The May 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!

The beginning of May marks the “International Labor Day” celebration (国际劳动节) across China.

May Day is synonymous with International Workers’ Day, or Labour Day, which celebrates the social and economic achievements of the labour movement. As a day of celebration the holiday has ancient origins, and it can relate to many customs that have survived into modern times. Many of these customs are due to May Day being a cross-quarter day, meaning that in the Northern Hemisphere it falls approximately halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice.

Unlike previous years in which Chinese were given a full week off of work to celebrate, this year workers and students only get a ‘long weekend’ with Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off of work and school.  Supposedly this is to ease the tremendous burden that would normally be caused by millions of people trying to return home to visit family, wives, husbands, children, parents.

It is very common for families to live apart as career ambitions take priority over family responsibility.  With the May holiday cut so short this year, even more stress is placed on families that will not get a chance to be together when they otherwise would have.  Please pray for hurting and struggling families in Yueyang.  Ask that first and foremost, entire households would come to faith in Jesus Christ and then as that happens, that the priorities will shift away from materialism and will result in healthier and stronger families in our city.

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?