{"id":9273,"date":"2019-10-07T12:35:38","date_gmt":"2019-10-07T12:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/?post_type=prayerline&p=9273"},"modified":"2019-10-17T09:30:30","modified_gmt":"2019-10-17T09:30:30","slug":"wsd-asia-pacific","status":"publish","type":"prayerline","link":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/wsd-asia-pacific\/","title":{"rendered":"Pray for the students of Asia and the South Pacific"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We\u2019ve put together these prayer cards to help you pray for the real people and real needs of Asia and the South Pacific. Meet the students of the Philippines, Bangladesh and Ukraine. Find out what\u2019s going on in the IFES student groups of Cambodia, Hong Kong and the Solomon Islands, and get praying for them on World Student Day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Find out more about IFES ministry in Eurasia<\/a>, East Asia<\/a>, South Asia<\/a> and the South Pacific<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Eurasia<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Serhiy, CCX Ukraine<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Foreigners and Muslims are still largely not accepted in the culture, but CCX students break the stereotypes and invite those on the margins to their groups and events. The administration don’t want \u2018religion\u2019 on their grounds. Students lack initiative sometimes, and are afraid to talk about Jesus with their peers. Please pray for the Bible and Life conference, that students would be encouraged, equipped and full of courage to share the gospel, especially in the hostile universities. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Diana, Georgia<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Since Georgia is a very strong Christian Orthodox country, it is very hard to reach some people\u2019s hearts and it\u2019s quite difficult to talk about your faith out loud. There are many challenges at my university but unfortunately, we don\u2019t have a Christian group or community on campus. Please pray that Christian students find courage to boldly come out and establish a group at my university.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Yana, Eurasia<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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It is illegal to share the gospel with students on campus. In this context, pray for our boldness and for the hearts of students to be open. Pray that it might become possible for evangelism to be made legal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Armenia<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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As a Christian at university, everyone considers you\nstrange, old-fashioned, and someone who doesn\u2019t want to enjoy life. It\u2019s hard\nto share the gospel because if they find out you\u2019re a Christian or if they hear\nthe word \u2018Jesus\u2019 or \u2018church\u2019, they\u2019ll think you\u2019re a member of a sect. For\nthem, the only true church is the national church.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Pray that students in Armenia would be bold in evangelism. Pray that misconceptions would be broken down as students see the love of Christians.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Piuna, Armenia<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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There are people who call themselves Christian but they\u2019re not practising. When you try to be a practising Christian, you get segregated when you don\u2019t comply to everyone\u2019s ways. Please pray that students truly understand what fellowship is and experience the love of Christ. And pray that there is no competition for power between students but rather acting out of love.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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East Asia<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Rafael, IVF Philippines<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We meet in the university grounds because we are not allowed to use school facilities for our prayer nights or and large group fellowships. Pray for patience, courage and favour for new believers. Almost 70% are from a Roman Catholic background. Many of them are persecuted by their relatives and friends. Pray also that our group can raise money to send 20 delegates to our regional leadership training camp in December.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Gigi, FES Hong Kong<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Pray for peace to be restored to Hong Kong. Pray for Christian students to have wisdom to know how to respond to the protests and violence. Pray that our group can find peace and hope in Christ, and that we can be messengers of hope on campus. Pray that, even in the chaos, we can witness God\u2019s almighty power.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Sonoko Cambodia<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The faith of Christian students is challenged by the pressure of friends and professors in the strong Buddhist culture. Most Christian students are new Christians and need help in growing as disciples of Christ. Pray for students to commit themselves to learn the Word of God and reach out to their friends to boldly share the gospel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Lynne, IVCF Philippines<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The challenges we face include distractions leading to complacency, activism\/aggressive groups, and academic and peer pressure causing stress and burnout. Please pray for us to be intentional in going out of our comfort zones. Pray for our upcoming 50th Anniversary this November. Pray for our chapter to be active in reaching the students for Christ through Bible studies, fellowship and small group meetings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Michelle, TCS Thailand<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Students today struggle with broken families, relationships,\nacademic stress and isolation. We haven\u2019t seen much change in the spiritual\nopenness of students. Today, it\u2019s easier for a Thai student who is curious\nabout Christianity to go on the internet and explore the Christian faith. But\nthe easier internet access also means it\u2019s easier for them to get wrong\ninformation (sometimes from cults).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Pray for Christian students to put God first in their lives\nrather than getting swept away by pursuing success and becoming too busy for\nGod. Pray that many Thai students this year would come to see that Jesus alone\noffers the love, identity, peace and wholeness they need, and would put their\nfaith in Him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Namjieun, IVF South Korea<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Pray that many students on our campus come to IVF and pray\nthat the students we’re with now know and believe in God.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Tran, East Asia<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Pray for us as we try to teach small groups to reach their\nschools. We are not allowed to speak publicly so sharing the gospel is\ndifficult.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Phearak, Sonoko Cambodia<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Christian students are busy and afraid to share the good\nnews to their friends because of the difficulties they would face from their\nfriends and teachers. Pray that we keep standing strong in faith. Pray for all\nthe group members to love to study the Bible and do fellowship together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Bird, TCS Thailand<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Many students find religion and faith not relatable to their\nlives, so it is hard to share the gospel. Pray for boldness for Christian\nstudents to make a positive change in the university.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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South Asia<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Noble, BSFB Bangladesh<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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This is a Muslim majority country where it\u2019s not easy to convert to Christianity from other religions. People think we\u2019ve been brainwashed if we follow Christ. Ask God to guide us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Pratigya, NBCBS Nepal<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The greatest challenge is not being able to openly share the gospel for fear of being excluded and defamed. The new anti-conversion law is another big challenge. Pray that the Christian students are able to share the gospel to their friends in the campus without any hesitation and fear. Pray that we would be ready to accept upcoming persecution because of the new anti-conversion law.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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South Pacific<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Benjamin, TSCF New Zealand<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The biggest challenge we face is sharing the gospel with\npeople who are mostly apathetic to spiritual things or don\u2019t see a need for God\nin their life. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Please pray for the Overseas Christian Fellowship at the\nUniversity of Auckland. We would like prayer for boldness to share the good\nnews of Jesus to our classmates, friends, and strangers on campus. Also, we\nwant to stay focused on our goals of reaching students for Christ and changing\nstudents for life. We need help in many areas especially for our new committee\nas we learn how to work together and grow as a team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Fanga, GNYF Vanuatu<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We are now seeing a change on campus. Students are hungry to\nknow Jesus. They come along because they want to dig in to the Bible. A year\nago, small Bible study groups started in student accommodation blocks. And now\nwe offer three meetings a week \u2013 one in English and two in Bislama (Vanuatu\nbroken English). <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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We\u2019re witnessing God\u2019s work beyond our campus gates too. Our\nnational movement, GNYF, is pioneering student groups in the francophone\nuniversities in Vanuatu, and regionally there is pioneering work starting in\nNew Caledonia. But my heart is for my homeland \u2013 Tonga. Please pray with me for\nthe same work to start there in the next year or two.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Bec, AFES Australia<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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It seems that many people in Australia are under a spirit of\napathy and ignorance. They simply don\u2019t actually care what they believe, or why.\nThey think that Christianity is \u2018ok for you to believe, but it\u2019s not for me.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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As Paul prayed all those years ago, we continue asking for\nboldness in proclaiming the gospel, and the ability to start conversations,\neven though we might not have all the answers or eloquent words. Also, prayer\nfor the courage and commitment to simply be counter-cultural, living as God\ncalls us to live when the world around us is living in such different ways.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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We don’t have any female staff workers with us next year, so\nwe would also love prayer that God would raise up our older girls to be wise,\ndisciple-making disciples.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Holly, TSCF New Zealand<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The biggest challenge we face is apathy towards Christianity and the fact that obedience to Jesus is considered harmful to people. Mental health is a huge issue in New Zealand. We have organised talks about the Bible and mental health on campus and that has led to real gospel opportunities. Please pray for new student group leaders to be trained and equipped for the coming year(s). Pray that our various groups would work well to support each other.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Akua, AFES Australia<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Our university is Catholic so most people are Catholic or atheist there. Some people may have negative connotations towards Christians. But we have had a Muslim student attend our prayer meeting a few times which shows that our doors are open for people of all faiths to explore Christianity and find salvation through Christ. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Our staffworker is preparing to leave us at the end of this year to serve in Perth, Australia. Praise God for the way our staffworker has so faithfully served our group this year. Please pray for us as we do not have a staffworker lined up for next year. Pray that if it is in God\u2019s will, He will provide us with a staffworker but if not that we will continue to grow and be faithful in meeting together and reading God\u2019s word as a group. Please pray for evangelism on our campus that we can boldly proclaim the gospel to students.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n \n \n Back to World Student Day homepage <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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\n \n \n Back to World Student Day homepage <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n
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\n \n \n <\/svg><\/span>\n Read more prayer cards from students around the world <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"featured_media":9275,"template":"","area":[],"theme":[1267],"class_list":["post-9273","prayerline","type-prayerline","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","theme-wsd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPray for the students of Asia and the South Pacific · IFES Prayerline<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n