CPA Praying Together – July/August 2022Thank you for joining with us. Please feel free to pass on to friends.

Holy Lord, everything we need is found in you.
For those of us who come here feeling broken, bring restoration.
For those of us who come here feeling weak, bring strength.
For those who come here weeping, bring joy.
For those of us who come here with doubts, bring faith.
For those who come here feeling shame, bring freedom.
For those of us who come here feeling burdened, bring rest.
For those of us who come here feeling anxious, bring peace.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

I thought this month, alongside the wider news and prayer update, we could take some time to focus on prayer for orphans and widows. We know our Father in Heaven has a particular soft spot for them.

Isaiah encourages us:

(Isaiah1:17)

Learn to do right, seek justice, defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.’

Over the years, we at CPA have had the joy and deep privilege of getting alongside and serving with African partners, who are trying and succeeding to make these verses from Isaiah a reality. During country field trips we have met face to face with many who have been left parentless, as well as those who are without partners and supportive family. On many occasions we have found that these two groups of people often end up looking after each other.

Uganda:

  • Let’s begin by giving thanks for a recent story we heard from our partners in the North Kigezi region. Agaba Mike, a previous student at St Paul’s School, who we supported through education, has graduated from university.

He writes, and I found this quite humbling:

“I write this letter today to express my excitement upon achieving our bachelor’s degree in Industrial Fine Art and Design. I call it our achievement because since Primary Four when I was a young man at St. Paul’s Community Primary School, from 2008 up to Makerere University, you have been supporting me in terms of finance for tuition. I wouldn’t have reached this far, but by God’s grace and mercy through you people, here I am celebrating.
Thank you so much once again. May God bless you a thousand times.”

  • Let’s take a moment to pray for the children we have been able to support though their younger years, in a similar way to Agaba Mike. We pray for them now: for those who have found family and been reunited; for those who have found a loving foster family; for those who are still struggling with their current situation; for those who have found success in their education and careers; and for those who have not. Father, you know them and everything about them. We bring the many lives we know, and the many we don’t, to you.
  • Please pray for Esther, Nelson and Adeera who are project workers in Rukungiri. Adeera married last December and is expecting her first child, and Esther has just given birth to a daughter, her second child. We are so grateful for the work they are doing amongst the children and families in their hometown. Please pray for their wellbeing throughout the coming weeks.
  • We are informed that the children are at school for six days a week to catch up on what has been lost over several Covid-19 lockdowns. Pray for teachers and students alike as they deal with the additional workload.
  • Work continues in developing more self-help groups in and around the North Kigezi diocese. These are for the most vulnerable, and provide pastoral support and training, all the time encouraging self-sustainability. We would appreciate prayer as this moves forward.

Ethiopia:

  • We are grateful to our partner Compassion International as the food relief we were able to provide has been distributed. Please pray for the ongoing work of C.I who are on the front line dealing with the aftermath of war and raging drought throughout the country. Pray for wisdom on how we at CPA move forward in a response to the on-going situation there.
  • Let’s be mindful and prayerful for the many more orphans and widows who find themselves in their current situation because of the war and famine. Pray for leaders who will show compassion and integrity in their decisions, basing their decisions on what is just, rather than on ethnicity, gender or location.
  • May there be many in Ethiopia who: Learn to do right, seek justice, defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.’
  • Pray for the various churches in the Sefi Beret/Abay Atir region, that they would be one in their response to the on-going needs of their communities and neighbours.

In a world of increased tension and disparity, our hope is in Christ, and we pray that all things will be made right and just.  Let us not give up on that hope, rejoicing with many, while at the same time, through the power of prayer, lifting those who are really struggling mentally, physically, emotionally, and economically.

Thank you so much for joining with us. We value your support.

Raymond and the CPA team.