Missionary Stories - What's Not to Love About them?Well-written missionary stories grip me. Not preachy, here’s how to do it, try-harder-like-I-did stories, but rather those in the I’m-a-mess-and-didn’t-know-what-to-do-but-then-God-showed-up genre. This recently came to mind at the end of a missionary conference I facilitated when one of the workers commented, “I can’t get enough of hearing stories of God’s faithfulness in working in the lives of other missionaries. They really encourage my heart.” If I were better at God talk, I’d say “Amen!” But the best I can do right now is “You go, girl!” Stories of God’s faithfulness encourage me, too. They encourage because when I learn of someone else needing the Lord for one thing or other, and I see how the Lord meets that need, I think maybe he can meet my need at the moment too. Maybe he cares for me, just as he cares for the person in the story. Maybe I’m not alone, maybe I’m not the only one. Stories that encourage me are those that Donald Miller describes as stories with “a character who wants something and I really like that. Especially the who overcomes conflict part. The conflict is often something within us, a conflict over what we want to be and the reality of who we are. The conflict of wanting to care and help, but not knowing quite how to. How those conflicts are overcome in stories of missionaries is where I draw encouragement. Seeing other people, who are just as much a mess as me, overcome their own limitations - even their own sin - to get something they want that is right, noble and true inspires me. When I taught creative writing years ago I made the point that the best writing shows, rather than simply tells. Showing trumps telling every time. Jesus impacted his 1st century followers with powerful stories that showed what the kingdom of God was all about. He didn’t simply tell. Jesus used parables, word pictures, similes - and lot of “The Kingdom of God is like …” I would have given him an “A” had he taken my creative writing class. So in each of the missionary stories that you’ll read from the links below, look for a character who wants something and then overcomes conflict to get it. Most often the character is the missionary themselves. What the conflict is may not be obvious, but you can figure it out.
Caring for a Colleague Using Skills |