One Term In

We are currently back in the packing stage. This time to head back to the field after our first visit home. For some reason, nowadays missionaries call each stint on the field/particular season on the field, a “term”. Sounds quite like a politician, but perhaps it is therefore fitting for those called to be “ambassadors of Christ” in foreign lands…

Over the years we have heard some horror stories of different missionary’s first terms on the field. From spending days on the toilet, to crippling homesickness, or close calls with death, there are many such stories recounted. And by God’s grace, many of those have stayed on the field (not all unfortunately… some do leave. The unreached are unreached for a reason – it’s hard to live in these areas.), and those who stay are hopefully more resilient because of it.

As we reflect on our first term, we are thankful that overall it has been fairly tame. Yes, there have been a couple of mild illnesses, some minor homesickness (as expected), the somewhat frequent language discouragements, and various other cultural pressures, but overall we feel that we have had a relatively straightforward introduction to our context, having not had any major difficulties as of yet.

Now, most of these have been incidental (e.g., nobody tries to get major sicknesses, avoiding it has certainly been desirable, but mostly out of our control). However, there are a few things that we feel have made a big difference to our first term, and that I would advise new workers to pursue, or at least consider, if they are possible in their context.

1. Joining a team with very experienced members

We have been incredibly indebted to our team. Nowadays, various organisations try to have teams specially set up with the intent to help new workers arrive to their country, learn a lot in their first term, explore future ministry options, and be somewhat prepared for ministry throughout their country of service for the years to come. This was the type of team we joined, and we are thankful for it.

On one side of our team has been those who have been in the country for decades. They have walked through all the various paths ahead of us, working on various types of visas, raising kids, living in various cities, and connected with many different ministries. They know the language, the culture, and the history of Christian work in this context. To be sure, we will have to learn much of this ourselves only by experience, but there are other pieces of wisdom, knowledge, and contacts that we have gleaned from these experienced workers, who have set themselves to serve new workers.

On the other side of our team are those who are new alongside us. Due to Covid, and some people being kicked out, visas being hard to get, etc., there are no workers who are just one stage ahead of us. Those who are not new had been here for at least 5+ years when we arrived. So while we have examples who have walked much further down the road, we don’t have many who are just a few steps ahead. So it has been a true gift to be with others who are learning alongside us, so that we can talk through common experiences and issues, and look at what the future holds together, and not in isolation. And as a family with kids, having others in the same stage who also have kids is a wonderful kindness from God.

2. Giving our first term (almost) exclusively to language learning

The majority of our time in these first two years has been devoted to getting to grips with the local language. We have used a mix of a language school and local tutors, as well as everyday conversations, to try improve in our comprehension and production of our language. This has certainly not been a quick or easy road. And there have been more than a few times of having an itch to get stuck into more solid “ministry”. But going slow is invaluable.

After 2 years we still have a long way to go in getting to a good level of fluency, but we do have a working competency where we can easily have conversation on normal topics, or topics we’ve studied a lot. The hard work has shown to have paid off, and it has made us feel much more at home in the culture than when we only had a few words and wanted to engage people. Short-cutting language learning for other ministry is definitely not ideal. While not always possible, where it is, new workers should exclusively invest in language and cultural acquisition in their first years on the field. It will not be regretted later.

3. Being part of a local church from day 1

We were blessed to have stumbled into being part of a local-led church in the first few weeks of being on the field. It has an English and a local language service, both of which we join. On top of that most of the men and women’s Bible studies, and other opportunities to minister, are in the local language. This alone has been a huge boost to our language learning, especially in the area of Scripture.

Furthermore, it has allowed us to see how locals worship (and have the sweet joy of having our kids sing the local -language worship songs subconsciously while we’ve been in Ireland!), see how they do ministry, see other locals come to faith, and be involved in their work throughout the country. Being in a position of a regular church member in this context has provided learning, contacts, wisdom and guidance for the future, while we grow alongside locals in many ways, in their own language and style.

4. Having a legitimate identity

Out of all of the above, this one is not always in the hands of the missionary, especially new ones who haven’t yet a foot in the door. But it has personally made a big difference to our settling in to the country.

Our initial plan was to come as language students, obtaining a visa through a local school. However, this fell through, and I ended up working for an NGO as an English teacher. This delayed us by 3 months, which in hindsight was an act of providence for several big reasons, but one of those was that we have ended up with a more legitimate identity in the country.

New friends or students don’t need to suspicious as to why we are here. At most, their question may be “why did you choose to move here?”, which in turn allows us an opportunity to explain that we follow Christ, and therefore like him, we want to serve communities across the world in holistic ways, both trying to lift them up economically and physically through education programs, but also spiritually. Many profitable conversations have ensued.

In this role, we get the opportunity to be honest about why we are there, without having to dance around the truth for fear of being “found out”.

On top of that, we have found such work to be an avenue to rub shoulders with normal people, and some of our best non-Christian friendships have come from people in my classes. It has easily led into opportunities to mingle with locals, to learn from them, and to share our lives and the gospel with them.

Of course, different countries have different restrictions, and even availability of visas, so this situation is not always possible to obtain. However, in cases where it is possible, I would highly recommend it, even if other options are available. As would others, not just in our context but across the globe.

But lastly, it is important to point out, that as we look back on these arrangements, while we tried to do due diligence in setting out our path before we came, nonetheless it has looked different in many respects. Some of the above circumstances were not our initial planning, but by the happy providence of God, came our way. He knew what our particular family needed to be able to settle in and learn to minister, and provided just that.

While I would recommend the above paths, the far greater exhortation is to set your face to follow God’s leading, try to plan wisely, and commit yourself into his wise hands to lead you forward, knowing that your plans are made with limited experience and knowledge. And be flexible enough to change plans when he leads you. It will surely be for the best!