40 Days of Prayer - Day 20

Pray for the hundreds of Care Workers who will visit orphans in their homes today. Pray that these men and women who love the most vulnerable children will have the endurance to walk long distances each day to the homes of those with no parents.  Ask God to rise up more volunteer Care Workers in each country.

Mbuzi is a local volunteer in Kabwe, Zambia who has visited hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children in their homes.

40 Days of Prayer - Day 19

Today, pray for yourself and everyone else praying during 40 Days 2013.  Ask the Lord for strength.  Ask Him to help you not grow weary in battling for the orphans on your knees.   

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress - James 1:27

During 40 Days of Prayer 2013, our global prayer community has come together to pray and reflect on each prayer point.  On February 23rd, a recent visitor to Africa from the UK posted her response to the daily prayer point.  She was impacted by the quote from local volunteer Emily Dinhira on the need to pray for children who lose a parent to HIV/AIDS.

"I was privileged to meet Emily on my trip to South Africa to spend some time in Belfast and Somerset with a group from my church, and she is an amazing woman who truly lives for God and inspires me and so many others so much. God is able to love so many people through her and others like her, and I'm praying for them and for the precious children God has put under their great care." - Rachel Burton

 

40 Days of Prayer - Day 17

Millions of families are living with HIV/AIDS throughout Africa.  Pray for God to intervene in this devastating disease.  Pray for treatment to reach those who need it.  Pray for the stigma around the illness to be lifted so more people will seek help, counselling and treatment.

“Praying for the stigma to be lifted is so important because when people find out they are HIV positive, their first thought is to hide from friends, family and their community.  They wonder, ‘what will people think of me when they find out I am positive?’ Most people suffer from depression from trying to keep their status a secret.  Having people around them who encourage, support and love them is so important.  It helps them to disclose their status and when they disclose it they realize that they are not the only person who is positive… they are not the only one.  And they can begin to meet others through support groups – and they encourage one another.  Then they become a voice in their community: in schools, churches and youth groups.  They stand up and tell others how they felt before they disclosed their status and how they feel after; how now they feel loved and supported and know that they can live positively with the virus.  Pray for those who are HIV positive to find people willing to walk with them on their journey until they are comfortable to disclose their status.”

-Busie Sityata-Jones

Busisiwe (Busie) Sityata-Jones has been working with Hands at Work since 2006.  She has served as the Young Moms Program Coordinator, Clau Clau Service Centre Coordinator, and is now the Regional Support Team Leader for South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.  She was born in and has lived her entire life in South Africa.  She has one son and is married to Stephen Jones.