As middle-class parents of an 18 year old son, who enlisted in 2004 as a scout in the regular Army, we knew that it was just a matter of time before he would be in harms way. We received a reprieve the first and second year of his enlistment. But halfway through that second year, our son informed us that he would be part of a new unit that would be headed to the middle east. He then notified us that he was to be the machine gunner on a humvee.

What a feeling of helplessness! This was different than the first 2 years of his commitment. In the beginning, we felt a separation, but it was as though he had moved and was living in another part of the US. But NOW he was to go to Iraq and the news reports from that part of the world were not what a parent wanted to hear.

We turned in the only direction we knew. We realized we now had no control in his life and turned his welfare completely over to God. Actually, we were never in complete control anyway, but now the illusion had been shattered. The only true influence we could now contribute would be through prayer to our Father in heaven.

We would ask friends, neighbors and even perfect strangers to pray for our son. All agreed that they would, but in our busy world, how many would remember him a week later? So, Karen used her creativity. She cut and pasted text, cropped pictures and tried different formats to come up with something that could be given to others to help them to remember to pray for our son. After much effort, the end result was a early version of what you see now.

People are still coming up to us and say they still have that card and are continuing to pray for our son. Welcome to PrayerReminders.com.

Bob and Karen Funcheon

Spring, 2007