Giving to Missions
by WCBThere’s a missionary family coming to visit us this week, Wednesday night.
I’ve been thinking about what kind of welcome they will receive.
Last week while at the World Convention in Nashville I picked up a book (I admit, I read, too) , written by an Indian native preacher. One of his thoughts -
The church “…took up an offering and presented me with a check for what seemed like a great amount of money. Then with their usual hospitality, they invited me to eat with the leaders following the meeting. To my horror, the food and ‘fellowship’ frequently cost more than the money they had just given to missions.”
I wonder…what kind of welcome do we have planned for our missionaries this Wednesday evening?
August 12th, 2008 at 12:28 am
As a missionary kid, I’ve been on the receiving end of numerous welcomes. I have so many fond memories of churches and people all across the States (I guess I’ve forgotten not-so-great situations).
Some churches provided housing and meals (whether hotel or with members), took us sightseeing, loaned us transportation, took us shopping, and gave us other practical considerations. What I most appreciated was that they gave us TIME and showed us respect and interest. We were invited to talk about our work and show slides to congregations and small groups. It was especially heartwarming to realize from the intelligent questions and comments that people had read the newsletters and kept up to some extent with the work abroad. (So check on current events in missionary’s host country or re-read the missionary’s newsletters to prepare for their arrival.)
It can be uncomfortable to feel like a culturally out-of-step outsider in a new situation or among people who aren’t well-known. I and my siblings deeply appreciated the individuals who would wander up after class or church or during a potluck to draw us out some more about the work or to get our take on American culture, politics, movies, etc.
Money is always appreciated and helpful in any amount, of course, but missionary families depend on consistent giving aside from the kind of freewill offering that you describe. They depend even more on prayer support, and to have the work and family prayed for in their presence is a tremendous blessing.
In sum: learn, listen, give, and pray.
August 12th, 2008 at 12:45 am
P.S. Everyone has heard of “culture shock,” but not everyone recognizes it. Learn to expect that missionaries will be surprised or horrified by situations you think are quite ordinary or old news. You might even ask them if they’ve felt alarmed by anything they’ve seen or experienced in American culture.
For example, my siblings were disgusted by what we perceived as decadence among Christians — fancy cars, overcooled homes, the newest appliances… The world we had come from lived so much more simply, and the commonplace extravagance bothered us. We had to learn to forgive and be more understanding of our brothers and sisters in Christ and appreciate the freedom we all have to make decisions.
The quote above sounds a lot like culture shock to me, and I’d have to know more particulars about the situation before I would decide whether it was completely justified: “To my horror, the food and ‘fellowship’ frequently cost more than the money they had just given to missions.” For example, the speaker might come from a place where a beans & rice meal would be considered sufficient for a church meal. In our culture, serving such a simple meal would be unthinkably rude.