PL2010-35, 01-Sep-10
Wednesday, 1st September 2010 | No: PL2010-35 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 'Day' and 'Country' designations below refer to the respective right-hand page(s) in the 2010 edition of the Points for Prayer Handbook, which contains useful background information to these prayer requests.
Click on these links for further information on Countries, Partners and People.
Days 13 and 14 – KENYA
In Tuum, the monthly Leadership Training Programme is due to begin this Saturday (3rd). Many of those hoping to attend will have to start travelling tomorrow, Thursday 2nd, because of the poor condition of the road to Maralal and Nahururu following the heavy rains in the past week.
With schools due to open again next Monday (6th), students are already making preparations to leave home and many will be setting out on their travels in the next couple of days in order to reach school in time for the start of the new term.
The security situation around Tuum remains fragile with many police still in the area actively seeking to stamp out local cattle rustling activities and catch those involved.
Stephen and Angelina Cowan are in Nairobi at present, preparing to take Caragh back to boarding school this weekend.
- Pray for safe travel for the team travelling to Nakuru for the training, and that the training will have a positive impact on the lives of those who attend bringing beneficial changes to the communities where they live.
- Remember Caragh as she returns to school on Sunday evening (5th) after a long holiday break. Pray that she will quickly settle back into the daily routines and disciplines of boarding school and will be able to cope with the separation from the rest of the family. Pray that Stephen and Angelina will have a safe journey back to Tuum, which is planned for Monday next (6th).
- Continue to pray for the security situation in Tuum, that tensions in the community may lessen and that the police will have wisdom to adopt appropriate measures to curb cattle rustling in the area.
In London, life continues to be both busy and challenging for Edwin and Anne Kibathi (and family) who are engaged in PCEA’s UK Outreach - a ministry to the Kenyan and East African expatriates community, who have come to live in the UK’s capital city.
Edwin reports that a number of their members have travelled to Kenya over the summer to see family and friends; some have are back in the UK, while others have yet to return.
Peter, the husband of a church member, has been diagnosed with cancer and the doctor’s report is not very encouraging.
A number of young people in the church, who sat GCSE or A-level exams earlier this year, have done well, achieving good results. They’re now preparing to move on to the ‘next level’, to either begin A-level courses or start university. Among them is Edwin and Anne's eldest son, who hopes to start university later this month.
- Thank God for safe journeys for those who have travelled over the summer and remember those who have yet to return.
- Remember Peter that he will experience peace; and for his wife, that God will encourage her.
- Thank God for all the young people who have passed exams and pray that they will do well as they move on to the next level of their education.
Days 16 to 19 – MALAWI
The Moderator, Dr Norman Hamilton, his wife, Evelyn, and daughter, Julie, are due to arrive in Blantyre this Saturday (4th) after their visit to South Africa. During the next two weeks, they will be visiting CCAP church leaders and projects in the Blantyre, Nkhoma and Livingstonia Synods of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP), and meeting with PCI missionary personnel currently serving in Malawi.
In the coming week, they will be in Blantyre, Zomba (7th), then Nkhoma (8th) before arriving in Mzuzu (9th.) They are due home again on 18th September.
- Pray for continued safety in all travel and for good health for the Hamiltons for the remainder of their trip.
- Give thanks for a good visit to South Africa and the opportunities and challenges it provided.
- Pray for God’s blessing on every aspect of the next couple of weeks, which will involve fairly extensive travel around Malawi and meeting with many different people and groups. Pray for stamina and renewed strength for each new day, and that the Hamiltons’ visit will be an encouragement to all they meet and come in contact with.
Day 23 – PAKISTAN
It’s nearly a month since the monsoon rains brought devastation to Pakistan, affecting around 20 million people and claiming the lives of 1,600 others.
Thousands of people have now fled their homes in southern Pakistan, near to the coast, as floodwaters from the north reached this part of the country and spread out over low lying areas.
However, in the north of the country, the floodwaters have been receding and this has enabled government and aid agencies to get humanitarian assistance to more people and particularly those in most need.
The Presbyterian Church of Pakistan (PCP), PCI's partner church in the region, is actively involved in flood relief work. Writing to partners this week, Rev Maqsood Kamil, Executive Secretary of PCP, says: “It is quite clear and is being discussed even on the media that minorities are being deliberately neglected by the government, politicians and Muslims religious relief agencies. As a consequence, PCPhas deliberately chosen to try to help the weakest and most neglected minorities.”
In the past week, a team led by PCP’s Moderator, Rev Arif Siraj, embarked on a two-day road journey from Gujranwala to an area on the border between Punjab and Sindh Provinces, where they have been helping low caste Hindu people and a number of small groups of Christians - around 200 families in all.
Already extremely poor, these people have lost everything and had been enduring flood waters between six and eight feet deep. Before the PCP team arrived, no government or any other relief agency had reached them, and they had no food, water, tents, clothing, bedding, medicines or other necessities of life. With around 10 to 15 persons per family, more than 2000 individuals have been helped, with each family receiving a mix of essential food stuffs and personal sanitation items sufficient to last 10 days.
The PCP team plans to return with more aid in about a week, bringing a medical team with them to treat the sick. They also have plans to reach a further 1120 Christian and 220 Hindu families, who are living in very, very difficult conditions in Khyber Pakhtoon Khwah.
Maqsood Kamil concludes: “Please continue to pray there is too much that needs to be done. We will need a lot of help to care for these people. PCP is making a special effort to raise funds locally and next Sunday is designated for the flood victims.”
Tearfund is providing aid to hundreds of new families affected by the Pakistan floods, as living conditions continue to worsen for many survivors. Food, plastic sheets for shelter, hygiene kits and cooking utensils were among the items distributed to 500 families in the Kashmore district of Sindh this week. As the flood waters have moved from the north to the south, Sindh province has increasingly been deluged. Ashraf Mall, Tearfund’s Country Representative for Pakistan, said, “There’s been no let-up in the flooding situation. More and more areas are being flooded.” Waterborne illnesses are adding to the suffering. Diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, rashes and other skin complaints are increasingly evident as the flooding affects access to clean water and disrupts sanitation.
Christian Aid (CA) and its ACT Alliance* partners are focusing their efforts on nine districts affected by the flooding by providing: food parcels and basic non-food such as mosquito nets and water cans to 12,000 families; tents and plastic sheets to 3,500 families; hygiene kits to 8,000 families; and preventative and curative medical care to 54,000 people through mobile health clinics. Despite major issues of accessibility and further flooding, CA and its partners are committed to ensuring high standards of quality and accountability in their relief efforts.
The first phase of aid distribution is underway, with the second round due to begin in September. Mobile health units are operational in Mansehra, Kohistan and Swat, and two other units in Khairpur and Sukkur will be ready in two weeks.
Longer-term, CA’s partner CWS-P/A aims to help communities long term recovery by provision of training in construction trades to enable people rebuild their homes. In order to help restart farming and small business, vouchers and cash grants will be provided for families, and the presence of healthcare units will continue. Another important part of the recovery programme will be helping communities reduce their vulnerability to future disasters. [*ACT Alliance is a global coalition of 100 churches and church-related organisations that work together in humanitarian assistance and development.]
Our Moderator’s letter of 13th August, launching the church-wide Appeal for Pakistan, encourages members of PCI to be generous in their support, and for congregation to send their donations to the Financial Secretary’s Office, Church House, as soon as possible. Cheques should be made payable to ‘The Presbyterian Church in Ireland’ and marked ‘Moderator’s Appeal for Pakistan’. Where possible, members should be encouraged to contribute under the Gift Aid Scheme. Alternatively, people may give directly to Tearfund and Christian Aid.
Contributions received will be channelled primarily through our relief and development partners, Tearfund and Christian Aid, both of which have been working in Pakistan for a long time. However, a portion of the monies received will be donated to the PresbyterianChurch of Pakistan (PCP). This symbolises our standing alongside our suffering sisters and brothers in a time of particular need. To date, £20,000 each has been sent to Tearfund and Christian Aid, and £10,000 to PCP.
- Pray for all those who have been affected by the floods; especially for those who have been injured, have lost loved ones, or have suffered damage to their homes, possessions, and/or livelihoods.
- Pray that emergency supplies will quickly reach all those in need.
- Pray that the funds needed to provide for emergency assistance and for the repair and rebuilding of damaged properties and infrastructure will be quickly found.
- Pray particularly for the marginalised and largely ignored minorities, mainly non-Muslim peoples such as Christians and low caste Hindus, and for those, including PCP, seeking to meet these peoples’ needs.
OVERSEAS TEAMS
A number of teams are overseas over the next week as follows and we encourage you to pray for them:
MALAWI – A group of seven people, five from Finvoy Presbyterian, one from Bushmills Presbyterian and Rev Drew Moore(retired), who helps in Portglenone Presbyterian, left for Malawi last Wednesday (25th August). Included in their programme isbeing present at the small opening ceremony of a rural prayer house in Rhumpi Presbytery (the building was partly funded by members from Finvoy congregation). They are staying in Ekwendeni, where they are sharing in aspects of Robin and Helen Quinn's work, as well as engaging with and encouraging local Malawian teenagers through a children’s Bible Club in a rural village and some local youth groups. The two men in the group are expecting to lead some training sessions with BB officers, and working alongside Helen and VictoriaChihana, the ladies in the team have planned to run a craft workshop day for some village women. Before leaving Malawi, the team hopes to visit Mzuzu and PCI personnel currently serving there to see and learn more about their work. They are due home again on 6th September.
A team of 12 people from Second Keady and Drumhillery Presbyterian Churches, left last Saturday (28th August) to work with SU Malawi in building and developing the youth centre at the Kande Campsite in Northern Malawi. The team is due home again on 14th September.
TANZANIA – A team of eight people from Knock Presbyterian is due home today (1st) from Dar es Salaam where for the past couple of weeks they have been supporting Kenny and Andrea Woodrow from Knock who are working with Wycliffe. The team spent their first week in the Sala Sala district working with street children. Last week, they led a spiritual envisioning week in HOPAC (Haven of Hope Academy), a school serving over 300 children and young people whose parents are missionaries, full-time Christian service workers (attached to 37 different Christian service or mission organisations), or local or international business people.
Prayer Points for these teams –
- Good health, safety, strength and energy for all the team members and those they are working with.
- The work that each of the teams will be involved in.
- For the Word of God to be explained clearly and for spiritual fruit in the lives of those the teams are going to help or work alongside.
Prayerline is available via e-mail but ONLY to members of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Prayerline is also available as a recorded message, normally in a shortened version. |
Thank you for sharing in the ministry of prayer |
