As a global pandemic drives many people to be secluded, workers on the front line move towards those that need help the most. 

Doctors, nurses, police officers, and firefighters put themselves in harm's way to help those in need. Many say they are the heroes in our communities.

Here is how people can pray for front-line workers who help others in the midst of COVID-19. 

From a Nurse's Perspective

Laura Klassen is a nurse at Bethesda Place in Steinbach. She has also volunteered with Africa Mercy Ships over four times. 

"When COVID hit the care facility that I work at, of course, it changed my world. For one thing, I wasn't able to travel to see my family in B.C."

This was shortly after the facility went into lockdown when someone contracted COVID-19 in mid-August.

At that point, Klassen says, "Our residents moved to their rooms and they weren't allowed to come out anymore. For two months they had to eat in their rooms, weren't allowed to have baths in the tubs, and weren't allowed to see family."

Four women from the unit Klassen works in died after contracting the virus. 

After continuing to work on the front lines, helping those in need, Klassen also contracted COVID-19. 

"I just thank God that I recovered well and had no respiratory symptoms," she says.

Klassen says the hardest part is going in to care for a patient covered in PPE, saying she hopes none of them think she's a 'space alien'. 

"Pray for strength and that we as front line workers have love and compassion for whoever we're working with, no matter the health situation. To not be afraid."

As of last week, with no more COVID cases in the building, residents have been able to start seeing family and eat in the common area, still socially distanced from one another. 

"There's so much more hope and joy. It's beautiful to see."

From a Police Officer's Perspective

Paul Dibra, the previous "Drive-Home" show DJ at CHVN, is a Winnipeg Police Officer. 

"Things have changed when it comes to COVID and policing. As officers we have to make sure that we're prepared, that we have our masks and PPE gear in place. It can be challenging."

There are situations when an officer is attending an emergency and there isn't time or capacity to social distance. 

"You definitely don't want to contract COVID and then spread it through your workplace, and potentially wipe out the police force. But we have a pandemic response team, who's done an excellent job of keeping us safe."

This team provides police with updated information and policies throughout the pandemic.

"I would say one of the hardest parts of COVID as it relates to policing, in my personal opinion, would be the interaction with people. We're finding a lot of people are depressed. A lot of people seem to be losing hope with this 'new normal', they call it."

Dibra says he does his best to encourage people when attending a call.

When asked what Christians can pray for specifically when it comes to being a Police Officer in this time, Dibra shares his thoughts. 

"Obviously safety would be number one as we are out on the front lines. An immediate prayer request for the police would be that connection between the police and the community."

He shares how he has seen the personal touch of these two groups coming together has been strained. 

"What we really need is to be able to relate to our community, speak with our community leaders and elders to understand what their needs are. Then to be able to have that trust and bond, while it's there, we'd like it to be stronger."

From a Firefighter's Perspective

Kallen Hiebert is a career firefighter with the Winnipeg Fire Department and he is also a volunteer firefighter in Steinbach, where he lives with his family. 

"The thing with firefighting is that we're always going into unknown situations. COVID would essentially be an extension of that."

There has been an additional element to firefighting. 

"We go into any situation that we face and go into it in the safest way that we can. It has made things more challenging as there are a lot more precautions that we have to take."

Another consideration involves the families of those working on the front lines. 

"Typically we're not too worried when we go home. When it comes to COVID it's something that's brand new. When we go home after doing a shift, there is this new side that we don't want to bring something home that could harm our families."

Otherwise, the aspect of fighting fires, Hiebert says not much has changed. 

The biggest challenge is the comradery between firefighters, especially while training. 

"Firefighting is like any team sport really. It takes the whole team working together to do the job as best as possible. This involves a lot of training and time together to get to that point where things work well."

Hiebert says that especially for volunteer firefighters whose training has gone to an online platform, they miss the team-building time of connection.

When it comes to how people can specifically pray for firefighters on the front-line, Hiebert says there are a few things to keep in mind. 

"Obviously safety is a given. Firefighting as an industry always works best when everybody is in really good unity with each other. They feel connected with each other and know what their role is so that when things go bad, you're never left wondering 'what is my role here'."

The connection has been lacking due to the need for social distancing. 

"Now within this pandemic, a big lack within that area of feeling unified within the department, because of that distance we've had to place between ourselves."

Hiebert asks for unity throughout the department, alongside a good quality of care for those they attend to.