Read: James 5:16

Nevada

4) Pray for Chuck. The doctors have discovered a tumor on his esophagus. He is also having some additional heart problems. Pray for healing and peace. Pray for his wife who also "isn’t feeling well".

Oregon

5) Pray for Marty. He experienced chest pains this past week and after hospital tests it is more than likely a pulled muscle. Pray for healing.

6) Pray for a man who is dealing with pornography none too successfully.

7) Pray for Donna’s family. She went home to be with the Lord.

8) Pray for a little girl who is a risk and needs protection.

9) Pray for Steve. He has gallstones that are resisting treatment.

Missionaries

10) Pray for Cheri Rempel who works with Kurdish refugees in the Washington DC area. She has a good team but can always use more help. Pray about doing a short term mission project with her. Pray for a couple, Han and Vivian Chung, who are looking for additional prayer warrior backup before beginning work with Cheri. (I told Cheri all 2000 of you’all promise you’all would pray for the Chungs!!!)

11) Pray for the lady that Jay and Linda Neuharth mentioned in their last request --- the one who has acknowledged Jesus but then pursued a witch doctor. They have had further contact and there is movement in the right direction but no flat-out decision yet.

12) Randy Armstrong e-mailed a report from Russia. Exciting things are happening. His interpreter is not yet a Christian, but has a servant’s heart. Pray that each time he presents the Word -- and she hears and translates it -- it passes through her heart, not just her mind. Here are his requests:

• Seekers (there are many), especially for Ivan and Masha. Tim has shared the gospel with them, but they haven’t responded yet.
• New believers, especially Tatyana and Olga.
• Team members, Our schedule is full, and we all get to the hotel tired. It’s difficult to find time with the Lord.
• Our Russian hosts. It adds stress to take such good care of us.

13) Pray for Ron and Karen Rohman. They participated in a Passion Week crusade on the PSU (Portland State University) campus with other Christians. It will give lots more opportunities to follow up on those contacted.

14) Pray for the charter school in California. Please pray for the safety of students and staff, the strength and endurance of the staff, alert supervision that will keep our students physically and morally out of harm’s way, and wisdom for our Christian staff members as they are provided opportunities to be involved in kingdom work during these weeks. The school is under attack but the fruit of Christian witness is amazing.

Special Request

Pray for Jay. He is having a great deal of joint pain and is finding it hard to go-where-he-wants-to-go and do-what-he-wants-to-do.

Definition of a mother:

A female person who will stick by you through thick and thin, but not without making sure

May 9, 2004
Prayer Request
Interesting Thoughts

Mother’s Day Revisited

After 21 years of marriage, My wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said I love you but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.

The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.

That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. "What's wrong, are you well?" she asked. My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news. "I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you," I responded. "Just the two of us." She thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I would like that very much."

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's.

"I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed," she said as she got into the car. "They can't wait to hear about our meeting". We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady.

After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips. "It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small," she said. "Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor," I responded.

During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation -nothing extraordinary- but catching up on recent events of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, "I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you." I agreed.

"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home. "Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined," I answered.

A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for her. Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined.

An attached note said: "I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son."

At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: "I love you" and giving our loved ones the time that they deserve.
Thanks to the Hoods, Redding CA

Prayer Requests

1) Pray for revival and an awakening in the church. Do you give God and your loved ones the time they deserve?

2) Pray for our country. . . As tens of thousands of troops continue to be rotated in and out of Iraq and other locations in the Middle East, pray for the safety and protection of each person, for their healthy adjustment and for their family and loved ones who also adjust to new circumstances. Pray for God's grace to abound with each individual.

3) Pray for the President, his cabinet and others on his team that they will look to God for His wisdom, strength and blessing, individually and corporately. Pray that they will dedicate their hearts anew to honoring God and discerning His will.

Additional leaders to pray for:

Read: Psalm 33:12

Some Vacation

4) Dr Tim and Joan Herrick, serving in Mali, recently vacationed in France. Here is an e-mail describing their adventures. The prayer necessities will be obvious!

"Dear friends, I wanted to write you about what happened in France. We had a wonderful time. However, the Lord's plan for us was not just for relaxation. On our way back to the airport, with our rental car loaded with all our belongings, including our passports and our best laptop, we parked the car and Joan and I rushed into different stores to do some last minute purchasing. The boys were listening to a program on the CD, so we [stupidly] left them in the car, with the key in the ignition. A few minutes later, someone got in the car, told the boys to get out and took off with the car. Since three of our passports and our airline tickets were also in the car, as well as one copy of our credit card, this left us stranded in Paris with limited resources.

We praise the Lord that none of us were harmed in this incident. It has been quite unsettling. We have dealt with guilt, anger, and frustration. We know that there are valuable lessons for us. Nicholas pointed out that the program he was listening to when the car was stolen was about Job. No one could say it better than,

"The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away, Blessed be the name of the Lord."

So pray that we'd be able to find the balance between benefiting from the lessons, and putting this unhappy incident behind us. Pray also that we'd be able to sort out the consequences, replacing visas, dealing with insurance, and dealing with the loss of the computer."

5) Pray for Debbie Dodd in Taiwan. Upon returning from the states where she spent a month caring for her sick (and nearly dying) mother (who is now on the mend), Debbie was in a horrible traffic accident. Another car doing 60 broadsided her, turning the car around and over. Her daughter, Sarah, was on the impact side, but seems to have no serious injuries. Debbie is still having severe headaches. Pray that the insurance covers the problems, the car can be replaced, and Debbie fully recovers.

Oregon

6) Pray for a lady who is ready to quit smoking, and another who is ready to deal with her weight. Pray for a couple also ready to quit smoking. They’re all from one family.

7) Pray for Frank. He is being evicted and has nowhere to go.

8) Pray for Gene McNutt who is having a hip replacement this week.

9) Isabel asks for prayer for her son Kevin who called on Mother’s Day to ask for prayer for him to be delivered from a sever drug habit. He has a wife and 3 sons who are being affected by his problem.

Washington

10) Pray for Ginger Burton whose husband passed into the arms of Jesus this week. She lost her daughter two years ago.

Nevada

11) Pray for Dorothy who is having bypass surgery this week. Remember the request for Chuck recently? And Dorothy "didn’t feel well". Here’s the rest of the story!

Interesting Thoughts

I planted some bird seed. A bird came up. Now I don't know what to feed it.

I had amnesia once -- or twice.

All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.

What is a "free" gift? Aren't all gifts free?

They told me I was gullible ... and I believed them.

Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to edge his car onto a freeway.

Two can live as cheaply as one, for half as long.

Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone.

One nice thing about egotists: They don't talk about other people.

The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity.

Is it my imagination, or do buffalo wings taste like chicken?

May 16, 2004
Prayer Request
Information That May Save Your Life!
A Really Good Prayer

Prayer Requests

1) Pray for revival and an awakening in the church. . .Head, heart, and hands -- do you pray for God’s will to be done?

2) Pray for our country. . .pray for those involved in the Iraqi prisons scandal. Pray for their salvation. Pray for Nickolas Berg’s family.

3) Pray for our president. . .Mr Bush is under great stress, being attacked from many sides. Pray for strength, wisdom, and protection (both physical and spiritual).

Additional leaders to pray for:

Read: Exodus 15:2 & Romans 12:12

Missionaries

4) Pray for Ben and Donna Duffy. They have returned from long service in Israel to Deleware. Pray Ben’s position as missions representative goes well. Pray for their family as they do a 2 week ministry trip back to Israel in June. They need a newer car and some additional support.

5) Pray that the couple who has returned to the states to care for his mother would be able to continue the work by computer that they were doing overseas. There are deadlines and project goals to meet.

Oregon

6) Pray for the group who is fighting to get the “Defense of Marriage Act on the ballot for November. Two of the three women opposing them have recently “married their same sex mates” The Christian group needs 150,000 signatures by July 2nd. Pray that this group succeeds in getting it on the ballot.

7) Pray for Charlotte that she would deal with her anger problems so that her daughter is no longer at risk.

8) Praise from Austin that he asked the Lord to save his tooth and He did.

9) Pray for a man who is relapsing into drug use. He is living in a highly stressed environment and is not coping well. Pray for his wife that she would have the strength to not enable him.

10) Pray for a family in severe financial need.

Information That May Save Your Life!

A 19 year old saw an UNMARKED police car pull up behind her and put his lights on. Her parents always told her never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but rather wait until she gets to a gas station or call #77 on her cell phone to tell the police dispatcher that she would not pull over right away.

She proceeded to tell the dispatcher that there was an unmarked police car with a flashing red light on his rooftop behind her. The dispatcher checked to see if there were any police cars where she was and there weren't and he told her to keep driving, remain calm and that he had back up already on the way. Ten minutes later 4 cop cars surrounded her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy from the car and tackled him to the ground....the man was a convicted rapist and wanted for other crimes.

Bet you never knew about the #77 Cell Phone Feature (available only in certain areas). Apparently police have to respect your right to keep going to a "safe" place. You obviously need to make some signals that you acknowledge them (i.e. put on your hazard lights) or call #77 like this girl did. Too bad the cell phone companies don't give you this little bit of wonderful information.

A Really Good Prayer

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correct is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got last week, this will be the last year they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.
Thanks, Jennifer Demagalski, Keizer OR