Monday, March 23, 2009

WHY THAILAND, CANADA and USA?



Facts about Thailand


Population: About 65.5 million

Ethnic groups: 75% Thai, 14% Chinese, various other groups 11%

Capitol: Bangkok

Religion: 94.6% Buddhist, 4.6% Muslim, 0.7% Christian, 0.1% others

-The three provinces in the south have a Muslim majority. Most of the Buddhists in the country are from the Theravada tradition, a conservative form of the religion.
-Traditionally founded in 1238, Thailand was never colonized by a European power.
-The word "Thai" actually means freedom.
-Today Thailand faces challenges such as the separatist movement in the south, and the threat of disease, especially AIDS.
-The beauty of Thailand has drawn an unusual number of tourists over the years. Not only is the country breathtaking, the history of temples and ancient kingdoms fascinate people around the world.
-The national sport of Thailand is Muay Thai, Thai Boxing.

PRAY FOR THAILAND - PRAY FOR THAILAND - PRAY FOR THAILAND

- Thailand’s religious culture is a complex web of spirit appeasement, occult practices and Buddhism, which is closely interwoven with social culture. Pray that Christians may be able to
express their faith without losing their cutlural identity.
- Of the 76 provinces, 14 have fewer than 1000 Christians, three have less than 100, and four have no evangelical congregations.
- Most of the 3,000,000 Muslims live in South Thailand and Bangkok. Pray for the opportunity to show Christian love to these peoples.
- Pray for local churches to take up opportunities for evangelism among their own peoples.
- Pray for rebuilding work after the tsunami of 2004, and for those personally affected.

Facts about Canada

Population: 33,487,208

Ethnic groups: British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26%

Religions: Roman Catholic 42.6%, Protestant 23.3% (including United Church 9.5%, Anglican 6.8%, Baptist 2.4%, Lutheran 2%), other Christian 4.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other 11.8%, none 16%

Languages: English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5

Capital: Ottawa

PRAY FOR CANADA - PRAY FOR CANADA - PRAY FOR CANADA

- Pray that the youth of this nation can stand up for what they believe and make a difference with their peers;

- Pray that the local church understands the importance of going outside the church building to reach out to people in need.

Facts about USA


Population: 307,212,123

Ethnic groups:
white 79.96%, black 12.85%, Asian 4.43%, Amerindian and Alaska native 0.97%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.18%, two or more races 1.61% (July 2007 estimate) note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.); about 15.1% of the total US population is Hispanic

Religions:
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)

Languages:
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii

Capital: Washington D.C.

PRAY FOR THE USA - PRAY FOR THE USA - PRAY FOR THE USA

- Pray for strength in our churches, as they have the opportunity to help a lot of people in physical need especially in times when the economy is not doing very well. In meeting the physical needs of people, these churches have the opportunity to meet the spiritual needs of the people in their community;

- Pray for the youth and the part they play in reaching out to their communities;

- Pray against violence. It used to be a rarity, not any more.

No comments:

Post a Comment