Happy New Year!  We hope that you have experienced God’s blessings in an abundant way in 2008 and we pray that in 2009 you will know and follow God in new and exciting ways.

For those of you who have been praying with us for the people of Yueyang during 2008 (and earlier) we thank you for your faithfulness and commitment to seeing the lost of this mid-sized Chinese city come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!

If you are new to this blog and our pray4yueyang resources, Welcome!

The January Prayer Calendar for the people of Yueyang, China is available for viewing and download. Please take a minute to download this month’s calendar and to print it out and post somewhere where you will be reminded daily to pray for the people of Yueyang!

Because of your generous and sacrificial giving to the 2008 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering many people in Yueyang will receive the HOPE of Christ in 2009.   Thank You!

(It’s not too late, if you have yet to give, we encourage Southern Baptists to give through their local churches, however you can use the link above to give online right now.)

If keeping track of the Pray4Yueyang blog is not very convenient for you, and you’d prefer to receive prayer updates delivered to your Email inbox, you can subscribe by giving us your Email address (use the box on the right hand column of this blog’s main page.) If you have any questions, just ask.

Prayer makes a difference. Will you be involved?

The Winter Solstice Festival (Chinese: 冬至 Pinyin: Dōng zhì), is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the dongzhi solar term when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest.

The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in.

The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the character 復 (fù - “Returning”). Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get togethers is the making and eating of Tangyuan (湯圓, as pronounced in Mandarin Pinyin: Tāng Yuán) or balls of glutinous rice, which symbolize reunion.

I know that for most of you living in the West, today is not special in any way, it’s just another Monday. However, for the people of Yueyang, China, today has significance.

Much of today’s celebrations will be benign and harmless with no spiritual or demonic elements whatsoever. However, the philosophy behind today’s holiday reflect a flawed world view that blinds and confuses many Chinese who seek truth.

Would you remember the people of Yueyang today as they celebrate “Dōng zhì” today (December 22) Ask that as families get together to celebrate and to eat “Tang Yuan” that conversations will turn to eternal things. Pray for Christian family members to be courageous and bold to share the Good News with their families. Pray for those families with no witness, ask that someone will be obedient to share the gospel with them so that they might “return” to their creator who loves them and desperately desires to have a relationship with them!

With between 250,000 and 300,000 suicides a year, China accounts for about a quarter of the global total, according to medical sources.  China’s suicide rate is now among the highest in the world.

Even as China has moved to the spot of the world’s fourth-largest economy, filling many Chinese with pride, suicide has become the main cause of death in the age group between 15 and 34.

The Chinese are caught in the middle of the often conflicting demands of Communism, Confucianism and capitalism, and they do not know which one to turn to, experts say.

Please pray for the people of China and more specifically, the people of Yueyang.  Pray that people who are lost in a rapidly shifting society will find HOPE in the Good News of Jesus Christ!

“Here Am I” by Mercy Me.

Another line sings of favoring “His dear cause” over worldliness. Just as Shea has stayed faithful to glorify God in song around the globe, Southern Baptists have long been faithful to give time and money to help accomplish the worldwide missionary task.

Economic uncertainty affects your families and your church. It also affects every missionary family on the field. Their work cannot go forward without your continued sacrificial giving.

May God bless you in your ever-faithful obedience to our Great Commission task.

Jerry Rankin, president
International Mission Board

Your prayers play a vital role in bringing the good news to the people of Yueyang and there is no way for us to express our gratitude to those of you who faithfully ’stand in the gap’ for the people of Yueyang on a regular basis!

While the focus of this blog is to mobilize prayer, occasionally we will let you know about other ways you can be involved in bringing the Good News to those who need it desperately. One of those ways is by giving generously and obediently to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. (We encourage Southern Baptists to give through their local churches, however you can use the link above to give online right now.)

In addition to the prayer requests found on this blog and the prayer calendar, be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as you spend a minute or two in prayer every day for the people of Yueyang.

If keeping track of the Pray4Yueyang blog is not very convenient for you, and you’d prefer to receive prayer updates delivered to your Email inbox, you can subscribe by giving us your Email address (use the box on the right hand column of this blog’s main page.) If you have any questions, just ask.

Prayer makes a difference. Will you be involved?

It appears that community leaders across the city (and rural counties) are being asked to identify active Christians in their neighborhoods. That information is then being used to demand that house churches disband. When they don’t, the leadership face arrest and persecution.

This is just starting, no one knows how long this will last and how thorough an effort the authorities plan on investing in this ‘crack-down’. Please pray for safety, discernment and boldness.

Acts 4:29-30

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

November in Yueyang is usually cold and wet as winter is just starting to set in. Unlike the northern part of China, homes, offices and classrooms in China are usually NOT heated. The chill that can set in will cut you to the bone.

As you remember the people of Yueyang, China throughout the month of November, will you faithfully intercede on behalf of the lost who do not know Christ and who have never had a chance to hear the Good News explained in a way that they can understand?

Pray that the Holy Spirit will light a fire, in the middle of a cold and wet month, in the hearts of the people of Yueyang and that there will be an awesome response to the hope of the Gospel!

In addition to the prayer requests found on this blog and the prayer calendar, be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as you spend a minute or two in prayer every day for the people of Yueyang.

If keeping track of the Pray4Yueyang blog is not very convenient for you, and you’d prefer to receive prayer updates delivered to your Email inbox, you can subscribe by giving us your Email address (use the box on the right hand column of this blog’s main page.) If you have any questions, just ask.

Prayer makes a difference. Will you be involved?