Please pray for us... laborers in the harvest fields.
~ For Single Workers. Ask that the Lord would be a dear and present companion in their hearts and lives. Pray that they would be defended against loneliness which can attack with deep and heavy blows. Pray for local friendships and friendships with other missionaries. Ask for deliverance from temptation and protection.
~ Married Workers. Ask for God's grace to shield us from the flaming darts of the evil one, to strengthen our partnership in working together, and bless our love and joyful service of each other. We are each other's closest friends, and sometimes, the only friend present.... pray that we would do well to bless and delight in each other. Pray that we would sharpen each other in our walks with the Lord, that we would spur one another on in Christ. Ask that the Lord would graciously use our marriages to shine of His love for His church!
~ General Stress/ Culture Burdens. Perhaps you have heard of a stress test which gives points for life events such as a job change or move. We just heard from the Member Care department with our organization some stats about tests like this... "Did you know that fifty percent of those who score 200 on these tests end up hospitalized with heart attacks, diabetes or other major illnesses within a year? For those with scores of 300, ninety percent end up hospitalized within two years. The average cross-cultural worker scores 600 on such tests! So even though many people say we are crazy to do this work, we would be institutionalized without your prayers! Thank you for constantly lifting up our tearm and keeping us sustained while we labor cross-culturally!" (Quoted from a recent letter received from within our missions organization.)
We've also heard cross cultural ministry compared to learning to fall asleep standing up with your eyes open. We take comfort that the apostle Paul felt great strain and burden in ministry too... (that there's no promise that our lives and service should always feel easy and fruitful because our road seems too difficult for us most all the time.) Paul wrote "we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself." (2 Cor 1:8) Pray that we would be humbled to surrender our Americanness and pride and selfishness and that we would gladly take on local ways, thoughts, and local values that honor the Lord. Pray that we would share not only the Gospel of God, but also our own lives with local friends as well, because the Lord would make them so precious to us in our hearts. (from 1Thess 2: 8.) We feel too far from this sometimes... Oh for grace!
We've also heard cross cultural ministry compared to learning to fall asleep standing up with your eyes open. We take comfort that the apostle Paul felt great strain and burden in ministry too... (that there's no promise that our lives and service should always feel easy and fruitful because our road seems too difficult for us most all the time.) Paul wrote "we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself." (2 Cor 1:8) Pray that we would be humbled to surrender our Americanness and pride and selfishness and that we would gladly take on local ways, thoughts, and local values that honor the Lord. Pray that we would share not only the Gospel of God, but also our own lives with local friends as well, because the Lord would make them so precious to us in our hearts. (from 1Thess 2: 8.) We feel too far from this sometimes... Oh for grace!
~ Language Learning. It's hard and humbling- to use words that don't adequately describe the enormous weight of this- to be a one year-old in language ability and life in this land. And it takes loads of perseverance and diligence to continue plodding ahead when ground seems to be gained so painfully and slowly or when we could revert to using our second language well enough instead of persevering to learn the third language! Ask for grace, diligence to persevere as our time is largely self-governed in language study and ask the Lord to powerfully enable our minds, ears and tongues!
~ Unity among us. Often, we have little or no other fellowship with English speakers besides the ones we work with most closely and that can be a lot of weight laid on those few friendships. And, as we are seeking to plant churches here together, theological differences among us can prove to be very difficult to handle. Ask that the Lord would guard us with grace and protect our hearts and words to be full of, sweet with love and care for each other, for His glory! Pray that He would lead us in His truth, with his Word. Ask that others would be able to see the love of Christ demonstrated among us, towards each other.
~ Boldness - Strategy- Wisdom. Every so often, we are invited to conferences to learn a new strategy for church planting or proclaiming Christ among Muslims. So much of this information is excellent, but some of it seems less applicable to our situation (our country or our people group) or even less than ideal. Ask for wisdom and humility as we seek to plan and strategize for this work. Our best strategy is to be maximally prayerful, leaning on, empowered by the Lord... please ask the Father to lead us in prayer. Ask that we would not lean on any strategy or method more than on Him! We MUST keep our hearts and eyes and ears set on Him who is our all worthy Goal, Strength, and Reward! No textbook methodology compares with Him!
~ Visas / Access / Protection. We are in a country that does not want any missionary involvement at all and that makes it hard for foreigners to be here for almost any reason. Please ask that officials who would oppose us would not take notice of our lives or work here. Ask that we would be protected and would be able to live long in this land to serve Christ and see his kingdom expand.
~ Homesickness and Plain Old Weakness. Sometimes our hearts can feel broken with this. The sometimes heard idea that "missionaries are so strong" is wrong. We feel weak, far weaker, far more assured of our limitations, our inabilities, our failures and our sin than we almost ever have in America. (For example, as I write this, I'm pregnant. I can easily cry daily thinking of how I miss the comforts of America during this time or for our birth!) Please pray for strength and grace.
~ Support. Many missionaries we know have left the field because their kids needed some support they lacked in China. Pray for help and resources and encouragement for missionary parents in educating and serving their own kids on the field. Pray also for encouragement for us personally, relationally (and maybe you could send us an email!?) and that the Lord would provide spiritual input, financial and health support, and needed resources to enable us to persevere in the work.
~ Support. Many missionaries we know have left the field because their kids needed some support they lacked in China. Pray for help and resources and encouragement for missionary parents in educating and serving their own kids on the field. Pray also for encouragement for us personally, relationally (and maybe you could send us an email!?) and that the Lord would provide spiritual input, financial and health support, and needed resources to enable us to persevere in the work.
~ Love. That we would be known by it, marked with it, filled to overflowing with it. That we would humbly, joyfully, lovingly serve each other and the ones he's called us to. Pray that we would learn to be more people oriented rather than so task oriented so people around us truly are and feel loved by us.
For Our Kids
~ Saving Grace to capture them, give them hearts of faith that they would joyfully, wholeheartedly, zealously serve King Jesus all the days of their lives. Ask that the Lord would make them into such living, loving, joyful worshippers that His fragrance in their lives draws many to Christ.
~Discernment and Wisdom. Our kids are growing up in a land of strange things- idols in windows, incense to ancestors, superstitions, amulets.
~ Friendships. Ask that the Lord would make their hearts soft and open to local friendships and loyal to distant friendships.... that they would grow in humble, loving social skills and experiences even while friends may be few. Ask that siblings would build deep friendships in our home too. Ask for our kids to grow with hearts to boldly speak of Jesus with their local friends who may have never heard of Him.
~ Culture Difficulties. Many times our kids are mobbed, stared at, flattered to no ends, touched and sometimes jeered at for the natural colors of their skin, eyes, hair and for the number of them in a one-child nation. Please ask that the Lord would graciously cause their hearts to respond with gentleness to this unsought-after and undesired spotlight lifestyle.
~Health. It's scary for us moms and dads to be in a place where health care is not what we would like to see available for our kids. Scary... and very good for strengthening our reliance upon God. Please ask that the Lord would protect our children from injury and disease, even from more minor illness where medicines and comforts are fewer than our home culture.
Here is an excellent guide that you can download for personal use for free, entitled "How to Pray for Missionary Kids." (Scroll down to the very bottom and click for the free download.) It covers many more excellent points to pray for.
