I threw my dusty suitcase in the pickup truck bed, and jumped into the back seat. I was in Idaho. A sweet couple serving as YWAM base missionaries had picked me up. We struck up a conversation about life and disappointments. The wife recently had a leg surgery and she was struggling with disappointment from the length of her recovery. She was also bummed they were not able to join the team I was going with to Central Asia.

I remember as I listened to her share, God nudged my heart to remember my situation only the night before. The loneliest and most disappointing day of my life. You might have read about it, it was when I ugly cried on a ferry. Still not my proudest moment. But I learned a lot.

I knew exactly where this woman was coming from, and her heart. I was able to share my experience of facing disappointment and having God meet me in that disappointment with the sweetest joy of His presence.

That moment has resonated with me ever since, and I think back on it often.
 

It taught me a valuable lesson about the missionary life that only missionaries really know and understand.

Missionaries are often lonely. 

 Many missionaries live in-between cultures. Never fully accepted into their country of ministry, and never really able to reintegrate into their hometowns. Sometimes, they are the only Christians in a town for years.
I was on outreach in Albania in a small village, where the missionary couple there had spent four years without a single conversion. They were discouraged, but trusting God. 

I remember the Christians of Malisheve, Kosov. Small in number, and often mocked for their faith. They were alone in their fight, but trusting God.

I heard their stories and it taught me my follow-up lesson on missionary life.

Missionaries are like plants, they need to be watered with encouragement

There is a pew section in our church where all of the missionaries tend to sit. There is something about asking for updates from one another, and seeing the faces light up.
“We’ve been accepted to an organization!”
“We’re scheduling our first trip to that country to scope it out!”
“We’re waiting and raising funding to go back soon. We miss it.”
“We just came back and we have a presentation this week!”
It means everything in the world when you step into a missionary’s world. The people they tell you about, the country they show you, the experiences they share… they’ve been through some crazy life experiences for the sake of those people and places to know Jesus.

Especially in this pandemic. So many missionaries have been sent back to their home countries, or stuck in lockdown, unable to reach out. Some lost plane tickets and visas they waited so long to have, and some found themselves unable to even begin the journey into the missions field. 

Trust me, your missionary friends need encouragement.

Even the Apostle Paul needed support. He wrote this note to the Philippian church:

”How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ,[a] who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.

As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this.  Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once. I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness.

 At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God.  And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. “- Philippians 4:10-23 NLT

As we wrestle through this year, remember those who have been fighting for the kingdom of God.

How can we serve and support our missionaries through this season? 

SHOW UP FOR THEM 

Ask if you can babysit, or pick up anything for them. Ask them if they want to do a zoom share about their work. Sit and pray for them, with them, over the phone or in person if you feel comfortable. 

GIVE

They still need funding, and now more than ever. I know it’s easy to trim them out of your budget, but can I encourage you to continue to support those you have committed to supporting? 

LISTEN 

Especially to your missionaries who were forced back to the states because of the pandemic. They are processing a lot, and often, they don’t know how to explain it or share. But keep listening, and there will probably be a lot of stories that start with an excited, “When I was in [insert country] we…” and you might feel like they are bragging about their world traveling. They are just excited to share.

Honestly, some of them have been serving in countries that are challenging and being in the states again can cause reverse culture shock. Check in with them, and be willing to walk alongside them. 

Who can you reach out to today? How can you love your local missionaries?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mia Grace loves sunflowers, words, old hardcover books, and fountain pens. She adores Jesus Christ, and seeks to listen and obey him in her life. Her life verse is Isaiah 52:7, and her prayer is for every girl to grasp the height, weight, depth, width, and power of Christ's love for them.