Jalan Darmabakti

This road feeds off a major road and leads into several residential areas.

Pray for peace and blessings for the families living in this area.

There is a saying here that a neighbor who is close is better than a family member that is far away.

Pray for strong relationships between neighbors. If there are tensions, pray for a spirit of forgiveness.

Pray for community leaders to have wisdom and to serve with diligence.

Many of the roads in Pekanbaru were built for motorcycles, not for cars or trucks.

Pray for infrastructure improvements, including road repairs and road widening.

Pray for patience on the roads as all kinds of vehicles are trying to share space with grace.

These brooms and dust pans on the side of the road are used to clean garbage that is cast off by passing motorists.

Pray for sanitation efforts in Pekanbaru. Dealing with garbage is another infrastructure problem.

Just as garbage collects on the sides of the roads, so sin collects in the hearts of people.

Pray for God to convict of sin and for people to respond with true repentance.

This air compressor fills up tires when they get low. These shops can fix tire punctures, which is good because it's not unusual to pick up a nail or screw in the road. Some joke that the owners of these businesses scatter the nails and screws to bring in more business!

Pray for all business owners to be honest and helpful.

Just as tires don't do well when they are deflated, people sometimes feel sad and depressed.

Pray for the Lord to be close to those who are feeling down.

This location has single rooms for rent. Many people come from rural locations to seek better employment. They will often stay in a place like this while they attend school or search for work.

Pray for doors of opportunity for those coming to Pekanbaru looking to start a new life.

Pray for new comers to find networks of friends and a community of faith to help them on their journey.

Pray that these individuals will not be taken advantage of in the big city.

This school offers classes in English. Many people in Pekanbaru want to improve their English skills in order to get better jobs. While all students in Indonesia study English, the teachers often don't know proper annunciation of the words. This results in people who know how to read English, but not how to speak it.

Pray for more opportunities for people looking to gain marketable skills, like learning to speak English.

The sign in this picture is an advertisement for cigarettes. The caption on the bottom has a man smoking with skulls in the background. The text says, "Smoking will kill you." Despite these public service warnings many men see smoking as macho. Many low income men spend money on cigarettes that they cannot afford.

Pray for men in Pekanbaru to understand that smoking does not make you macho.

Pray for low income families to have the opportunities to learn how to better handle money and improve their situation.

Indonesians have proven that just about anything tastes better when it is deep-fried. The owner of this stall had moved to Pekanbaru from Eastern Java a little over a year ago.

Pray for the people of Pekanbaru to find joy and sweet satisfaction in the small pleasures of life.

Pray for moderation in all things. Too much of a good thing can become unhealthy.

This row of shop houses was in one of the residential areas. Most of these places are empty. Pekanbaru is filled with empty shop houses, but more are still being built.

Pray for people in Pekanbaru to have wisdom to know how to invest their money in more fruitful ways.

Pray for economic development so that more businesses open up in all the currently empty shop houses.

"The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing" (Psalm 145:14-16, ESV).

Pray for the people of Pekanbaru to understand that God is the provider of all good things.

Pray for the people of Pekanbaru to find rest in the Lord.