New Wineskins for Global Mission Conference

grapes

Check back soon to watch the plenary session videos!

Invite Sharon to Come Speak

Read more . . .

You are here

Home » Missions Resources

Prayer & Care of Missionaries

Articles

Pastors and Missionaries: Raising Godly Kids

by the Rev. Steven TIghe
La Frontera Youth Ministry Education
ReachOut Summer 2012

Missionary kids have experiences and an understanding of culture that few others can match. There are studies that find that many children of pastors and mission­aries are more successful than average as adults. Many of these children report wonderful warm memories of their treatment in their parents’ churches.

At the same time, there are some issues that are common to these families that can cause problems for children. How can we avoid the pitfalls that can create resentment in the children of missionaries and pastors?…

The Missionaries' Soapbox: One Thing We Want Churches to Know

ReachOut Spring 2010 and Summer 2010

CROSS-CULTURAL MINISTRY—LOCALLY!
On Sunday nights our family enjoys the company of guests in our home for a simple soup and salad supper, a time of singing praise songs, sharing what is going on in our lives and group prayer. This might not sound too unusual, but what might surprise you is that the folks in our circle are from Turkey, Taiwan, China, Columbia, Rwanda, and India… and they are all our local neighbors.

So Just How Important Are the Senders?

Letters from West Africa
by Steve and Nancy by Steve and

November 1996
Praise God that three churches have put us in their initial budgets for support. Pray that they would be able and willing to support us long-term. We also received a generous one-time gift from our former church. The response of prayer supporters has been great.

April 1997
We are planning to go to Colorado to learn how to study a language that has no written or audio resources. Our house is ready to sell after lots of help from church friends…

Caring for Missionaries

by Jim & Shari Hobby & Elizabeth Joy Hooker
ReachOut Spring 2008

One of the most strategic but also most neglected areas of missions is caring for missionaries. Every year about 5% of all missionaries from around the world leave the field prematurely; 3.5% of them (around 22,000) for prevent­able reasons (lack of funding, inadequate preparation, conflict, stress, etc.). There are many simple ways that we can help keep our missionaries on the field. Here are eleven…

"You Should Send Me Away"

by Martha Vetter, ReachOut November 2003

Recently, I have been reading the una­bridged 1500 page tome Les Misera­bles by Victor Hugo. Set in the early 19th century, Jean Valjean is an ex-convict in France who was originally imprisoned  for stealing a loaf of bread for his family. When Jean Valjean is released from prison after nineteen years, he is forced to carry a yellow identity card stating that he is an ex-convict. Of course, no innkeeper wants to open his doors to a hardened criminal, and so Jean Valjean, hungry and dejected, faces the unwelcome prospect of sleeping outside on a freezing night…

Not a Short-Term Mission: Letters from Carol Zylstra

ReachOut 2001

April 1978
Our reception has been most friendly, and every­one seems pleased that we are here to learn Mixtec, their own lan­guage! Few out­siders have tried that before. We have al­ready caused much amuse­ment in our poor attempts to mimic the sounds we hear. Continue to remember us in making adjustments to this new culture, and as we learn and analyze the language…

Behind the Scenes

by Bryan  Kane
ReachOut  September 2001

My wife is working on her Master's degree in music and sometimes  takes me to see friends perform in operas. The performers get all the fame, but a production cannot happen without the people backstage. The same is true of the mission field. The work overseas cannot be done without the critical “backstage” support of churches at home…

Fear Turned to Joy—Honduras

Judy Mofield  ReachOut June 2001

After I realized God was calling me to Hondu­ras, I became aware of a big fear growing inside me. All I had heard of their medical system inspired me to fervent prayers for health and safekeeping. In no way did I want to become subject to the medical practices of this third-world country.

It was just after midnight when I decided to depart Oswaldo and Lizette’s anniversary party. A few friends outside were singing Happy Birthday to Rebeca. Running down the unlit steps I crashed onto the cement…

Missionary Journal: Village Life in Cambodia

by Lisa Arensen  ReachOut May 2001

Time is passing very quickly here. There is so much work to be done, and I find myself being swept up in it. Yet I am still a stranger here—a woman trying to understand this world, this culture, and to work in it at the same time. It is dangerously easy to become ensnared in the work and to try to plow ahead without waiting to understand.

And often I don’t understand—and it is crucial that I remember that, that I remember that I am living and working in a world immensely different than my own. Every­thing, from people’s histories to their philosophies and methods of solving problems, is different…

Tribute to the Rev. Dr. Marc Nikkel Missionary to the Sudan, 1950-2000

by the Rev. Grant Lemarquand ReachOut January 2001

In 1995 I spent  two days in Kakuma refugee camp, a sprawling home to 40,000 Africans, most of them Sudan­ese who had fled war and starvation at home. Everywhere I went in the camp children would run up to me calling "Mak! Mak! Mak!" I was puzzled by this behaviour until I realized that it was a case of mistaken identity. The only white person these children really knew was Marc (‘Mak’) Nikkel. In fact everyone I met in the camp knew Marc Nikkel—because perhaps the greatest joy of Marc’s life was simply being with Sudan­ese, in the midst of their happiness, their struggles, their pains, their questions, their wisdom…

more

Theme by Danetsoft and Danang Probo Sayekti inspired by Maksimer