Missionary misconceptions

                                                          

                                                          What is a Missionary?
So many people have a messed up view of what a missionary is.  Here are some common misconceptions:  My top 10 list:
1. You can’t do anything worthwhile in your home country so maybe you can be successful overseas.
Obviously, you have never lived overseas.  It’s very stressful learning another language, shopping for food, driving can be a daily hazard and staying healthy is a constant challenge.  All the time, working a job that requires intense study, negotiating a new culture and still balancing family time, exercise, friendships, a personal spiritual life and church involvement.  Yes, a missionary attempts to develop a normal life amidst all the challenges.  In truth, a missionary or someone who chooses to work overseas, especially in a third-world country is an exceptional person worthy of admiration.

2. You should be living at very low standards because you are raising support and you should not spend your supporters money on conveniences and luxuries.
Who said?  Maybe this view of the poor, suffering missionary is a leftover of the 19th century.  Stories or maybe myths of famous people who gave up all so that Christ might be known in the farthest reaches of the earth.  The world has changed.  Even in places like Africa, Asia and South America, it is a common thing to have a phone and to be aware of the world through the internet.  Also, it is a high value to raise children in a healthy environment all the while spreading the gospel to their neighbors.  Finally, as a supporter, it is your choice how you spend your money.  Ask for accountability but also be willing to learn and understand.

3. You should be eating the same food as those you are ministering to, that way you can identify with them more.
Proper food is necessary for good nutrition.  Many places don’t immediately offer nutritious foods as a common diet.  For instance, children in Cameroon eat bread and chocolate for breakfast.  Not exactly a great source of vitamins and nutrition.  Western influence has brought foods which can provide what families need and expatriates and missionaries can educate these communities on what healthy nutrition is all about.  That is often a great side-benefit to mission work is that we bring education and health to our new communities.

4. To go on vacation as a missionary is unacceptable...you are there to serve God.
You take vacations.  Why shouldn’t we?  Who made that standard?  Rest is even more important in a place that is so stressful to live on a daily basis. The good news  is that a ‘get-away’ often does not cost very much.  A wonderful gift could be a small sum for the family to retreat, so as to continue to be effective in their mission.   Also, the family must have time just to themselves so as to preserve their sanity.

5. What do you mean you have TV, internet and a refrigerator?!?!?!
As stated before, times have changed.  What is basic among those serving overseas changes with the advance of technology.  Isn’t it wonderful to be able to talk on Skype and to hear frequent updates?  Not so long ago, we were dependent on archaic newsletters that took weeks to send to supporters.  A fridge is certainly a luxury as it enables a family to have fresh milk, keeps meats and other foods for weeks and to protect their health.  Some families also ‘homeschool’ so the internet is a source of education.  TV is entertainment, but is not very expensive.  Could it be that such ‘luxuries’ are enabling our people to stay longer and thus bring more people to Christ because they are establishing a home for themselves in their new communities?

6. Everyone wants to learn English, so that’s why we go overseas.
Who knows where this came from?  If English is the trade language, as it is in many places, it is already known.  A missionary comes to support local communities in missions that are struggling and to bring much needed finances to help build healthy infrastructures.  Many missionaries learn the local language rather than demand they learn English.  We are not the colonialists of the 18th century.

7. I don’t need your financial support when I come back to the United States because I’m ‘home’ and I should be working a ‘real’ job then.
My role as a missionary doesn’t change when I come off the field.  Therefore, I need your support at home as well.  I still have bills to pay and mouths to feed.  Raising money to serve as your missionary is a biblically sound profession and takes a great deal of time.  Typically, it requires about 30% or more of our time staying in touch with supporters and developing new ones.  When I am in my home country, I spend a great deal of time traveling to different churches, making phone calls and continuing in the work that waits for me back in the country where I also have established a home.  Thus, stopping support during these months makes life very difficult and creates unnecessary stress in the life of a family that has heard God’s call to do something extraordinary.

8. Having house-help(typically women who clean and cook) and a guard(a local man who lives on site) is extravagant.  You are just acting like those who colonized those countries to begin with.  Or to get that kind of help, you are probably raising too much support.
Anyone who has done this recognizes that it feels odd at first to employ local people in this way, but it is necessary for at least three reasons: (1) You can’t do it alone.  Shopping for food is not as easy as going to the grocery store.  It requires bargaining and travel to several different venues.  A “house-help” is able to get prices that the ‘white-man’ (yes, we deal with racism in some places) typically cannot get.  Also, in tropical countries, the homes are wide open and get dirty very quickly, so laundry adds up quickly and cleaning is required more often.  (2) It is expected by the community that we help the local economy by employing nationals.  i.e. we are providing jobs where none existed before.  (3) Guards provide much needed security in places where ethical standards are different.  Westerners represent wealth and require protection. That’s a fact we have to live with when we come to countries where the average income is $2/day.   But you will also discover that it is the culture of many countries to have protection if you can afford it.  Otherwise, you may lose everything.

9. You spend how much to send your kids to a private, international or boarding school?  Why don’t you just send them to that country’s school?
Education in many third world countries will not prepare our children for the rigors of the University of Europe and America.  Most missionaries have advanced degrees and hope their children will have the same opportunities.  It may appear extravagant to those that have not been in these places, but as any parent would admit, we want the best for our children. 

10. I don’t even know what you’re doing over there.  (Ever read our newsletter?)
The missionary’s newsletter is the most unread piece of literature that comes into our homes.  We provide detailed accounts of our work, play and family and still there are cries of malcontent.  The obvious solution is to read.  The other is simply to write.  We all have email.  As stated earlier, communication is so easy these days with the advancement of technology.  Most would love to hear from their churches and supporters on a regular basis.

Some of these have been verbalized to me, others are implied though unspoken but come out through inadvertent actions and comments.  Many have chosen to live in another context through God’s calling on their lives.  Daily living has its joys and wonders but is also a daily struggle.  Risks of disease and injury is often a concern.  The success of the mission may be in doubt as we engage in spiritual warfare for the cause of the Kingdom of God.  So, I beg of you to grow in your knowledge of your missionaries.  Seek to be their champion rather than detractor.  Desire to have a stance of being a blessing and not of constant criticism.  And most of all, do the basics: pray for their protection and give hilariously, because “God loves a cheerful giver.”