Untitled - St.Francis Magazine

St Francis Magazine Vol 8, No 2 | April 2012 or persecution, workers often experience Christ in new ways. For example, the words in 1 Peter 3:14, “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed” take on completely new meaning when one has actually suffered for doing what is right. Field leaders can help by assessing the strength of a worker’s personal walk with God; the ability of married couples to encourage each other through difficulties; and the capacity of teams to respond to individual and corporate suffering. We deem these to be some of the most important responses to member care needs at the personal and group level when workers are facing suffering and instability. Also, we sometimes forget that Jesus warned us about not only wars, but also “rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6). When teams live with political instability and rumors of wars for extended periods of time, the stress can become unbearable. The tension may be compounded by well-­‐meaning friends who, in an increasingly connected world, only get the worst news and images through the media. Resilient workers know the danger, and with proper guidance can assess the ground reality versus the media portrayal. Even well-­‐meaning Christians may consider these workers “foolish” for putting themselves in harm's way. In times of duress, field leadership needs to help team members focus on worship and intimacy with Christ, turning our eyes to Jesus and not the latest news and rumors which fill the air like smoke. We have seen in cases of forced evacuation; often there is no time for saying goodbye to friends and teammates, creating problems of delayed grief for displaced cross-­‐cultural workers. This is one of the high costs associated with deeply identifying with the local community (number 3 above), and is another example of the cross which we are called to bear if we truly desire to bring an incarnational witness to the nations. 119