Last week we noted the creative ways in which the border patrol and others are getting the word out regarding the dangers of crossing the borders illegally. Equally as creative are the drug cartels working to get drugs from Mexico to the United States.
The cartels are placing ads in the classified sections of Mexican newspapers, offering work in the United States - an invitation that only people who can cross the border legally need apply - with a phone number and sometimes a location to apply in person. New hires are told to drive company cars across the border, typically to a fast-food restaurant or shopping center. When they arrive, they are often told there will be no work after all on that day, and they must leave the car and walk back to Mexico after being paid a small amount. The drivers are typically paid $50 to $200 a trip - much less than the $1,500 to $5,000 that seasoned smugglers are typically paid for such trips.
There have been 39 arrests since February 2011 at San Diego's two border crossings tied to the ads for seemingly legitimate jobs, according to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), which hadn't seen such significant numbers before. Those arrests have yielded 3,400 pounds of marijuana, 75 pounds of cocaine and 100 pounds of methamphetamine - a tiny fraction of total seizures but enough to convince U.S. authorities that smugglers are increasingly turning to the recruitment technique. The cases can be challenging for prosecutors because drivers may not know they are smuggling drugs.
Authorities are also checking into a scheme by some Delta Airline TSA workers who are accused of trafficking drugs. They would find a checked bag after it had been screened and put drugs or cash inside. A passenger would then pick it up at baggage claim like any other bag. A federal investigation has already found that hundreds of thousands of pounds of methamphetamine was smuggled between the two states over the past two years.
PRAY:
• Ask the Lord to continue to reveal the schemes of the cartels so that the authorities can properly deal with them. For those watching at the gates to be alert to suspicious activity.
• For those who are being caught in the web of cartel deceit to be as shrewd as snakes (Matt 10:16) in understanding what they are involving themselves with.
• For participants on both sides of the borders, who willingly involve themselves in illegal activity, to be captured and held accountable for their actions.
Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed. ~Psalm 21:11
Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel remains at large, free to wreak havoc on the lives of people all over the world. Until he is captured, we continue to pray!
Thanks to your intercession, Pastor Isauro and son Caleb were liberated this morning!!! The pastor was beaten by the captors though the son was treated well. The family had to pay a ransom for their liberation.
The Syrian regime appears to be sinking to new lows with reports of security forces executing Syrians who speak to UN observers. The military also reportedly is halting violence against towns for visits by UN observers but then resuming attacks as soon as UN personnel depart. Syrians have become so frustrated at the inability of the UN observers to stop the violence that activist videos have surfaced mocking them as useless.
This month's deadly attacks on the Afghan Parliament and foreign embassies in Kabul showed the determination of the Haqqani network to resist diplomatic efforts to bring about a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan and instead step up violence to hasten the withdrawal of NATO forces. The attacks also raise serious questions about the way ahead in Afghanistan a month before a crucial NATO meeting that President Obama will host in Chicago on May 20 and 21.
Pray for the break-up and overthrow of this evil group and that the authorities in both Pakistan and Afghanistan can bring them to justice.
Chuck Colson, known worldwide for founding Prison Fellowship and several other ministry outreaches, has gone home to be with the Lord.
Intercessors for America at one point in our history shared office space with Prison Fellowship in Reston, VA. Intercessors for America laments the passing of Chuck Colson and will miss his wonderful insights into the world as to how Christians should decipher world events and be salt and light in a world that needs Jesus. IFA's Executive Chairman of the Board John D. Beckett hosted a memorable interview with Chuck Colson a few years back entitled LIVING THE GOSPEL/DEFENDING THE TRUTH where they addressed the topics of Biblical Worldview, Islam vs. Christianity, the Role of the Church in this Society, the Role of Democracy, and the War on Terror among other subjects.
On March 31, the 80-year-old Colson had surgery for a pool of blood on the surface of his brain. In the days following surgery, he seemed to improve slightly each day but took a turn for the worse late Tuesday (April 17). Family members were called to his bedside. He passed away Saturday afternoon shortly after 3:00 p.m. (Eastern) at a northern Virginia hospital.
In a tribute by Dr. Michael Milton with Reformed Theological Seminary he says, "Chuck Colson was truly a new man. His life forever will be remembered, not in a legacy of political intrigue, but with a legacy of new life in Jesus Christ that overflowed to the world with a robust intellect and dynamic message lived out in a heart of deep, demonstrable compassion. Yet the new life that transforms old legacies of shame into legacies of faithfulness is available to all who call, like Chuck, on the name of Jesus Christ in repentance and faith."
Pray for Chuck's family and for Prison Fellowship Ministries. Give thanks to the Lord for a wonderful testimony in a life redeemed by the hand of God. Please keep the prisoners that Chuck left behind in your prayers as the Lord leads.
"And he did not permit him but said to him, 'Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.'"(Mark 5:19)
Thanks so much for your strong prayers for the WPA. It was an awesome time in the presence of the Lord that we believe is sending out the “New Wave” of His Spirit through the prayers of the 9000 participants from 86 nations and the millions of those who also took part on May 17 in 378 cities of Indonesia and around the world through satellite TV and Internet. You can see the plenary sessions on the WPA website www.wpa2012.org under "media" and also the May 17 stadium event will be rebroadcast this Sunday, May 27, as part of the Global Day of Prayer.
May we ask you to give thanks to the Lord and also continue this journey in prayer with us and to intercede for the following things as we all move forward into the coming season:
1. Give thanks to the Lord for all the magnificent things He did among us. His presence was so strong and enabled many, many connections and outcomes for His Kingdom as prayer, mission, marketplace leaders along with youth and children met to seek His face and pray for our world last week in Jakarta.
2. Give thanks for the Indonesian national committee and pray for their continued unity, humility and good working relationship so that the My Home Project (Indonesians adopting their streets, offices, schools, etc. for prayer and loving action to neighbours and colleagues) will prosper and spread to all the islands, cities and towns of the nation and around the world.
3. Pray for all 9000 participants as they return home that the fire of His Spirit will continue to be upon them and that they will be carriers of His glory, implementing what He has given them to do for their own families, towns and nations.
4. Pray for this great tsunami of the Spirit, a new Pentecost, to sweep over all nations, bringing His revival and transformation in ways we cannot even imagine as people catch the vision of united prayer and the actions that flow from it in mission and the marketplace. We are already getting some initial reports about this happening, praise God!
May the Lord bless and encourage you that He has answered and will answer all our prayer.
Yours in Christ,
John Robb
For the International Coordination Team
The World Prayer Assembly was an awesome time in the presence of the Lord. There was such a canopy of His peace and grace over everything due to the strong prayers of the Indonesian intercessors and others around the world who were covering this once-in-a-generation event. Even our glitches in organizing it were covered by His glory, and things just went so well in spite of twice as many coming as were originally expected – 9,000 came, and 2,000 were on the waiting list to get in.
God by His Spirit was working so many agendas in the lives of those who took part that it is impossible to recount all that happened or was reported. So many said their lives and ministries would never be the same. We have received encouraging reports from a number of nations as participants have begun to implement strategies of prayer mobilization and other actions that they were inspired to undertake during the WPA. Praise God for all He did and continues to do through this gathering!
Thanks so much for your strong prayers for the WPA. We believe that the "New Wave" of His Spirit is flowing out to the nations through the prayers of the participants from 86 nations and the millions of those who also took part on May 17 in 378 cities of Indonesia and around the world through satellite TV and Internet. You can now see all the plenary sessions and the sensational May 17 event with 100,000 in Jakarta’s national stadium on the WPA website www.wpa2012.org under "Media".
Here are some reflections from two of our International Coordination Team who helped provide leadership for different aspects of the WPA. In the articles that follow, you will get a feel for some of the many high points that colleagues of mine have described.
The World Prayer Assembly in Indonesia in May was the most significant international pray gathering I have ever been part of. It was truly tri-generational (Abrahams, Isaacs and Jacobs), multi-ethnic and global. Between 9,000 and 10,000 participants from 86 nations attended the Assembly.
Each morning and evening, we had plenary sessions, and each afternoon, there were two two-hour Track sessions on various aspects of the global prayer and ministry spheres, including politics, business, media, health, poverty, etc.
On 17th May, we joined with 100,000 Indonesians at their national stadium for five hours of prayer, praise and worship. This was satellited to 386 locations across Indonesia, involving a conservative estimate of 3.7 million people, and was broadcast through God TV around the world. Much of this was spectacular!
We were based at the Sentul City International Convention & Prayer Centre with an auditorium for 15,000 people. Next door, there is a 12-storey tower, the top storey of which is designated for prayer. Twenty-four-hour prayer took place whilst we were there and continues throughout the year. Every time I looked in there, hundreds were praying. This is one of the many hundreds throughout Indonesia.
Sentul City is a city in transformation, having been already declared corruption-free through the prayers of God’s children.
Everything was twice as large as anticipated and planned for. The Indonesians were overwhelmed logistically, yet managed to provide for everyone – an amazing accomplishment. Even so, over 2,000 applicants had to be refused!
There was tangible evidence of the Presence of God in the gatherings with accompanying signs. The impact is already being experienced around the world with testimonies coming in of the way God has blessed and is blessing the participants.
Five-hundred children formed the Children’s Prayer Track, and nearly 20,000 children participated in the stadium event. A 15-year-old girl told her story of how the prayers of the children over a three-year period had brought about the change of her neighbourhood with brothels closing and the area being cleaned up. Children led the praying one evening, and at our final session, they came with a rose for the adults and to pray with them as well.
Over 2,000 were under the age of 35. Each lunchtime was spent with senior leaders (including me) – they questioned us about our lives and influences. And one evening they also led the whole Assembly in praying for issues on their hearts. They pleaded with us older ones to “run with us” – don’t pass the baton and then abandon us”. They asked me publically to lead in repentance prayer and then be involved with other leaders in washing the feet of some of the young people. You can imagine how moving this was.
Large delegations came from S. Korea and from China. The Koreans, who hosted the first International Prayer Assembly in Seoul in 1984, jointly hosted this one with the Indonesians. There was a wonderful blend of honour, respect and appreciation. For most of the Chinese, this was the first international gathering they had ever been at. Those from China that I prayed with (maybe 100 in all) were deeply touched by God’s Spirit. The same was happening through the other leaders, too.
A wave of prayer is undoubtedly building. China is establishing 6,000 houses of prayer – they call them “Walls of Prayer”. One ministry alone has seen a 726% increase in the numbers of people coming to Christ in the past 7 years compared to the previous 7 years – ever since they started to emphasise prayer with their “prayer walls” (I am talking about 51 million people). Together with towers of prayer (in Indonesia) and 24/7 houses of prayer around the world, there is an exponential acceleration of the kingdom of God taking place in those nations pursuing this vision.
There is an amazing spiritual harvest being reaped in many parts of the world. Through the Internet alone, over 75,000 people per day are praying to receive Christ. Last year, 150 million people read the Gospel on the web, and over 19 million prayed to receive Christ. That is only one part of the story – the real picture is bigger still!
One well-known leader described this as the most pivotal week of his entire ministry. There were some fantastic worship times, led by international musicians, and plenty of praying in different ways. We had an excellent media team producing videos to stimulate prayer and recording everything that took place. We praise God for the many blessings flowing from this Assembly all over the world. Most of the plenary sessions and the whole of the stadium prayer rally are already available and can be viewed on the website www.wpa2012.org.
It was an awesome time, the fruit of which will be echoing around the world in the coming years.