Any missionaries here?

Fulltime missionary! How cool! Where is your mission?

Does your mission board have a forum or chat area on their website? A lot of them do now.

I was a missionary for three years and my husband was one for nine years, between us both we have done mission work in Dominican Republic, Venuezla, Brazil, Canary Islands, North Africa, Netherlands, Argentina and Haiti. What does your ministry do? I gave some culture shock classes and we were staff on a school to train cross-cultural missionaries, is this the area that's difficult or is it something else? Being on the mission field can bring types of stresses that no-one at home understands, feel free to ask any questions. My biggest struggle was the expectation I felt from home for 'converts', that supporters were expecting results (or 'value for their money).

Kiwi,

I would like to get with you for some information. I do short term mission work and I am currently preparing for a trip in October to the Warao Indians on the lower delta of the Orinoco River in Venezuela. This will be my first time on the continent of South America though I have been in Panama a couple of times so the jungle won't be a total shock to me.

I pm'd you my email address if that would be easier for you.

hi SCJ, it my husband that went to venuzela and he is currently in bed asleep! So I will show him your post and tell you later on when he gets up (he works nightshift). My PM's were turned off because I changed my email on my profile and I had to re-register, but it is working now.

Great, I pm'd my email address. Whenever is convenient for Him. Thanks!

Join the club! raising support is probably the most difficult thing about being a missionary. A good book to read is by Betty Barnett called "Friend raising". It says to take the emphasis of trying to raise money and concentrate on improving your relationships with people. If God moves them to support you financially they will, to leave it up to God to convince them to do it. Often you can feel like you are twisting peoples arms to support you and that's not the way it should be. I had a saying stuck on my wall when I was trying to raise support, it said "Where God guides, he provides (Hudson Taylor)". I had to keep praying "God, I want to do this for you, if you don't provide I don't go". It was really hard because it was the thing I was wanting to do soooooo much but I had to keep giving it to God and letting it be his work. I was an administrator on the mission field and had the same thing as you, feeling like I wasn't a 'real' missionary because I wasn't out doing street preaching every day (some days we did though). However many christians have an old fashioned view of missions that has all missionaries out in the jungle with their machets. But much mission work now goes on in cities and mission organizations need to pay taxes, pay bills, have their accounts in order, have their immigration visas in order etc, someone has to do that or there will be no missionaries anywhere!! These missionaries are often undervalued and overworked and not apprciated at home (not always but often). The best advice I can offer you is to pray and see what strategy God has for you, it's not the same for everyone, maybe your support won't come from home, maybe it will come from your fellow missionaries or the surrounding community (it does happen!). In the last year we were on the mission field a great deal of our support came from fellow missionaries, because they can identify with what you are going through.

Yup, that's pretty normal. I would send off about 40 postcards every two months and would get maybe 3 or 4 letters in reply. My husband never got any mail from home!! (But then again he's from Latin America and they are not inclined to letter writing). The thing is that your life has changed dramatically and everything is new, you really need that support from the people at home. But for them life goes on exactly the same, they do the same thing every day, they do not realize how important it is for you because they are still in their 'comfort zone'. Again fellow missionaries in your group are probably better people to get encouragement from. I remember times when our support was so low that we did not any money or food left for our next meal (this was while we were on the mission field), in fact one sunday we went to church and we did not know how we were going to have lunch because we had no money and all our food had run out, plus I was 5 months pregnent at the time and really needed good food. Then after church a lady I hardly knew came up and said she felt God had told her to give us a gift of money and gave us $120!! God provided but I felt really let down by our home churches, that they did not even reply to our letters or check up on us. I come from a culture where you do not ask people for money, so it is not really possible to ring up and say, 'hey send me some cash' (unless it's your parents!). You don't need to manipulate people, it is a really easy trap to fall in to when you feel with your back against the wall. Will be praying for you.

Kiwi - that's very encouraging - I will pass along that quote to my DD ... she is in training at the Bible, Mission, Work school in Florida to be a full-time missionary. After her two years of classes she will serve one year of internship ... raising support is not easy - but the Lord does faithfully provide just as you have shared - thank you.

i am going to be a missionary i am going to work with orphans. good luck good on you for obeying God. Kiwi yah you live in NZ i do to i haven't found anyone else on this site from NZ. go NZers.
lizzie

Daughter of the King: Praise God for your desire to be a missionary for Jesus! It will be quite difficult as you mature to hold on to your dream but don't let go of the precious burden the Lord has given you; my son Robert (Bobby) is 14 too, and he surrendered his life at the age of 11 to become a full-time missionary after High School; perhaps you could email eachother; anyway God Bless you and don't forget--Keep Looking Up!!!
Pastor Oliver
Nahum 1:7