Dear friends, please feel free to use this short update to help you pray for our friends in Africa

Father, as we stop for these brief moments to consider those in Africa that you have called us to work alongside, we pray your Holy Spirit would inspire us in thought and prayer. Thank you that you are ‘Love’, and your intentions are good. May our prayers help unlock the goodness you intend to shower upon all creation. 

A friend recently introduced me to an on-line quote by Dan Sadlier, who is a young pastor in a New York church. I found it helpful. 

‘Christianity can be pretty confusing,’ Dan wrote, ‘but the way of Jesus seems pretty clear:
Move toward the poor.
Empower the woman.
Create space at the table.
Throw parties.
Widen the family boundaries.
Poke holes in oppressive systems.
Don’t retaliate with violence.
Forgive your enemy.
Don’t store up wealth.
Be present with people.
Heal: Announce: Push back the darkness: The kingdom of God is near.’ 

Over the years I feel CPA has been strategically positioned to demonstrate ‘the way of Jesus’ alongside our African partners. This has looked different at various stages of our journey, but the overall intention has been to see God’s kingdom draw near. 

Uganda: Kampala Family Empowerment Project. 

• We recently had heartening news from Julius who has begun the Kampala Family Empowerment Project. The project is being warmly received and the participants are excited to be involved.  
• Please pray for Julius and his team.  
• Pray that they will be led to key stakeholders and individuals within the communities, as often the implementation, engagement and success of these programmes relies on these key people. 
• Let us pray, as the team move towards the poor, the women in these slum areas of Kampala will be empowered, and together they will push back the darkness. 

   Uganda: North Kigezi District 

• Thanks to Esther and the team in North Kigezi, progress amongst the families on the Family Empowerment programme is going well. 
• Please pray that the on-going training that the savings groups are receiving will help family members to develop healthy, inclusive, relationships, that promote wellbeing for all; relationships that ‘create space at the table’. 
• We have seen several children on the School Scholarship Scheme recently graduate and move onto senior school. As an individual, I may not know every child’s name, but Father does. Please pray for their wellbeing and futures as they move onto the next phase of their lives.   
• We pray their lives will reflect the generosity they have been shown.  
• Let’s pray the influence of the scheme would have far reaching consequences, perhaps bridging gaps or past differences between communities. We could even hope for it to benefit a whole region and people group.   

Ethiopia: Afar Girls Education Project 

• CPA have been supporting 15 girls from the Afar region to complete their university education. 
•  Many will be in their final year, and we really want to see them succeed. Great reason to throw a party!! Please pray for their wellbeing and futures.  
• We pray these girls feel empowered to help change some of the old ways of thinking and introduce new ways that empower young women to participate and change the plight of generations to come. 
• Please remember Ethiopia as a county in your prayers.  We long to see peace return to the whole nation. It is a land currently struggling with famine, on top of everything else. Lord have mercy. 

May El Shaddai, the Lord God Almighty, who loves us, protect us and our African friends. 

May Jesus Christ His Son, who died for us, save us.  

May the Holy Spirit, who broods over the chaos and fills us with his presence, intercede for us and in us, for others at this time. 

Amen. 

Psalm 85 vs10 -11 

Love and faithfulness meet together;
    righteousness and peace kiss each other.
 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
    and righteousness looks down from heaven. 

Thank you so much for joining with us. We at CPA cannot do this alone.