"I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness."

– Isaiah 42: 6-7

Africa & Europe

• Praise God for an opportunity to provide police in Uganda with a victim-sensitive interviewing space near to the temporary shelter we have helped to refurbish in Kampala. We will be outfitting a shipping container with furniture and all the necessary equipment to take victim statements in a safe, secure setting with the protection of survivors in mind. Pray for the women and children who will seek safety from violence in this space, that it will be a place of comfort and assurance that their voices will be heard.

Latin America

• Pray for protection and resilience for those who work to combat all forms of violence against women and children in the Northern Triangle of Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras). Pray for IJM teams and our local partners, as well as for investigators from the national police, prosecutors, aftercare providers and survivors. One of our staff in the region shared this prayer: "May God strengthen our sense of purpose in pursuing justice and renew our energies, and may God bring protection upon us as we work to advance restoration and justice processes for the most vulnerable."

South Asia

• Praise God for the recent rescue of a 10-year-old boy from a goat farm! Little Vignesh* had been enslaved as a shepherd at the farm for the last two years, after his mother died and his family fell into deep poverty. He would graze 100 goats across miles of rural grassland every day, with very little food and no safe place to sleep. Local authorities and an IJM partner searched for days to find Vignesh — praise God he is finally safe and recovering. Please pray for his ongoing aftercare and for God's restoration in his family. Read more about Vignesh's rescue.

Southeast Asia

• Even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, fishing in Thai waters is legally continuing. The fishermen face increased risk not only from COVID-19, but also from non-payment of wages and forced labor as global demand for seafood dropped and local fishing businesses faced impacts to their income. Please pray that God will continue to lead us to new cases and rescues for those trapped in forced labor slavery in the Thai fishing and seafood industry.

IJM HQ & Global Partners

IJM headquarters is located in the United States. IJM has international advancement offices in Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

• Pray for God's wisdom and for clarity over all of the decisions our development teams are making for digital events and gatherings this fall. COVID-19 has disrupted the events industry and our teams are pushing themselves to innovate and share the stories of survivors in new, virtual ways.
• As an update to our previous prayer requests for the Central America Women and Children Protection Act — the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not mark up the bill before August recess. Please continue to pray for wisdom and discernment as our teams try to find a way to move the bill forward.