Today we pray for Volunteers: Karen, Claudia, Roberta
Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask. And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers. (Philemon 1:21-22)
Dear Heavenly Father,
As we draw to the end of the retreat, we want our volunteer team to be able to finish strong. Their greatest desire is to bring You honor and glory by loving, pampering, listening and carefully holding the attendees’ stories in their hearts and prayers.
Please strengthen the volunteer team in their service to You and the attendees, please encourage their hearts when they can’t see what You are doing or how You are using them, and, please keep Yourself the focus of their ministry.
Please keep them healthy and strong, please give them good nights’ sleep, please keep their relationships with team members and those they serve healthy and pleasing to You.
Please help their communication be pure and full of loving words and encouragement. Please use their hands and feet to be tools You use to bring Your love to the attendees.
And, as they debrief and reflect on the retreat, please help them to see how You worked in and through them to bless the attendees, to bless the nations and to love and serve You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
©2017 Thrive
Attendee Country of Service Prayer Focus Nation: Vietnam
Challenges for Prayer:
The country is increasingly opening up as economic progress continues. Most of the population was born after the Vietnam War and are more interested in capital gain and the outside world than Communist propaganda. They are proving responsive to the gospel – for reasons good and bad. At the same time, newfound prosperity has opened the door to rampant materialism and other competing ideologies. Pray that the Truth might be clearly and effectively proclaimed, particularly among the growing masses of young professionals.
All open Protestant missionary work ceased in 1975. CMA had laboured for 64 years (for 50 years as the only Protestant mission). Other agencies arrived in the 1950s, notably WEC, IMB, and UWM. In 1974 there were 280 missionaries in South Vietnam from about 20 organizations. Those years of sowing are today reaping an abundant harvest. Current economic development gives opportunity for Christians in business as well as for English teachers. Christian NGOs who propose legitimate aid projects are increasingly invited to work here. Literally hundreds of organizations from both Asia and the West now claim some kind of work in Vietnam. Many of these organizations work in deliberate partnership together. Pray that Vietnam may become fully open to Christian workers, and that many committed and prepared workers may respond.
Excerpts taken from Operation World