Prayer Card

We have had many people ask about the pictures on the front of our prayer card. Some will ask if the two children on the right are our older children, and did we adopt them from some foreign land. Others will ask if the girl in the wheelchair on the left of the card is one of the many foster children we have cared for. Still more will ask about the children in the background of the card.

When I set down to design our prayer card, I wanted to do more than just communicate about us. I wanted people who saw our prayer card to remember that there are many ways to be involved in missions and that we are all called to be involved. For that reason, our prayer card contains pictures of children from around the world. That is not unusual. I've seen many missionary prayer cards that use pictures of children. However, each of the pictures used on this prayer card has a specific meaning. A meaning related to ways that God can call each of us to missions.

Lets start with the easiest picture, the picture of Tammy, Rebecca, and Wayne. This picture represents The Brown Family, the newly appointed missionary family. The itinerating missionary family who will be joining with Book of Hope to take the gospel message to children throughout the world. This picture reminds people of who we are, buy name and by face. It reminds them that we have taken a radical step of faith in leaving a stable and predictable life that came from 19 years as foster parents and 16 years at Publix Super Markets, and stepping into the unpredictable world of international missions work. This picture reminds them to pray for us and for the children to whom we will minister. This picture is the picture of a family who has given up one lifestyle to adopt a new lifestyle that God has specifically called them to adopt. This picture is the picture of full-time missions.

The picture to the left is a picture of a child in Bolivia. Daniela is an elementary school student at the Latin America ChildCare school in Cochabamba. Daniela was born with a birth defect that prevents her from walking. Her mother carried her in her arms each day to and from school and stayed at the school to carry her from place to place on the campus. As Daniela grew, her size and weight increased, thus increasing the burden on her mother.

Prior to traveling to Bolivia, Tammy had contacted AGWM Missionaries Steve and Lori Potutschnig. She told them of the sources for disability-related supplies and equipment that we had developed in providing for Rebecca's needs. And she asked if there was anything they needed in Cochabamba. They immediately thought of two students who needed help, one of them being Daniela. Tammy was able to get specific sizing information concerning Daniela and passed that on to Rick and Bruce, Rebecca's wheelchair providers. They offered their professional services to secure and configure a chair that would specifically meet Daniela’s transportation needs at her school and in her community.

As a result of Tammy, Rick, and Bruce being willing to take their professional skills and give them to the Lord, Daniela now has a wheelchair that she can use to transport herself to and from school and from activity to activity at the school. Her mom now has the freedom to get more involved in other church and community activities, since she does not have to worry about how Daniela will get from place to place on her school campus. This picture of Daniela represents the skills and knowledge that every person has. Skills and knowledge that they can use to share the love of Jesus with others, even with children in a far away land. While Tammy was able to travel to Bolivia to personally meet and minister to Daniela, Rick and Bruce are also missionary heroes in this story. Their sacrificial giving of their skills and knowledge to the service of the Lord has given this little girl and her mom new freedoms that they could previously have only dreamed of.

The picture to the right is a picture of two children from India. These children were won to the Lord by a short-term missionary who came to spend a month in their village. By dedicating a month of her time, this short-term missionary was able to commit the time necessary to develop a relationship with these children. Just days before her departure from this village, these two young children gave their hearts to the Lord. This picture represents missions on two fronts. First, is the significant impact of short-term missions. The missionary in this story is currently unable to commit to full-time service on a foreign missions field. However, she can take what little available time she has and she can commit that time to service for the Lord. This is a picture of short-term missions. Additionally, this is a picture of the significant impact of giving to missions. The short-term missionary in this story lacks the finances to travel to and from India and to stay there for a month. However, she knew that God had called her to that ministry opportunity and she shared that call with others. Many people came together to give to this missionary as God directed. As the deadline for this trip approached, this missionary received all the funds needed to allow her to commit to the trip. This picture is the picture of the harvest that comes when we each hear of a need and are willing to hear from God concerning giving toward that need.

Finally, there are the pictures in the background of the prayer card. These are pictures of children and youth at various international ministry activities. This picture represents the heart of the great commission -- to take the gospel message to a lost and dying world. It represents the heart of the ministry at Book of Hope -- to take "God's Word" to "Every Child." This picture represents the heart for missions that every believer should have and should demonstrate, either through giving, through going short-term, for through taking the radical step of faith to commit a lifetime to bringing in the harvest.

And there you have it, different pictures representing different ways that you can be involved in missions. The scriptures tell us that the harvest is ripe, but he labors are few. Ask yourself today, how is God calling you to be engaged in the harvest? Is He calling you to give so that someone else can perform the labor on the harvest field? Is He calling you to commit a portion of your time to missions, here at home and throughout the world? Is He calling you to set aside your ambitions and pursue His ambitions on a full-time basis? Are you being open enough to hear from Him? He is calling you to one or more of these areas of involvement. Are you willing to answer that call?