Missionary Teaching
I always find myself trying to stop making justifications about being missionary teachers. My husband is a teacher and a missionary. We love our work. We (will) live in a city. We (will) live in a house! He (will) works every day with students at a job he loves, and I work every day at home with the kids I made and love! We work within a network of Christian schools and we believe in their vision and influence throughout the world. We love our ministry in international education.
So why do I always find myself doubting that others will understand it?
Mostly because I live inside a head full of self-doubt and justification. I dream of scenarios all day long where I will have to justify my words and actions. Most of them never come anywhere near the allegations I dream up. In fact, I'm conjuring up scenarios with every word I type!
I read this article recently and most of what she said resounded similarly to my feelings. Somehow, the church (in general, but not our amazing supporting churches!) have categorize missionaries by their titles and primary work. Giving more praise and support to the ministry of church planting and less to other roles such as teachers and support staff.
But the truth is, I know God has not given us a spirit of fear, but called us to live in power and love (2 Timothy 1:7). And he calls me to not be ashamed (2 Timothy 1:8) so I am trying to defeat my doubts constantly.
Isn't missionary work ALL for the Kingdom of heaven? Isn't it ALL about glorifying God and obeying his call to preach to the nations?
In a regular week my husband might teach his PE classes, mentor his discipleship group, coach the seasonal sport, each lunch in the cafeteria with the high schoolers, joke with students in the hallway, meet a few students for dinner, and help students with their homework.
What I see is a TCK opening their life and trusting my husband to be their friend as well as their teacher and authority figure. Whoa! Do you know how much influence that really holds?! He holds the key to influencing their actions, the way they challenge their thoughts and the way to study the Bible. He is showing them the right path, leading them to eternal life, and it energizes him! This is incredible work and he is well-suited for this ministry!
In a regular week I might ask my kids to forgive me 5 billion times for doing the wrong thing, repeat my instructions 20 kazillion times, sweep the floor 3 to 80 times a day, wash something, clean something, show them how to clean something, bake something, shop something, dare to brave the market outside my doorstep! They see me visiting with friends or scheduling a playdate, shopping for just the right fabric, or making a craft together.
It's "the glorious in the mundane" (I know a podcast by that name-shout out to Christy Nockles if she ever reads this. I. Love. This. Phrase.) There is glory in the mundane and repetitive actions of our lives if we are striving towards Jesus. My kids see humility and forgiveness in action. They see a mom who will celebrate their every achievement and celebrate their life daily. They see healthy food, healthy lifestyles, and healthy striving lived out in front of them. They see that helping others is an important task, and learning never ends. If my kids grow up to be better than me, Praise Jesus!
We take serious our role in the field. We challenge ourselves to grow, fight sin, find habits of grace and meaningful ways to fellowship and invite believers into a true and right relationship with the Lord. We are never perfect. In fact, I think I mess up more than anyone I've ever met. (Hello, self-doubt, are you talking again or is this reality?) And even though we mess up and start over again, I believe international ministry to students and families is our calling. We choose to be obedient to this calling and I hope this brief explanation has challenged the way you classify missionaries you know as well.
Want to grab a coffee and talk about it more?
So why do I always find myself doubting that others will understand it?
Mostly because I live inside a head full of self-doubt and justification. I dream of scenarios all day long where I will have to justify my words and actions. Most of them never come anywhere near the allegations I dream up. In fact, I'm conjuring up scenarios with every word I type!
I read this article recently and most of what she said resounded similarly to my feelings. Somehow, the church (in general, but not our amazing supporting churches!) have categorize missionaries by their titles and primary work. Giving more praise and support to the ministry of church planting and less to other roles such as teachers and support staff.
But the truth is, I know God has not given us a spirit of fear, but called us to live in power and love (2 Timothy 1:7). And he calls me to not be ashamed (2 Timothy 1:8) so I am trying to defeat my doubts constantly.
Isn't missionary work ALL for the Kingdom of heaven? Isn't it ALL about glorifying God and obeying his call to preach to the nations?
In a regular week my husband might teach his PE classes, mentor his discipleship group, coach the seasonal sport, each lunch in the cafeteria with the high schoolers, joke with students in the hallway, meet a few students for dinner, and help students with their homework.
What I see is a TCK opening their life and trusting my husband to be their friend as well as their teacher and authority figure. Whoa! Do you know how much influence that really holds?! He holds the key to influencing their actions, the way they challenge their thoughts and the way to study the Bible. He is showing them the right path, leading them to eternal life, and it energizes him! This is incredible work and he is well-suited for this ministry!
In a regular week I might ask my kids to forgive me 5 billion times for doing the wrong thing, repeat my instructions 20 kazillion times, sweep the floor 3 to 80 times a day, wash something, clean something, show them how to clean something, bake something, shop something, dare to brave the market outside my doorstep! They see me visiting with friends or scheduling a playdate, shopping for just the right fabric, or making a craft together.
It's "the glorious in the mundane" (I know a podcast by that name-shout out to Christy Nockles if she ever reads this. I. Love. This. Phrase.) There is glory in the mundane and repetitive actions of our lives if we are striving towards Jesus. My kids see humility and forgiveness in action. They see a mom who will celebrate their every achievement and celebrate their life daily. They see healthy food, healthy lifestyles, and healthy striving lived out in front of them. They see that helping others is an important task, and learning never ends. If my kids grow up to be better than me, Praise Jesus!
We take serious our role in the field. We challenge ourselves to grow, fight sin, find habits of grace and meaningful ways to fellowship and invite believers into a true and right relationship with the Lord. We are never perfect. In fact, I think I mess up more than anyone I've ever met. (Hello, self-doubt, are you talking again or is this reality?) And even though we mess up and start over again, I believe international ministry to students and families is our calling. We choose to be obedient to this calling and I hope this brief explanation has challenged the way you classify missionaries you know as well.
Want to grab a coffee and talk about it more?
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