A Call to Action and A Call to Prayer

The Ethiopian Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) has announced a proposal to decrease the number of adoptions they will process and approve—even by as much as 90%. They intend to achieve this decrease by reducing the current number of cases seen each work day from 50....to 5. That's 45 orphans who will wait longer for their forever families. This change is currently set to begin on March 10, 2011. The implications of this proposal are huge.

To attempt to counteract this proposal, the Joint Council on International Children’s Services (JCICS) has put a “Call to Action” in place. This sort of international advocacy is what JCICS does, and they do it well. Below you will find a link to their "Call to Action" post with steps on how you can help. Please take a moment to advocate in this way for the orphans of Ethiopia.

http://betheanswerforchildren.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/emergency-campaign-for-ethiopia/

More importantly.....PRAY.


Pray for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

- God is still in control.


Pray for God to breakdown strongholds of the enemy.

- Every child deserves the right to grow up in a healthy family, and adoptive families provide that for thousands of children each year. Pray that God would demolish the strongholds that are set up against adoption.


Pray for God to fulfill His promises.

- God defines Himself as the Father to the Fatherless. He declares He will set the lonely in families. He warns those who would interfere with His plan to bring justice and mercy that is due to them. Find the orphan scriptures, pray them to God, and ask Him to fulfill those promises to the children of Ethiopia.


Pray for the courts and judges and government officials making this decision.

- Ask the Holy Spirit to permeate the courtroom and convict the hearts of the judges and other government officials. Bring the power of the Holy Spirit into these discussions and proceedings--not that we would get our way--but that God's perfect will would be fulfilled in these decisions.


Pray for the children and families

- That God would shorten their wait times. Fortunately, God is bigger than these obstacles. Pray that waiting children would receive comfort. And pray that waiting families would experience peace, grace, and love from those around them.

While things are uncertain, our best response is prayer.

(Prayer guidelines from Tom Davis @ Red Letters)