(If you haven’t thought that? Just ignore those last two paragraphs.)
And here’s the reality: Some global workers come back earlier than they planned.
“What kind of characteristics do I need as a missionary?”
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Month: February 2019
Red Pill? Blue Pill? 4 Irreversible Side Effects of Going Overseas
Reading Time: 6 minutes
We talk a lot over here about what you wish you knew before you went overseas. We’ve called it a rabbit hole. So maybe it’s a little like The Matrix: Red pill? Blue Pill?
So I’ll tell you today what you might want to know: Going overseas will mark you indelibly.
Back when my husband and I were considering adoption in our host country, I wrote,
Meet an Agency: Action International
Reading Time: 6 minutes
We heart this new, ongoing series–a cup of java with organizations to help you go there, serve Him, and love them even better. (For more thoughts about why you might join an agency–and a handful of reasons you might not–make sure to check out He Said/She Said/You Say? “Should I go overseas with an organization?”, both the pros and the cons.)
Today, we’re grabbing a caramel cappuccino with ACTION International. Grab a chair.
9 Reasons You Won’t Make It to (or Stay on) the Mission Field
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Editor’s note: GoServeLove.net is geared up to welcome Shane Bennett. He’s speaker and writer for Frontiers, a super-cool organization who describes their aim this way: With love and respect, inviting all Muslim peoples to follow Jesus.
(If you’re interested, consider signing up for Shane’s Muslim Connect, a 300-word weekly email –with 2100 subscribers–helping Christians think about Muslims the way God does and love them like Jesus does.)
Shane explains, “I live to help people who love Jesus connect with people who’ve never heard of him.”
Entering into a Cultural “Marriage”: Do I Need to Like the People I Serve?
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Photo credit: Imb.org
Question. How important is it to be physically attracted to the person you want to marry?
Obviously a person can be attracted to other qualities about a person. But then there’s the Song of Solomon, where a husband and wife are exclaiming over the beauty the see in each other’s bodies.
#BestoftheBestFridays: Reaching Muslims; Good from ISIS?; Corrupt Countries; Tech in Missions
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Upcoming MISSIONS Events CALENDAR
Missions Catalyst has put together an impressive calendar of upcoming missions events you just might not want to miss. Dealing with discouragement, isolation, fear, or feelings of inadequacy as you head overseas? This could be a great chance to get together with your tribe.
What catches our eye:
- taking the Perspectives on World Missions class online
- a second-language acquisition course
- Creating an Annual Fundraising Plan–a webinar from MissioNexus!–and Support-raising Bootcamp
- IMPACT gathering for those hoping to see Jesus among Unreached People Groups (UPG’s) of Southeast Asia (see here for our free printable prayer guide for UPG’s, and here and here or specific posts on the two largest UPG’s…both in Asia)
P.S. Did you know Johnson University offers a totally online Intercultural Studies course?
Building Friendships with Muslims: A $10 DVD Course
COMMA, the Coalition of Ministries to Muslims in North America, put this together–and from the feedback, it sounds like Journey to Jesus: Building Christ-Centered Friendships with Muslims will help you feel equipped and less offensive to those to whom you long to reach out. (Or wish you did.)
Open Letter to the Spouse Who Doesn’t Feel as “Called”
Beginning Packing List: East Africa
Reading Time: 8 minutes
Wondering what to pack to go overseas long-term? It can get tricky. Every country has different items available…or not. (If you know someone available to write a list for another area of the globe, please contact us here at Go. Serve. Love to equip more global workers to go overseas!)
This is shaping up to be a long post, so let’s get to it.
On your first trip over, prioritize items you absolutely cannot get in your host country, or that will be of considerably less quality. I should add “or are really expensive.” Don’t panic if you can’t get them all. Rebuilding a home is a process of slowly accruing and adjusting what you need. (See our post on Worked for Me Wednesdays #WFMW: The Luggage Edition.)