Thursday, November 22, 2012

The United States of America

The United States of America (USA)



HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!! 

The US has changed a lot since its humble beginnings when the pilgrims and the Indians shared their celebratory feast, giving thanks for all God had provided for them.

From the hurricanes slamming the East Coast and the stress and disputes over the recent elections to the underlying fear of the Mayan calendar predicting this year to be the world's last, this country is struggling more than it likes to let on.

But for those of us who live here or are from here, I think we should be thankful. This baby country is growing and changing so rapidly. Personally, I like change. It excites me. Let's pray for its growth and changes and for our leaders to make wise decisions. No matter how downhill we feel this world is sliding, God still loves us and will walk beside us if we ask Him to, holding our hands, keeping us from sinking under. Keep praying and praising!

Oh, and here are some maps.


 
            







Images:
maps 
air balloon (found through photopin.com)


      

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

North Korea

North Korea   The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)

 

cia.gov
cia.gov
North Korea is separated from South Korea by the most heavily militarized border in the world: the Korean Demilitarized zone. On the other side, it borders China.







Most of you probably already know about North Korea and some of the problems it's going through. So obviously, let's pray for those things. For those of you who don't, I'd highly recommend researching it (even those of you who think you do, as I did). Some of the links below might help.

A couple of things to pray for that I didn't know about before are water problems and human trafficking. According to cia.gov, water pollution and what goes with it are current environmental issues. As far as trafficking goes, while men are trafficked as well, "the most common form of trafficking involves North Korean women and girls who cross the border into China voluntarily; additionally, North Korean women and girls are lured out of North Korea to escape poor social and economic conditions by the promise of food, jobs, and freedom, only to be forced into prostitution, marriage, or exploitative labor arrangements once in China; within the country, North Koreans do not have a choice in the work the government assigns them and are not free to change jobs at will" - https://www.cia.gov/

However, while the people are desperately in need of prayer, we also need to pray for their leaders, especially Kim Jong-un, who has been in power for less than a year. Please pray for him. The Bible tells us to pray for our leaders and I cannot stress how important this is. 

Also, on a more personal note, a friend of a friend feels a calling for North Korea and has suffered persecution from her own family for this. Please pray for her, her family, and that whole situation.

Thank you to all who are reading and joining in prayer. God bless!






References and Sources:
1 Timothy 2:1-2, Holy Bible  

Monday, November 12, 2012

Ethiopia

So I've been wanting to pray for Ethiopia since this blog started (which, I know, hasn't been that long, but still...).

It was rather ironic that in the movie I was watching with my sister and a friend the other night (when I was still thinking about posting about Ethiopia), there was a brief scene featuring it. I actually got to see a bit of what this country looked like! (The picture below doesn't look like what I saw in the movie, but a country rarely looks the same everywhere in it) Having lived in Senegal, West Africa, it's always interesting to see what other parts of Africa are like. Granted, it was Hollywood, so I don't know how accurate even that brief clip was, but it was still interesting to see (and cool how it worked out with my pray-for-Ethiopia desire).

Okay, monologue done. Onto Ethiopia.

Ethiopia    The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia  





You history-literate folks might laugh, but until this recent bit of research, I had never realized how historically incredible Ethiopia was.


“Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history until the last dynasty of  Haile Selassie ended in 1974, and the Ethiopian dynasty traces its roots to the 2nd century BC. Alongside Rome, Persia, China and India, the Kingdom of Aksum was one of the great world powers of the 3rd century and the first major empire in the world to officially adopt Christianity as a state religion in the 4th century. During the Scramble for Africa, Ethiopia was the only African country beside Liberia that retained its sovereignty as a recognized independent country, and was one of only four African members of the League of Nations. Ethiopia then became a founding member of the UN.” - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia

Ethiopia also has the largest population of all the landlocked countries in the world. A lot of them are malnourished. From the famines of the not-so-distant past to last year's drought, which was the worst one in more than 50 years according to World Vision's winter 2012 magazine, Ethiopians have been having it rough. But the malnourishment is not just from the droughts. According to http://www.operationworld.org/, OVER-DEPENDENCE on food aid has added to the problem. "Pray for better harvests, wise economic governance and outside assistance rightly applied."*

Oh, by the way, here's where Ethiopia's located:
cia.gov

cia.gov
.

















 So please, let's pray for Ethiopia today.

Comment if you have news, info, questions, prayer requests, comments, etc. =)





*Taken from the Operation World website (www.OperationWorld.org),
<11/12/12>, Copyright © 2010 by Jason Mandryk.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia 
https://www.cia.gov 
 
photo credit: 
waterfalls 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Senegal

Senegal   Republic of Senegal 


 While I'm unsure as to the reason why, I've been feeling the need to pray for Senegal recently. Located on the West Coast of Africa, Senegal is the country I grew up in.

cia.gov
cia.gov
It's shape looks like a lion's head with Gambia in it's mouth. The shape is rather ironic since Senegalese lions are supposedly the largest lions in all of Africa (or so I've always been told), and therefore the largest in the world.





Senegal is an Islam-dominated country (94%), but most Senegalese are still very open to discussing religion, and thankfully, there is still religious freedom. However, "few Muslims have been converted to Christianity because of the allegiance they feel for their religious leaders."  - http://www.worldventure.com

Another constant prayer request would be for the talibes: children who have been sent from villages etc. to study Islam under a religious teacher (marabout), yet usually end up begging on the streets (still under the command of the marabout). If they don't bring back enough money to the marabout they may be beaten or unfed. For a brief look check out http://www.hrw.org/features/talib-s-senegal

On a more personal level, I have just heard news of some major problems a couple of our missionaries are going through right now. I'm not sure how detailed I should get, but God knows what's going on. Please pray that His hand will be evident throughout this situation and that the truth will be brought to light.

As always, if you have any other news, prayer requests, or comments, please comment =)

P.S. Friendliness and family are huge parts of Senegalese culture, and I found it to be a wonderful place to grow up in. Like every country, there are a lot of serious problems, but also a lot of good things.

image resources:
baobab tree 
mosquee 
other resources:
http://www.worldventure.com 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegal 
https://www.cia.gov 

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Liberia

Liberia, located on the coast of West Africa, is populated by over 3 and a half million people. 85.6% (as of 2008 census) declare to be Christians.
cia.gov
cia.gov


















It's tropical climate leads to mangrove swamps and rainforests, while further inland reaches a grassy plateau. Only 3.43% is arable land.
The degree of risk from major infectious diseases in Liberia is very high, so let's keep that in our prayers.

Civil unrest still seems to exist some.

On the positive side, according to http://www.operationworld.org, "Christian ministry is once again thriving". This is a definite praise, but with it comes an obvious need for prayer. The enemy doesn't like it when Christianity thrives.

Today, let's keep Liberia in our prayers.

*More news from someone currently living there:
" People are involved in a lot of witchcraft activity here so please pray against it. Also, there are a lot of marriages and families broken apart so please pray that the devil does not succeed in this area."


 Resources: