The Session: Our Missionaries Need Encouragement!

The Session with Tom Russell

Our Missionaries. Serving our Lord all over the world, in places we won't go. They need our continuous love and support. Tom and Scott talk about some struggles our missionaries have, and how we can support them. And because it's Tom and Scott, it's going to be a two-parter....

The Session: Dynamics of the Missionary Family

By: alifeoverseas.com

Acts 13:47

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'"

Reactions to Thoughts of Leaving the Mission Field (6/10 families reported 5 or more of these)

· I was single and I felt that I would find my spouse back in my home country.

· I wanted to start a family and have children in my home country.

· I experienced marital issues. Ya

· My kids were not adjusting well.

· There was a lack of options for my child/children’s education.

· I sent my kids to college.

· I wanted to be close to my adult children.

· I wanted to be close to my grandchildren.

· I wanted to be close to my aging/ailing parents.

· I felt that my extended family needed me.

These were the most common issues we heard about that produced marital stress:

· extreme stress, coupled with the isolation, of living overseas

· a lack of friends to talk to about problems

· the all-consuming nature of the mission work and the pressures of working closely together in a shared career

· not taking the necessary time out of the work context to nurture their marriage and spouse or to process things together

· temptations to neglect those closest to them in order to perform well in the ministry

· one spouse’s depression, burnout, or anxiety that affected their closest relationships negatively

· anger at the way a spouse was (or was not perceived to be) coping with life overseas

· disappointment (usually of the wife) with her lack of a fulfilling role in the ministry

· the pain of the trailing spouse (again, more frequently the wife) who didn’t want to be on the mission field but had submitted to her husband’s call to life overseas

Your Children Struggling to Adjust

· looking different, standing out, and receiving unwanted attention in the form of staring, touching, teasing, or even bullying

· isolation and the lack of friends or a social group

· grief as a result of leaving behind friends, family, or adult siblings in their passport country

· resentment or anger toward parents over their decision to go to the mission field

· having parents that are distracted by a million other things and find their ability to parent compromised in the chaos

· depression and anxiety as they struggle to cope with the many transitions in their lives

Helps

· Don’t be too proud to ask for help

Preserve your marriage

· Does your spouse feel respected, loved, cherished, and important on the mission field?

Priorities

· Am I putting the needs of the mission field ahead of my family?

Here are seven ways to care for missionaries through the many phases of their ministry:

By: Laura Dougherty

· Raise a Strong Prayer Base for Them. ...

· Network with Potential Prayer and Financial Partners. ...

· Host a Send-Off Party. ...

· Help Them Move. ...

· Maintain Regular Contact. ...

· Visit Them on the Field. ...

· Support Them During Home Assignment or furlow.

To reach Tom Russell, go to https://www.heritagechristiancounselingofmansfield.com.