Prayer Request 8/2--8/8

Tuesday
A mysterious pig-borne illness outbreak killed more than 30, as Chinawas gripped with fear of eating any pork, the nation's favorite meat.China is the world's largest consumer and producer of pork, withSichuan accounting for about 14 percent of all pigs slaughtered.Sichuan has begun to educate 2 millions poor farmers not to slaughteror eat sick pigs. Let us remember all the churches in Sichuan,historically smaller and weaker. In recent years, campus ministrieshave flourished .

Wednesday
In Chinese cities the average age for the first sexual experience is17.4 years. Nearly one in five of the respondents approved ofpremarital sex and more men than women said, "There is nothing wrongwith it." The government has tried to stem this tide of immorality butwithout success. Let us pray for the guarding of the hearts of allyoung believers and a strong teaching of abstinence in the churched .

Thursday
Companies have started to offer kidnap insurance for the growing rankof millionaires (an estimated three million or more). An annualpremium of 500 yuan buys a ransom of 797,500 yuan. Several highprofile kidnappings have fueled insecurity among the rich. Let us prayfor the safety of all foreign church workers and their families. We also pray that more will know about the God who has redeemed them fromsin through His Son .

Friday
Party officials who burn incense and pray for promotions bother manyParty loyalists who espouse atheism. Going to the temple to pray forgood fortune has returned with a vengeance to China. Even young peopleare flocking there to pray for good grades as well as mates. Let uspray for a quickening in the pace of evangelism .

Saturday
The educational gap between cities and rural areas is continuallywidening. In 2001 nearly one hundred percent of city students enteredhigh school while the national average was only fifty-three percent.Half of the students in the country do not finish even middle school.A majority of the rural pastors have only a middle school educationand thus they are limited in their ability to study and enrich theirmessages. Let us pray for the educational quality of rural pastors andtheir children .

Sunday
In coastal provinces like Fijian and Zhejiang many high schoolstudents do not take the college entrance examination but chooseinstead to go to Europe as illegal immigrants. "Making a hundred Euroa day is better than staying in China!" they say. Young people fromWenzhou and Fuzhou simple choose to seek better lives abroad. Let uspray for all the churches and mission efforts directed at these twogroups of immigrants, especially those in Europe .

Monday
Much of the salt that is labeled as having iodine added is actuallywithout iodine. Some forty percent of edible salt in Tibet and nearlytwenty percent of that in Beijing is fake. Lack of iodine is blamedfor millions new cases of developmental disorder yearly. Fake goodsare a part of China's daily life but fake salt is very damaging. Letus pray for the millions of believers who are fed the true Word ofGod. May the Lord also raise many more who will live to be true Lightand Salt for Jesus .

星期二
中國爆發人感染豬鏈球菌的疫病，已有三十多人死亡。中國是全球豬肉最大的消費和供應者，豬鏈球菌疫情有擴散趨勢，造成民眾拒吃豬肉的恐慌。。四川省已屠殺了14%的豬隻，並對200萬貧農加強宣導：不私宰或食用病豬，以免感染。讓我們記念在四川的教會，雖然歷來規模較小也較弱，但近年校園事工成長茂盛，求主看顧保守聖工的果效。

星期三
調查資料顯示在全國七大城市裡，初次性經驗的平均年齡是17.4歲。近乎1/5者贊同婚前性行為，男性多於女性受訪者表示「那樣做沒什麼不對」。政府曾試圖將婚前性行為列為不道德行為來加以宣導，可惜並不奏效。求神讓年輕信徒能看重貞潔，保守自己追求聖潔；也讓教會加強這方面的教導。

星期四
近年多起駭人聽聞的綁架案使有錢人人人自危。國內的保險業者，新推出一項「綁架險」服務，以滿足日益增多的百萬富翁(約估有300萬人以上)。年費是500元人幣，可買得797,500元人幣的鉅額贖金。讓我們特別求主保護外籍教會同工及其家人的安全。也為更多人能明白而接受神以自己的愛子為贖價，將人從罪中救回的大好福音來禱告。

星期五
到廟寺進香祈福在中國又重新蔚為銳不可當的風潮，原本信奉無神論的中國官員求神拜佛的現象日漸增多，連年輕人都一窩風湧到廟裡求好成績、好姻緣。讓我們為人們靈性上的需要仰望神，求主感動更多的工人回應傳揚福音的大使命，好讓福音在神州大地加速的傳開。

星期六
研究報告顯示中國國內都市與農村之間的教育差距繼續加大，速度甚至超過貧富得差距。都會區的中學生幾乎100%進入高中，但全國學生的平均升高中率是53%；在農村卻有半數的學生連中學都沒有畢業。大多數的農村傳道人僅有中學教育水平，因此也限制了他們受裝備的能力及信息的深度。讓我們為農村牧者們及他們子女的教育品質來禱告仰望神。

星期日
在閩浙沿海一帶，偷渡出國闖天下已成普遍的現象。高中生已不在乎高校的入學考試，「賺100歐元一天，強過待在中國！」是許多溫州和福州的少年人的夢想，「出不去會被人笑話的」。讓我們為所有海外華人教會及直接針對這些新移民族群的福音事工來禱告，求神記念眾肢體擺上的心力，親自以大能拯救人們進入衪光明、榮耀的國度。

星期一
國內商標上印有含碘的食鹽中，許多並沒有真正加碘。西藏約有39%假碘鹽，北京市面上假碘鹽也佔16%。雖然在中國日常生活裡假貨充斥，但這些假碘鹽會造成智障、失聰等殘疾及流產，被控為造成上百萬殘障嬰兒的元凶。讓我們也為受偽造的真理荼害的千萬信徒來禱告，求主興起更多兒女在生活中願意為耶穌成為真光和鹽。