he wants me to pray, to give, and to go

That song, which we used to sing at my church during missions conferences (I've tried to find it online to no avail), has been running through my head recently. I'm not sure about the "go" part yet, but let me tell you about a couple "pray" and "give" opportunities that have been in my heart recently.

One Girl
One Girl is a prayer initiative of Tiny Hands International, a humanitarian organization. Their mission statement reads: Tiny Hands is a Christian non-profit organization dedicated to empowering the church in the developing world to help the poor overcome poverty and become lights of the world.  We are committed to finding the greatest injustices in the world, and working towards relieving them however possible.  We are particularly called to orphans, street children, and the victims of the sex-trafficking industry. We want to find those who are already doing the work, who are called and faithful, and help them do it in greater ways and with more efficiency. We do it all in obedience to, and for the glory of Jesus Christ. 

One Girl focuses on the 10,000 girls who are trafficked from Nepal to brothels in India each year. One Girl asks people like you and me to "spiritually adopt" one of these girls. For $10, they'll send you a bracelet that was made by one of the girls that has been rescued from sexual trafficking, and the bracelet serves as a reminder to pray. Of course, you can commit to pray without buying a bracelet, but I've found that my bracelet continually brings these girls back to my mind. The bracelet also gives me an opening to talk to people about trafficking; whenever someone comments on my bracelet, I tell him or her why I wear it.

A coworker first told me about One Girl last fall, and a local Christian radio station spotlighted the ministry during April. More than 1100 people signed up to pray!
 
Pray for Kate
Kate McRae is a little girl who is battling brain cancer. I first heard of her through Stuff Christians Like. I read SCL every day, but normally I get it through Google Reader and don't actually go to the website. One day, though, I went to the site, and I saw the "Pray for Kate" banner at the top. Curious, I clicked on the link ... and I "met" an amazing little girl and her family.

Kate is currently undergoing proton radiation treatments in Houston. Though I read the Caring Bridge journal that Kate's mom Holly updates, I can't even begin to fathom what this family is going through. All I can do is pray ... and ask you to also pray.