Summer 2023

When "well done" seems so far off . . . 

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+9&version=ESV)

I read this portion of a letter from a Korean missionary to Japan. While it refers to a missionary who was serving outside of his country, I too, as a full-time domestic missionary and short-term mission trip trainer, suffer these feelings as well.

Missionaries most of the time don't get brass bands and medals when they return home, but they don't need them. Missionaries wait to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." They wait for heavenly recognition.

• The American dream embodies comfort and recognition. Will those who fast from the American dream regret it in heaven?
• Did Jesus die so that we could be comfortable? Comfort and recognition are both things missionaries forsake.

Family is the hardest impacted My parents need my care. They desire to hold their grandchildren. But there will be plenty of time for that in heaven. But forsaking your family does not mean neglecting your family. Rather, it involves a mourning over lost time. It's a loss of physical and financial comfort for you children. And it exposes them to increased risk. This risk isn't always life-threatening, but it can be at times.

You see, working among people like me in my own natural environment, I am sometimes invisible.  After twenty-six years serving local families, teens, homeless and others, we do it so often and so much that it is yes, taken for granted. However, I live in a culture different than my upbringing. I have adapted, but still there are times of loneliness and invisibility. People assume I am ok. Even after training hundreds of young people in missions and leading over twenty short-term trips to neglected and disaster-stricken areas in the U.S. and beyond, our work is still treated as everyday work. It is a real chore to try to gather support for this work, both for the kids and us! Yet we are constantly asking and needing to justify the need. I yearn for a "well done".

You see, many do not even know the role of the missionary, or called one. Few churches even have the office of missionary any longer! The Great Commission tells us all to go into all the world . . . firstly to our very own neighborhood and culture! Well, my wife and I were called to that commission full-time . . . every day . . . starting within our own neighborhood . . . for the rest of our lives. In my neighborhood and community, this is actually cross-cultural missions as well. We were called and we were qualified with various degrees of learning. When support wained, we had to secure full time employment to sustain our families. We were literally on state aid for years, which was embarrassing, but few knew it. However, then and now, we still plan and carry our mission work among the teens and families we serve. As with the Korean missionary above, our families sometimes asked us why we had less than the people we served!

Our goal now, in the latter years of our missionary life, is to spark a fire within our youth to desire to serve the Lord in ministry and missions. It is also my desire to challenge believers of the need and responsibility to pray for, encourage, and financially support to work on a regular basis. Even as missionaries, we too support mission work monthly as a practical example.

So why did I write this? I guess simply to vent with God. If it inspires you to give, you are welcomed to do so through our CashApp at $Carrollmission. In fact, we are planning a neighborhood VBS this July for the kids in our community. Next year we are planning two short-term mission trips to serve communities in need (as the Lord leads us).

2 Corinthians 9 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+9&version=ESV)