Praying for Missionaries During COVID-19

I will never forget the ad hoc meeting we had around our kitchen table in Vilnius. That week the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a Pandemic, President Trump declared a National Emergency, and the US banned non-US citizens traveling from Europe, including Lithuania.

The Lithuanian government was evaluating how to respond and, on March 16, declared a quarantine. In the months that followed, the quarantine would be extended several times and take on various regulations, which were often incredibly confusing. Most countries around the world still have restrictions to a greater and lesser degree.

I remember loaning our lead pastor a jacket to wear while we shot a video saying we would not gather for church but would be online. I can’t imagine any of us realized how long that would go. Other missionaries I have talked to tell a similar story of rushing to figure out how to go online with services and function as a church when meeting together was not an option.

No doubt you have your own stories to tell about the pandemic. We all do. However, our missionary families have faced some incredible difficulties unique to them. Uncertainties like:

• If I get COVID-19, will I be able to get sufficient treatment in my host country?
• What happens if my parents get it? Can we get back to them in time? What about quarantining for two weeks? What if they were to die?
• Is my residence visa in jeopardy? If I leave the country, can I get back in? Will I be able to get a new visa?
• How can I meet new unsaved people during a quarantine?
• Will I be able to get the vaccine in my host country?
• Missionaries that return home due to COVID-19 or who were home raising funds are asking, “When can I return?” 
• How can I ask the church to schedule me to share about our missions work with all the uncertainties?
• Am I going to be able to raise the required funds to return?

I wrote a list of ways that you can pray for missionaries during COVID-19.

• Pray for health. Pray that our missionaries would take all necessary precautions. Above all, pray the Lord would protect them.
• Pray for peace. Pray that God would bring peace to troubled hearts. The anxiety that COVID-19 has brought is real and is exacerbated when living overseas.
• Pray for our Third Culture Kids. TCK’s struggle with loneliness and isolation even without a global pandemic and not seeing their friends. Pray that friendships would flourish, even when using Zoom or Facetime. Pray for strong relationships between TCKs and their parents in this seeming unending crisis.
• Pray for wisdom. Pray God would grant wisdom concerning how best to make disciples in new ways.
• Pray that churches would be open and receptive to missionaries sharing about their work even though their own schedule is uncertain.
• Pray that God would provide each missionary with the finances required for to return to the land of their calling.
• Pray for hope. Pray that God would bring hope to the missionaries that feel hopeless, strength to the weary, and encouragement to the discouraged. Pray that God would make his presence known powerfully!