Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Leaders Born from Prayer

Have you ever tried to help someone and they just didn’t get it? Less than two years ago, we found that even though children were receiving food and aid from TOUCH, many of them were hardened against the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Of course, Sara and the staff at TOUCH love and care for the children no matter what their background or beliefs. They continued to serve faithfully and to pray that God would show them how to reach the children. It became clear that the children were hardened because of the conditions of their lives, the trauma they have endured, and the sins committed against them.

Like the prophets in the Bible, Sara decided to spend time in prayer repenting for those things. The workers at TOUCH, and here at Friends of TOUCH, joined together for this purpose. Over the next few months, we prayed and wept together through over 200 circumstances, events, crimes and sins that scar the lives of children.

Slowly, change began to come. At Christmas, the children of LifeHouse Church in Hagerstown, MD raised enough money to purchase a brand new Bible for every child at TOUCH. Prayer and the Word of God are a powerful and effective combination, and the children began to open their hearts.
I will walk about in freedom,
for I have sought out your precepts.


- Psalm 119:45

As the second school term began just two weeks ago, our secondary school students returned to a government-run boarding school. The headmistress there says she wants more students from TOUCH, because they are so well-behaved. They are leaders in the school, especially in the Bible Club. They live as examples to the other students, and their enthusiasm for the word of God has spread to others.

Sara reports that students who finished with TOUCH and are now living on their own come back to worship at Calvary Temple, where TOUCH classrooms are located. “It’s so good to see them coming to worship God from their own hearts – not thinking they have to maintain a place in the program.” Sara says, “Their relationship with Christ is their own.”

Prayer is a vital part of caring for children. The World Weekend of Prayer for Children at Risk was June 5-6th this year.  This international prayer movement is facilitated by the VIVA Network, to make people aware of the millions of children who are at risk for poverty, disease, and exploitation, and to pray for them.  Friends of TOUCH hosted one of the prayer events at Lighthouse Worship Center in Gloucester, VA.

Participants prayed for the children of the world in five areas:

  • Those who need a family

  • Those who suffer violence

  • Those who have no educational opportunities

  • Those who suffer hunger and poverty

  • Those who have been affected by loss and death


So many of you have called or written to tell us how you pray for the children. Please know that your prayers are powerful and effective. We are watching expectantly to see what God will do in their lives, here in the second half of 2010.

See the June-July Newsletter