Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ... Tomorrow

Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Their mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, they seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).

Invitation to Prayer ... Tomorrow

Hi Friends,

I will not be at Faces prayer time this week, as I'm out of town. But I do think some of the intercessors will still be meeting so come if you can. They will be meeting this Wednesday at 11:00 a.m., in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. I hope you can join them! Regardless, we can each continue to pray for children wherever we are!

I write these emails the week before I send them so the content is relatively current. Because I'm taking this week off work to enjoy spring break with my children, there will not be an email on March 19. But, we will meet to pray on March 21! I look forward to seeing you then.

Also, Faces of Children is now on Facebook! I invite you to like our page so that you can see regular stories, prayer needs, and updates from partner ministries.

Warmly,

Carrie



Dear Intercessors,

I thought it might be time to pause and celebrate some places where God has moved on the hearts of his people to respond to the needs of children around them. I found these stories to be encouraging and hopeful and uplifting and ways we can celebrate that no matter how dark the circumstances, the light and love of the Father can never be shut out.

Happy Spring Break!

Photo by
FLORIDA // Two generations of a family adopt nine siblings to keep them all together.

Peggy Smith and her husband Jacob had no children until they came across a plea to help the kids on Facebook. The young couple are now first time parents to four children who range in age from a few months old to four. They decided to join forces with Jacob's parents Thad and Loryn to adopt all nine children who "have a bond so tight they cannot be split up." Peggy, 28, and Jacob now look after the youngest four kids while the remaining five siblings, aged between eight and 14, live with Thad and Loryn just a few doors down in Tampa, Florida. Read more here ...

Please pray for this family as they adjust to each other and the new relationship dynamics. Praise God for the Smith family who recognized God's quiet whisper in the call He put in their hearts, "If not us, then who?"

Washington Post Photo by Tamir Kalifa
TEXAS // Training patrol officers to spot child trafficking victims.

Patrol officers are trained to spot drunken driving and drug trafficking. Why not child trafficking, too? That's the question Texas DPS officer Derek Prestridge found himself asking. Out of this question, and with the help of experts both within and outside of the law enforcement, Prestridge developed a patrol officer training program that helps officers identify and watch for key indicators in child trafficking during routine traffic stops: Interdiction for the Protection of Children (IPC). Since the inception of the program in 2009, Texas began recording child trafficking rescues (something not done previously) and so far they've tallied 341. And in virtually all of these cases, the officers involved credit the IPC program. Now, the US Marshal's service is helping take this training to police departments around the country. Read an in-depth report about the history of this training, its successes and its future here. Read more here ...

Praise God for officers who recognized one of their greatest responsibilities is to understand how to protect children, and then did something about it! Praise God for the fact that this training program is taking off and pray for it to continue to touch lives and equip public servants to better do their work.

Reuters Photo by Lorgina Minguito
GLOBAL // 55 Incredible Photos Of Girls Going To School Around The World

In celebration of International Women's Day on March 8, Huffington Post put together this collection of images of girl's going to school. See the pictures here ...

Praise God that all around the world, many girls do get to go to school. Pray for their safety on their journeys to and from school, good quality teachers, and continued educational opportunities. And of course, let's also pray for girls (and boys!) who don't get to go to school to have that opportunity soon.

Praying with you,

Carrie

Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director
First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153



If you have prayer requests about children, those who care for them, those who have authority over them, or those who harm them (the really hard prayers to say sometimes), please send them to info@facesofchildren.net

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