"And whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me."  Matthew 18:5

United in Prayer for 300 abducted Nigerian girls

           During Heather Dawn Small's itinerary to Nigeria in March, 2014, Boko Haram's terrorist activity escalated.

General Conference Women's Ministries (GC WM) is taking up the call to prayer for nearly 300 young girls in Nigeria who were abducted from their homes by the Boko Haram terrorist group.

When I think of these young girls, ripped so violently from their homes, my heart breaks for their situation, for the pain of the families left behind, and for our world that may never know the contribution these young girls would have made to their community and country if they had been allowed to continue their education. God has gifted these young girls as surely as He has gifted you and me. Yet they may never be able to be all that God intended them to be. This is a global problem. We know that:

Worldwide, girls constitute over half of the children out of school. Only 30 percent of all girls are enrolled in secondary school. In many countries, less than one third of university students are women. The average sub-Saharan African girl from a low-income, rural household gets less than two years of schooling and never learns to read and write, to add and subtract, as opposed to the average sub-Saharan African boy who fully completes primary education. (http://dayofthegirl.org/girls-denied-education-worldwide/)

ANN's Twitter hashtags for call to prayer. http://bit.ly/1jr1h9E

The wise King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 31:8 (NIV) "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute." We need to cry out against injustice, abuse, neglect, poverty, and terrorism. So many causes in the world need our voices.  So what can you and I do?

• Pray for these young girls, their families, and their abductors.  They are all God's children in need of His love and help. Join the worldwide church prayer initiative so that your prayers are added to the many that ascend to God's throne on the behalf of these children in need.
• Stay informed about this situation, talk about it with others, and encourage them to pray with you.
• Read the article at Adventist News Network (http://bit.ly/1jr1h9E) and use the social media networks connecting people around the world who are concerned for these young girls. Whatever you do, remember the word of Solomon, "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves." What an awesome and serious responsibility is given to us.

Six Challenge Issues

These six issues globally affect women and girls for every continent, every island, every culture.

1. Poverty

2. Women's health

3. Abuse

4. Women's workloads

5. Illiteracy

6. Lack of training, mentoring, and leadership opportunities