Day 15: Cambodia

Cambodia is home to the single largest religious structure in the world: the Angkor Wat.

Lent Blues

I've fallen behind on my posts, but I have been picking the countries and saying the prayers.

Day 12: Panama
Day 13: Argentina
Day 14: Portugal

Giving up caffeine is proving harder than anticipated. I have to constantly remind myself of what I can't have. I miss coffee throughout the entire day, and I'm having dreams about eating chocolate. Three nights in a row, I've dreamt of eating chocolate, and then feeling guilty about it. Three dreams, three different kinds of chocolate. This is driving me crazy.

I got so tired of drinking water that I downed four glasses of orange Tang last night. 160 calories of delicious variety. When and if I get tired of Tang, I'll probably move on to lemonade. I have another 33 or so days until Easter. I'll usually slip up once during Lent, but not this year. I intend to get through this without any mistakes.

Days Ten and Eleven

Yesterday got busy, and I forgot to post. Yesterday's country was Lithuania. Lithuania is predominantly Roman Catholic, and has been since Christianity came to the country in the late 14th to early 15th centuries.

Today's country is Brazil. Interesting fact: "The Amazon River got its name from the Spanish explorers in the 1500s. They were attacked by women warriors and they remembered a Greek legend about women warriors called Amazons." -- massgeneral.org

Day Nine: Romania

Sorry for the late post. Today's country was Romania.

Transylvania is a central region of Romania, and was home to Vlad the Impaler, the historical figure who inspired Bram Stoker's Count Dracula.

Day Eight:: Denmark

"The runic stones at Jelling is recognised as a national symbol and the Danish kingdom's birth certificate - indicating that Christianity had come to Denmark for over 1,000 years ago. Since, more than 3000 rural churches have been built and spread all over the country." -- copenhagenet.dk

Day Seven: Papua New Guinea

According to National Geographic, the life expectancy of a citizen of Papua New Guinea is 57 years.

Day Six: France

Interesting fact about France: According to a 2004 IFOP survey, 44% of French people are Atheists (up by 24% since 1947).(eupedia.com)

Day Five: China

I haven't had much time for blogging today, but today's country was China.

Day Four: Portugal

Today's country is Portugal.

Interesting fact: Due to the influence of Roman Catholicism, Portugal is one of the most socially conservative countries in Europe. Abortion was only legalized through a referendum in 2007, causing much controversy. A Catholic priest vowed to excommunicate all people voting in favor of legalizing abortion.(eupedia.com)

Personally, I think it's sad that only one priest had the courage to stand up for doctrine. It's terrible, the times we live in.

Day Three: South Africa

Interesting fact about South Africa: The world's first human-to-human heart transplant was performed in South Africa in 1967 by South African Dr. Christiaan Barnard.

Day Two: Chad

The globe I'm using belonged to my grandmother, so when my finger landed on "Equatorial French Africa" I had to look up a modern map to figure out what country it was today. Today's country is Chad.

For those who don't know, Chad is a country in north-central Africa. Industries of Chad include: oil, cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, and construction materials.

Chad is in turmoil right now, as rebels are trying to overthrow the government. Tens of thousands of civilians are fleeing the country to escape the violence.

Day One: Canada

I chose today's country by closing my eyes, spinning a globe of the world, and stopping it with my finger. It landed on Canada. Now that I think of it, the odds of hitting Canada and Russia are awfully big using that method, but that doesn't mean they don't need prayers. So, throughout the day today, I shall send up prayers for the people of Canada.

Interesting Fact: Canada's highest temperature, 45 degrees C (113 degrees F), was recorded at Midale, Saskatchewan. The lowest temperature was minus 63 degrees C (minus 81 degrees F) measured at Snag, Yukon Territory.

Lenten Prayer Project

Dear Reader, I wanted to do something different for Lent this year. I've decided to pray for a different country every day from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday. I'll pick a country at random, and pray for it throughout the day. I'll try to learn something about each country so that each day will also be a learning experience.

This project may require daily posting, something I've never really attempted. :)

It all starts tomorrow. Feel free to join in with prayers or suggested countries.

Lent

Dear Reader, Ash Wednesday comes early this year. It wasn't hard to decide what I would give up for Lent, but it will be hard to do without it. I'm giving up caffeine. That means no chocolate, no Pepsi, and no coffee. I practically live on coffee these days. Not to keep me awake, but to keep me warm. Hot coffee on a cold day is wonderful. I drink it pretty much all day, or at least all morning.

This year will be tough.