Prayer Request

Please pray for my mom. She left Texas today to return to New Orleans, where she has visited only occasionally since Hurricane Katrina, more or less permanently. So far, she has no real job prospects, only a potential alteration service to the law firm where my aunt works as an account clerk, and occasionally assisting a friend of hers with wedding photography. Her house is in questionable condition, worse than immediately after the hurricane because she is unable to access the insurance money, since the checks were issued in two names and the other party refuses to sign them--even though one is for her exclusive personal property. She has only a minimal amount of child support, and is in danger of foreclosure on her house, which is all she has. The parish (or county, for those outside of LA) wants to seize the house because it has been uninhabited. Her van was reported as abandoned by a neighbor and was towed from her driveway and reduced to tinfoil, so she is depending on a car I lent her indefinitely in 2006. She has had the electricity turned on, but is without water and is disputing charges that were added after the water was disconnected--in the amount of $260. She has no refrigerator and her stove has been broken for many years. My brother, who is 13, is also with her, and needs prayers as well, since he will be very lonely, likely alone much of the time (if my mother is able to find work), as he will not be in school, having been homeschooled to this point. Please pray that she is able to find work, and that they will be able to find hope in this situation and help from friends.

You know, I think I finally understand intercessory prayers more concretely. I feel that all of you (and you know who you are) can add so much to my own requests, especially since my prayers can be rather feeble. And of course, this is magnified when the one praying is closer to God than any of us are at this point. The difference is that I feel more confident asking for your prayers--even though you are separated from me by distance and virtual space--because I know you (on some level, though it seems strange to write this!). I don't feel the kind of closeness to any particular saint(s) the way some people do. Perhaps that will be the next step! (Or perhaps I need to search for saints' personal home pages or blogs--ha ha, ha)