Prayer Request 3/6 - 3/12

Tuesday
Recently the theme in China has been "return to your hometown to work and care for your family" so we have been seeing for the first time in many years that young people do not go too far from their homes to seek work and the number of local laborers who migrated from one part of the Chongqing region to another part of it has exceeded the number leaving for other provinces. Just a few years ago seventy percent were going elsewhere to work. In Henan, another big exporter of labor, many people also are choosing to stay near home rather than going out of the province. Will this help reduce the loss of young people from rural churches in China? We pray that as more young people find work near their home villages this will prove to be a turning point for all of the rural churches and a wind of revival will blow again. May the Lord continue to strengthen those who serve in rural regions and choose to stay and minister to those who are poor.

Wednesday
In 2004, wages for migrant laborers in coastal areas were fifteen percent higher than for those who worked inland. Now many workers in Sichuan say that taking into account the cost of transportation and higher cost of living on the coast, the well-paid jobs closer to home are also beginning to look much more competitive. The advantage of staying closer to the home village is that laborers can return home much more often and those jobs are also easier to find now. For every person who leaves the village to work in the city, an elderly parent or a young child is left behind so many churches have become those of the very old and the very young. Many do not have anyone to teach Sunday school or offer a meaningful ministry to the little ones. Let us ask the Lord to raise up godly and capable teachers who can learn for themselves and understand the minds of children to teach the young ones in the villages.

Thursday
Between August 2010 and December 2011 Chongqing awarded full urban-welfare rights to three million migrants from its rural hinterland who had lived for a certain time in urban areas. Chengdu plans to eliminate welfare-related barriers to migration within the city boundaries by the end of this year. This will mean that farmers will be able to migrate to the city proper and enjoy the same benefits as those formerly enjoyed by only holders of urban hukou (household registration papers).Will this mean more villagers will go into the cities and accelerate the decline of rural churches? Unfortunately, believers in the cities and those in rural areas have very little in common, and there is even discrimination between the two groups. We pray that churches in the cities will open their doors and reach out to accept the believers from the villages. It is our prayer that churches in the cities will grow tremendously because of the influx of the brothers and sisters moving there, especially the suburban churches.

Friday
In China there are deep-rooted attitudes that are hard to change which predate the Mao era. Many Chinese men find it psychologically hard to cope with wives whose jobs bring in high earnings and if someone has to give, it usually is the wife. Many of the sisters in the churches have a problem with tension in their marriages because their husbands do not have a good job or else does not have good interpersonal skills. Let us ask the Lord for strength, love, and extra grace for these sisters. May the Lord use them as an outflow of His blessing in their homes.

Saturday
Women who are very successful often find it difficult to find a husband. Even those ladies who are considered high achievers in China are now begging to wonder if they are doing the right thing and "the concept of a work-life balance, once foreign to their thinking is an increasingly popular topic of conversation". Since many Christian mothers spend much time in ministry in the church, some of their children wonder why and do not understand why their mother "abandons" them. We lift up these families in our prayer. May the family and children appreciate the dedication of their mothers and know that God will bless them because of their mothers.

Sunday
It has already become more acceptable for a woman not to be working, If her husband has a good job, or she has money of her own, she can now be a stay-at-home wife without incurring social disapproval. In the churches in China, visitation is usually done by the sisters who have a full-time job and must also do housework. We praise the Lord for everything they do in His name, such as visiting the sick, caring for and affirming those who are weak in the faith, and sharing the gospel. May the Lord richly reward them.

Monday
What makes life very difficult for Chinese women is that most Chinese men still expect them to look after the home and family more or less single-handily whether they are holding down a job or not. This includes caring for elderly parents or relatives so the job does not stop when the children are grown. We lift up those sisters who care for elderly relatives at home. May all they do be an outflow of Christ's love and may their hearts be filled with the joy of the Lord and strength from Him for each day.



星期二
「顧小家，建大家，回鄉吧」近來不少年輕人選擇不離鄉別井打工。幾年前七成以上重慶人到其他省份尋找工作；而另一移民輸出大省河南，從2008年始，八成人留在省內工作，之前，同樣數量的人都湧向其他省市。在四川情況也大同小異。此趨勢是否會減少農村教會年輕人的流失呢？我們為更多教會的年輕人能在附近找到工作來禱告；也盼望此轉變，成為農村教會的轉折點，再次經歷復興的火。願神保守加添力量給在農村教會忠心服侍、不計報酬的工人。

星期三
對四川的打工者而言，雖然在成都的待遇稍低，如果把旅途上的花銷和沿海城市較高的生活費計算在內，還是在本地打工有優勢。現今留在成都打工掙的錢，不比大跑到沿海掙得少，還可以常回家。事實上在老家也越來越好找工作了。每個離開農村到城市工作的年輕人，通常留下年長的父母，兼照顧小孩子；所以農村教會呈兩端化，非老即幼。教會缺乏主日學或青少年事工的同工，求主賜下更多虔誠愛主，並有能力與孩子溝通的教師，不但能了解孩子的心靈，也能帶動年輕的一代。

星期四
從2010年8月到2011年12月，三百萬長期在重慶市的外來務工者可享和當地居民同等福利待遇。成都市則計劃在年內消除戶籍福利壁壘，四川的鄉親也能享受到從前只有具備成都市戶籍和當地房產證的居民才能有的福利。更多村民湧進城市，是否會加速農村教會衰落呢？城市信徒與來自農村的信徒似乎格格不入，沒有共同點也不溝通，甚至還有歧視存在。求主幫助城市教會打開門戶，以主的愛接納農村信徒。願城市教會因兄弟姐妹的湧入(尤其在郊區)，大得興旺。

星期五
許多中國男性在心理上很難接受高收入的妻子，如果需要做出讓步，那麼一般都是妻子放棄自己的工作。過於強勢的成功女性往往從一開始就很難嫁出去。許多姐妹的婚姻並不美滿，或因丈夫們事業不順利或是人際關係欠佳，造成不少的張力。我們要為這些姐妹們祈求，願主加添她們的力量，愛心及滿有恩慈，能在她們的家中處處流露神的大愛。

星期六
「平衡工作與生活」這個理念曾經離我們很遙遠，但現在越來越受到人們的關注。連出類拔萃的女性都開始懷疑自己取得好成就是否為正確之舉，因為更難嫁出去。教會內的姐妹們忙著家，工作，接著還要參與教會的事工。有些孩子們會不了解他們的母親似乎把家人丟在一旁，都在教會。我們為這些家人祈求神，讓孩子及家人，看見他們的妻子，母親如此愛主，神也特別的祝福她們的家。

星期日
現今如一位女性的丈夫有份好工作，或者她擁有自己的錢，那麼她做一名全職太太，外界也不會反對。不工作的女性，現在反而更加容易受到認同。許多姐妹雖有工作和家務在身，但仍願意抽時間到醫院探訪病人，安慰、堅固信徒，並傳揚福音。我們為她們感恩，願主保守、祝福，厚厚報答她們為主所作的一切，也在主的臺前蒙祂誇獎。

星期一
是什麼原因造成中國女人活得很辛苦？不管女性有沒有工作，大部分中國男人仍舊認為妻子應該獨力照顧好家庭，這讓女性的生活更加不易。承擔家務包括了照顧家中年老的父母，這並不會因子女長大成人而結束。這些根深蒂固的觀念在毛澤東時代之前很早就存在了。我們在禱告中記念需要照顧老人家的姐妹們，願她們所作的都流露出主耶穌的愛，也賜給她們每天有從神而來的活潑靈命，足夠的體力和充滿喜樂的心。