Mulling over Missions

I was invited to a missionary retreat yesterday because there were a whole bunch of missionaries there from the Latin America Mission-including a family that is moving to the same province as me!!! How good it is to know they won't be very far away! And of course, they are already offering me hospitality and they won't even get to Costa Rica until February. I love a functioning Body of Christ!!

Being with a whole bunch of missionaries got me thinking about missions stuff again. In a recent post one of my indirect points was that missionaries are normal people too. We all should be "missionaries" so it only makes sense that they are all people just like everyone else. I have been learning this lesson. The missionary couple that was at my LAM orientation in June like to play a fun game called Wizard. My aunt and uncle who are missionaries like to have a pet dog. And, like all other people, missionaries have baggage. They get depressed, their marriages fall on the rocks, their kids get sick, and like everyone else, their past influences the way they live in the present. I say this not to make missionaries look bad, but to make the point that they are not superChristians. We all have our weaknesses. Troubles come. Life happens.

I think on the mission field there is an extra challenge because missionaries are often isolated and can't always get the help they need right away. But, the LAM has a good member care program, so that is comforting. And, God is always at work in the midst of trouble, and that is even more comforting. He has a plan for everything and will never leave us. Praise His Name!!