April Prayer Alert

Dear Faithful Intercessors, 

Thank you for your continued commitment to intercede for Beauty From Ashes™ Ministries.  Your prayers are crucial to us and those we serve. Know that the staff, interns, volunteers, and those we serve feel your prayers in a mighty way.

CLIENTS:  Pray diligently for those we serve. Pray they feel the love of Christ as they begin their healing journey. Pray they recognize the love and support surrounding them, and that they begin to trust in the people assisting them. May God give them a vision and hope for the future and that they are able to remain focused on that hope throughout their journey to new life. Above all, pray they become aware of their unique talents and gifts, that they realize their full potential in life, and their names be written in the Lamb's Book of Life. 

OUTREACHES:  Please pray for us as we begin expanding out outREACHes into new areas. Pray that God would open the hearts of people in the areas we are currently reaching out to, as well as the new areas we are entering. Pray God continues to build our outREACH team with committed servants who are ready and willing to show a nonjudgmental love as they share the hope found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. 

SUPPORT & LIFE SKILLS GROUP:  Pray for those attending our relocated, weekly, support and life skills group, Breaking Free.  Thank God with us for a partnership with Grace Church, of central Fort Myers, who have opened their hearts and doors to us.  Located in the same area we have been planning new  outREACH strategies, may those who are in this area and others,  attend this closed, Master's level clinician/overcomer, run group. Agree with us that those attending will commit to the journey of healing and recovery and that everyone that is supposed to be there will be. Pray that a spirit of unity and harmony will reign in the meetings and healthy support systems will be established and sustained. 

ASSESSMENT/RESOURCE CENTER:  We are still praising God for our assessment/resource center and it is daily a very busy, busy place for staff, volunteers and clients. Being able to provide comprehensive, integrated and multidisciplinary services to our clients is vital to their well being. Pray for the staff of the United Way House, the Salvation Army and Lee Physician's Health Care as they partner with us in the delivery of services.

STAFF: Please pray for God to bring us an administrative assistant/secretary who is ready and able to hit the ground running. We are seeking an individual desiring to make a career with Beauty From Ashes and someone that is willing to grow with us.  Agree with us for the ideal person to know who they are and they stand out to us beyond a shadow of a doubt.  We KNOW God is faithful and has the right person in mind. 

Please keep our Founder and Executive Director, Julie Shematz, in your prayers as she enters into her final three weeks of the semester.  May she be able to get all the assignments completed, quizzes, papers, reports, and exams completed with a standard of excellence while maintaining balance.  Pray for our Program Manager, Christa Hicks, as she balances her very full plate managing the programs, clients, interns, and volunteers of BFA.  Agree with us that she be refreshed daily and that both ladies and their families be protected.  

VOLUNTEERS and INTERNS: Thank God for sending more committed volunteers and that we have a Gift Assembly Coordinator! Praise God for the work He has done in and through our spring college interns. Many groups and individuals grew in awareness and concern for victims of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation, through the events our volunteers and interns participated in these past few months. Their efforts in prevention were greatly received and we witnessed girls, adolescence, and young woman take action to protect themselves and their friends. Most significantly, our clients were blessed beyond measure by the behind the scenes labor they so graciously provided us during the semester. Julie and Christa were also blessed mightily, as the interns shared their experiences of how the internship impacted their lives. Please pray for each of the interns as they transition into the next phase of their education and lives. Two of them have applied to graduate school, which is an answer to our prayers to raise up new committed professionals with a passion to serve hurting individuals locally and nationally.  All three have committed to continuing on as volunteers with BFA.  Pray for us as we enlist new college interns, locally and from across the state and nation, for the summer and fall. Pray that the new interns will begin their internship with an abundance of energy, commitment, and be able to hit the ground running! 

LONG TERM RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM:  Pray for God's direction, provision, staff, volunteers, and community engagement for existing programs and His perfect timing for ours. Pray that He continue to guide us, and give us wisdom as we continue in the planning phase. Thank God for the partnerships we have with existing and developing programs.  May the best recovery practices be provided to survivors as they become over-comers. 

EVENTS: Praise God for His guidance throughout the past few months, as they were filled with awareness & prevention events. As we move forward into the spring season, agree with us for wisdom and discernment in knowing which events we are to participate in and which we are to not be involved with. 

FUND RAISING: Pray for our financial partners.  May their giving be returned to them with a 100 fold blessing! Pray for new partners and creative fund raising ideas.  Thank God with us for sending in the resources from the North, South, East, and West. 

PARTNERSHIPS:  Pray that God would continue to align us with the professional, governmental, private, corporate and faith based partnerships that are of His perfect will and nothing less.  Agree with us that these relationships be protected and that our partners are blessed abundantly. Thank Him for churches that are partnering with BFA and supporting us as missionaries.  May God continue to lay on the hearts of pastors and parishioners a burden to raise awareness and support the work of BFA. 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND ADVISORS:  Agree with us for God to provide health, protection, wisdom, encouragement, and divine direction for BFA.  Pray for those that are struggling with health issues.  Stand with us in agreement that no weapon formed against them will prosper and by His stripes they are healed. 

  

OTHER LIKE MINISTRIES/AGENCIES:  Pray for humbleness and wisdom for all agencies, organizations, and ministries and a desire for unity in helping victims become overcomers.  May the level of professionalism and ethical concern for victims be raised and licensed counselors and professional service providers unite with them to provide restoration services and program development.  Pray for balance, biblical priorities, and protection of marriages and families.  May strong boundaries be established and maintained for aftercare providers.  May God's strength and encouragement be imparted to all in the name of Jesus. 

FRIDAY PRAYER:  Join us in the spirit every Friday from 8-9am EST to intercede for the victims of commercialized sexual exploitation and sex slavery, as well as the agencies servicing them.  CLICK HERE for Prayer Guide. 

PRAYER REQUESTS:  Send us your prayer requests by CLICKING HERE.

BFA E-NEWSLETTER:  CLICK HERE to sign up.

May your  love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ---to the glory and praise of God. - Philippians 1:9-11 

Thank you for your prayer support as we move into the Resurrection season of 2012.  Together we are making a difference in Southwest Florida and across the nation.  

Nancy Sampson and Sandi Spencer

Prayer Team Coordinators

Beauty From Ashes™ Ministries

(239) 939-9218 | 877.4BFA SOS (877-423-2767) Toll Free Help Line