I was sitting on the ground in Uganda with several children, laughing and playing, when I noticed a group of older children carrying water they had collected from an open, dirty stream.

Families around the globe have a lot of similarities. As you pray for your family members and situations, take a moment to pray for missionary families because they are experiencing the same things: meal preparation, laundry, schooling, illness, discipline, and sharing the good news.

My heart was heavy as I sat down in my chair. The weekend occurrences filled my mind, and my thoughts swirled with conversations, hurt, and questions of “where do we go from here?” Walking into the church building that morning, I faked my smiles and hellos.

During the seasons of my life I lived on the missions field, I would send home lengthy, story-filled, decorated newsletters telling my friends all the ways they could pray. Sometimes as I would type these emails, I would type through tears for the experiences I was facing as well as the heart I was asking them to pray for—I needed those prayers.