His Direction Continues

I am totally amazed at how God speaks to children! I know I've said this before, but it's something that still amazes me. Working with this group of 14 3rd-graders has taught me so much. The last 2 countries that my class has prayed for have been pretty intense.We've entered into a season of prayer for Africa. My last post told about how the kids chose Niger, a country that is still struggling with many issues- mainly the lack of food and water due to drought and tons of refugees from neighboring Mali. Since I felt I "knew" my kids so well, I figured that the next country would be something like Brazil, Argentina, or Spain (they've been on the radar for a while since my class is primarily boys who adore soccer). I was surprised when they chose Libya, a country that had never really been mentioned in class (just like most of the countries for which we've prayed). We discovered that many of the same tribes that we had prayed for in Niger were also located in Libya, but were unfortunately at the center of great conflict in the south of the country. For my students, it was a chance to continue to pray for the Taureg tribes of the Sahara Region.

The 3rd grade class choosing a country this last week.

 Fast forward a week and a half. The next country- Mali. When I asked one of my students (Ana Canto) why, she replied, "This part of Africa still needs help." Talk about a child that is sensitive to the Spirit!!As I researched the country, I realized how intricately these 3 countries (Niger, Libya, and Mali) were connected. All of which are cause for some serious prayer! Here is what I discovered:

1. The Taureg people of Libya have been creating serious conflict in the southern region of the country. With the downfall of Qaddafi, tons of weapons were sent to Mali. 

2. The Tauregs of Mali have used these weapons to continue with their takeover of Northern Mali in towns like Timbuktu, which has created a new state of Mali- Azawad; an completely Islamic state. This action has forced many missionaries to flee to the southern part of the country. (This all came to a climax within the last 2 weeks)


3. All this conflict in Mali has forced millions of refugees into neighboring Niger, who is already suffering from serious food and water shortages.

I know that God is going to do something incredible in these countries. I pray that as these precious 3rd-graders watch all this unfold, they will realized that the God that we serve is powerful, loving, and perfect. Please continue to pray not only for these countries, but also for the children in my class.

Hilary Alvarez

Nicolas Athanasiadis

Adonys Bravo

Ana (Gina) Canto

Jairo Cortez

Misael Diaz

Mick McLean

Angelly (Gigi) Meza

Ana (Gabby) Munoz

Emanuel Ortega

Guadalupe Ortiz

Rodrigo Rojas

Felix Suira

Adonis (Ariel) Vergara