A is for Afghanistan

Our first day of school was like previous years in many ways: Matt surprised me with beautiful flowers, we had a special breakfast to start the day (pancakes and bacon requested from the kids; I weaseled out of making eggs too), and the centerpiece and placemats that adorned the dining room table were replaced with huge stacks of books and school supplies. Yep, school was now in session!

Something different about this time around is the way we officially began. We sat together and I read aloud from "You Can Change The World - Volume 2: Learning to Pray for People Around the World." Afghanistan is the first country we learned about and prayed for and if you look closely in the picture of the map below you may see a small photo of Abbie and Stephen in this war-torn country.

We went through Volume 1 of this book series two years ago and the kids loved it but I never continued with Volume 2. After spending a day at a friend's house I saw how she had a world map on her kitchen wall and picture of her daughter pinned on a particular country that they were praying for. I was inspired and knew that I had to pick this back up with my kids.

Bel Air, Maryland is a far cry from Kabul, Afghanistan but we were able to pray specifically for some of the needs of this country and for the furtherance of the gospel. What an amazing thought that while we sat at our dining room table and prayed, God heard our prayers and petitions for the people of this country, the people He created, and He will use our prayers to accomplish His sovereign work.

What a mysterious privilege prayer is!