Prayer Request 10/31 -- 11/6

Tuesday
Chairman Mao's oldest son died at age 28 in a bombing raid in the Korean War in 1950. According to a new memoir, when Mao heard of his son's death, he said, "It's all right. There are always casualties in war." Self-sacrifice has long since become only "talk" and people in this "money talks" society even laugh at it. We praise the Lord for many who have answered the call to serve in remote and rural settings in China forsaking better pay and urban living .

Wednesday
This month is the 70th anniversary of the famed "Long March" of the Red Army in 1934-36. The fledgling Communist Army consisted of 20 - 30 year-old recruits (generals whose average age was 25) who literally marched an average of 37 kilometers daily. It is rather difficult to find a group of 20 - 30 year-old believers in a Chinese church. Many who believed when they were students have been lost to follow-up once they began working. We need to pray for the people in this gap and what churches can do to minister to them .

Thursday
Although cheap factory labor seems to be advantageous right now, the retention rate of workers in most factories is low because they tend to jump from one company to another any time they find higher wages. We see the same phenomenon in people who work for the Lord in that they switch from one ministry to another. We pray for foresight for all who support Christian ministry in China that they will not merely support a church worker for a while but will take them as holistic co-workers/partners for life .

Friday
In Israel there are thousands of Chinese construction workers who are there on multi-year contracts and live in work camps. There are also about one hundred Chinese students in various universities. Amazingly, there are several Chinese churches in this country. As Christmas draws near, we pray that these Chinese will have the unusual opportunity to accept Jesus as their Savior in the land where He was born. We also remember the growth of all the Christian churches there .

Saturday
China is now exporting books and the copyrights to them. As more and more Westerners have become interested in Chinese authors, Chinese novels are now being translated. Books on learning Chinese, however, still lead exports. There are many non-Chinese in overseas Chinese churches. Some are married to Chinese people and others have a great love for the Chinese culture and people. We remember this special group, especially those who are retired missionaries but still minister to Chinese .

Sunday
Since 1994, educators in Taiwan have been pushing "Smaller schools and classes" to improve the quality of education. Currently, the average size of classes in elementary school is only 30 students (down from 39 ten years ago). The attendance at Sunday school has been decreasing in Taiwan. Part of this downward trend is caused by heavy loads of school work and the availability of entertainment. Let us pray against this alarming trend and for the need to emphasize children's ministry .

Monday
In modern China image is everything. For an amount equal to three month's salary image consultants offer clients advice on the color and style of clothes, make up, posture, body language, speech, and mannerisms. It is no longer an easy task to describe what a typical modern Chinese believer looks like. Let us pray for the tens of thousands of believers who are high-ranking officials, serving in the military or Public Security who must keep the image of a Party member.

星期二
1950年毛澤東28歲的長子毛岸英死於韓戰美國空軍轟炸中。，據新書《毛岸英在北韓戰場》記載毛澤東聽到兒子戰亡消息後，緩緩說出「唉，戰爭嘛，總要有傷亡，沒得關係…。」在這個「向錢看齊」的社會裏，「自我犧牲」似乎成了笑柄。但感謝主，仍有許多願意回應神呼召的人，捨棄城市豐厚的物質條件到偏遠貧苦的地區服事。求神信實看顧供應他們一切需要。

星期三
十月是中國有名的紅軍「長征」70週年。當時年齡介於20-30歲（平均年齡是25歲）的工農紅軍，在兩年之中（1934年到1936年），步行了2萬5千里。目前國內教會很難找到20-30歲年齡層的信徒，很多在求學期間信主的人，在開始工作後就流失了。我們需要爲這個屬靈斷層禱告，求神賜智慧給教會能有效的得著這群人。

星期四
中國有便宜的勞動力，像是優勢其實是個劣勢。低收入的工人會爲了較高的薪酬而輕易跳槽，使得工廠的人力流動量很大。同樣的現象也可見於服事神的工人中。教會或機構人手缺乏，因而以互相挖角的情況相當普遍，也有在機構或團隊之間轉換事奉工場的人。我們特別爲所有支持中國事工的單位代禱，求神讓他們不只在經濟上支持，也能扶持工人成爲全人服事和終生事奉的夥伴。

星期五
在以色列有4、5千名中國建築勞工，他們都需要簽下多年的工作合約，且同一住在宿舍區。除了工人，這裏也有大約100名中國留學生分別在不同的大學就讀，奇妙的是以國已有好幾間華人教會。在準備迎接聖誕節之際，求神讓在以色列的華人能有特別的機會在耶穌的出生之地接受祂爲個人的救主。我們也在禱告中記念這裏的華人教會。

星期六
由於西方人紛紛開始對中國的著作和作者産生興趣，中國現在已開始輸出書籍和注重版權。中國近代小說也開始被翻譯成外文，但學習中文的書籍仍在輸出項目中占領先地位。海外的中國教會裏也有許多非華裔人士，有些是娶了中國太太，有的則是特別喜愛中國文化和中國人。讓我們記念這一特殊的群體，尤其是爲那些退而不休仍繼續服事華人的外籍宣教士禱告。

星期日
台灣教育界自1994年提出推行「小班小校」 以提高教育品質，國小每班平均人數由10年前的39人降至30人。主日學的參加人數近年來也不斷降低，原因卻不是爲了提高素質，而是因爲學校功課日愈增多，以及各樣的娛樂占據了孩子們的時間。讓我們特別爲主日學學生大量流失的現象禱告，也求主讓衆教會都能看到需要加強第二代或兒童事工的迫切性。

星期一
「形象」在時髦的中國社會裏幾乎代表了一切。人們願花3個月薪水徵詢形象顧問服飾搭配、款式色調、儀態化妝、及禮儀語言等專業意見。現代中國基督徒形象為何？實難一概而論。因爲其中除了老百姓之外還有成千上萬的高官，軍人，和公安信徒必須對信仰保密，維持各自職位和黨員的形象。求神保守這些「夜間的基督徒」，在靈命上能不斷成長，在壓力中仍能有堅固的信仰。