Basque Country Prayer Points for December 2024

Sampie Brown on December 30, 2024

Prayer Points and verse for the month:

Prayers points:

  • Christmas Eve dinner is a very special occasion for Basque & Spanish families. The local paper showed a comparison between cost for typical food items last year and this year. A couple of the items were down significantly, with one other having a large increase. The others were small changes up & down.
    • Pray for Basque & Spanish families as they gather during this holiday season to celebrate.
  • Basque Country has continued to see growth in its GDP having seen a 15.7% increase in the last 10 years. In 2024 they are expecting it to end up 2% and the forecast for next year is up 2.8%. Additionally Basque country business & foundations continue to invest in research and development with 2% of GDP being allocated for those areas.
    • Praise that overall the Basque Country’s GDP continues to grow and they are able to continue to invest in research and development.
  • A few towns in the Basque Country are seeing an increase in birth rates. Those are Astigarraga, Irura, Zestoa and Lazkao. With this growth the areas are having to build the infrastructure necessary to support younger children and families.
    • Praise that some towns in Basque Country are seeing an increase in births. Prayer as the cities look to build the facilities to support the growth.
  • The cost of housing continues to be one of the most important political & social problems this year. Recently a group of about 8,000 people took to the street in Bilbao to highlight the problem. Similar events have been happening all over Basque Country & Spain as residents are looking for ways to highlight the concern.
    • Pray for leaders as they look for solutions and residents as they work to ensure voices are heard about the ongoing problem.
  • Recently a committee of 50 experts gathered for more than a year to write 107 recommendations for technology use for youth in Basque Country. A few of the recommendations included no cell phones for those under 6, under 16 should not have a mobile phone with an internet connection and limited access to phones while at school.
    • Pray for leaders, parents and children as they navigate the current and future usage of mobile phone usages.
  • Concern exists for the future of Spain’s economy. While it is finishing 2024 on a very positive note, some have concerns for 2025. The concerns are the unemployment rate that has been running high, the geopolitical environment with the Ukraine war and Trump taking office, along with the uncertainty of EU trading partners France and Germany.
    • Pray for leaders and business as they look for ways to improve the outlook for the Spanish economy.

The verse for the month:

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (‭‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4‬‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

Basque Country Prayer Points for October 2024

Sampie Brown on November 2, 2024

Prayer Points and verse for the month:

Prayers points:

  • While the Basque region has not been impacted by the recent heavy rains, it’s quite an issue for Spain. The number of deaths is over 200 people as of this writing and is increasing every day. The devastation is immense and the mobilization of relief is quite the undertaking given the impacts. The area received a year’s worth of their normal rainfall in less than 8 hours.
    • Pray for those who have been affected by the floods in the Valencia region and the relief efforts throughout Spain.
  • Housing has been a key issue. One issue is the lack of affordable housing. One economic leader has pointed out that if the problem is not addressed, it will be difficult for businesses to attract new workers and the impacts for future economic growth in the region. An option to address the issues is that in some areas they will no longer be issuing permits for tourists only apartments. A program that helps people get into affordable housing had 29,000 applications and approved only 181 of them. Another key data point was the construction of new homes. The current level rose very slightly, 0.5%, compared to a demand of 8.5%.
    • Pray for the leaders, builders and citizens as they look to find solutions for the housing shortages.
  • In July of 2024 a 24 hour center to help victims of sexual violence was opened. Since opening the center has received ~140 different requests in that time. The requests have mainly been phone calls with others coming from WhatsApp, in person and email. This is one of 8 centers currently open and they have plans to have 52 opened by the end of the year.
    • Pray for the people who help the victims, the victims, the aggressors and others who are affected by these actions.
  • The number of people who profess Catholicism as a religion in Gipuzkoa has decreased ~20k since 2019. Currently ~35% of the population would identify as having no religion. An article with those statistics talked about the shortage of catholic priests and the need for more to cover the towns and responsibilities. They also saw that ~7% identify with other religions.
    • Pray for those in Gipuzkoa who are seeking God would find a place to worship
  • The difference in salary between those that have a university degree and those who have completed technical school is getting smaller. In 2013 the difference was ~500€ per month and in 2024 it’s ~300€ of a difference. They also reported that females earned a lower salary in both categories.
    • Pray for business, employees and universities/technical colleges as they prepare for these young people to enter the labor market looking to earn a wage that will support a family.
  • On November 6 the new leader of the Basque Government, Imanol Pradales, will meet with Pedro Sánchez, the current leader of the Spanish government about next steps for becoming an even more autonomous region. The Basque region has already completed the requirements set forth to become more autonomous. They are working through a list of items that still need to be transferred to the Basque region. A few of them are how to handle ports, airports and the social security system.
    • Pray as the leaders of the two governments meet to have wisdom on next steps of the Basque region becoming more autonomous.
  • In Egia, which is an area in Donostia they have had to stop giving out free meals to people due to security concerns. This has raised quite the concern with residents as leaders look for a way to support these people while also ensuring the safety of the citizens.
    • Pray for leaders, social organizations and citizens as they look for a solution to help those less fortunate in Egia.

The verse for the week:

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:12 NIV

Basque Country Prayer Points for September 2024

Sampie Brown on October 2, 2024

Prayer Points and verse for the month:

Prayers points:

  • This time of year, sees an influx of existing, new & Erasmus (Europe’s study abroad program) university students arrive in the city. It is becoming more difficult for students to find affordable housing. The city is also looking for solutions with the number of homes that are designated for tourism.
    • Pray for students, home owners and the government as they work through solutions for affordable housing.
  • A recent report is pointing to several different unhealthy habits that are causing problems for the Basque Hospital system. One of those factors is that ~50% of the population drink some amount of alcohol. Another factor is they are seeing that ~25% of young people (14-18) have smoked cannabis within the past year.
    • Pray for the health of the public and the Basque hospital system as they explore solutions to provide better care to the citizens.
  • Pedro Sánchez has announced his plans to move forward with a government with or without a legislative body in place. They are scheduled to meet between November 29 and December 1 to have elections and set the agenda for the upcoming legislative session. An important item will be a new budget since a new one was not passed for 2024 as they are using the one from 2023.
    • Pray as the political leaders prepare to meet to have a legislative body to address issues for the citizens in Spain.
  • The public hospital system continues to face criticism from the public. A new leader of the system has been appointed. They are working to hire more staff to address the needs of the system, though not enough staff exists. They stated it will be 3-4 years before the staffing needs are met.
    • Pray for the leaders, medical staff and patients as they work through the current challenges in the medical system (Osakidetza).
  • The number of workers that have two jobs has doubled over the last year. Various reasons were shared with one of them being the need for some to have a second job to be able to afford the increase in living expenses. Another was related to the change in employment contracts, along with the number of new jobs in the area. Data from the summer shows that spending stayed the same or went down compared to last year. Businesses also saw this summer about a 10% increase in credit card usage.
    • Pray for the employees, families and businesses as they navigate these uncertain economic times.

The verse for the week:

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

Isaiah 41:13 NIV

Basque Country Prayer Points for Week of August 14, 2023

Sampie Brown on August 20, 2023

Prayers points:

  • The results of the July 23 election are in, with the PP party gaining some additional seats and PSOE losing some seats. Neither party has the absolute majority by themselves. Each party was working to put agreements in place to have an absolute majority for the election of a new legislative leader. Pedro Sánchez was able to gather enough support to be re-elected leader of the coming congress.
    • Pray for the newly elected political leaders and coalitions as they start the legislative process.
  • On May 26, the Spanish legislation passed a new law in order to help with home rent prices. However, it’s not helping as the paper showed a graph where rent prices have increased by ~18% since May of 2022, with the prices increasing 10% since April. Property owners are increasing the price due to the changes in the law causing the opposite of what was desired by the new law.
    • Pray for legislators, realtors, renters and owners as they look to determine reasonable rent prices.
  • Recently data about suicides were analyzed to understand and determine what improvements in the health care system can be made. They discovered that 75% of them had recent contact with the healthcare system. Only 30% of them had been in contact with a mental health professional.
    • Pray for the health care workers and leaders as they work to see early symptoms and explore other options for those who are thinking of suicide and people who are contemplating the option.
  • The Gipuzkoa region of Basque Country labor market is doing well, though they are having some challenges with younger workers. They are looking for more than just a salary, they would like to see a career path. People on unemployment assistance has dropped and is at the lowest levels since 2008, which is when the last financial crisis happened. The labor market also saw the creation of almost 12,000 jobs.
    • Praise that the job market in Gipuzkoa is seeing growth and pray that the growth continues through the coming months as the younger workers are entering the workforce.
  • For the first time since the end of the pandemic the wait times for most medical specialists is decreasing. It has taken almost 3 years to get back to this state.
    • Praise that the wait time for most medical specialists has decreased.  Prayer that the wait time continues to be stable and improves for the specialties that have not yet seen the decrease.

The verse for the week:

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans 8:6 ESV

Basque Country Prayer Points for Week of December 12, 2022

Sampie Brown on December 18, 2022

Prayer Points and verse for the week:

Prayers points:

  • The public healthcare system (Basque name: Osakidetza) is having lots of tension as several leaders have resigned after a couple of leaders were let go. The system was already under quite a bit of strain and this is adding to it.
    • Pray for the frontline healthcare workers, leadership, politicians and those needing care
  • For conversations between the Basque and Spanish Government as they work through items that would give the Basque Government more autonomy
    • Pray for the political leaders on both sides as they work through this situation
  • Last time I talked about the historic low of low income housing. A shortage of housing in general exists across all economic levels. In Gipuzkoa they are now saying that 40,000 homes are needed.
    • Pray as the city looks to build the necessary housing for the city across the different needs of the citizens
  • The new catholic bishop for the diocese of Donostia, Fernando Prad Ayuso, was officially ordained for the office yesterday.
    • Pray for the new leader and the diocese as they go through this transition period
  • Salaries for young people are not high enough to live independently, wage increases on average in the 3rd quarter were much lower than inflation. Pension payments, while increased, are still not enough to keep up with inflation
    • Pray for people as they evaluate how to spend their money

The verse for the week:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 NIV