Don’t let your missionaries forget any of these things.
Missionaries forget things because of the flurry of activity accompanied with their calling. There is much more to being a missionary then just being on a foreign field and witnessing to the “natives.” In fact, many missionaries are overwhelmed by the amount of things that need to be accomplished in order to leave their own country.
Missionaries forget to keep a Checklist
As they work on taking care things on their “checklist,” it actually seems to grow larger. For a long time, the amount of things that need to be done, actually seems to be dwarfed by the list of things already accomplished. Not only does this bring discouragement to the missionary, it also causes things to “slip through the cracks.” Things are forgotten. Some things are really big things, and others are those little annoyances that he can really live without, but he wishes he never forgot.
Missionaries forget their lack of experience
Missionaries forget things because most missionaries have absolutely no experience at being a missionary. Perhaps they have taken a “missions” class in college. Perhaps they talked to many missionaries; “picking their brains” to get an idea of what to expect. Every missionary has absolutely no experience at doing the job until they have actually done it themselves. Therefore, it is a given fact that they will forget many things that they wish they hadn’t. These things are usually brought to remembrance after it is too late. Once the mistake has already been made, they are not usually in a position where they cannot correct it. They then have to “live with their mistake.” If by some chance they are able to correct a “dropped ball,” it may take years to get into a position where they can do it.
Missionaries forget these two basic mistakes:
- Tangible Things. These things are related to physical things like forgetting to put the car in storage, apply for passports in time or get the proper recommended health immunizations. Tangible things directly influence daily living on the field.
- Intangible things. These are things usually related to how a missionary should act, present himself or speak. Intangible things directly influence his ministry back at home. Yes! The missionary has two areas of ministry and neither should be forgotten for one second.
Missionaries have no Hindsight
Having been a missionary myself, there are some things that I wish I had done better. There are also things that I wish I had never done, and if I could take them back, I certainly would. Some I have been able to reconcile and others I have not. Therefore, I would like to share this information on to other missionaries with the hopes of improving the profession.
I hope that this series of articles will shed some light on things that missionaries might never have thought about. More than that, because missionaries are usually seen for a brief one or two hours by the typical church layperson, I hope those who are not missionaries will get some semblance of what missionaries go through in order to tell people about Jesus Christ.
#1. Missionaries tend to forget the Newsletter
#2. Missionaries tend to forget they are ambassadors for Christ
#3. Missionaries tend to forget to do as the Romans do
#4. Missionaries forget to put away for their future
#5. Missionaries tend to forget Humility
#6. Missionaries tend to forget their family
#7. Missionaries tend to forget to stay focused
#8. Missionaries tend to forget their relationship with God
#9. Missionaries tend to forget Logistical-Administrative things.
#10. Missionaries tend to forget their health
