Many years ago I sat in the chapel during mission week at the Bible college I attended and heard the speaker challenge those present to get on their knees and ask God if he was calling them to a life of full time ministry in the mission field. The popular joke or plea, depending how you saw it, regarding missionary work among the student population was, “Please God, don’t send me to Africa!” Fifteen plus years later, God has taught me that we are all on mission, regardless of our address or demographic and that it is God who determines where our individual mission fields are. My oldest was entering grade two when I was called to a particular mission field. A fellow mom asked if I would be interested in joining a prayer group that had begun meeting weekly to pray specifically for our community school. I had heard of such groups before and was eager to meet other Christian families that attended our school. Our Moms Who Care prayer group is now entering its fourth year. The common thread binding a diverse collection of women from different churches and backgrounds: a calling from God to pray and serve a school community made up of over a thousand families. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14 I could recount for pages the ways God has answered prayers for students, families and school staff that have come before our group. We have regular outreach events for the staff—hot lunch, sometimes a welcome-back goody bag, or, a particular favourite of mine, individual hand-written letters of encouragement to 60 teachers, letting them know that they are cared for and prayed for. I cannot, though, recollect the numbers of tears shed around the table as we have prayed for overwhelming family situations, rooted in a sinful world that has no knowledge of the love of its Creator and Lord. Week to week, we pray earnestly for our own children, that God would give them boldness to set themselves apart for his glory. We pray God would give each teacher a moral compass as they choose which books or movies to present before the impressionable minds they have been entrusted with. We pray for a school board made up of elected officials that make decisions which do impact our children’s social and learning environments. Prayer does not seem optional in the face of all that does it? A favoured passage within our group conjures up the picture of God giving over the City of Jericho with its impenetrable walls to the Israelites. “And the LORD said to Joshua, 'See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valour.'” Joshua 6:2 Hope rings loud when you are within a circle of Christ-followers with arms lifted high in worship, adoration and prayer. The inspired Word says, “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." Matthew 18:19-20. Just as God continues to share his heart with our group, and the hundreds of others that meet across Canada praying for an estimated 2000 schools, he has placed on my heart his desire for groups such as ours and individuals alike to gather together to commit this 2010/11 school year to his purpose. Come join us on September 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Mapleview Community Church for an evening of prayer and connection. Those interested in joining or initiating a prayer group will have the opportunity to hear from a number of local Moms Who Care prayer groups and become equipped to serve. If you have any questions, please email hodgson4@sympatico.ca or call Tammy at 726-0439. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest." Matthew 9:37-38