My first session with the missionaries on furlough began this morning at 9:00. My topic was Missionaries and Guilt. By virtue of the nature of their calling and work, missionaries face a lot of guilt. Guilt because of having to leave the field and the work for furlough, guilt for wondering if they are being effective on the field or if they should return home, guilt for not having enough faith to believe God for finances, guilt for the suffering their children have to face on the field, etc. Life is very difficult on the mission field.
My session ended with ways to handle guilt. By the time I finished, there was not a dry eye in the room and we spent the next thirty minutes pouring out our hearts to the Lord, asking Him to take away the guilt and fill us with His peace. He did.
In the afternoon session, a Southern Baptist missionary/counselor Sam Paris spoke about Facing Changes When Returning Home. He was a great speaker and helped the missionaries realize some of the changes that may have taken place while they were overseas; death of family members, divorces in their family, changes in the church, the government, society, etc. Reentry is very stressful and the missionaries were thankful someone was pointing out changes so they could deal with them effectively.
Before dinner, the Missions Executive Committee and I did a personal interview with one of the missionary couples and their children. They had faced a lot of loneliness and hurts while on the field and really needed the time to tell their story. God brought about a lot of healing in their hearts through the interview process.
I did another session for the night service – Missionaries and Expectations. The topic was actually dealing with unrealistic expectations and the Lord did exactly what He did in the first service, He began to deal with every missionary about things that had happened on the field and once again, we spent thirty minutes just pouring out our souls to the Lord and letting him heal the wounds. It was awesome.
What a wonderful first day of sessions. I am so thrilled the Lord has allowed me to be part of all this process. What a privilege.
Investing in Futures, Inc.
"Coaching and Equipping the Next Generation"
PO Box 6451
Lakeland, Florida 33807
www.investinginfutures.org
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