Untitled - St.Francis Magazine

St Francis Magazine Vol 8, No 2 | April 2012 Among various areas of support Pirolo (1991) suggests morale, financial, and prayer. We look at three similar support needs for our mid-­‐ and long-­‐term missionaries: emotional, spiritual, and financial. Identifying lay leaders who will commit to overseeing each of these needs for our missionaries provides a strong base to free the missionaries for ministry. Munson (2012) refers to these support leaders as mobilizers. 3.1 Emotional In speaking with current and reassigned missionaries who together have served about 90 years on the field, it was a revelation to learn that, even though funding was mentioned, the overriding concern was the need for communication, that awareness that the missioner was significant and that his ministry was valued and upheld in prayer. One missionary indicated a feeling of detachment in saying, The leadership of my home church doesn’t really know what I am doing in spite of the many ways I have tried to share the vision with them. They don’t seem to understand how the ministry I am doing is a direct extension of the church’s vision but in a different location. My ministry is not integrated into the church’s overall ministry. It is an “add on” when I come to visit. 3Another expressed this, “They do well on the send, but the tend and mend don’t really happen.” And we were told, “That sense of security comes from communication.” One person said, “Long term missionary service can feel lonely, and having people staying in touch and praying for me would make a big difference. Today with Skype and other types of Internet services, communication is not the problem that it was in the past.” Even Mother Theresa, when quizzed, said that she believed the greatest suffering to be loneliness (Barnett, 1991). That emotional support for missionaries on the field can readily be provided through frequent messages and visits when 138