July OCC Prayer Requests

July and summer are quickly ending as so is our list of prayer requests for the Sensitive Areas and Countries in the Middle East and North Africa.  Here are the specific request we are asking you to pray about this week:

• Pray the countries can become part of the OCC program
• Pray God protects the volunteers in the midst of the civil war.
• Pray for the Christians who are facing persecution from ISIS.
• Pray for the children who are currently enrolled in The Greatest Journey discipleship program.
• Pray for the team as they face challenges because of ISIS. 
• As mentioned last week, continue to pray for the Four OCC International Volunteer Leadership Meetings will occur around the world over the next few months. Pray that volunteers will come with open hearts to be encouraged and inspired to further the Gospel to children in their countries. 
• Also, continue to be in prayer for the August 5th Quarterly Day of Prayer and Fasting for OCC.

Sensitive Areas in the Middle East & North Africa

The rest of this week will you join NEA OCC in praying for Sensitive Areas and Countries in the Middle East and North Africa?   

Specifically pray for:

• Wisdom to recruit, select and lead new and/or transitioning volunteer leadership team members.
• Provision of resources to reach their God-sized goals for the current year.
• Pray for the many outreach events that will take place in the next two months.
• Pray God will provide transportation for the refugee children so they can attend school.
• Pray God will use the gifts to reveal His love to the children.
• Pray God will open doors for OCC to reach new areas. 
• Pray the team will get permission from the government to distribute gifts in the schools.
• Pray God gives the team guidance and discernment in selecting distribution areas.
• Pray for the families who have been affected by the severe flooding.
• Pray for the upcoming Ministry Partner training where local leaders learn how to create outreach events to distribute shoebox gifts and share the Gospel.
• Pray for the team as they search for a new consignee.
• Four OCC International Volunteer Leadership Meetings will occur around the world over the next few months. Pray that volunteers will come with open hearts to be encouraged and inspired to further the Gospel to children in their countries. 
• August 5th is our next Quarterly Day of Prayer and Fasting for OCC.

Have a blessed week!

OCC India & Nepal, OCC Around the World

Hello OCC Prayer Warriors! 

Over the next few months, four OCC international volunteer leadership meetings will occur around the world. Pray that volunteers will come with open hearts to be encouraged and inspired to further the Gospel to children in their countries.  Also pray for Nepal. The National Leadership Team of Nepal is made up of an inspiring group of children’s workers. Most of the team members personally care for several orphans. Pray for all affected by the earthquake, for those who have lost loved ones, and for families whose homes have been destroyed. Pray for the Gospel proclamation through shoebox gifts to grow.  

General Prayer Requests Internationally that each country faces is: 

1. Wisdom to recruit, select and lead new and/or transitioning volunteer leadership team members.

2. Provision of resources to reach their God-sized goals for the current year.

Lastly, Spend the remainder of this week praying for India.  

Specifically:

1. Praise God for the training held in three states where 55 volunteers were trained.

2. Praise God for the upcoming Volunteer Discipleship Teacher trainings in Mumbai and Calcutta.

3. Pray for the tax exoneration.

4. Pray God will work in the hearts of the government officials who deal with the exoneration and customs clearance.

5. Pray for the TDW trainings. Pray for the Discipleship Coordinators, trainers, and teachers involved.  TDW is The Discipleship Workbook (same as The Greatest Journey but used in sensitive countries)

6. Pray God will provide the right candidates for the nine teams that will be recruited this season.

OCC Nepal & NEA OCC

Today I have 3 general OCC shoebox prayer requests, then some additional ones to follow. 

OCC prays that more children’s eyes may be opened so that they may turn from darkness to Light and from the power of Satan to God and that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus. 

* Therefore, specifically, we ask you to pray for the children receiving gift-filled shoeboxes that:

1. The enemy does not snatch away the word that was sown and for the eyes of their hearts to be enlightened so they can understand what they heard;

2. When tribulation and persecution arises, the children remain steadfast in God’s word and they would remember the joy they had when they first heard it; and

3. They would present themselves to God as one approved rightly handling the word of truth and that no circumstances would hinder them from becoming abundantly fruitful.

These are powerful prayers for shoebox recipients! 

* NEA OCC requests:

1. We have 1 request from Pocahontas. Misti Stowers has been working hard to bring more churches to participate in Operation Christmas Child.  One church is now on board and several more are meeting about it! Pray they can continue to spread the word about OCC in a compelling way that these other churches will want to get on board with us!  Lift the team up as Misti and others try to reach more churches, which means more boxes, and more Gospel opportunities!!!

2. Lift up Melinda Dixon's mother in prayer. She has been having some health problems with her sodium levels bottoming out and has been in the hospital for several days. She is improving and may be able to go home in a few days but I know Melinda would appreciate the prayers for her family. 

* Lastly, this week continue praying for Nepal, specifically: 

1. Praise God the boxes cleared customs!

2. Praise God for protecting the Ministry Partners during the distributions!

3. Pray for the children involved with The Greatest Journey. 

Thank You for your OCC Prayers!

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. (John 14:1 ESV)

D6 Sunday School Titus 3

Tomorrow we finish our study of Titus in Sunday School. In chapter 3:1-2, Paul gives Titus and the Cretans 7 guidelines to being good Christians, good citizens, & good neighbors. Can you find them? Do our actions show the world that we are Christians or is there enough evidence in our daily living to prove it? We don't do these good works to "earn" our way into Heaven but to show gratitude for God's grace and to show thanks for Jesus' willingness to die for our sins.  It's a response we should want to have to reflect Christ' Love in us. We should strive to be a fruitful follower of God, producing good fruit and leading others closer to Christ - not devoting ourselves to things of this world but instead devoting ourselves to His Kingdom and doing good for others. 

Let me sum it up...

We are NOTHING without Jesus. 

HE is EVERYTHING. 

HE became NOTHING, so

We could have EVERYTHING!

NOTHING should be more important than us giving HIM our EVERYTHING! 

He deserves our gratitude and a life of total devotion. He came to earth, died, and arose again to give us eternal life. Our good works and obedience show our gratitude to Him. 

Philippines and Operation Christmas Child

Praise God for our new NEA collection center! It is going to be at First Free Will Baptist on Stadium in Jonesboro! Kevin Barnett and Kathie Kinard will be the co-coordinators.  

This week we are asking you to pray for the Philippines. The Philippians are made up of 7,250 islands, over 700 of them are inhabited; 11 islands contain the bulk of the population. 11% of the population is unreached people groups. Only 12% of the total population is Evangelical Christian.  House Churches are being planted but growth is slow due to Muslim influence. The total population is over 93,600,000 people. 

- Praise God for the millions of Bibles that are translated and distributed each year and that His Word will make a deep and lasting impact on lives. 

- Praise God for enabling the team to reach the unreached people groups, including the Mandaya Tribe and the Kalagan tribe in Mindanao and Mindoro, through the shoebox distributions.

- Praise God the NLT, sRLTs, and RLTs are each functioning in their own roles, but are still working interdependently and serving in unity. 

- Praise God for the increased number of volunteers on the sRLTs and the difference they are making for Jesus.

- Praise God for the TGJ trainings, from the Train the Trainers to the teacher trainings, which were completed in all three major islands. 

- Praise Him that TGJ classes have reached new islands.

- Pray for the recruitment and selection processes of candidates for the vacant positions on the NLT and RLTs.

- Pray the teams will be able to adjust to the delays in receiving the training materials and will still be able to complete the trainings by their target dates. 

- Pray for the ongoing TGJ classes- pray more children will grow in the Word of God and that the teachers will lead the classes with compassion and love. 

- Pray for the remaining distributions. 

- Pray for the safety of the volunteers, partners, and teachers as they travel to remote areas for these distributions. 

- Pray for upcoming travel for the vision castings, MP trainings, TGJ training, recruitments, and interviews of potential volunteers.

 - Lastly, pray OCC will do abundantly more in 2015!!! 

Become an OCC Prayer Partner

Below is the link for becoming an Operation Christmas Child Prayer Partner sign up today!– spread the word J

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/occ-prayers/