October 1 World Vision Day of Prayer

 World Vision Day of Prayer

"For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them."

— Matthew 18:20 NIV

 The World Vision Day of Prayer is an annual event held on October 1. This is World Vision's first day of the new fiscal year and World Vision offices worldwide will close their doors for the day and gather together to worship, offer thanksgiving and pray for the coming year.

Each year World Vision has a theme for the Day of Prayer. This year it is "For Unto Us A Child Is Born" from Isaiah 9:6. Though we normally see this passage at Christmas to celebrate Jesus' birth, we view it as an incarnational verse: God living with us, His people. He came as a child who grew in stature and wisdom. World Vision seeks to mirror the incarnational work of Christ in our commitment to children, so that every child has an opportunity to grow in stature and wisdom.

We invite you to join 40,000 staff worldwide, in 97 countries, as we praise God, thank Him for His many blessings and ask for His continued grace and guidance as we serve in Christ's name.

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Suggested Prayer Items:
Women of Vision Day of Prayer and Action Prayer Points

Pray for the needs of your sponsored children and chapter projects…
: For awareness of needs within your child’s community.
: For intentionality in getting to know your sponsored children.
: For courage to be an advocate for justice, at every opportunity.
: For opportunities to partner together in chapter projects (or to start a new chapter
project). Visit our Projects page to explore new opportunities:

Praise God for…
: The opportunities that will be presented to you throughout the year that will bring change to your sponsored communities.

Pray for our elected leaders…
: For wisdom for our leaders as they begin to make decisions about budget priorities.
: That bold action will be taken to provide the necessary investment to fund interventions that alleviate suffering.
: That policies and laws would be put into place that would promote the cause of the oppressed, both locally and globally.
: For leaders to seek God’s will above their own.

Praise God for…
: The truth that His love and power reign supreme above world leaders.

Pray for the hungry…
: For the children who die from hunger every day.
: For wisdom for government leaders who are seeking effective means to address the food crisis.
: For greater efforts to urge Congress to expand programs that address hunger, child nutrition, and agricultural development, to eradicate child hunger worldwide.
: For God’s guidance in showing us how we can help others to break the cycle of hunger.

Praise God for…
: The food aid, agricultural training, nutrition education, and food protection resources made possible by World Vision donors from around the world.

Pray for those suffering from HIV and AIDS…
: For the more than 15 million children orphaned and made vulnerable as a result of HIV and AIDS and that those in need would receive adequate care and support.
: For the millions of people living with HIV and AIDS who have been designated eligible to receive anti-retroviral drugs, but have not yet due to insufficient funds and delays.

Pray that barriers would be removed so that they might receive treatment.
: That mothers who are HIV positive will be able to access the drugs and other measures necessary to help them prevent transmission of the virus to their unborn child or infant.
: For the more than 77,000 caregivers that care for those suffering from HIV and AIDS in AIDS endemic countries.

Praise God for…
: The AIDS prevention and care programs that serve the afflicted that World Vision staff,volunteers, and partners operate in more than 60 countries.

Pray for children in slavery and bondage…

: For those children who are taken advantage of and suffer greatly ─ that they would be comforted.
: For those who would exploit or enslave others. Pray for a spiritual breakthrough so that they might release their captives and work to prevent the captivity of others.
: For the advocates around the world who are standing against child slavery.
: Pray for the success of the CPCA (Child Protection Compact Act), legislation currently in U.S. Congress. This is one way the U.S. can help foreign governments to end the illegal sale of children for sex and slave labor. Read more on our Advocacy page:
: For those who work to help prevent children from falling into slavery and protect and restore those who have survived the ordeal.

Praise God for…
: The many policies put into place over the years to protect children from exploitation and bondage: The Trafficking Victims Protection Act, The PROTECT Act, The Child Soldier Prevention Act.

Pray for those suffering from malaria…
: That recent efforts focused on ending preventable deaths from malaria by 2015 will be achieved.
: That families threatened by malaria will receive insecticide-treated bed nets and other interventions that they need to protect their families from this killer disease.
: That in this difficult economic period, individuals and governments will still be able to respond with the financial resources needed to protect children and help end malaria (more than $6 billion a year).
: That we might see malaria eradicated in our lifetime.

Praise God for…
: The extensive distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets to malaria infected regions around the world, made possibly by World Vision donors.

OPTIONAL: As we focus our attention on justice issues around the world, it is important to remember that Jesus is the light of the world. As Christ’s followers, we reflect His light in a world where the darkness of poverty and injustice abound. Lighting candles is a great way to symbolize light dispelling darkness. As we begin this time of prayer, considering lighting candles in solidarity with Jesus’ call to reflect His light in our communities as we respond to
injustice.

Prayer for 10K VisionFund Cambodia Fundraiser

Brenda's 10K for Cambodia

Brenda, a Co-Chair of our Chapter, is participating in a 10K run this morning to raise funds for our VisionFund Cambodia Project. Ask that God would bless her as she courageously runs this race with strong knees as she runs the hills of Tacoma, stamina to finish the race and blessings as she gives of herself in this way to be a blessing to others.  Pray that donors would respond and make needed gifts to help the poor children and women who have been marginalized in Cambodia.

For more information click this link, Donate to Cambodia.

Prayer for 10K VisionFund Cambodia Fundraiser

Brenda's 10K for Cambodia

Brenda, a Co-Chair of our Chapter, has been preparing for a 10K run to raise funds for our VisionFund Cambodia Project.  Read what Brenda has to say from her heart about Cambodia and about her run.

" Our group of women (Women of Vision) share the same desire (as World Vision) - to make the world a better place for women and children, especially those trapped in human trafficking and modern day slavery. I am particularly passionate about this issue since adopting Hope. As I watch her participate in TaeKwonDo, play her violin or work hard on a school project, I’m reminded how fortunate she is to be living in a safe place. If she had not been adopted, she would be living on the streets of China by age 13 and subject to sex trafficking and slavery. I just can’t imagine. . . .

Our Women of Vision team has committed to educating friends about the issues of human trafficking and child labor. We have also committed to combating this horrific activity in Cambodia, where the pressures of poverty coupled with the commercial sex trade pose serious threats to children. Here is an example of what is happening in Cambodia:

Parents struggling for a way out of poverty and desperate to feed their family send their 8-year-old daughter to work as a domestic servant—or so they thought. Tricked by an unscrupulous acquaintance, the money they received was actually the down payment on the sale of their little girl into the sex trade. After a period of brutal and systematic coercion into sexual slavery, maybe she is rescued and taken to a secure center for girls with similar stories. But maybe she never gets rescued.

As a parent, I’m sure you can’t imagine the pain these families must face. Our team wants to make a difference in the lives of these mothers and children through a proactive approach: World Vision’s microenterprise development, called VisionFund Cambodia. VisionFund Cambodia helps the entrepreneurial poor get a start in business by providing small loans.

 I’ve committed to raising money for microfinance loans to Cambodian women by participating in the 10k You Go Girl run coming up this Sunday morning. . .pray for my knees as I run the hills of Tacoma! Only my passion to help with this project would make me get up at 7:00 in the morning to run 6 miles."

In response to Brenda's courage to run this race, please consider making a donation by clicking this link, Donate to Cambodia. This will allow you to donate on our Women of Vision Donation page.

Prayer:
Ask God to give Brenda wisdom on what foods to eat today that would strengthen her body, bless her with a good night's sleep, and encourage her as the finish to her preparations draws near to let her passion for Cambodia cause her to press on to the end.  Ask God to bring contributors to this cause to raise funds for the need in Cambodia.

Pray for Pakistan

World Vision says emergency in Pakistan will “get worse before it gets better”

 Information:
Sukkur, Pakistan, September 1, 2010 — More than one month after the flooding in Pakistan began, World Vision says the emergency in Pakistan will get worse before it gets better. Up to half of the affected population still hasn’t been reached. Unsanitary conditions and a lack of clean water are causing outbreaks of diarrhea and concerns about cholera. Children, wearing the same muddy clothes for days, are developing skin diseases like scabies, and many families are unable to begin the grieving process and bury their dead because there is no dry land on which to bury them.

Food and water: Many markets have been destroyed and food is generally not available. Some 3.2 million hectares of agricultural land have been flooded. Food scarcity is expected in coming days and months. The need is greater than available resources. The main water sources in the area are dug wells, hand pumps and a few tube wells. However, wells have become contaminated and the water is no longer safe to drink. People can live on small amounts of food, but they can’t survive without potable water.


Shelter: Many displaced families are without shelter. Others have found temporary shelter with friends and relatives, but overcrowding is making water, food and sanitation even scarcer. Many schools (private and public) are now serving as temporary shelters.

Health and sanitation: Some clinics in the area have been washed away, and medical staff and medicine are scarce. Children and families are suffering from diarrhea, vomiting, malaria and acute respiratory infections. There is risk of cholera outbreaks and spread of other waterborne diseases. Even before the flooding, families generally did not have proper toilets in their homes. Since the flooding, human waste has been mixed with drinking water. In addition, water is sitting stagnant in many places, increasing the risk of disease.

Infrastructure: The road networks in the area need to be rebuilt. Many isolated communities are depending on items ferried in by helicopter to survive. Power is out in some areas.

Livelihoods: Most people are farmers, earning a living from crops and livestock. Now, 3.2 million hectares of crops have been damaged. Irrigation systems are also damaged or need vast clean-up work.

World Vision has provided food, emergency items and health care to more than 30,000 people in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province (KPK) since the start of the floods. In addition, the aid agency plans to start a nearly $2.2 million project in Punjab through funding from the United States' Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, providing emergency relief, healthcare, and clean water to 104,000 people in the Murzaffargah and Rajanpur Districts.

Pray:
Pray that the Lord will use the disaster in Pakistan to turn the peoples' hearts to Him. Praise Him for the faithful and incredible work of World Vision in this area. Ask God to provide for and encourage the affected families and protect the World Vision staff from discouragement, disease and danger. Ask for unity amongst the relief organizations and that their efforts will bring about relief from the incredible suffering and despair of the children and others impacted by this catastrophic event.


Action Step:
To donate to World Vision's relief efforts in Pakistan, please visit www.worldvision.org or call 1-888-56-CHILD (1-888-562-4453).