Shayla: What should I do if I feel called to foreign missions?

Meforshim:

Is it God’s will? First, you need to determine that it is in fact Hashem’s will. Just because you FEEL like it doesn’t mean you should do it. Just because you have a burden for a country or a people doesn’t necessitate you going there as a missionary. You may be called to finance a missionary, or do short term missions or whatever. So, first you need to be convinced that it is God’s calling upon your life. I recommend that you look over the study “Determining God’s Will.” One big factor is having your spouse on board. If you’re married and your spouse doesn’t want to go – that’s a big problem.

Find some old warriors. If you have a particular place in mind, you need to find some missionaries who are already there and find out what they feel the needs are. Pick their brains. See if there’s a special place in the country or a special gift that Adonai has given you that you can bring to bear. For instance, you may not be gifted in languages so Bible translation would be out of the question. You may not be gifted in public speaking so maybe teaching or church planting is out. However, maybe your great with cars. Lots of missionaries tend to be kind of studious but mechanically inept. We had a wonderful man in Africa who was a mechanical genius. He kept all the missionaries in functioning vehicles and got water piped into their primitive houses. So, see what needs to be done.

Be faithful in the small stuff. Make sure that you are faithful to your devotions, to your prayer life, to witnessing or preaching right where you are. Unless you are faithful in the small things, don’t expect God to give you greater responsibilities. Furthermore, if you can’t do it yourself, how are you going to preach to others that they should do it? Serve on a regular basis in your church. Get into the outreach program and show that you can lead people to Christ and have a mission-mindset. Serve at home before you serve outside.

Be a missioner now. If opportunities to witness arise, make sure you take them. If opportunities for short term missions arise, take them. Not only do you want to confirm that that is truly your gift and calling but you want others to see you as a potential missionary.

If you can, think of taking some short-term mission trips to the area to which you feel called. It will give you a real sense of the area. There is nothing better than having a “boots in the dirt” practical experience. It will help you make the call and it will also help you overcome the initial “culture shock” that a lot of new missionaries have when they first hit the ground running.

Have a humble attitude. When and if you go, don’t go with the attitude that your church does everything right and you’re there to help get things rolling in the right direction. Even the unsaved natives, regardless of how primitive they may seem, have something to teach you. Be there to learn. Be there to figure things out. Be there to serve. Ask them how they want to be served.

Read biographies. Find and read some good missionary biographies. A really good one to start with is the autobiography of Hudson Taylor. He had a tremendous amount of wisdom when it came to blending into the culture, learning the language and having the most impact possible for Christ.

Bible school. There is no biblical requirement to go to Bible school but I recommend it. It shows others that you can start and finish something disciplined. It exposes you to many different ideas and philosophies (not all good) that will give you opportunities to whet your mental blade in debate. It will (maybe) give you a chance to meet people from another culture and learn how to overcome the inherent barriers that are there. AND it just may, possibly, maybe, increase your understanding of and passion for the Lord and His mitzvoth.

Language study. You might want to consider beginning basic language study. The sooner you begin the better, right? Communication is power! Communication is what will enable you to develop friendships, be useful, spread the gospel,l or even better – find out where the bathroom is! Obviously, the best way to learn the language is to be immersed in the language but that’s not always possible. So, do what you can. If it’s possible though, avoid learning solely from a book. You need to hear a native pronunciation. One last word of advice from a linguist who’s lived in many, many countries? Forget English. Don’t try to think English and translate. Your syntax will be awful and there will be a built in delay as you try to think in two languages. Try to become a baby. Wipe your mind of what you know. Simply look at the picture of the wall and gain the impression, “That is ‘un mur’.”

Presentation. Start collecting pictures, maps, and curiosities from your mission field. Work on an interesting powerpoint presentation. Collect every newspaper, magazine, and encycopledic article you can. Go the CIA Factbook and get the latest stats. You want to get a head start on your presentation to anyone who may choose to support you and you want to be go in country with the best and latest intel available. Besides, if you really have that country on your heart, you want as many laborers in your field as possible, right? Be able to sell your field.

Cards and web sites. Produce a business card that is both colorful and useful. Make sure that you can give your relevant information to any potential supporter at the drop of a hat. Consider the possibility of developing a website where you can stash all your information in one place, develop contacts, and keep your supporters informed.

Finances. Start paying off your debts. You are not going to be able to go somewhere with a huge debt load over you. Find out how much it takes to live there. What supplies will you need? How much is food? Will you have to pay certain “taxes” to get your stuff out of quarantine? This is one area where the old missionaries will be of particular use.

Mental and physical preparation. Start living simply and doing without. Prepare yourself for the conditions you will experience in country. If your country is poverty stricken and primitive, you need to start working out and getting in shape. You will likely do a lot of walking. Besides, a fit body will help you resist nasty diseases. Speaking of which, you need to start looking at what the World Health Organization has to say about the diseases in your chosen country. Start learning the causes, signs, symptoms, and treatments. While you’re at it, learn some first aid and basic field hygiene.

Children. What are you going to do if you have children? Are you going to homeschool them? Are you going to put them in native schools? Are you going to send them to a boarding school?