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Women in the northeast Asian countries of China, North Korea, and South Korea live vastly different lives. Their cultures, circumstances, and future possibilities are worlds apart. But they still share the same desires to love and be loved, to have families and friends, and to make the world a better place. They also face similar struggles and challenges.
Praying for . . . Women in Northeast Asia
Women desperately wanting a better future try to escape hunger and abuse in North Korea only to be victims of human trafficking. If caught by authorities in China, many are sent back to North Korea, where they face torture in labour camps or execution.Those who make it to South Korea find few who will help them learn how to survive in a world that is very foreign even though the language and faces are similar. Many women defectors end up working as prostitutes.
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7. Women in China who are forced to undergo operations to stop their reproduction ability. Pray also for women who endure enormous fines, physical abuse, or imprisonment if they do not abort their babies.
2. Christian women in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea to live in a way that honours God, cultivating an outward appearance that reflects the Christian values taught in God’s Word. “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Romans 13:14).
8. China’s future generations as the one-child policy produces great pressure on families. Most children have no siblings, aunts, or uncles. Couples have to take care of four elderly parents. Many young couples are also choosing not to have children.
4. God’s guidance and physical strength for Project Hannah’s Mandarin Women of Hope production team (Betty Chiang, Sandra Zee, Emily Feng, Grace Li, and Jasmine Huang). Pray that listeners to the programs on shortwave radio or the Internet will respond to Christ’s offer of salvation. 5. Project Hannah’s 65 prayer groups in China praying with us in nine languages and dialects. Pray also that God will continue to use them to reach out to others, distributing clothing and blankets to those who are disadvantaged.
China’s one-child policy and a culture that favours sons have led to the abortion of millions of girls. This has created a society of 37 million more men than women. Statistics show that at least 13 million abortions are performed every year, not including unreported ones and the 10 million abortion pills sold. The one-child policy systematically punishes, abuses, and violates females, imposing fines and requiring abortions and sterilization. Suicide rates are 25 percent higher for women than for men.
June 2013
PROJECT HANNAH
1. Chinese and Korean women in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North and South Korea, and around the world. Ask that they will be led to pray for one another and to help women who are suffering and need to experience God’s love.
3. Married women who are suffering for their faith or face opposition from their unbelieving husbands, to continue to stand firm in God’s truth. Pray that they persevere in love so that their husbands may be saved.
Most South Korean women enjoy the comforts of prosperity and education. But their plans for the future must endure challenges from society’s preoccupation with materialism, sexual promiscuity, and women’s rights. Wrong choices can alter their lives. Often women are not taught about birth control or the dangers of abortions.Abortion is illegal in South Korea with exceptions for rape, incest, or severe genetic disorders. Official data shows there are 440,000 childbirths annually and more than 340,000 abortions, 95 percent of them illegally in hospitals and clinics.
Women of Hope broadcasts in more than 60 languages. PH’s monthly prayer requests are used in 77 languages.
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6. God’s protection over Chinese women in ministry as they share God’s truths. Pray also for retired preachers in China, where the majority of ministers are women. Pray that God will bless them with good health, joyful hearts, and adequate provisions and that they will be cared for and respected by their church members.
9. Safety for those who visit and deliver Radio Church Kits to groups that desire to listen to TWR programs, including Women of Hope. 10. China’s minority women to have the opportunity to hear the Women of Hope programs in their heart languages and in a way that speaks to their needs. 11. Chinese women who are considering suicide. China’s female suicide numbers are the highest in the world (about 500 a day). Pray that through the Women of Hope programs these women will hear the message of hope in Christ and begin to sense their value to God their Creator. 12. God’s intervention and protection for the women in China who face rape, abduction, and slavery. In some areas, young men outnumber young women by 30 to 40 percent (Operation World). Because of the shortage of women, many foreign and rural girls are sold into “marriages” against their will and are sometimes shared by brothers.