IndoChina

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Thailand

Key Issues

Insurgencies in Southern Thailand
The South Thailand Insurgency is an ongoing conflict centered in southern Thailand. It originated in 1948 as an ethnic and religious separatist insurgency in the historical Malay Patani Region, made up of the three southernmost provinces of Thailand and parts of a fourth, but has become more complex and increasingly violent since 2001.

Prayer Concerns

Muslims in Thailand
Since 2004, the three provinces bordering Malaysia – Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, have experienced political tension, unrest and almost daily killings linked to Muslim insurgency. This is the only major Muslim population in Southeast Asia open for evangelism, yet after years of hard work, there are only a few small indigenous worshipping communities of former Muslims.

Pray for local believers and for different agencies involved in outreach to Muslims in Thailand. Ask God to raise up prayer teams who will begin breaking up the soil through intercession.

Refugees
Thailand has long served as a haven for those fleeing upheaval in neighboring countries. These refugees face harsh exploitation, from dangerous manual labor to sex slavery.

Pray for groups to reach out to these desperate peoples.

Pray also for authorities and Thailand to have compassion on those who seek safety in their country.

Church Growth
After four centuries of Catholic work and 200 years of Protestant work, Thai Christians hover around 1% of the population. Catholicism’s percentage has increased little in 50 years. Protestant growth has been very modest despite many missionaries and programs. Nearly half of the Protestants are from tribal groups, which amount to less than 5% of the country’s population.

Pray for spiritual breakthrough, unity, and effective collaborations among Christian denominations.

Pray for the unity of the evangelical and charismatic churches or even different denominations.

Pray for churches to be most active in winning souls and making disciples, getting rid of the spirits of competing and jealousy.

Pray that the Lord will make the increasing Christian population become a blessing and testimony for the society in Thailand.

Sex Trade
The extensive sex trade, focused in Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Hat Yai, is profoundly embedded in Thai society. Millions derive income from this “industry”. Estimates – none of which can be verified – range up to 2.8 million who engage in sex work. Some claim 10% of all tourist money is spent on the sex industry.

Pray for those who exploit others for their own gain.

Pray for moral conviction to fall upon them. Pray for this wicked flesh trade to be brought to an end.

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Myanmar

Key Issues

Child Labor
Child labor has been prevalent in Myanmar for a long time, with many children working as housecleaners, factory hands and shop assistants. But their role has come under increasing international scrutiny as the country opens up after five decades of military dictatorship. The Myanmar Government recognize that child labor is a big problem, but also say that it is a result of poverty, with children needing to work to help their families make money. Until the country develops and the issue of poverty is addressed, then child labor will continue to be important for poor families.

The Rohingyas
Rakhine State in western Myanmar is home to an estimated 800,000-1,000,000 Muslims, most of whom self-identify as “Rohingya”, but whom the Burmese call “Bengali”. Almost all are denied citizenship, rendering them effectively stateless and thus marginalized and vulnerable. This is despite the fact that they, their parents and grandparents, were almost all born in what is now Myanmar

Prayer Concerns

The Muslim Rohingyas
The Rohingya are a stateless people described by the UN as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities. They have been persecuted and discriminated against for decades but few can even pronounce their name let alone know of their plight.

Pray for the Rohingya Muslims, that they will come to know the security, love and acceptance of our God, who created them and longs for them to know Him.

Pray also for the Myanmar government, to soften their hearts and recognize the Rohingya as an important cultural part of Myanmar.

Child Labor
Forced child labor in Myanmar is everything from factories to human trafficking. The police in Myanmar force children into the military by saying that if they do not have an ID they will either have to go to jail or work in the military.

Pray for the Myanmar government to be serious about enforcing laws that forbid the use of child labor.

Pray for children and families caught in poverty, for hope and a way out of the poverty cycle.

Opium-growing and drug consumption
Myanmar is the world’s second largest producer of opium after Afghanistan. Together they account for about 90 percent of the world’s opium poppy production, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). There are between 300,000-400,000 drug users in Myanmar.

Pray for new economic possibilities, for those who are benefitting most from this illegal trade to be exposed and their wealth to vanish, for those caught up in the self-harm of drug abuse, and for the church to reach out to them

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Laos

Key Issues

Human Rights
Human rights violations are again an issue in Laos – and a thorn in the side of a government more concerned with centrally-planned economic policies – following the death 61year-old Tiang Kwentianthong. Tiang was originally arrested for praying for a sick woman without government approval. Reports say he was denied medicine for diabetes. He was jailed nine months ago, released in March after his condition had deteriorated substantially, and died on 17 September

Prayer Concerns

Religious Freedom
Christians in Laos make up a small minority and, the long-standing domination of Buddhism violently tries to crowd out a Christian presence. Buddhists desire a pure Laos with only Buddhism observed. The communist presence also wants to see Believers gone, as it is convinced Christianity is a foreign intrusion. Pray for Christians in Laos who face daily opposition and threat of prison for their faith. Pray that they will know they are held in their heavenly Father’s hands, and that, through their faithful witness, many in Laos will come to know freedom and grace through Jesus Christ. Pray for the Laos government, to allow Christians to worship without fear.

Lao Church
Laos is one of the five remaining communist states and religious freedom is virtually non-existent. Nevertheless, Lao believers have shown amazing courage and persistence in sharing the gospel and, despite severe persecution, the Church is growing rapidly. People are hungry for the word of God and men and women within the Church are teaching, encouraging and discipling at considerable risk to their own lives. Pray for protection for the Church in Laos and for wisdom and courage for the Lao Christians as they continue to share their faith. Pray that the church will continue to grow despite close monitoring and tight government restrictions.

Youth Drug Problem
The drug is known in Laos as ‘yabaa’ or ‘crazy drug’. Unlike opium, yabaa is particularly targeted at the youth market of Laos. Over half the country’s population are under 20 years of age and yabaa is particularly attractive to young men. Pray for the youth of Laos, for those who will work with them on some of these social challenges, and for the Church to find a way to be relevant to this growing challenge. Pray too for God to plant a vision for youth ministry in the hearts of more church leaders and pastors, so that young believers may be trained and mobilized to become involved in the life of

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Cambodia

Key Issues

Political corruption and extreme poverty; over 1/3 of the population live on less than .45 USD per day.

Huge social problems – including poor health, psychological trauma for Killing Fields’ survivors, family breakdown, drug abuse and human trafficking.

Some churches depend heavily on foreign funding, creating a negative perception in their communities.

Many church leaders are passionate but lack training and experience.

Prayer Concerns

Poverty
Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Over one-third of the country lives on less than .45 USD a day.

Pray for an improvement in the standard of living of the rural poor.

Drugs & Human Trafficking
Cambodia faces narcotics-related corruption. Many young Cambodians turn to street drugs to deal with stress. Women and children are often trafficked to Thailand and Malaysia for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.

Pray that Cambodia may be rid of drug abuse, human trafficking, child prostitution and other social ills.

Education
Only 37 percent of Cambodia’s adult population is functionally literate. By 1978, there were almost no surviving teachers, writers or scientists in the country—an entire generation of literate role models eliminated.

Pray for spiritual breakthroughs that will release a new freedom to learn and for resources that meet the needs of rural communities for education also.

Church Growth
Most of Cambodia’s cities, towns, and district centers now have a church. But the rural areas where most of the people live still have little Christian witness. Pray that the reached tribes will send out workers to those that remain without the gospel.

Pray also for the continued growth, maturity, outreach and zeal of the Cambodian church.

Pray for expatriate Christian workers, that they will give the church appropriate training and support.

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Vietnam

Key Issues

Religious Rights
While the main religion is Buddhism, the source of persecution is not religious tension, but communist oppression. In 2014, persecution against Christians noticeably increased, with churches and Christian homes destroyed and more than 10 Christians sent to jail. With the intense government surveillance, village members are scared they’ll get in trouble for their neighbors’ new religion.

Pray for Vietnam, for the religious freedom reforms to be real, not just words.

Pray for the spread of the Gospel in Vietnam, to drive away fear and suspicion and reveal the Truth of Jesus Christ.

Prayer Concerns

The Young Generation and Materialism
The new generation’s widened perspectives, searching questions and desire to learn often makes it difficult for them to engage with a Church that is seen to be out of touch with the rapid changes in society.

Pray against growing materialism and pray for those who are seeking fulfillment in wealth and success to find real life in Christ.

Pray for Church leaders to respond to the needs of the younger generation in an effective and perhaps radical way.

Pray that believers in business would be able to share the good news with many others around them.

Abortion
Vietnam has the third highest abortion rate in the world – more than 1.2 million occur annually, some women having up to eight abortions in their lifetime. Contraception is difficult to obtain, while abortion is legal and freely available at any age. As a result, many women use abortion as a form of contraception. Talking about sex and sexual health issues is still taboo in Vietnam.

Pray for those living with the burden and guilt of abortion, that they would be set free by Jesus, and shown acceptance by churches.