As of 7^th July, the total number of confirmed deaths due to the collapse of the Florida apartment block stands at 36, while 109 residents are still missing.  Emergency teams are increasingly pessimistic of finding any more survivors among the rubble and say they have detected no signs of life since the immediate aftermath.

Nearly 2 weeks after the collapse, the search continues but with few positive signs.  The building’s collapse occurred at about 1:20 a.m. on June 24 while almost all of the residents were sleeping. The structural failure initially began in the pool deck and garage areas, which engineers believe triggered the collapse of the midsection of the tower and then the front part facing the ocean. Fifty-five of the 136 condo units were destroyed.

Particular help has come from local synagogues given the apartment block, Champlain Tower South Condo, was in the area of Surfside, which has a tight knit Jewish community.

Many members are affected by the disaster: at least 34 of the missing are Jewish, one local synagogue told journalists.  Synagogues in the neighbourhood have been collecting money and providing food for rescue workers and survivors. One synagogue raised more than $100,000 in just a few hours.

Pope Francis sent a message to the Archbishop of Miami, the Most Revd Thomas Wenski, on Saturday, and offered “heartfelt prayer that Almighty God will grant eternal peace to those who have died, comfort to those who mourn their loss, and strength to all those affected by this immense tragedy”.

The cause of the collapse is not clear, although an engineer’s report from 2018, revealed on Saturday, referred to “a major error” in the original design of the 12-storey sea-front Champlain Towers. It said that the fault prevented water from draining away from the base of the building.

The Bishop of Southeast Florida, the Rt Revd Peter Eaton, said that prayers were said in the diocese on Sunday. “We pray for the dead and the grieving, the injured, and those still unaccounted for, and their family and friends who are waiting anxiously for news of them. We also pray for those who are now homeless, and who have lost everything.”

He asked Episcopalians: “Please remember in your prayers, as well, those who are working around the clock to search for survivors, to recover the dead, and to account for the missing.”

Sources / More: The Church Times, MSN News

Pray:

Pray with us for grieving families and individuals, that they may be comforted by the overwhelming peace of God. (Psalm 34:18)
Pray for the search and rescue teams, that they may be sustained in hope and strength even as they grow wearier and more despondent.
Pray with us for the local Church, that they will know how best to reach out in love and support to those affected.

What began as a coup by the Myanmar military has ‘rapidly morphed’ into an all-out attack against the civilian population that has become increasingly widespread and systematic, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned on 6 July, 2021.

Speaking at the 47th session of the Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet reiterated that the situation in the country has evolved from a political crisis in early February to a “multi-dimensional human rights catastrophe”, repeating a formulation she first used a month ago.

Since the coup, nearly 900 people have been killed while around 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes because of violent military raids on neighbourhoods and villages. “Suffering and violence throughout the country are devastating prospects for sustainable development and raise the possibility of State failure or a broader civil war”, she cautioned.

Ms. Bachelet explained that the catastrophic developments since February have had a severe and wide-ranging impact on human rights, peace and security, and sustainable development. “They are generating clear potential for massive insecurity, with fallout for the wider region”. The UN High Commissioner urged the international community to stand united in pressuring the military to halt its continuing attacks on the people of Myanmar and return the country to democracy, reflecting the ‘clear will of the people’.

She said the UN system must not fail the country a second time”, she added, citing the 2019 review of UN action in the country, by Gert Rosenthal.  She also advised swift action to restore a working democracy before the human rights situation in the country deteriorates further. “This should be reinforced by Security Council action. I urge all States to act immediately to give effect to the General Assembly's call to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar”, Ms. Bachelet said.

UN Agencies estimate that over 6 million people are severely in need of food aid and forecast that nearly half the population could fall into poverty by early 2022.  “A void has been opened for the most harmful – and criminal – forms of illicit economy to flourish”, she underscored.

She denounced indiscriminate airstrikes, shelling, civilian killings and mass displacement. Civil voices are also being silenced: over 90 journalists have been arrested and eight major media outlets shuttered. “We have also received multiple reports of enforced disappearances; brutal torture and deaths in custody; and the arrest of relatives or children in lieu of the person being sought”, she said.

She added that people across the country continue peaceful protests despite the massive use of lethal force, including heavy weaponry, and a ‘civil disobedience movement has brought many military-controlled government structures to a standstill’.

Some people, in many parts of Myanmar, have taken up arms and formed self-protection groups. These newly formed groups have launched attacks in several locations, to which the security forces have responded with disproportionate force, she noted.

“I am concerned that this escalation in violence could have horrific consequences for civilians. All armed actors must respect and protect human rights and ensure that civilians and civilian structures such as health centres and schools are protected”.

Sources / More: The United Nations, Pray for Myanmar

Pray:

Pray that every bit of suffering, injustice, and heartache in Myanmar will be redeemed by the Lord for good.
Pray that the people of Myanmar would hunger for the hope of the Gospel and find that all their longings are satisfied in Jesus (Colossians 1:27)

The conflict in Afghanistan – America’s longest war – is at an end, or so President Joe Biden is expected to declare this week. At an end, too, is Britain and Nato’s military involvement, dating back to the invasion that followed the 2001 al-Qaida attacks on the US. Except the conflict is not over. In truth, it is intensifying. What’s changed is that the western allies are, in effect, washing their hands of it.

By setting an unconditional US withdrawal date of 11 September shortly after taking office, Biden triggered an unseemly military scramble for the exit that has been joined by all residual Nato forces, including most UK troops. It now appears the vast majority will have left by the start of July, without ceremony or fanfare, almost by the back door. The fourth of July is American Independence Day. It may also come to be remembered as deserting Afghanistan day.

The official silence in Britain surrounding this shabby, half-hidden retreat is deafening – partly for justifiable security reasons, but also out of sheer political embarrassment. Ministers and army chiefs surely know his unilateral decision to quit, despite the absence of a peace deal or even a general ceasefire, is dangerously irresponsible.

The withdrawal has set Afghanistan back on the path to terror, mayhem and disintegration. A catastrophe is in the making. These are not the predictions of mere armchair critics. Gen Austin Miller, commander of US forces, warned last week that chaos beckoned. “Civil war is certainly a path that can be visualised if it continues on the trajectory it’s on. That should concern the world,” he said.

The impact on women and girls

Many Afghans say they expect that the Taliban will return to power, either via a power-sharing deal with the Afghan government or through sheer force. The group already controls around half the country, ruling by its own definition of Islamic law. And there is widespread fear that if they do, the Taliban will reintroduce its notorious system of gender segregation from when the group ruled in the late 1990s, which barred girls and women from almost all work, the right to vote and access to education.

If the scant gains won by women and girls in education disappear, it could have wide-reaching ramifications, from the role women play in shaping their country’s future to donor support that keeps Kabul’s hospitals open and government workers paid.

Experts see the treatment of women and girls by the Taliban as a barometer of the group’s future actions as they take over large swaths of the country. The restrictions on education could only be the beginning of a large-scale rollback of women’s rights in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have made quick territorial gains throughout the country since U.S. troops began leaving Afghanistan, including seizing at least 80 districts of the country’s approximately 400 since May 1, according to a tally by the Foundation for Defense and Democracies’ Long War Journal. More than one thousand Afghan security forces fled north into Tajikistan since last week.

Soon, beleaguered Afghan security forces will be left to fend off the Taliban and other extremist groups without any NATO firepower. In recent months, nonstate actors from the Taliban and groups aligned with Islamic State have targeted and killed a slew of women in the public eye, from journalists to health workers.

In early May, insurgents targeted students leaving school in Kabul, killing at least 90 people, most of them schoolgirls from the Shi’ite Hazara minority, an ethnic group long persecuted by the Taliban. Bloodstained backpacks and charred notebooks lay strewn among their dead bodies. The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack and condemned it but stopped short of heeding calls by the Afghan government and Washington for a permanent cease-fire. The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, blamed the Taliban, which pointed the finger at Islamic State.

Sources / More: The Observer, Time

Pray:

Pray with us that God will protect the most vulnerable in Afghan society, especially young girls and women (Isaiah 1:17)
Pray with us that the international community will come to realise its ongoing responsibilities towards this nation
Pray for political leadership on all sides, that it might focus on peace and reconciliation over violence and confrontation

‘UNITED,  SIMPLE,  POWERFUL’

You are invited to unite in a simple but powerful prayer time on the first Friday of every month.

We want to pray in unity with many believers, prayer networks and church denominations worldwide, for revival and for the harvest according to Luke 10:2-3.

Each month, we will invite people with insight on the topics we are praying for - to brief us.

The format will be informal.  We will meet with simplicity and humbleness of heart as we wait on the Lord and pray in unity.

JOIN US: FRIDAY AUGUST 6th at 6AM PACIFIC TIME (FIND MY TIME)

JOIN THE MEETING (PASSCODE 1221)  

#1 PRAYER FOR THE HARVEST

Pray like Jesus said in Luke 10:2-3: "Lord of the harvest, send workers into the harvest field.  Lord use me according to Your Word. I will make myself available and share my faith with one person in the next week."

#2 JAPAN AND THE OLYMPICS

Little of Japan's population knows Jesus. (0.3%) Let's pray for the harvest during and after the Olympic Games. Let's also pray for the Government, the people and the Church in Japan.

Join the call (PASSCODE 1221) and be part of the vision of raising 1 million hours of prayer for Japan - one of the most unreached / unchurched nations in the world.

>> Further meetings are being held on Sept 3rd, Oct 1st, Nov 5th and Dec 3rd 2021 <<

1st FRIDAY GO PRAY is convened by Global Outreach (GO) Movement, International Prayer Connect and many worldwide partners.

More info and meeting link at www.gopray.world

90 Days of Hope runs from 30th of May to 28th August 2021

It culminates in Global Day of Hope on 28th of August 2021 and Includes a 1 hour broadcast - streaming HOPE to the nations!

PRAY - PRAY FOR YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, COMMUNITY, NATION, AND THE WORLD TO KNOW THE HOPE OF JESUS

CARE - CARE FOR THE PEOPLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY WHO ARE LONELY OR IN NEED TO GIVE THEM HOPE

SHARE - SHARE YOUR HOPE STORY AND THE GOOD NEWS THAT JESUS SAVES WITH ONE PERSON EVERYDAY

LIVE WEEKLY TRAINING

EACH WEEK DURING THE 90 DAYS OF HOPE WE WILL BE HOSTING A LIVE TRAINING SESSION TO EQUIP YOU WITH SIMPLE AND PRACTICAL WAYS TO SHARE HOPE

The 90 Days of Hope and Global Day of Hope are an initiative of Hope of the Coming Harvest which is a collaboration of prayer and missions leaders working together to share hope around the world through 2021.

More information and sign up at: https://www.globaldayofhope.com/

Prayer at the Heart of America, For the Heart of America is a national call to prayer taking place Friday, July 23rd, at the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states. This Prayer Gathering is the result of a vision birthed in the heart of Doug Small and his passion for a fresh awakening across the United States of America.

Prayer At the Heart is a call to the family of faith, and the invitation is extended to everyone who believes that God is able to heal our land and that He is our hope for revival and restoration. Without question, our nation has turned its back on its Judeo-Christian heritage and foundation. The truth of God’s Word is being ignored and rejected. Our sin has increased, and the moral fiber of our nation has been defiled.

Biblically and historically, we discover that we must turn our face and faith toward God as a nation. The call is for the people of God who are called by His name, humble themselves and pray. Seek His face and turn from our wicked ways with the promise that He will hear our prayers, forgive our sins and heal our land.

‍We pray, Yes, Lord, have mercy upon America and send us a fresh awakening. You will want to join us in Lebanon, Kansas, Friday, July 23rd, as we make our appeal to heaven. Help us spread the word, and let’s make the journey to the heart of America as we pray at the heart of America.

IPC and a number of our partners across USA are partnering with this event.

More info and Sign Up at: https://www.prayerattheheart.com/

10 Days is a prayer meeting for your entire city!

The goal is a season where Jesus Christ is the focus of every heart in your geographical area for 10 complete days.

10 Days 2021 will be from September 6-16 beginning the evening of September 6th. It’s celebrated simultaneously in cities and towns around the world on an annual basis. Over 150 locations from all six continents participated in 10 Days 2020.

10 Days began in 2004 with a visionary experience.  It was born out of a time of seeking God with prayer and fasting, motivated by Jesus’ prayer in John 17, “Let [my followers] be one just as we [the Father and the Son] are one.”

Have you ever done something difficult, something that you doubted that you’d be able to do that later became one of the best moments of your life? This Sept. 6-16, we challenge you to do something difficult that has the potential to change everything, impacting your relationship with God and your city!

10 Days is organized locally by people all over the world. We’ve put together prayer guides, posters, videos, and other promotional materials to help anyone organize a 10 Day prayer event. We also have teaching resources to fuel movements of united prayer, worship, and repentance.

More info and sign up your city at https://www.10days.net/  

This is an invitation to join in an extraordinary 24-7 / 365 Prayer Room that is running online for the whole of 2021! It is a partnership project between IPC and a number of international ministries and organisations.

Prayer and Worship leaders from every continent are facilitating each hour in 10+ languages.

Whether you are able to drop in for 5 minutes here and there or for hours or days at a time, you would be most welcome to join us as we worship and glorify the Lamb of God – and offer our prayers for the Church and its mission and the needs of the world.

More info and sign up at: www.globalfamily24-7prayer.org/

Global Family 24-7 Prayer Room
https://www.globalfamily24-7prayer.org/

HOPE Movement 90 Days of Hope (to 28 August)
https://www.globaldayofhope.com/

Japan 1 Million Hours Prayer - July 23 - Aug 22
www.japan1million.com

Prayer at the Heart of America - July 23rd
https://www.prayerattheheart.com/

1st FRIDAY GO PRAY August 6th at 6AM Pacific
www.gopray.world

10 Days 2021 | September 6 -16
www.10days.net

Download the GO21 Year of the Upper Room - 40 Days Prayer Guide - with a daily focus on a different unreached people group.

The year is divided into 9 seasons of 40 days Prayer, Fasting, Worship and the Word

Acts 1:8 for the lost in our “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria & ends of the earth)

The current Season 5 runs from 13 June – 23 July 2021.  The Theme is '40 Days to Keep the Harvest' - “but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matthew 13:30d

The downloadable / printable prayer guide includes a space to include the names of 5 people that we can pray for and seek the opportunity to share Jesus with.