The Needy

iFasters,

So thankful to approach the throne today with you guys on behalf of the poor, the hungry, the oppressed and those that serve them.

I was considering this verse at the end of a long day and I thought of us.... Matthew 11:28-30: ²⁸"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." and then I thought of this from Mark 2:17 "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

You see, I'm not a fan of being sick or weary, or needy or hungry or oppressed...yeah, none of that appeals to me. However, He has clearly said that this is who He comes for. He came to meet my needs. We live in a society that tries to cover our needs. We find neediness, in the physical, spiritual and emotional senses, to be quite unacceptable. For us, at least. It's fine for others. We want to help. We don't look at those starving and find that unacceptable. We don't look at the crying child or sobbing widow and think she should pull herself together.

And yet, I don't embrace my own need. I cover it, I hide it, I pull up my bootstraps so as not to be needy or weary or even sick! In that, I miss an opportunity to be loved and met by my sweet savior.

So today, I'm gonna embrace my neediness. I'm gonna embrace my weariness, my hunger, my sickness, my oppression, my injustice, my every weakness.....because it's here that I get HIS load, that I get His rest, that I find Him.

I pray the same for you today. I pray also for those we are interceding on behalf of....that in their times of greatest need they would be met by a gracious and good God who loves them dearly and is waiting to give them rest.

Remember the Poor:

We always pray for you, that our God may make you worth of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified! (2 Thes 1) Lord, please do in us whatever it takes to make us worthy of your calling, that our lives would overflow with you and your power and your love. May your power be at work in and through us, fulfilling and completing every good work that you have prepared for us. We want you to be known and worshiped throughout all the nations of the earth!

HopeChest:

Praise for the church in Fresno that got the ok today to go on a vision trip in Sept to Ethiopia and pick out an orphanage for their church to sponsor! Pray for Candice and her team as they lead their church in this calling!

Praise for WCC church from OK that is Ngariam this week. They are having a great time and fed over 1,000 kids. Pray as they bond with their site and dream of what God may have in store for them in the future

Praise that Luke and Adam's trip to UG (from The River Church in MI) went great. Praise for the community garden that was planted and for the relationships that were built up in the community. Pray for the team from this church that will go next month.

Pray for preparation for the team leaving for India in just over 3 weeks.

Pray for the team in Ethiopia right now!

Pray for sponsorship growth to continue in churches that have already sponsored...that it won't be a thing of the past but a living ministry of their church

Pray for wisdom as our leaders make key decisions every day, both in the US and abroad

Pray for the release of Priceless on June 1 and that the Lord will use it to open people's eyes and awaken the church

Pray for the launch/fundraiser this weekend in Washington DC and for Pete and Andrea Kidd as well as Mike and Meg Clarke who are pouring their hearts into this work.

Pray that we will not grow weary in doing good...for all of our sponsorship coordinators and advocates throughout the country who absolutely pour their hearts out on behalf of communities that God has laid on their hearts.

Orphan Relief and Rescue

I'll start with a praise-- We all celebrated the wedding of our dear
friend and out-going Country Director Andrew to his beautiful new
bride, Brenda, this weekend. Simple, beautiful and love all around.

Also sad news-- Our sweet Michael passed away last Thursday. He was
prepared and at peace in his last days. It is much harder for us, he
will be deeply missed. Thanks to all who prayed for him over the last
several months. He felt the prayers.

Matt and Mariel left Liberia indefinitely this week after selflessly
serving with ORR here for the last three years. They are starting a
new chapter of their lives in the states. Please pray for wisdom as
they figure out what's next and that they will find the deep soul rest
that they need as they recuperate from so long in Africa.

Matt Cramer is very sick with malaria. Please lift him up in prayer
for a quick recovery.

The state side office staff are being displaced this week as ORR
starts to move forward in relocating our headquarters to Washington
State from Texas. There are a lot of details that still need to come
together. Pray for strength and endurance for all involved

Indian Rescue Mission

Back to work today in God’s strength. We have decided not to go to Pune red light for a while, as there was some trouble last week for the team. But we will surely go there in a few days time, for the rescue of Manisha and Neeraj who still needs to be rescued.

But today (May 24, 2010), we have gathered fresh information of approximately 15 minor boys in bonded labor in Bijapur district in Karnataka State. They are all working in hotels and bars. We have captured them on our undercover camera and soon we will send their pictures across to you to pray.

But this rescue can only be done at the first week of June, as we run short of funds for this operation.

Please pray for funds and resources for this rescue operation.

Please pray for a successful operation.

Please pray for good co-operation from the Police.

iFasters -

*An iFast couple is selling their home, please pray their house sells miraculously TODAY!

*if you have personal requests, we'd love to lift them up...just email me!

From WellSpring Living - a ministry to girls rescued from sexual slavery in Atlanta GA-

I wanted to let you know that there is a great need in the Wellspring for Girls program for both academic mentors (tutors of sort that will sit with a particular girl while she is doing her school work) and connection class teachers (teaching simple life skills). I didn't know if any of your group is close enough in proximity or able to give time towards volunteering directly with the survivors in our program, but I wanted to make you aware of the need. We have recently opened a second cottage which doubles our capacity to serve girls and also doubles our need for volunteer. Please let me know if you know of anyone who would like to help.

Join us tomorrow morning first thing for a time of corporate prayer. I promise, you'll be blessed! Wednesdays 9:30 AM (eastern) at CALL IN # : 760- 569- 9000 ID: 968101 We are also adding a NEW CALL!!! This one will be at 1:30 (eastern) and will focus on prayer for those who are being trafficked into the sex trade. Join us!

Thanks!

Brandi

Craigslist supports Sex-Trafficking by looking the other way - will you?