An Open Letter: To the One Who Encourages, From the One Who was Sent

As you know, God calls people into missions and ministry with Him. We who are called share this announcement with you, our families and church families. So many of you responded with overwhelming love and support as you prepared to send us forth. Thank you.

I'm not sure if you realized how much your words and gestures meant to us as we prepared to go and as we went where we were sent. So I will tell you now those things that you said and did that meant so much to us.

Some of the comments we received from others carried a hidden barb, but your sweet words helped carry us through moments of doubt, exhaustion, and trials on our way to the place of our calling. Your words helped us endure while we were there.

Prayers

-We're praying for you.
-Let us know how we can pray for you.
-You are in our prayers.
All of these promises and sentiments bolstered us. You let us know that you would be interceding for us on a regular basis. Thank you for your prayers.

Confirmation

-We have seen this call on your life for a long time.
-We affirm this is God's call drawing you.
-I knew you would be a missionary for years.
Sometimes we doubt our call. We wonder if we are projecting our desires and wishes onto our plans. We want to confirm that we are interpreting the Bible, the Spirit, and our experiences correctly. Your confirmation reassured us and spoke against our doubts. Thank you for your confirmation.

Connection

-Please give me your address so I can write you.
-Can I send you care packages?
-Got an e-mail address that I can write to?
-Can you put me on your newsletter list?
When you wrote or sent us care packages, you sent the message that we were not forgotten even though we were out of sight. Getting letters of encouragement or care packages with things that were hard to get or expensive in our neck of the woods (but cheap in the US) meant to world to us. How much did it mean to us? Think "Wall of Encouragement." I put your letters, drawings, and pictures on our wall to encourage me and bring a smile to my face every time I walked past it. Thank you for making the effort to stay connected despite the distance.

Speaking Engagements

-You are "our" missionaries at our church, featured on our missions wall!
-Come to our church and speak in Sunday School or in an evening service. I know you haven't left yet, but we want to hear about what you expect to be doing.
-You are invited to come back after your trip and tell us what happened. Pictures are appreciated.
People love to speak about things they are passionate about. We are very passionate about missions. Thank you for showing up to listen to us talk about missions and for asking questions. We are excited to talk about where God is leading us and about a people you may not know, but whom God loves deeply.

A Listening Ear 

-Please post lots of pictures of your life in the new place.
-When you come back, I want to hear the long version of your trip.
-The more photos the better.
-Tell me about your trip.
Those of us who go on mission trips soon learn that when we return, most people want the short summary or the one sentence synopsis of our trip. To find someone who wants to hear all about our trip: the highs, the lows, the challenges, how we saw God move, where we plan to go from here, etc., that person is pure gold. Thank you for listening to us ramble, even when we have trouble explaining what we have experienced.

Those of us who have been sent out by God to new fields thrive on your encouragement. Thank you for being willing senders of missionaries, pastors, and workers into the harvest field. In my next post, I will be looking at some of the phrases that discourage those of us being sent out for missions, but I wanted to thank you for your love before looking at a few phrases I pray people will stop saying to those called to missions.