Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name.  Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle (Psalm 103:1-3).

We want to lift up Christy, Hailey, Michelle, and Noelle to You, Lord. We ask that your comfort be felt in tangible ways when they experience loneliness, depression, and grief. So often while serving overseas one has to grieve losses long-distance. When news of a loved one’s sickness, divorce, struggles, or death occurs, the cross-cultural worker can feel trapped and helpless with a gut-wrenching pain that those around her may not be able to empathize with. There are times when the losses can be multiple (i.e. death of mom, grandmother, close friend). Processing these can be a lonely, long road.  Lord, we ask You to be their anchor in the middle of their emotions, and pray for your loving arms to hold them. Guard their souls and restore them, guide them in the path of righteousness. May they each meet someone at the retreat with whom they can share their heart with and feel heard.

Ukraine is a country familiar with suffering. For centuries it has been, “who’s invading us now.” After decades of Russian dominance, it now suffers under ineffective government, wide spread corruption and the lingering damage of environmental disasters. In spite of decades of severe persecution under Communism the church is now growing, in numbers of new believers as well as its need for spiritually wise leadership. We praise You for the numerous schools training cross-cultural workers to go into the former Soviet Union, testimony to the movement of the Holy Spirit in this important Eastern Europe country. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

©2014 Thrive.