Missionary Care for the Issues We Face
Caring for Others is all about caring for missionaries. If we were a store we'd be Missionary Care 'R Us. Welcome to all with a heart for missionaries. This web site is for you.
Being a missionary isn't easy. We have the same struggles as everyone else, plus a few more that come with the territory. Do any of the following sound familiar?
Family Matters
Balancing mission duties with family responsibilities seems an impossible task to me. Both never seem to end. And I am really tired.
We’re back in the States to help our 20-something kids, but I’m at a loss as to how to help them. Plus, I feel like a fish out of water whenever I’m in the US. I can’t wait to get back to Africa.
I have loved being a missionary for many years, but I don’t know if I can live through one more saying “goodbye” to my family when my home assignment ends. A part of me dies every time I return to the field.
Team Dynamics
People on our missions team are not getting along with each other. There’s tension between us, and the nationals see and feel it, too. It’s really hard here.
So many wonderful things are happening to me now. I am truly blessed. Yet I have to be careful in sharing any of this with my missionary teammates, because my good fortune makes them depressed and envious of me.
I’m the only single missionary on a team of married couples. It gets complicated at times.
I used to get along great with my co-workers, but when I was named team leader everything changed. Those who used to be my close friends have now become cool colleagues who tend to avoid me. I’ve never been so alone.
Personal Concerns
My husband and children are thriving here on the field, but I’m miserable and I don’t know why. I have every reason to be happy, but I’m anything but. What’s wrong with me?
I’m lonely.
Where I serve people are coming to Christ, growing in Him, and I am so blessed to be part of it. But my financial support is so far below what I need to survive on the field that I may have to come home and its tearing me up inside.
I am spiritually dry and long to have my thirst quenched. I give and give and give, which I love doing, but right now my tank is empty.
I’m depressed.
Supporting Churches
We come home on furlough to find our supporting church has gone through a split, people have left, and we don’t know anyone anymore - and no one knows me.
People in our home church put me on a pedestal. I hate it. If they only knew…
Our sending church has changed its philosophy of missions…again. And I don’t know if we fit into this new vision. I’m concerned they will drop us, and they are the biggest chunk of our financial support. I wonder if we’ll even be here on the field a year from now. It’s very troubling.
Whenever we visit our supporting churches it seems all they want to hear are missionary success stories and victories. No one wants to know about our struggles.
The church in America has changed so much from when I first went out. People don’t seem nearly as interested in missions as they used to. I can only talk about what’s happening on the mission field for about 30 seconds before eyes glaze over and the other person changes the subject. I feel sorry for the church.
If you know what we’re talking about – if any of this rings true for you – you’re one of us and this web site is for you.
Or maybe you’re a caring person with a heart for missionaries who wants to help, or perhaps you’re someone interested in becoming a missionary. You’re one of us too, and this web site is also for you.
And if you’re a member care specialist with a mission agency, you’ve been one of us for quite awhile and this web site is certainly for you as well.
We don’t have all the answers, but with God’s guidance and wisdom, we’re committed to helping all of us find the resources we need to be all that God has called us to be.
We hope to hear from you, get your feedback, and learn from you how we can all help each other. We want to hear your stories. And we hope you will be inspired by the stories of others on the same journey. There’s a lot we can learn from each other.
We get you because we are you. Please join us.
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you helped his people and continue to help them. – Hebrews 6:10

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