In faith believing in the power of prayer to God asking Him according to His will to change things in the Name of Jesus, we ask you to pray with us. We know that persistent prayer from a sincere heart avails much. We also post our monthly devotions here. Join us today.
URGENT: World Vision is responding to the devastation left by deadly storms in Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Mississippi, as well as the levy break in Missouri. We are working with local partners to distribute first aid kits, hygiene supplies, and other essential products to some of the hardest hit communities. An assessment team is also preparing to survey the damage in Alabama and look for ways to partner with churches and other local organizations to help the most vulnerable children and families.
World Vision is positioned and equipped to respond to disasters all around the world – including right here in the United States. In the wake of floods, storms, wildfires, hurricanes, and other catastrophes, American families receive vital supplies and support from World Vision. And you can help.
Your gift today will help World Vision provide life-saving emergency supplies in the United States, including items like:
Food and water
Blankets
Temporary shelter
Clothing
Hygiene kits and more.
World Vision relief staff are continually stocking up and preparing for the next disaster. Your support is needed today so we can be ready to respond quickly in an emergency. Please give generously to help your fellow Americans. Click here
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come to You in the Name of Jesus asking that You would bring peace, comfort and provision to those impacted by the deadly storms in Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Mississippi. Lord our hearts break as we hear reports and see pictures of the horrific damage and learn of the loss of so many precious lives. We do not know how to pray or even ask on behalf of our Nation in this time of crisis, but we know that You are the God of the impossible and we ask that You would raise up an army of people who would be willing to do what it takes to be Your Hands extended in these places and to these Americans who stand in such dire need. Help them Lord. Show us our part in this and give us the courage to take the action that we need to take to bring honor and glory to Your Name. In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.
We are God’s fellow workers . . . —1 Corinthians 3:9
Beware of any work for God that causes or allows you to avoid concentrating on Him. A great number of Christian workers worship their work. The only concern of Christian workers should be their concentration on God. This will mean that all the other boundaries of life, whether they are mental, moral, or spiritual limits, are completely free with the freedom God gives His child; that is, a worshiping child, not a wayward one. A worker who lacks this serious controlling emphasis of concentration on God is apt to become overly burdened by his work. He is a slave to his own limits, having no freedom of his body, mind, or spirit. Consequently, he becomes burned out and defeated. There is no freedom and no delight in life at all. His nerves, mind, and heart are so overwhelmed that God’s blessing cannot rest on him.
But the opposite case is equally true–once our concentration is on God, all the limits of our life are free and under the control and mastery of God alone. There is no longer any responsibility on you for the work. The only responsibility you have is to stay in living constant touch with God, and to see that you allow nothing to hinder your cooperation with Him. The freedom that comes after sanctification is the freedom of a child, and the things that used to hold your life down are gone. But be careful to remember that you have been freed for only one thing–to be absolutely devoted to your co-Worker.
We have no right to decide where we should be placed, or to have preconceived ideas as to what God is preparing us to do. God engineers everything; and wherever He places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might . . .” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
As we go into preparations for the Sheryl WuDunn Event in September in addition to the other events and responsibilities that we have, we ask that You would keep us centered on You. Give us wisdom to know when to stop the task and take the time to focus on You. Go before us and multiply our time so that we can spend more time at Your feet. We want to be co-workers concentrating on You, not our agenda or our busyness. Help us to cooperate with You. Let us do our Women of Vision responsibilities with all of our might, yet balanced with You at the center. We give You all the praise and all the glory for the results that will come as we surrender our time and our talents to You. In Jesus Name we pray. Amen
Alisha has given permission to post this picture as a prayer reminder for her and her family. She is soon facing heart surgery. She had surgery when she was five years old and they will do a similar procedure to replace the artificial valve in her heart. She is feeling very tired as her current artificial valve is failing. She is a lovely woman who along with her husband and three children are regulars at the Network Tacoma monthly dinners.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come to you in the matchless Name of Jesus on behalf of Alisha and her family. We lift her before You and ask that you would be her strength as she awaits this heart surgery. Give her the energy that she needs to be the mom and wife that she wants to be as she waits. Encourage her and her husband and children and take away their fears about the surgery. We ask that you would guide the physicians hands and that all who come into contact with her while she is in the hospital will be kind and caring. We ask that the procedure will be successful, without complications.
Lord we know that You have a plan for this woman that is for good and not calamity that gives her a future and a hope. We ask that Your perfect plan for her will happen during this surgery and throughout her life. Thank you for the privilege of meeting her and seeing her courage as she faces this difficulty. If she does not know You, we pray for her salvation and if she does know You, Jesus, we ask that this trial will draw her closer to You.
Lorraine Pierce, wife of World Vision founder Bob Pierce, went home to be with the Lord on April 4, 2011, surrounded by her loving family. Please pray for her family and the World Vision family during this time.
Life Story:
Ruth Lorraine Johnson was born on Jan. 18, 1917, in Chicago, Ill. Her father, Dr. Floyd B. Johnson, was a radio evangelist in Chicago and Los Angeles and pastor of the Los Angeles Evangelistic Center for 11 years. Her mother, Ethel Niemeyer, of German Methodist descent, was also a strong Christian role model for Lorraine, particularly during Ethel’s second marriage when she helped minister to the needy on Chicago’s Skid Row.
Lorraine met Bob Pierce in the spring of 1936 when she accompanied her father to Los Angeles for meetings organized by Nazarene churches there. A student at Pasadena Nazarene College, Bob was already making a name for himself as a preacher. Lorraine’s father approved when she and Bob began dating. Lorraine attended Pasadena Nazarene College for a semester to be close to Bob. The relationship continued when Lorraine returned to Chicago.
Lorraine and Bob married in Chicago in November 1937. Lorraine hoped for a settled life in which Bob would pastor a church, but it never turned out that way. In the first few years of their marriage, the couple traveled the West Coast as Bob preached in small churches.
They lived on a meager salary provided by church offerings—Bob said they averaged $5 a week—and stayed in the homes of their hosts. This was an adjustment for Lorraine, who had watched her own parents’ marriage fall apart under the demands of her father’s traveling evangelism duties. She described preparing herself for the challenges through an intense, spiritual experience of “dying to self.” Later she conducted a daily exercise of mentally donning the armor of God to shield against the inevitable attack involved in doing the Lord’s work.
When Bob served in Youth for Christ, and later with World Vision, he was often traveling. Lorraine saw God’s hand in her role as homebound supporter and caretaker. Though she longed for her husband, her faith deepened as she learned to depend on God’s promises. Although she joined Bob on a few trips to Asia, her energy was primarily devoted to their children: Sharon, (now deceased); Marilee; and Robin. Lorraine took the lead in caring for the girls, physically and spiritually. She prayed with them every day and encouraged them to read the Bible. When Sharon was young, Lorraine started child evangelism classes for neighborhood children, continuing the classes for years.
While Bob worked to build up World Vision, Lorraine contributed to the ministry in several unassuming ways. Inspired by her husband’s stories about Korean widows who needed a way to support themselves, she arranged to speak in several churches to raise the money to buy 10 sewing machines for the Tabitha Widows Home. She established the World Vision Women’s Auxiliary, a group of wives who gathered twice a month to pray together and support one another. The group took on service projects. Lorraine designed and promoted the Viet Kits program in which thousands of hygiene, sewing, and children’s kits were assembled by volunteers and sent to needy families in Vietnam. Lorraine also championed her husband’s dream of a children’s hospital in Korea, raising $50,000 through the Women’s Auxiliary.
After Bob’s death in 1978, Lorraine established a living memorial called the Robert W. Pierce Award for Christian Service, which annually honors men and women serving the Lord around the world with a prize of between $5,000 and $10,000, through which Christians from many different countries have been recognized. Lorraine believed this was how Bob would have wanted to spend the money—encouraging fellow believers as they labored faithfully in difficult places.
Former World Vision U.S. President Bob Seiple called Lorraine the “birthing mother” of World Vision, and she maintained a mother’s loving link to the ministry for the rest of her life. She prayed for World Vision daily and kept in touch with its leaders, enjoying a close friendship with World Vision U.S. President Rich Stearns, World Vision Canada President Dave Toycen, and past and present World Vision International Presidents Dean Hirsch and Kevin Jenkins. Lorraine Pierce always saw World Vision as a gift from God and a channel for His love and mercy. She never failed to remind the organization of its evangelical roots.
In September 2000, during World Vision’s 50th anniversary celebration, Lorraine traveled to Korea as well as attended the dedication of the U.S. headquarters’ chapel in Federal Way, Wash., to her family. Her last visit to World Vision was in 2006, when she addressed chapel.
Lorraine lived the last years of her life in southern California, near her daughters Marilee Dunker and Robin Ruesga. She is survived by six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Memorial Service Details:
Friday, April 8, 1:30 p.m. PDT
Wee Kirk o’ the Heather Chapel
Glendale Forest Lawn, Calif.
Our Chapter has many events coming in the next six months for which we need much prayer. Please read about the event and join with us in praying.
Network Tacoma "Dinner for 50": April 11, 2011
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for Network Tacoma workers and clients. We lift this organization before your throne and ask that You would bless each staff member spiritually, physically and financially. Thank you for providing for the needs of this organization. Go before us as we serve them dinner on April 11. Bring volunteers to serve the meal. Bring the finances we need to present and serve a lovely meal to bless each one eating with us. Help us to be a blessing to each other and to the Network Tacoma men and women on this day. Partners Overnight Retreat: April 15-16, 2011
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity that we have to go to the Talley's gorgeous Swiss chalet in Cle Elum, Washington. Bless the Talley's in every way, Lord and multiply back to them as they are giving to us during this retreat. Please send the women that You would have to this retreat. Bind us together, Lord, with chords that cannot be broken. Give us sweet fellowship with each other and with You. Train us and equip us to be leaders in our communities and light in the darkness around us. Bless Tom as he brings his expertise to us. We ask that he be blessed as he gives of his time and talents on Saturday. Let us leave there with a new vigor, a renewed sense of purpose and with Your blessing as we embark on another season of serving You on behalf of the poor and the needy. Bless our agenda of relaxing with friends, praying, sharing, training, reviewing, creating and planning and let it be Your agenda throughout our time together. Give us safe travels and sweet memories. Heart of the Matter Module 2 Study Group: Spring 2011
Thank you Heavenly Father for the HOTM study currently going in Federal Way and for the one to come in Gig Harbor. Enlighten us to Your call and give us conviction about how we are to help the marginalized women and children in our world. Break out hearts for the things that break Your Heart. Equip us to be your women for this generation. Joeseppi's Restaurant "Takeover" Fundraiser: May 16, 2011
Lord,
We need Your help with this fundraiser. We believe that this is a way to raise funds for our projects. Please help us Lord. We need a leader for this event who will coordinate all of the parts. Help us Lord by sending hundreds of people to eat dinner between 4:00 and 8:00 PM. Help us Lord by sending the bussers and servers too. We know that when we pray and ask You that You do amazing things, so we turn this over to You and ask that You go before us and open the door for many to come and for us to earn all the money that You want us to earn for Network Tacoma homeless women and children, our National Project in Appalachia and the World Vision After Care Center Project in Cambodia. We are looking to You for big things on that night and we will be sure to give You all the praise and the honor and the glory for what You will do. Half the Sky Book Club: May 23rd and June 6th, 2011
Oh Lord, this book is difficult to read in many chapters. When we read first hand about the atrocities of modern day human slavery it makes us weep and it is difficult to read page after page, yet we want to understand, we want to know so that we can be impassioned to act. Thank you for the hopeful ways presented in this book to help the victims of these heinous crimes against girls and women. Give us the courage to read this book, the commitment to discuss it at these book clubs and the conviction to take action. Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon - 1/2 Marathon: June 25, 2011
Lord we ask that this team will raise at least $1000 for our projects. Give those participating generous sponsors. We ask that you would give them strength and stamina for this race. Bless their efforts, Lord and let this event be a testimony to the community of your compassion and love. Thank you for the good report that will come about this day. Appalachia Trip: Week of July 24, 2011
Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity for this life-changing trip for the women who choose to go. Thank you for the opportunity that they will have to view and participate in World Vision's U.S. Programs work taking place in rural West Virginia. We pray that they will bond with their traveling companions and return even more motivated to make a difference. Thank You, Lord, for using them to minister and be a blessing to those in Appalachia. We ask for traveling mercies and reasonably priced airfare and car rental rates. Thank You for being present throughout this trip in every way throughout each day. Sheryl WuDunn Event Fundraiser: September 18, 2011
Finally, Lord, You gave Brenda a vision for this event and You moved on the heart of a World Vision donor to bring Sheryl to Seattle. Thank you for this opportunity to share with the Seattle community the truths about modern day slavery and the hope that we have in You as we stand against it. Bring Sheryl here safely, bless her as she comes. We know that we serve a God of the amazing and we know that You are going to work all things together and weave a beautiful tapestry, orchestrate a wonderful symphony and bring women and men from the north, the south, the east and the west to this event who will be moved and whose hearts will be stirred to make a difference against modern day slavery. This is our big fundraiser, Lord. We need You. We need You to coordinate all of the Washington chapters planning this event; we need You to give wisdom and favor; we need You to open doors and close doors to bring about an evening that will raise funds to sponsor our projects. Help us to remember that we do all of this for the poor children and women in Tacoma, Appalachia and Cambodia, the places of our projects. Lord, this is bigger then all of us put together, yet it is nothing for You. We thank you in advance for what You will do and for the funds that you will bring to these projects through this event.
Lord, we don't want to be busy for busy's sake; we want to make a difference for Your Kingdom's sake. We ask that You would help us to leave a foot print in this community that will draw all people to You through what we do and who we are as Women of Vision and Your women. Give us Your perspective on these events and help us to view them from that perspective. When we get stressed from over doing, give us peace. We we lose our way and feel overwhelmed, bring us back to the solid Rock. We are frail and weak, yet we know that You are strong and mighty to stand. Thank you for the privilege of serving You and others. We ask all of these things in Your Name, Jesus. Amen
Women of Vision is a volunteer ministry of World Vision that educates, inspires and equips women to use their God-given resources in compassionate, mutually life-changing service to impoverished and oppressed women and children worldwide.
