Archive for prayer request
The distorting of the human sex ratio
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http://www.rationaloptimist.com/blog/distorting-human-sex-ratio
The distorting of the human sex ratio
The gradual distortion of the human sex ratio by sex-selective abortion. A new essay by the demographer Nicholas Eberstadt concludes that “the practice has become so ruthlessly routine in many contemporary societies that it has impacted their very population structures.” He finds “ample room for cautious pessimism” in the fact that this phenomenon is still very much on the increase.
For obscure reasons, the human sex ratio is always slightly male-biased, but in the natural state it rarely goes above 105 male births per 100 female ones, except in small samples. In China’s last mini-census in 2005, the ratio was Read More→
Chinese county imposes liquor ban on civil servants
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Sometimes people from the West will take an over-simplified, black-and-white, stereotypical view China’s leaders, both local and national. The reality is, it’s complicated and it wold be very foolish to just try and paint ALL Chinese leaders with one brush. Just like in any government, there are good leaders and bad, honest and corrupt, skilled and inept.
I’m not an apologist for the Chinese government, but I do recognize that there are some leaders who really are trying to do the right thing. The article sited below is an example of civil leaders making an unpopular decision to try and improve the integrity of the local government.
Please be in prayer for the leadership of Yueyang, that those who lead will do so with integrity and courage. Pray that leaders who, maybe secretly, follow Jesus would become bold and savvy communicators of the Gospel message to their fellow leaders! Read More→
Chinese fear aging process: Survey
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(China Daily)People in China are among the most fearful of getting old, a new global survey suggests. According to Bupa, a British healthcare organization, which asked 12,262 people in 12 countries about their attitudes toward aging, 28 percent of the Chinese polled said they feel depressed when they think about getting old. About 30 percent of Chinese respondents said they worry about who will look after them in later years, while 91 percent agreed the government of the world’s most populous nation should improve care for the elderly. About one third of Chinese respondents – more than double the global average – said they have put money aside for retirement, while 46 percent have taken out insurance, the poll showed.
As China moves into the next couple of decades, it is entering uncharted territory. It is safe to say that the traditional system from China’s past of children caring for their elderly parents is rapidly eroding. Many feel the government is not prepared, nor adequately concerned, about the gravity of this social shift.
Please pray for Yueyang’s older citizens. Ask that men and women who are followers of Christ will step-up and help meet the needs of this recently neglected part of Chinese society. Pray that expressions of self-less and Christlike love will help draw men and women of all ages to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ!
“Red-collar” jobs most sought after in China
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For nearly 20 years, white-collar jobs have been the most prized in China since the 1990s. However, times change and now more people are hoping to trade their white collars for red ones. So-called “red-collar” workers refer to civil servants in China. China has about 50 million civil servants now, and more people are planning to enter this class through public entrance examinations. Because of its stable income, security and the promise of promotions, more and more people are aspiring to be civil servants.
Often young professionals who are seeking civil servant jobs mistakenly believe that they cannot also pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ. Leaving them with a ‘cost counting’ mentality where they feel they must choose between having a career as a civil servant or having faith in Christ. While we don’t deny that radical obedience to Christ can often result in various levels of persecution in China, the reality is a bit more complex. There are many obedient followers of Christ who are also Chinese civil servants in China today.
Please pray that the gospel would be shared far and wide across Yueyang and that men and women at all levels of society and government would have an active and obedient faith in Christ!
Boat residents in Yueyang settle on land
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Yueyang is located on the shore of China’s second largest lake, the Dongting Lake, and many aspects of life from ancient times till today are affected by this dominating geographical feature. In fact, the very name of the province Yueyang in located in, Hunan, literally means “south of the lake”. For those who live and work on the lake, life is not always wonderful. Recently, the government has been trying to persuade families that live on boats on the lake to move to the land in an effort to improve the lives of these residents who are among the most poor and the most vulnerable in northeast Hunan province.
(Xinhua) — Some 7,550 people living on boats in Hunan Province have recently been persuaded leave behind life on the lake and to live on the land.
Mr. Xiao, 36, moved his family from their fishing boat to a 75-square-meter apartment at the end of last year. “It’s the first warm winter we’ve ever spent. It’s like a dream,” Xiao said sitting beside an electric heater with his wife and son in the three-bedroom apartment in Yueyang County, Dongting Lake region.
“Before, we spent every day in an 8-square-meter houseboat for fishing. I thought I would live like this for the rest of my life,” Xiao said. The couple suffered serious rheumatism and schistosomiasis like many other fishing people in the region.
Dongting Lake, China’s second largest freshwater lake, has been home to thousands of fishing households unable to afford life on the land.
Many of them suffer waterborne diseases and are not able to enjoy social welfare services or preferential policies for farmers.
So far, about 7,550 people in 2,322 households of Yueyang, Yiyang and Changde cities in the Dongting Lake region have been relocated to apartments on land.
Please pray for the ‘grass roots’ people of Yueyang, those who are NOT caught up in the race to own the biggest apartment and the most expensive new car. Pray for those who struggle just to provide the basics for their families.
Pray For Hunan
Posted by: | CommentsHunan Province is not the first place you’d think about when you hear about a terrorism attack. Stereotypically, we tend to think of a completely different part of the world for those types of headlines. However, as long as Satan reins in this fallen world, no place is immune from the murderous evil that lurks in the hearts of men.
Yesterday was a prime example as, it appears, someone decided to light a bus on fire in an attempt to kill and injure passengers traveling from the airport into Changsha, Hunan’s capital city.
There are more than 70 million people in Hunan, most with no hope of salvation and no opportunity to hear a clear presentation of the gospel along with an invitation to respond. Yueyang is located in the northeast corner of Hunan Province and consists of about 5.5 million of Hunan’s 70 million strong population.
Please take a moment to pray that the gospel message would spread rapidly and effectively across the entire province, for the sake of the salvation of the Hunanese people and for the glory of God, who desires men to know Him!
(Xinhua, July 22, 2010) At least two people were killed and over ten injured when an airport shuttle bus in Changsha, capital city of central China’s Hunan Province, caught fire Wednesday, police said.
The bus caught fire near an expressway tollgate as it traveled from Changsha’s Huanghua International Airport to the city proper at about 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, police said.
The injured were rushed to a local hospital.
It is not known how many people were aboard the bus.
The front of the bus was completely destroyed and many parts of the cabin were burnt. The bus’s windows were shattered and glass shards lay scattered on the road, according to Xinhua reporters at the scene. The pungent smell of gasoline still lingered in the air hours after the blaze.
Police have cordoned off the area and tightened airport security, including by searching passengers boarding shuttle buses.
The cause of the fire is being investigated. But some witnesses told Xinhua they believe it was arson.
January Pray4Yueyang Calendar
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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!
December was a great month for the sharing of the Gospel in Yueyang. Because of Christmas, many believers had the opportunity to explain the holiday that the secular world tries to say is about a fat, bearded man with a red suit and a sleigh… We know first-hand of dozens of new believers that believed as a direct result of Christmas outreach events as well as just personal sharing with friends and family!
The Chinese acknowledge Christmas, but they don’t really celebrate it ‘big’ like Americans do. The big holiday for them in Chinese New Year, which this year is in February. Please be in prayer for Christians who are preparing this month for large scale outreach efforts that will take place over CNY.
Due to an unforeseen upgrade ‘requirement’ with the software we use to update the Pray4Yueyang website (not the blog – that will remain the same) that we just cannot afford, the way that the site looks and is used will most certainly change in the near future. We are not exactly sure how things will change, but we appreciate your patience as we figure things out!
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. Thanks for being involved!
Winter Solstice Festival (冬至 Dōng zhì)
Posted by: | CommentsToday, people in Yueyang, China and others all across East Asia are celebrating “Dong Zhi” which falls on on the date of winter solstice every year.
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 Tuesday. 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!
November Pray4Yueyang Calendar
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The November 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!
As you pray for the people of Yueyang in November, we would like to encourage you to really be in prayer for the existing believers in Yueyang city. Being a believer in a place where you can be mocked, looked down upon, or even persecuted is not an easy thing. Many of those believers take it serious to be a “follower of Christ” and they actually do try to be obedient to the things they learn in Scripture – bringing ridicule and persecution not only from non-believers, but also from believers who prefer to be ‘luke-warm’ and to fly under the radar.
Also, don’t neglect to pray for the hundreds of thousands of lost souls living in Yueyang. Pray that there will be a mighty movement of the Holy Spirit resulting in thousands of new believers during the month of November!
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. Thanks for being involved!
September Pray4Yueyang Calendar
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The September 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!
September marks the end of summer and students across the city begin the fall ’09 semester. Will you take a moment right now to pray for college and university students in Yueyang. University students in Yueyang face challenges and pressures as they leave their hometowns and come to Yueyang to study that they have never faced before. Often they find themselves feeling vulnerable and alone as they face decisions they have never had to make on their own before. This is a critical tiime in their lives as they cross the threshold of adulthood.
One of the nice things about this time of year is that the hot and humid weather loses a little bit of it’s edge and cooler weather begins to creep in. The result is that the people of Yueyang spend more time outside, talking and playing with their neighbors in Yueyang’s parks and other public spaces.
Many of Yueyang Christians are trying to become more obedient in the area of evangelism and are excited about the fact that so many people are out in public spaces just ‘hanging out’, providing many opportunities to share good news with neighbors and colleagues. Please pray for these faithful believers who are stepping out on faith in order to be obedient to the Scriptural command for ALL believers to share their faith with others.
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?