Our Primary Caregivers

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” – Psalm 121:1-2

Across Africa the most vulnerable children are being cared for by their Primary Caregivers. These can be their parents, but in most situations it is their grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins, older siblings or sometimes neighbours who take on this responsibility – often with families of their own to provide for. Pray that they will feel supported by the Care Workers and know that they are not alone in raising the children who they care for. Pray that as they experience God’s love, they will be set free from the brokenness in their lives.

“The Care Workers started helping me care for my grandchildren when no one else in the community would. Through the Holy Home Visits that the Care Workers have done, I have come to know and accept the Lord Jesus. Through their constant encouragement, I have hope and trust in God.” - A testimony from one of the Primary Caregivers living in Susu Community, Zambia

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Day 21 – Maranatha Workshops

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. – Isaiah 61:1

Maranatha Workshops are a safe place for us to share the truth of Jesus with our Care Workers, Primary Caregivers and children. It is a place of healing, freedom and reconciliation. Pray for each person who attends one of these workshops in 2022. Pray that they will come with a willing heart to hear from God. Pray for freedom and a release from the brokenness that they carry. Ask God to reveal Himself to each person, young and old; that they will experience the love of God and the hope that He brings.

Maranatha Workshops happening across Africa

Recently Maranatha Workshops for our Care Workers, Primary Caregivers, and children have happened Bhandeni, Eswatini, Beeskop, South Africa, Kisunka, Democratic Republic of Congo and Kamakonde, Zambia. We invite you to stand with us in praying for:

  • People to have the courage to stand up against the strongholds that were identified throughout the week. Strongholds such as people accepting and even encouraging unhealthy relationships between young girls and older men, alcohol abuse, traditional healing and cultural practices.

  • Those who received Christ to stand firm in their faith and to continue to want to know God more.

  • Unity and a continued openness amongst the Care Workers and the Primary Caregivers. Where there is bitterness and distrust, pray that their relationships are continually strengthened.

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