Prayer Requests

May 12, 2008
Most or all of you know that Chengdu is a long way from Nanjing, but maybe in your hearing the news reports as you get up in the morning you will wonder.  Yes, a strong earthquake hit somewhere around 60 miles from Chengdu in Sichuan Province just before 2:30 this afternoon.  Yes, reports say that it was felt as far away as Beijing, Shanghai and Thailand.  I didn't actually feel it here in Nanjing.  Everything in Nanjing is normal.
 
There don't seem to be any reports yet on local damage in Sichuan Province or about whether or not there are injuries.  Nonetheless, please pray for the people in areas where the quake was strongest.  Pray for their safety, for any needs they might have and that they may not be afraid.  Pray for the churches.  The churches in Sichuan Province have a long history of a wonderful outreach ministry to the needs of those in the communities around them.  Pray for the Amity projects in that area, including church run social service projects and including the community based rehabilitation projects for the differently abled.  Pray for an Amity teacher who is on leave this year to study Chinese in Chengdu.  Pray for several of the students at Nanjing Union Theological Seminary who come from the earthquake area and who are concerned about their families that they have not been able to reach yet. 

Aug. 28, 2007
Please pray for all of the Amity teachers as they begin their responsibilities in this new term.  Pray that the new teachers will adjust very quickly to life in their new towns and schools.  Pray that they will very quickly establish the network of support to help with all of their needs.  Pray that all of the Amity teachers will have a good start to the fall term.  Pray that lesson planning and that the in-class activities planned will go smoothly and will generate student interest and meet student needs.  Pray that relationships may develop and grow in meaningful ways.  Pray that opportunities for discussion of significant issues of meaning and depth may present themselves. Pray that each teacher may provide a Christ-like witness of Love in Action. Pray that students may make good progress in the development of their English skills and in their learning about life.  Pray that all may remain healthy in body, mind and spirit.  

July 25, 2007
1. At the current moment, I am preparing to go to Shanghai to help with the debriefing for the volunteer Summer English Program teams that have been providing three weeks of intensive oral English training for Chinese secondary teachers of English.  We in International Ministries have had three teams this year.  What a blessing it has been to have them here in Inner Mongolia, Shandong Province and Jiangsu Province. Pray for wonderful opportunities for these 14 people to share with our churches throughout the country.  Pray about whether you or someone you know might be called to volunteer in this program next summer.
 
2. The day after the Summer English Program teachers wing their way home, I and another Amity colleague will be meeting several incoming 2-year Amity teachers as they arrive in Shanghai.  Pray for these folks as they say their goodbyes to family and friends at home; pray for their safe journeys to China; and pray for them as they adapt to life and service in a culture different from their own.  Pray about whether you or someone you know might be called to serve for two years in a similar way in the future. 

Jan. 22, 2007
Keep all of the students, teachers, church leaders, the seekers who attend the church programs, the orphans in orphanages, the AIDS orphans living with very poor relatives, and others here in prayer.  Especially pray for the Amity teachers and staff who will be traveling to our conference very soon and for several Amity teachers who will not be able to attend the conference because of health issues that they have encountered that have to be taken care of during the semester break or serious health issues that their family members back home have encountered requiring them to return home for the semester break to help out.

Oct. 31, 2006
Judy asks that we hold the following in prayer:

1. A. has little faith, but attended an English Bible study at a local Chinese church at the suggestion of a friend of a relative.  Pray that the witness of the local believers will touch her heart and that she will return to continue to learn more.
2. W. has also been attending the English Bible study group of a local Chinese church.  He is struggling to understand how God could have existed before we humans did.  He also wonders how Jesus could be God’s Son if he has a human mother.  He’s trying to understand everything by the logic he’s learned in the past.  Pray that his heart may be touched by the reality of God through God’s love.
3. Also pray for ZJ.  Judy met her three to four years ago and recently reconnected with her when she came to the English Service led by Chinese believers at another one of the local Chinese churches.  ZJ is not a Christian, but is really seeking in her life.  She has had a lot of grief and emotional pain to deal with over the last three years and is looking for a new direction and purpose in her life. 
4. Margaret, an Amity teacher whose brother-in-law Mike was already going through therapy for cancer, just learned that her sister Pat will be undergoing cancer surgery on Monday, November 6.  Please pray for Margaret and her whole family in this difficult time and particularly for Pat and Mike and the medical experts who are treating them. 
5. The freshmen in Judy’s oral English classes are still struggling to adapt to their new college life.  For many of them this is the first time they have been away from home and they miss their families deeply.  For some it is the first time they have had such a concentrated dose of English learning since in their middle school (7^th – 12^th grades) the English classes they loved represented only one of many subjects and now almost every class they have as English majors focuses on English learning and uses English as the medium of instruction.  Pray for them as they continue adapting to all of the changes in their lives.
6. The juniors in Judy’s American literature classes are facing new challenges this year, too.  Although most of their classes over the previous two years focused on English learning and used English as the medium of instruction, this is the first time they have had to use their English to study other content—American literature in my class, British literature in another class, linguistic theory in another, etc.  Pray for them as they grow with the new challenges in learning.
7. As the weather begins to cool and fall deepens toward the approaching winter, Amity teachers in different parts of China face different challenges in keeping warm.  Those north of the Yangtze are likely to have more heat indoors than those south of the river, particularly in classrooms where they teach during the week and in the local churches where they worship with local believers on Sunday.  Pray for the Amity teachers, including myself, as we begin to don the necessary layers of clothing.  Pray that we all stay healthy and continue to share the warmth of love from our hearts with students and with others.

Oct. 25, 2006
Pray for a special English service that is now being planned by the English Bible Study group at the Mochou Road Church.  This will be the first time that this group has held a service in English, organized by this Chinese church and reaching out to foreigners and local people together.

July 30, 2006
Please pray for the new teachers and their process of cross-cultural adjustment to life here in China and for those of us who are leading various aspects of the program that we might provide just the resources, the experiences and the caring they need in that process. (see Journal, July 30, 2006).