Missionaries in Itineration
The Gift of Example: There are many who are called in the Church who are desperately seeking a role model to help them understand what they have been called to do. Sometimes the itinerating missionary provides that example without even knowing it. Just the other day I stopped by the shop where I bought my guitar, now in need of repair. I needed to speak to the manager who was expected a little later, so the young woman working in the shop and I had the opportunity to chat for a while. (I take the opportunity to "chat" with as many strangers as possible, wherever I go.) It turns out that this young lady was a Christian searching for a direction in her walk with the Lord after several painful, somewhat agnostic years. She was at a spiritual crossroad and, much to my surprise, I became a catalyst at this important juncture, simply by sharing my own testimony, which propelled her right into Christ's loving embrace.
The Gift of Service: This gift is doubled edged. It's important that we spend as much time as we can in service to our home church. For one thing it is our responsibility since they support our work abroad. I remember well the account of Jesus washing the Disciples' feet. We must take every opportunity to wash the feet of our brothers and sisters. This also provides individuals and the church as a whole the opportunity to serve us in little ways they would not know about if we weren't in an active relationship with them. It is just as important for the missionary to accept the service of others, thus allowing them to be in obedience, as it is for the missionary to serve in obedience.
The Gift of Fellowship: Because I take seriously my ministry at home, I make myself very approachable to anyone I'm around. I can recount many instances where an innocent conversation grew into a God-incident. One such instance occurred on an airplane stuck on the runway at the airport waiting for a storm to pass in my destination city. Sitting next to me was a woman intent on conversing with me. I was very tired, following a sleepless night, and only wanted to rest. God let me rest for an hour or so and then woke me up and made me pay attention to His child sitting next to me. This African American woman was on her way to Atlanta to find a place to build a house where she could pursue her calling to minister to the African American children in that city. She and I spent the next two hours encouraging one another in the Lord. Toward the end of our flight she asked, "Can I donate to your ministry?" Sometimes you don't even have to make an effort to raise funds for your ministry. All I did was encourage her and share my own calling.
