Ask a Missionary - Catch The Fire

pay down debt as fast as you can. While God has the ability to
provide everything immediately, he may well have practical and
academic lessons for you to learn.
Some mission agencies, including WEC, are making provision
for student loans. If missionary candidates present to WEC a letter
from a supporter (person or church) promising to pay down the
school loans for as long as the missionaries are with WEC, then we
ignore the debt. This provision applies only to school loans.
Credit-card debt must be paid off before applicants can become
candidates. If they have a home mortgage and want to keep
the house, they must find someone to act as their property manager,
renting the house at a rate that covers the mortgage, taxes, and
other related fees.
Finally, and I saved the best for last, pray. Some who have
joined our mission have received gifts of thousands of dollars to
apply toward indebtedness. This has been such a blessing for missionary
candidates, raising their trust level several points.
Answer from David Smith, director of mobilization with WEC International.
David has been a missionary for twenty-five years as a field worker in West
Africa and at WEC USA headquarters.
A:
Ask God to help you get out of debt before
you go.
We had strong convictions to be out of debt before we went
on the mission field. Once we arrived, we were so glad to be out
of debt. The families under the most stress and anxiety were the
ones who had left debts behind at home. While this may have been
just our experience, it was sad to see what some families were
going through. Their budgets were tight, much of our fellowship
time together was spent on their finances, and they were not free
to minister as they wanted. Two families had to return home to take
care of the bills. Pray that God will quickly provide the finances for
you to clear your debts.
144 | Ask a Missionary