I never thought that I would be one of those people.
The term “missionary” is still a bit distant for me, mainly because it conjures up an image or picture of life that is very different from the one I am living now. Certainly, I know that one day soon, my life will align somewhat with the image that is in my mind, but still.. I never thought I would one day be this person. The person that asks for prayer and financial support, the person who sends letters and email newsletters updating family and friends about life on the mission field, the person who more often than not becomes a stranger to friends and home churches.
I’m at the end tail of getting ready to print and mail/email my first newsletter to supporters. I’m new to it all. Like many of you, I’ve written support letters for short-term mission trips, but never one from the basis of being a full-time career missionary.
There are fears that accompany sending out mission letters. Missionaries send out letters because they need people who care and are committed to the gospel enough to partner with them from “home”. Missionaries need people like you and me to pray faithfully over the course of time in light of the physical challenges and spiritual trials of serving overseas (or not) and to send support generously to provide for the costs of pouring out into the work of the gospel rather than picking up a full-time or part-time job. The fears we face are rejection, apathy, indifference – not only to us as missionaries, but to Christ. And on the other hand, we’re also scared of running into a group of people who love Jesus desperately, but disregard the workers on the field.
We balance the tension of asking others for precious and consecrated dollars while knowing that workers of the gospel are worthy of their wages. Very simply, missionaries are scared that people don’t care. We’re scared that our letters will only be read several times over, mostly by us as we write and edit them over the course of several days or possibly weeks. We’re scared that you’ll find our letters so boring that we become pieces of mail that you’d rather throw in the recycling pile or use as a scratch piece of paper. We’re scared that our letters will be mailed to a prayerless group of believers and that you’ll be offended or turned off when we ask for your generous financial support. Some of us are scared that you won’t view our ministry on the mission field as legitimate or valuable to the Kingdom of God.
I’ve gone through all these emotions one by one and all together at the same time. I still have fears that when I send out my letters, that you won’t read it and that you’ll feel all the things that I’ve described above. I’m scared that we’ll lose connection and that we’ll go from being good friends to functional strangers in a matter of just a few years. I’m scared that my church will someday forget that I used to be a member or staffer.
But I also realize that God knows these fears that are buried deep down in my heart. God knows. I trust that God has called me to the work of missions in Thailand and that He will lead me and provide for me. While the human variable is risky, the God variable is certain. So in the next few days, as I begin to fold and seal and send out letters to my friends and acquaintances, I will pray:
- For a spirit of faith and godly bravery – for the removal of the spirit of fear and discouragement in my heart and mind.
- That God moves people to pray passionately for Thailand and for the work of the gospel in that nation, as well as for me as I prepare to go full-time, long-term, by the summer of 2012.
- That God moves people to give their treasures for the work of the gospel and for my financial needs as a single missionary.
- That God would bless you and empower you as a co-laborer for His Kingdom as you become more aware of and invested in God’s work and activity in our world.
Peace.
m.
