While I was home, I had the opportunity to do a video interview for my church about my ministry and why missionary care is important.
So I sat down to reflect . . .
I was reminded of the incident that really grabbed ahold of me as far as the need for Missionary Care.
I was having breakfast at the American Table with a friend who was home from the mission field very briefly after being gone for a few years, and although she had never been an overly emotional person, she broke down crying, sharing how people had moved on and how hard it was to connect at home now. And something in me just felt like, IT SHOULDN’T BE THAT WAY. I had several friends who were missionaries who were headed toward the mission field, and I didn’t want my friends to feel forgotten.
But it’s true, it’s bound to happen as time goes on, the people at home remember us less and less. It’s out of sight and out of mind, and if you’re the sending church who has sent your people to the mission field to be the hands and feet of Jesus fulfilling the Great Commission on behalf of your church, you need to maintain that relationship. It’s so important to both you.
It’s different than a friend who moves away and you keep in touch for a while and the relationship slowly fades away as they form new friendships and establish themselves elsewhere. When you send missionaries you’re sending them into a battle, you’re sending them into a spiritual battle, and they need you to be in the background cheering them on and praying for them. They need affirmation when things get hard and they want to quit. They need someone who can remind them of God’s truth and of why they’re in the battle.
To be continued . . .
