40 Days of Prayer - Day 19

Today, pray for yourself and everyone else praying during 40 Days 2013.  Ask the Lord for strength.  Ask Him to help you not grow weary in battling for the orphans on your knees.   

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress - James 1:27

During 40 Days of Prayer 2013, our global prayer community has come together to pray and reflect on each prayer point.  On February 23rd, a recent visitor to Africa from the UK posted her response to the daily prayer point.  She was impacted by the quote from local volunteer Emily Dinhira on the need to pray for children who lose a parent to HIV/AIDS.

"I was privileged to meet Emily on my trip to South Africa to spend some time in Belfast and Somerset with a group from my church, and she is an amazing woman who truly lives for God and inspires me and so many others so much. God is able to love so many people through her and others like her, and I'm praying for them and for the precious children God has put under their great care." - Rachel Burton

 

40 Days of Prayer - Day 17

Millions of families are living with HIV/AIDS throughout Africa.  Pray for God to intervene in this devastating disease.  Pray for treatment to reach those who need it.  Pray for the stigma around the illness to be lifted so more people will seek help, counselling and treatment.

“Praying for the stigma to be lifted is so important because when people find out they are HIV positive, their first thought is to hide from friends, family and their community.  They wonder, ‘what will people think of me when they find out I am positive?’ Most people suffer from depression from trying to keep their status a secret.  Having people around them who encourage, support and love them is so important.  It helps them to disclose their status and when they disclose it they realize that they are not the only person who is positive… they are not the only one.  And they can begin to meet others through support groups – and they encourage one another.  Then they become a voice in their community: in schools, churches and youth groups.  They stand up and tell others how they felt before they disclosed their status and how they feel after; how now they feel loved and supported and know that they can live positively with the virus.  Pray for those who are HIV positive to find people willing to walk with them on their journey until they are comfortable to disclose their status.”

-Busie Sityata-Jones

Busisiwe (Busie) Sityata-Jones has been working with Hands at Work since 2006.  She has served as the Young Moms Program Coordinator, Clau Clau Service Centre Coordinator, and is now the Regional Support Team Leader for South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.  She was born in and has lived her entire life in South Africa.  She has one son and is married to Stephen Jones. 


40 Days of Prayer - Day 15

Pray for all children attending school throughout Africa.  Thank God for those communities that have built Community Schools to provide education for children who would otherwise never be able to attend.  Pray they will be able to focus on learning when they face many challenges each day. 

"Around 3.7 million children in Nigeria do not have access to any education.  The need there is enormous. Throughout many African countries the story is the same.

As I walked through schools in Nigeria, I saw this desperate need first hand. We visited one school in a community called Elekuru. This rural school has around 250 children but only 4 teachers and the children are divided into different grades simply by having their desks facing different directions. It is a desperate situation, but there is hope. Peter, our Service Centre Coordinator in Nigeria, has a real passion for teaching and immediately I could see his whole persona change when he was in front of the blackboard. It is people like Peter, who want to educate the most vulnerable, that are bringing hope to so many lives across Africa.

Please come together today and pray for all the children attending schools across Africa, and pray that they will be hungry for a decent education and want to learn. Pray too for the teachers sacrificing their lives to give children a better hope for the future. Thank God today for all those children who are the lucky ones and actually have a school to attend; there are many who do not."

-Tommy Malster, International Volunteer (UK)

Tommy Malster has been with Hands at Work since February 2011. His role is Project Accountant for Malawi, Nigeria, and DR Congo. He is engaged to Morgan Dalley and their wedding is in May of this year.

40 Days of Prayer - Day 14

Ask God to stir in the hearts of your church and life community. Ask Him to find volunteers amongst them who want to be His willing servants; who want to care for the vulnerable in Africa. Pray they will understand the devastating wounds the children of Africa face, and will feel called to do whatever they can to help.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words” –Romans 8:26