Basque Country Prayer Points for Week of March 20, 2023
Prayer Points and verse for the week:
Prayers points:
- The Basque Government is offering several different options to help families offset some of the costs associated with having children. Historically the requests have been made by women, however over the past 2 years the number of men who are requesting these options have increased.
- Pray for mothers and fathers as they look to make the best choice for supporting their families and decide about having more kids.
- The Basque police recently reported the crime statistics to the Basque Legislature. One statistic that is being highlighted is the number of sexual aggressions in Gipuzkoa. In 2022 the number was 128, which is double from 2021 (57). Another area that was highlighted was inter family violence, which also saw an increase in 2022.
- Pray for the victims of sexual aggression and against family violence along with the police officers that respond to assist in these situations.
- March 2023 marks 10 years since Pope Francis was elected to be the new leader of the catholic church. The paper had an article discussing several different topics from this ten year period: potential for schism, receiving two leaders from South Sudan and mass for 6 million in the Philippines.
- Pray for the Pope’s leadership of the catholic church
- Mental health education and support for minors is undergoing changes. On the education side they are planning to start offering some classes starting at 12 years old. The Basque Public health care system saw an ~16% rise in the number of minors needing such help.
- Pray for education system leaders and the health care system as they look to support the youth’s mental health
- Iñigo Urkullu, president of the Basque government, is on a push to show the importance of the Basque region in Spain and Greater Europe. To accomplish this, early last week meetings were held with other key Spanish regional presidents. Then later in the week he attended meetings with leaders from different regions in Europe.
- Pray for Urkullu as he communicates with other leaders about the Basque Country and it’s offerings
- Young adults looking to move out on their own continue to face challenges. One is the cost of rent, which currently has a minimum of ~500€/month. With the median salary being ~1400€/ month, that does not leave much room for the other expenses in life.
- Pray for young adults as they look to start life in Basque Country
- The increase in building materials and energy costs are impacting public construction projects in Basque Country. Currently there are 40 projects that do not have bids on them due to these factors, which is another economic impact for the region.
- Pray for rising material & energy costs as the impacts are felt across several different sectors
The verse for the week:
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 ESV