Pray for those who serve

What does it mean to pray for someone on a mission to serve the under-served, the vulnerable, the poor, the weary, the discouraged and the sick?

Thank God for those who are willing to serve. I pray that their basic medical care will be a source of comfort and healing to the many people who come into contact with them. I pray that God’s abundant love will be shared as they treat each person as if God is present before them. I pray that they are transformed by these experiences. And, I pray that they will come home safely, filled with God’s spirit so they must tell their stories.

This is excerpted from “Praying for medical missions,” a blog post written by Diane Frederick that was published on the Women of the ELCA blog on March 7, 2013. Today we remember Bartolomé de Las Casas, missionary to the Indies, who died in 1566.