Friends, with the recent prayer group for poverty and injustice in the world starting up after church, I thought I’d say a word or two.
I want to urge you to be constant in prayer overall. If we want to change and grow as a church, prayer is vital.

In light of this, I wanted to bring to your attention yet another disaster hitting Bangladesh (which I visited for 3 weeks in July). Late Thursday night (15th), Cyclone Sidr ripped into the country with winds over 250kmh. The country, flat and clustered around river deltas, is prone to flooding and is suffering once more after severe floods earlier this year. Casualty estimates currently lie between 500 and 1100 and are likely to rise sharply.
Much damage has been done to farmland with crops and houses being destroyed.
I haven’t heard anything from the region I was in when I was over there, but I ask you to join me in praying for the people of Bangladesh. Particularly pray for the Christians, that through this disaster they may stand firm and show God’s love and peace to those who are suffering and lost. Pray for the government (which in an interim administration) to be compassionate and swift in providing what aid it can, and for other governments to be generous.
Please check news sites for more information or click here for one article.

UPDATE:
Death tolls have risen to at least 2300 and have been predicted to soar as high as 10,000. I have received an email from David, the man who runs the children’s home I was at in July. Their district was away from the main damage but there are problems with power and water supplies. He asks for prayer for those suffering and lost.