Today
we complete week of prayer for Russia. A
special focus is on Islamist republics within the federation where religious
freedom is oppressed and evangelical Christian churches are often
persecuted. Pray also for acceptance of
simple Gospel and openness for seeking truth among traditional Russian orthodox
population, which sees the religion as a part of culture and ethnic
identity. Many migrants from Central Asia
work in Russia. Pray for Christians to
show Christ’s love to them and witness in the face of racism. Increasing gap
between impoverished and rich also negatively affects the Gospel work. Pray for social justice in Russia.
On
Sunday we lift in prayer a small island of St. Barthelemy with only 9,300
population. Once a Swedish colony (the
only one in Caribbean), today it is French territory, located between Puerto
Rico & St.Kitts. It’s population is 95%
white Caucasian, and are established in wealth.
A playground for rich and famous, beachfront villas going at price of 80
million, and over 200,000 tourists, it is a tough place for mission work. Pray for missional outreach of churches
Monday
we lift in prayer Reunion, an island east of Madagascar. Island was populated only since 17th
century by French settlers and their slaves. 80% of people claim to be Catholics,
but in reality 90% are involved with a
Malabar religion – a mixture of Hinduism and witchcraft. Pray that
people’s hearts and eyes will be opened to who Jesus is. The Creole population, former slaves are
still the ‘underclass’. Poorer than Europeans and Asians, they also suffer
higher rates of unemployment and alcoholism.
Pray for church to be place of social justice.
Tuesday
we will pray for Rwanda. Tutsi tribe (minority) have been
politically powerful in Rwanda for over 500 years and were overthrown by a Hutu
tribal revolt in 1959. Extreme tension and violence between Hutu and Tutsi came
to a head in 1994 when Hutu extremists carried out a planned mass genocide of Tutsi. In only 100 days 800,000 people died
and over a million fled the country and
became refugees. Pray for reconciliation, especially among Christians. A major concern is also an estimated 11% of
the population who are HIV positive.
Wednesday we pray for St.Helena, an isolated island
in Atlantic between Brasil and Africa.
There are lack of jobs and families are affected as many are forced to
work on British military bases as far as Falklands.
Thursday we lift in prayer two islands, a federation
of St.Kitts & Nevis. North Leeward islands
close to Aruba they are vastly different.
First has a reputation for drug trafficking and money laundering for
criminals, whereas the second has the highest percentage of church goers! These were first European colonies in West
Indies. Both need revival, where teen
pregnancies out of wedlock are high, and half of households are led by a single
mother. Pray for the church to be the
stronghold of family values and truth.
Friday we pray for Saint Lucia, known as the most
beautiful island of the Caribbean. First
settled by French (80% still speak French creole) then English the island is
autonomous today. High influence is held
by the Catholic church (70%) The very
next church by size is the Seventh-day Adventist (8%). Pray for church witness to be the source of
righteousness and revival. The main
prayer request is restoration of family values., for the Word to be practiced
and applied in lives of believers.
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