Pray with Operation Christmas Child - March 2017 week 4

What a privilege we have to be able to call out to the Almighty God in prayer, to speak to Him and He hear us and answer us! We can call out to Him and He listens...we should not take this lightly. We should not underestimate the power of prayer.  James 5:16-18 declares, "…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." God most definitely listens to prayers, answers prayers, and moves in response to prayers. With that in mind, do we pray as often and sincerely as we should? Do we pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)?  Jesus taught, "…I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you". (Matthew 17:20). The Bible urges us, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18). Will you join me in praying for the Operation Christmas Child ministry with bold faith, believing God is going to move mountains with this ministry?  The specific request for the last week of March are listed below. Thank you for being a prayer warrior for this ministry!

NEA REQUESTS: 

1. Pray as we seek the Lord’s direction for the next Area Coordinator for our team. 
2. Pray for a new Collection Center Coordinator (central drop off leader) and Collection Center (Central Drop-Off Location). Pray for God to reveal who and where this needs to be in NEA.
3. Pray for Vicki Pepper (our Mid-South Regional Manager) as she helps NEA and travels to fills in the voids where teams are missing leadership. 
4. Pray for our 2017 Shoebox Gospel Opportunity Goal for the 7 counties of NEA that will be announced soon!!! 

Mid-South Requests: 

1. The Lord to raise up key leaders for multiple developing teams. 
2. A smooth upcoming re-commitment process for year-round Connect Volunteers. 
3. Provision for volunteers who will be attending the Global Connect Conference in April. International Prayer Requests that each country faces: 
4. Wisdom to recruit, select and lead new and/or transitioning volunteer leadership team members. 
5. Provision of resources and the person who leads this area so they are able to reach their God-sized goals for the current year.

Middle East and North Africa:

1. Pray for the upcoming training events and the new season. \
2. ray for wisdom as new teams are growing in their knowledge and the love of OCC ministry.
3. Pray God will open doors to enter into unreached areas. 
4. Pray for the political stability in the country. 

Middle East and North Africa:

1. Pray that the Ministry of Religious Affairs will approve the importation of the containers. 
2. Pray for adequate storage of the shoeboxes and ministry materials for this season. 
3. Pray for wisdom and a successful season for the team.

Russia, Europe and Central Asia:

1. Pray for the importation process as it is becoming more complicated every season. 
2. Pray the team finds a way to import the boxes, in spite of the new restrictions, so that children will be able to receive the gifts.

South Asia:

1. Pray for security for the volunteer team following a very tumultuous year, which Christians were targeted by terrorist groups. Pray for God’s protection over all believers in the country. 
2.  Pray for favor and a smooth process as the team seeks to obtain the 2017 tax exemption from the Muslim majority government. 
3. Pray God will provide the right person to serve as National Coordinator.

Pray with Operation Christmas Child, March 15-21, 2017

NEA REQUESTS:

• Pray as we seek the Lord’s direction for the next Area Coordinator for our team. 
• Pray for a new Collection Center Coordinator 0(central drop off leader) and Collection Center (Central Drop-Off Location). Pray for God to reveal who and where this need to be in NEA very soon. 
• Pray for Vicki Pepper (our Mid-South Regional Manager) as she helps NEA and travels to fills in the voids where teams are missing leadership all over the mid-south.
• Pray for our 2017 Shoebox Gospel Opportunity Goal for the 7 counties of NEA that will be released soon!!!

Mid-South Requests:

• The Lord to raise up key leaders for multiple developing teams. 
• A smooth upcoming re-commitment process for year-round Connect Volunteers. 
• Provision for volunteers who will be attending the Global Connect Conference in April.

International Prayer Requests that each country faces:

• Wisdom to recruit, select and lead new and/or transitioning volunteer leadership team members. 
• Provision of resources and the person who leads this area so they are able to reach their God-sized goals for the current year.

We are continuing to pray for the Middle East, Africa, Russia, Europe, Central Asia and South Asia this week. Specifically, the following are prayer requests from each country:

Middle East and North Africa

1. Pray God will appoint a Prayer Mobilization Coordinator for the volunteer regional leadership team in the north. 
2. Pray the team will be able to obtain tax exemption for this season. 
3. Pray God will give OCC a way to import into the country after last year’s attack from the secret police.

Russia, Europe and Central Asia

1. Pray for the recruitment and selection of a new volunteer National Leadership Team Prayer Mobilization Coordinator. 
2. Pray for The Greatest Journey discipleship program trainings. 
3. Pray for the new house churches that will start after the distributions and The Greatest Journey discipleship program classes this season.

South Asia

1. Pray for God’s immense favor in selecting quality, spiritually oriented Ministry Partners for the 2017-2018 season. Pray for the vision casting meetings the volunteer team will be holding for potential Ministry Partners next month. 
2. Pray for the training sessions. Pray that the vision of OCC will be conveyed clearly and understood by the Ministry Partners and The Greatest Journey discipleship program teachers.

Pray with Operation Christmas Child March 8-14th

March 2017 Week 2 Pray with OCC March 8-14th we are praying for the Middle East, North Africa, Russia, Europe, Central Asia (RECA), and South Asia.

• Praise God for the 38 countries that have received shoeboxes and volunteer teams who are now working diligently through Outreach Events to share the Good News with over 5.7 million children.  
• Pray for the children who are just beginning to hear more about Jesus through The Greatest Journey after receiving their shoebox.  
• Pray for the over 2 million shoeboxes still en route on ships to children in 20 countries.  
• Pray for tax exemption of shoeboxes in 15 countries.  
• Praise for customs clearance of sea containers filled with shoebox Gospel Opportunities in 18 countries.

NEA Requests: 

• Pray as we seek the Lord’s direction for the next Area Coordinator for our team. 
• Pray for a new Collection Center Coordinator (central drop off leader) - hopefully within First Free Will Baptist Church in Jonesboro so we can keep the same Collection Center (Central Drop-Off Location).

Mid-South Requests: 

• The Lord to raise up key leaders for multiple developing teams. 
• A smooth upcoming re-commitment process for year-round Connect Volunteers. 
• Provision for volunteers who will be attending the Global Connect Conference in April. 

International Prayer Requests that each country faces:

• Wisdom to recruit, select and lead new and/or transitioning volunteer leadership team members. 
• Provision of resources and the person who leads this area so they are able to reach their God-sized goals for the current year.

Middle East and North Africa:

1. Pray for the tax exemption process that, in the coming months, children in our country would have an opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel. 
2. Pray for the Ministry Partners who were trained and are excited to receive gift boxes for the first time. 
3. Pray for the children and the partners who will be ministering to them this season. 

Russia, Europe and Central Asia

1. Pray the Ministry Partners will be able to reach children with the OCC gifts and Good News in remote areas.  
2. Pray God will give grace to believers in the eyes of the government officials so that the latter will not create problems for the volunteer National Leadership Teams and Ministry Partners. 

South Asia

1. Pray for the provision of good partners in areas that are greatly affected by insurgent groups. Pray for wisdom, guidance, and protection as the teams seek these new Ministry Partners. 
2. Pray for God’s mercy and favor as the team searches for the right candidate to support the ministry in an area inhabited by an unreached people group.

Drumroll Please...2016 Shoebox Gospel Opportunity Totals are in!!!

We have an exciting announcement—the numbers are in! Join us in praising God for 11,485,662 shoebox gifts packed in 2016! That's 11,485,662 children and 11,485,662 Gospel Opportunities, packed by all of YOU...WOW!

Please continue to pray for each child receiving these gifts, that they will feel God's love and experience the Good News and Great Joy of Jesus Christ. Since the project began, over 146 million shoebox gifts have been collected and delivered to children in more than 150 countries around the world.

Shoebox gifts collected in 2016 by country: 

United States - 9,121,799

United Kingdom - 872,104

Canada - 664,525

Germany - 388,673

Australia & New Zealand - 346,592

Spain - 41,107

Finland - 37,144

Japan - 13,718

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Total: 11,485,662 Gospel Opportunities

Someone may have been praying for the exact Shoebox Gospel Opportunity that you packed!  Pack a shoebox (or two, or three, or 3000) touch a live and change it forever in 2017! Have you set a goal for how many your family, church or organization will pack in 2017? If so comment below at the end of this blog post-we would be thrilled to hear from you!

Philippines

March Operation Christmas Child Prayer

This month Operation Christmas Child is praying for Sensitive Countries.  Will you join us in prayer?

Praise God for the 38 countries that have received shoeboxes and volunteer teams who are now working diligently through Outreach Events to share the Good News with over 5.7 million children.
Pray for the children who are just beginning to hear more about Jesus through The Greatest Journey after receiving their shoebox.
Pray for the over 2 million shoeboxes still en route on ships to children in 20 countries.
Pray for tax exemption of shoeboxes in 15 countries.
Praise for customs clearance of sea containers filled with shoebox Gospel Opportunities in 18 countries.

NEA REQUESTS:
Pray as we seek the Lord’s direction for the next Area Coordinator for our team.
Pray for a new Collection Center Coordinator (central drop off leader) - hopefully within First Free Will Baptist Church in Jonesboro so we can keep our Collection Center (Central Drop-Off Location) the same this year.

Mid-South Requests:
Praises:
Praise God for a highly successful AC Planning meeting with leader volunteers
Praise God for the area team multiplications which have, and are taking place.
We are thankful to the Lord for the National Coordination Meetings which entailed key 2017 initiatives and encouraging words from OCC Leadership.
Prayer For:
The Lord to raise up key leaders for multiple developing teams.
A smooth upcoming recommitment process for year-round Connect Volunteers.
Provision for volunteers who will be attending the Global Connect Conference in April.

International Prayer Requests that each country faces:
Wisdom to recruit, select and lead new and/or transitioning volunteer leadership team members.
Provision of resources and the person who leads this area so they are able to reach their God-sized goals for the current year.
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​Specific country requests:
Middle East and North Africa:
Pray for the tax exemption process that, in the coming months, children in our country would have an opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel.
Pray for the Ministry Partners who were trained and are excited to receive gift boxes for the first time.
Pray for the children and the Ministry Partners who will be ministering to them this season.
Pray God will help the team have a smooth process this year.

Russia, Europe and Central Asia:
Pray God will lead in the process of distributing the gift boxes.
Pray the team will be able to reach children in all of the regions with the gifts.

South Asia:
Pray for the completion of the discipleship program and the graduation events this month.
Pray for the upcoming vision casting meeting and the selection of Ministry Partners this month.
Pray for the safe arrival and custom clearance of 12 containers.
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“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians‬ ‭4:2‬ ‭ESV‬‬