Missions Emphasis Sunday

We had a special Missions Emphasis Sunday yesterday in our church.  We have one of these a couple times a year, apart from our annual missions conference.  We had a veteran missionary come preach and share things about their ministry.  Special music and congregational songs all revolved around the theme of evangelism and reaching the lost.  My heart was so blessed as I heard our missionary couple, Mike and Lisa Reddick talk about their ministry in Singapore. They also do campus work, evangelism and orphanage ministry in several countries in Asia. Our pastor and two other men were able to go to this field this past year, so they showed some pictures of their time there.  Oh, how the faces of those orphans gripped my heart!  Part of me just wanted to jump on a plane to go hug and play with those children.

With all this in mind, I thought I'd share an idea with you that could stir you on to remember and pray for missionaries more. When I was single, I used to house sit for several people in our church, including my pastor's home. One of the things I noticed on their kitchen table was a photo holder in which they kept their missionary prayer cards.  I thought it was a neat idea, so I bought this photo holder and did the same thing.  It has been one thing that I carried over into our marriage and I still think it's a wonderful way to remember to pray for our missionaries. Each time a new missionary comes to our church or when a current one is updated, I add the prayer card to this holder. I think it's also great that a fancy photo holder has been available to our congregation so that they can do the same thing.  A small donation is requested and the holder is theirs to fill with prayer cards.

Since it's meant to sit on the dining room table, it's natural to pray for them at meal time.  You can pray for them during the day when you look at the photo, too.  The pictures can be changed daily or weekly.  The problem I'm having currently with this is the fact that I have too many cards and not enough slots, so I'm on a hunt to replace the one I have (or to get a second one for the overflow.)

What do you all think? If you haven't done something like this, what have you done instead to help you remember to pray for missionaries?  I would love to hear your ideas.