January 23: why missionaries need encouragements!

This came from a letter written by Lisa Hicks, a good friend of mine:  a career missionary woman, in a member care role...as she listened to some of the faith-stretchers experienced by a short-term team who was in West Africa for 10 days. 

"... They had just shared some of their faith stretching experiences on the trip and so I suggested that when praying for missionaries, they remember their experiences ... and then multiply them by years.  Here are some examples.

Missionary Life in West Africa (and anywhere) . . .

1) The first thing you have to do when going on a ministry trip is raise money. You usually have to write a letter and maybe do some speaking.  It usually feels awkward and the results are almost always strange.  People who you thought would give ... don't. BUT others who you didn't think would give ... do.

Missionaries need to raise monthly support (as well as one time gifts) for years and years and years.

2) A lot of times, once you've made the commitment to go, you can start feeling attacked.  You might have a conflict with a friend/spouse. Sins that used to plague you may start to tempt you again.  Or, you're physically hurt.  The main speaker for the retreat was in a fairly serious car accident right before the trip.

Missionaries are under spiritual attack all the time!  We know of several missionaries who've survived serious road accidents, robberies, health issues, etc.  Also, often their children are pursued/attacked by the evil one for the express purpose of hurting the parents and their ministry.

3) You might start to feel fear ... "Are my children, aging parents, spouse going to be alright while I'm away?"  One of the ladies was afraid that one of her kids would get H1N1 while she was in West Africa.

Every time a missionary returns to the field, as they kiss their aging parent/grandparent goodbye, they wonder if this is the last time they're going to see them.  Often they're separated by 1,000's of miles from their grown children who do get ill, or hurt in an accident, or suffer from loneliness/depression.  Some friends of ours, got that dreaded call that their daughter was in a serious accident while other friends had a son in the military who was shot (and had to have mulitple surgeries).  It's really hard.

4) You probably have meetings with your teammates before leaving.  Inevitably there's someone who rubs you the wrong way and you're glad you're going to be together for just 10 days (or so).

Most missionaries are on teams for years ... inevitably there are relational issues to deal with.  AND you can't just leave and go to another team.  It's tough.

5) Right before take off ... the real panic can hit.  "What have I gotten myself into???"  And you pray like crazy for peace of mind.  Or you have adequacy doubts, "I'm not sure I can do this!"

Missionaries have the same feelings of panic and inadequacy that others have.  Often, they're put into situations where they have no idea what to do ... lots of times out in the villages, they're the doctor (minus the training).

6) Once in country, you might worry about health issues.  You might get stomach cramps, or allergic reactions to bug bites (someone from the short-term team), or simply a cold because of all the energy you expended to come.

Missionaries deal with health issues all the time (just read on facebook that a friend might have typhoid).  It's usually one of their top five prayer requests ... it's a common problem that can discourage and slow a missionary down.

7) You might start missing your spouse and kids and you can't wait to get home to them (by about the 7th day).  One of the ladies was really missing her husband.

In my weekly Bible study ... any given week someone can ask for a raise of hands from those whose husbands are away traveling and get 3 to 4 hands (out of 10) every time!  Missionary women often have to face life in W. Africa  without their husbands help due to travel (to villages, conferences, training, etc.)  Also, missing grown children is continual ... birthdays, holidays, etc.

8) At the end of the trip, you're absolutely exhausted and need some down time.

Missionaries live with incredible stress ... my husband [a counselor] does a stress test with lots of missionaries and even tho' the normal score is 200 many, many of them live with an 800 or more.  AND stress wears you out.  Recently, a friend of mine suggested that it's like the missionary community is trying to work and function in molasses ... and that was a very good illustration because missionaries can feel like they're dragging through their week/month.  It's tiring.

9) When you get back home, even tho' you're wiped out ... you go back to a job, family, schedules, and usually don't get the needed "down time" to process what you're gone through and get some needed rest.

Missionaries go home to dental appointments, shopping for something presentable to wear, multiple doctor visits, meetings of all kinds, support raising, return trip purchases, settling college age children into school (which often includes getting them a driver's license, a car, people to help them in emergency, instructions on job interviews, etc.), traveling across the country to visit friends/family/supporters, and the list goes on and on an on ...

10) BUT you're so excited about what God did that you want to tell everyone everything that happened in those 10 days.  Unfortunately, most of your friends, family, and sometimes your church want the 60 second version.  They're happy you're back, want to hear, "It was great!", and then move on.

In just a few years, missionaries have a couple of LIFETIMES worth of stories to tell ... there's just so much inside to be shared ... but even with people who want to hear it ... the shear volume of experience is staggering.  AND it's hard to describe a world that is so fundamentally different from the world of your friends. "

If you've read this far, I'm thankful for your perseverance!  And blessings as you consider how you might encourage the missionaries in your life!