SCRIPTURAL ENCOURAGEMENTS

‘Bless the lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’

Psalm 103:1-5 (NKJV)

We have now reached October which means less than 2 months until the Memphis Messiah.  This year Orphanos will send another 4000 title one Memphis City School students to hear an abbreviated performance of Handel's masterpiece, The Messiah.   We are still finalizing the details and raising the funds to make this and the public concert a success.  We have taken a different approach this year and are asking numerous businesses to make small gifts to support this event. 

• Pray that businesses will commit to sponsor the event and also ask other businesses to support as well.

• Pray that the student's hearts will be open to the Gospel message through the music they will here.

• Pray that tickets will sell out to the public performance. 

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!  

It may seem a little early to be thinking towards the Christmas season but our networks are already busy planning the Christmas Parties to which over 20,000 children will be invited worldwide. Every child goes away with a present, a full stomach, and the knowledge that they are loved and valued. A staggering 30% of children attending the parties are new to the projects organizing the events, so that the parties allow contact to be established with children who desperately need help but who have previously missed out on the network of care available. They provide children with a day that is not only a source of immediate enjoyment but also the start of a path towards a happier, healthier and brighter future.

• Pray for the success of this years campaign to fund Christmas Parties.

• Pray that finance becomes available to enable even more networks to join in. (Fundraising resources are available to download from www.viva.org/christmasparties.aspx)

• Pray for the staff who will be planning the parties, that they are divinely inspired to connect lovingly with the hearts and minds of these children.

• Pray for the impact of these parties - that projects are able to help more children long term.

• Thank God for increasing partnerships with local churches. Pray that as local resources are raised and people become involved with the networks, so the community is developed in a practical way.

We have received emails from projects working in the Andhra Pradesh region of Southern India telling of the devastation and impact the worst flash floods in decades has had on the community. An estimated 2 million people have been affected with many lives lost. ‘The cries of the people are increasing every day and huge loss of the agricultural cultivation, lots of water buffaloes, goats and chickens missing.’ One ministry reports that they are planning to conduct relief camps in 20 flood affected villages. Crops in the area had already suffered through drought and now the flooding has destroyed whatever was left.

Disease and viral infection also threatens the health of the community especially the vulnerable children and elderly.

As mentioned previously, the planned National Children’s Workers Conference being hosted by ‘Generation Bangladesh’ is taking place 22nd – 24th October. They are thankful for prayers to date and praise God that funding has been coming in to enable over 500 children’s workers to gather.

• Praise God that He is making a way for this gathering, especially for the provision of finance.

• Pray that the ‘peace that passes all understanding’ pervades all last minute preparation.

• Pray for the participants that Father God would be preparing their hearts to attend and that there would be effective long term impact for good in the lives of this emerging generation in Bangladesh.

• Pray that the Holy Spirit would shape the content of the time so that there is relevant and prophetic insight, enabling this generation to take their place in and alongside adults in the body of Christ.

Many of Viva’s networks across Latin America are facilitating ‘Good treatment’ campaigns, addressing the way children are treated in society and in the church. We have had a specific request to pray for related activities in networks in BOLIVIA and PERU. The campaign is really highlighting issues of child abuse.

• Pray for wisdom and discernment as the campaigns continue, especially with regards to any disclosure of abuse.

• Pray that children will really benefit as churches and projects become SAFE places where they can be discipled to grow up without fear of abuse.

• Continue to pray for the protection of children across projects and churches that any Christian response to children at risk will advocate and act to remain a safe place for vulnerable children.

Networking response in disasters is becoming common for PCMN the Philippine network working with and on behalf of children at risk.

The Philippines is a disaster-prone country. Annually, the country is hit by an average of 20 storms/typhoons of varying strength. They also have several active volcanoes that have erupted in recent years and are sitting on a major fault line that makes the country vulnerable to earthquake and tsunami.

The tropical storm that hit Metro Manila and 25 provinces last month has affected an estimated 4 million people. PCMN’s response has been to provide direct assistance to projects and workers who were adversely affected and have little or no access to immediate help and support. They are also supporting children’s services to meet specific needs of children at risk and have a longer term goal of capacity building that will prepare faith based organizations to better handle emergency and crisis situations.

• Please pray for PCMN as they pioneer a network model for faith based disaster response for children at risk.

• Pray for them in the midst of their immediate response to the disaster and in the light of increasing food shortage that they would walk in the favor of the Most High God as they seek strategy to rescue and provide safe places for children.

• Pray into the educational process of teaching people about the environment and how we can care and protect to lessen disaster.