As a mission mobilizer, many of my conversations with people considering missions have to do with their readiness and ministry fit. It’s natural to want to know things like “Am I the right kind of person to be a missionary?” “What skills do I have that will fit the needs of this field?” and “How can I prepare myself?” I remember wondering many of the same things when I moved to Taiwan as a new college graduate. “Is my faith strong enough for this? Am I ready for the real world – and the real world in a place that’s so different from home?”
And yet, one of the conversations I love having with people after they’ve spent time on the mission field is not about how ready they were before going but about how God has stretched and grown them through their time overseas. Being completely out of your comfort zone and out of control as a cross-cultural missionary grows you in ways few other things in life do.
Your walk with Jesus, your personal maturity, your practical and social skills, and your character and heart posture are just a few of many areas of exponential growth for young missionaries.
Here’s what a few of MCN’s mission partners say about how they’ve grown on the field:
From Grace, now in her second year serving in Central Europe:
During my time overseas, I have grown through fully embracing the newness with sincere joy. Many locals thought it laughable that I was so over-the-top excited about moving to their “little village.” Yet I was able to share with them how God has planted me in small towns in the past to equip me to joyfully embrace another small community.
When I moved here, there were many unknowns: the language to grapple with, every relationship brand new, new routes and routines, and a layered history and culture I am still learning about. Spending time in the mornings to read God’s Word and pray for my team and ministry, along with foundational support such as the Sojourner’s group, a monthly Zoom meeting Mission of Christ Network provides for the first year missionaries to debrief and encourage one another, contributed to a successful transition.
I believe and have experienced this year that when God calls us for missions, He will provide everything needed for us to carry out His calling.
From Heidi, now in her second year serving in Ethiopia:
Sometimes you just feel stuck in life. That’s where I was at when I stepped out onto the mission field. Then stuck turned into thriving as God provided an amazing team of supporters in the U.S. and lovely, hospitable people to welcome me into this new culture, and my life became…simple.
I did my job. I ate my meals in fellowship with others each day. I took walks in the quietness of my mind, the sun, and the small, abundant flowers hidden around the campus. I taught English, went to chapel, drank coffee…and lots of it, practiced my devotions, prayed, had a lot of good conversations, and worked out with my gym crew each day.
And through each experience God was at work challenging my sins, growing my faith and confidence, teaching me once again how to trust in Him, how to love others, and how to be the person He made me to be and do the work He had prepared for me to do. Praise be to God!
And from Sarah, now in her eighth year serving in Taiwan:
During my time serving in Taiwan, I’ve grown in my understanding of how God speaks in His Word to His people all over the world. Sometimes, the way that my students’ culture and worldview mirror the culture and worldview of Israel in Biblical times gives them insight into Bible passages that I lack on my own.
This year, I read through the Parable of the Prodigal Son with an eighth grade Bible class, and the Taiwanese emphasis on family gave my students a deeper understanding of the family dynamics in this parable. They related easily to the idea of messing up so badly that they could no longer have a place in the family and were shocked when the father welcomed the son back into the family. I read this parable with a new understanding as I saw through their eyes the power of the father’s love for his son.
Whether you’re approaching college graduation and looking to grow as a young adult or feeling stuck in your current life, serving cross-culturally could be just the way God grows you to be more who He created you to be . . .