In the Oct. issue of China Soul, prayer topics that address the development of China’s society are listed. They urged the believers to continue to express their support and concern. Hoping to revive the churches with vitality and hope, these prayer topics includes the following relevant issues: pray that the gospel ministries in the cities can catch people like catching fish; pray that the marriage problems of female believers who are single can be properly addressed; pray that the orphans of the Sichuan earthquake disaster can be comforted by God; pray for more teachers of Christians in colleges and universities.

Pray that heavenly father can comfort the spirits of the orphans from the Sichuan earthquake disaster

According to Sichuan city official report, the total number of orphans has been confirmed to be 1,019 people. Through the screening procedures, it is estimated that the number of orphans will drop to below one thousand. In reality, numerous people in overseas and in mainland have called to request to adopt these orphans. The local departments said that these telephone hotlines have been busy consistently. According to China’s law, the relatives of the orphans have the right to legal guardian, so unless they forfeit this right, others cannot adopt the orphans. Most of the orphans relatives including the orphans themselves do not accept adoption by the society.

An official from Mianzhu said that almost all of the orphan’s relatives are not willing to give up their legal guardian rights. Although their financial situation may not be well-off, they won’t allow these children to be adopted, especially they have just recently lost their relatives through the earthquake and they don’t want this blood relation to be cut off, reported China-state media Xinhua.

Thank Lord that the orphan screening process is going effectively after the earthquake. The majority of the orphans have relatives with the legal guardian rights to adopt them, so they won’t have to leave their relatives and can quickly recover from their sorrows. Please pray for these orphans of the earthquake that the heavenly father will watch over them, comfort their wounded spirits, and that they can grow up healthily under the love and care of their relatives and through which they can come to recognize the love of God. Currently, the work of care and counseling for Sichuan is very urgent. Pray that the Lord can revive the churches to participate in social-services at this very critical moment and become a good testimony of the society.

Pray that the Lord can rise up workers who can train college believers

Specialists pointed out that college student in China today reveals signs of backwardness: consumed by the internet, low IQ, superficial. Most students would much rather find the relevant information from the internet than educate themselves through reading books. At a book fair held in Shanghai last year, a reader’s survey was conducted and approximately 67% of the participants are college students. The survey revealed that the most bought books are map booklets, software, life-related books, etc. A professor from Shanghai University said that most students rarely read books that are beyond their study majors, which results in a limited amount of knowledge. Some directors of the work field express concerns towards the drop of reading comprehension levels among the college students, lack of knowledge preparation.

While the changes in learning habits and trend brought about by the changes in society, the college students’ learning situation is receiving wide-spread attention because they will be the pillars of the future. Pray that the Lord can reveal his mercy, bless these future stars so they can receive the best training and be able to contribute to the society in the future. Currently, fellowships on campuses are developing in each province. Students are eager to get to know about Christian faith, more church workers are send to colleges, yet the number of workers who work with college believers are still lacking and requires support. Pray that the Lord can touch fellow believers to contribute to this cause.

[Editor's note: reporter Ruth Wong in San Francisco contributed to this report.]