Dysfunctional families exist in every society. In many a South African village family, alcohol abuse on the part of an unemployed father means a young boy must drop out of school to become the family’s breadwinner. Meanwhile the boy’s younger sisters take care of toddlers so their mother can work in the fields growing subsistence crops. It is not unusual for a 14-year-old girl to be a wife and mother.

In South African cities, a man who has left behind his wife and children in a neighboring country to take a job in South Africa often takes another wife after he arrives and produces children with her. His time, energy and resources are strained beyond his ability to provide, and families in both countries suffer.

Lifestyles such as these contribute to the incredibly high incidence of HIV/AIDS that continues to devastate thousands of families in South Africa.

Pray for South African families who need God’s healing touch. Intercede for Christian families, that parents will train their children in the ways of the Lord and that children will choose to trust and obey Him in all of life’s decisions.