"...The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire.  When i heard these things, I sat down and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven" (Nehemiah 1:3b-4)

Nehemiah is God's leaders manual from the burden of a mission to the completion.  As you know I'm in the process of training up leaders for the next Cherish Bible Study and I've began teaching them leadership through Nehemiah.  Yesterday we had a 2 1/2 hour discussion time of what these girls wanted to see happen for the girls at their school.  They have so many ideas and were really taking ownership of what they could do - it was awesome! 

Many of the girls in the next group we will be teaching are age 13-15 and most of them have already been sexually active, both with their consent and without.  This brings me to tears and as I was preparing the lesson I knew God was calling me to fast and pray for three days, like Nehemiah and so i called on the girls to do the same.  Will you fast with us?  A few of us are going without eating, some skipping a meal, some only fruits or vegetables, but I know that this is a necessity and would ask for you to partner with us. 

We are praying through Nehemiah's prayer

1) Praising God (1:5)  2) Confessing our sins and the sins of our people (people of Swaziland and specifically the girls at their school) - (1:6-7)  3) Asking God to remember his promise (1:8-9) as in 2 Chronicles 7:14 - that if we turn from our sin He will heal our land and 4)  Asking specific requests (1:11).

Specific requests are:  1. The girls want to have some kind of counseling center that they run for their younger peers that not only teaches them about issues in life (i.e. abstaining, drugs/alcohol, having a relationship with God) but also can be a refuge for troubled girls.  To be honest I don't know the details but these girls have great ideas so we are praying about it and seeing what the Lord does.

2.  My specific request is that as these girls are seeking God's face and fasting that God would be more real than ever to them.  That he would speak clearly to them and would say the same thing to each one so that when we come back together we know what God wants.  I want these girls to go deeper in their relationship with the Lord and know Him at an even deeper level.  I know this is also God's will so I'm praying earnestly.

3.  For the specific 30 girls who will join the group, that God would be already working in their lives.

We are starting the fast, Saturday morning and finishing Monday afternoon.  I'm excited to see what God is going to do with His precious daughters who are seeking His face!