CHILDREN PRAY FOR EMERGENCY CREWS, CITY COUNCILMEN

Stefan Mehner, 9, and his six-year-old sister Casey stop to pray for their friend Fireman Brian every time they hear a siren.

And so do nearly 100 other children at La Croix United Methodist Church who are part of the prayer patrol. It is the second year for the prayer patrol program at the church.

The children have pledged to pray daily for emergency crews -- firefighters, police officers, medical teams at Air Evac and Lifebeat -- and city councilmen. The prayer partners will meet during a reception April 9 at the church. Most received their prayer patrol assignments Sunday.

Stefan met Capt. Brian Shaffer of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department last year during the prayer patrol. He wanted to continue praying for him this year "because he's my friend."

The program teaches children the importance of prayer, said Marsha Edwards, who coordinates the effort as part of the children's ministries at La Croix.

"It teaches them that it is imperative to pray for everyone and especially that they pray for someone they don't know," she said. "There is so much value in that."

The Mehner children didn't know Fireman Brian before last year, but now have become friends.

"They've gotten to know him as a person so when they do hear sirens, they think about him and what he does," said Kristy Mehner, their mother. He's even offered to bring the fire truck by the house for the children to see, she said.

Now it's not just a firefighter or police officer but a person they know, she said.

Once they learned who they were praying for, the children received slips of information about the person, like information about his/her family or what rank he/she is in the department and what church they attend.

Capt. Bob Kembel of the fire department can already tell that somebody's thinking about him, although he doesn't know who just yet.

"You get the feeling that somebody cares about you while you are at work," he said.

So many times, firefighters and police officers meet people at accidents or disasters, when it's not always a good time for them. The prayer patrol lets firefighters meet the children in a better way, he said. "It's such a positive way to meet the public."

And it makes things a little more comfortable for the crews at work. "You know you are bringing your little buddy with you," Kembel said.

The children are asked to pray for the safety of their prayer partner as well as their salvation.

The children also were asked to pray for their partner every time they hear a siren, Edwards said. "It teaches them to pray on the spot. It makes them conscious of prayer. It's not just something you do at bedtime."

Kembel said it also teaches the children to think of others rather than themselves.

Myles Edwards, 6, is already doing just that. He's praying for Fireman Bob so that "he'll be safe in fires" because he has kind of a scary job. Myles wears a blue wristband to remind him that he should pray for the fireman.

Morghan Edwards, 5, said she has to pray for Fireman Bob "so he'll drive safely" when he's driving the fire truck.