The Missionary's Dilemma

For those of you who are in the mission field out there, you probably have some things that happen to you and you tell yourself this is one of those things that are a missionary's dilemma.  You probably might not have a name for it but when they happen you ask yourself how things would have been different if you were back home or just somewhere else (may be a place you have been to before).

Well, here are mine.

1.  The Norm -  In January,  I was celebrating my birthday.  This year I didn't plan anything major to celebrate my birthday.   Naturally I would take a day off and just have a quiet day at home.  Well, when I went to ask my boss for a day off, this is what my boss said "I have never seen an African take a day off on their birthday.  No you can't take a day off.  You will need that day for other emergencies....."  I was shocked, hurt and disappointed to say the least.  It caught me so off guard that I could not even form an argument in my mind.  I was dumb founded.  It made me think, if I was in America or Sierra Leone this would have never not been  an issue.  So, the "norm" is just not always the normal.   Well,  I guess as a missionary I have to be flexible.

2.  Singleness -  If you are single like me, you expect to meet a man with the same passion for missions like you before you head out to the mission field.  You postpone going to overseas missions with the hopes of getting married first and then moving overseas together.   This quote I read online summarizes it all.   "According to a Pioneers International report, singleness is the fourth reason appointees don't make make it to the mission field or take a long time getting there. And Patton said, "Missionaries leave the field for various reasons, but some of the biggest obstacles are financial support, team dynamics, loneliness and hopelessness for single person's desire to find a mate, getting married to a non-missionary, and leaving ministry to find a spouse." "

3.  Sad News -  One of the saddest things I have experienced is hearing news of a departed loved one in a far country; a brother or sister you knew very well.  May be you served together in the children's ministry or in the choir while you were living in that country.  I don't even know how to describe that dilemma.  It is even more sad if you can't go for the burial. 

4.  The Goodbyes - Then comes a time you have to leave.   No matter how many times you have done or said the goodbyes,  it never gets easier.   Whether you have been with those people for two weeks,  two years or 12 years it doesn't matter:  It just so happens that they become your family and leaving family is not always easy.  I wonder how Abraham felt when he was told to leave his people and his country to go to a place he didn't know (Genesis 12).

5.  Seeds of faith -  Only those akin to your calling understand the true passion that burns deep on the inside of you.   Especially if they don't see the seeds bear fruit,  you will have a very difficult time explaining yourself.   It takes the grace of God.  In June I had to leave my formal employment to pursue a full-time carrier in missions.   Now try explaining that to some believers let alone non-believers. 

6.  Raising Ministry Support  - A lot of missionaries struggle with fundraising as a ministry and that was one of the reasons I shied off from fulltime ministry.   Most of what we struggle with has to do with our convictions and our old belief systems.   To most,  it is not so much about what the Bible says about raising ministry Support or fundraising but it is about what they were taught growing up or what the community (not excluding the church)  has viewed it to be.   Since I joined The Navigators two months ago,  I have come to learn the joys of fundraising and to view it as a ministry like praying for the sick or evangelism.   My convictions are changing and I am excited about inviting people to partner with the work God in has called me to do. 

God has a sense of humor

Sometimes the things God does and the way He does them just leaves someone thinking, "God has a sense of humor."

David, a taxi driver who usually gives us taxi services when we need them, shared a story with me today that left me thinking....yes, that's right....God has a sense of humor.

I have shared the gospel with David on occasion but what he shared with me today left me laughing and thanking God all at the same time.

Because I know you are eager to hear it, here is David's story of conversion.

"Up until three weeks ago, I have always attended a catholic church, " David said.

"But three weeks ago, I was in Kiserian on a Sunday and the whole place was disserted.  Everyone there goes to church."  David continued.

He said he looked for a church to go and was keen to find one where he could just sneak in and sneak out.

He did not want to go to any church where they ask the new people to stand up and say hello or tell their story.

"You see, in Catholic," he said "you would go to church and no one would even notice that you are there.  You do what you came for and you leave."  That is what he was looking for.

"But there was this church that had really good music coming from the inside and you could hear from outside.  I though to myself, by this time the people must be sweating from dancing and if I go in they will not even notice me."  David narrated.

He mentioned that he had left some other churches along the street.  Something told him to go into this particular church.  When he went in, sure enough no one noticed him but he noticed that the people were not as many as he had thought.

He enjoyed the music until it ended. Then they requested the new people to stand up.  David thought to himself that that was not the place he could pretend he was not new as the church seemed like everyone knew everyone.

So reluctantly, he stood up.  They were asked to go to the front and were given some cards to fill.   He said there were a handful of new people that went to the front with him.   In the cards there was some check boxes that they needed to check.

The first check box was about if you need prayer, I think the other was for whoever wanted to join the church and the last check box was about those who would like to be born again.

So David thought, the third check box is the one that everybody needed to check.  "It was like an exam and being born again seemed like the correct answer."  David remembered.

When they went back to their seats, he says that he was so surprised when they called him out as the only who wanted to be born again.

He said everyone was so thrilled and they prayed for him and he got saved.  He said he went there without planning of getting saved but he left there saved.  Even though he had not planned for it, he said he has decided to to stick with it.

"So now I am saved."  David concluded.

By the time he finished narrating the story, I was wiping my eyes.  Truly God is a master planner and has a great sense of humor.