As you all know I have to fund raise a lot of money. While this is extremely important, there are some other amazing ways you can help me serve if you’ve already donated or you’re not in the financial place to do so.
Prayer
Prayer is SO powerful. This is my biggest request right now because it’s so so so important. While I was at training camp my squad broke into smaller groups to discuss what we want for our squad this year. I’m gonna share a few of the things we came up with so that you can pray over it. (You can also use some of these for other ministry leaders you know too.)
1. Discernment for God’s will–(especially above our personal desires)
2. Open loving communication–being honest with one another but doing so in a caring, loving manner. Healthy communication (including being a good listener.)
3. Unity unity unity unity
4. Accountability
5. Culture of love–(in affirmation, servant hood, being intentional, encouraging.)
All of these things are very important to me because I’ve observed from past experiences that one of the major things the devil will attack is your team or community when you prepare to come against him. He would love for us to be divided and put against each other. This is an easy way for us to become distracted from bringing the kingdom and serving effectively. But we serve an all powerful God so we have nothing to fear. When we (you included!) come against him in Jesus’ name the devil doesn’t stand a chance.
You will learn really quickly that I will never run out of ideas on what to pray for…because I’ve already got more!!!!!!
For me (specifically) pray for:
1.Boldness in sharing the gospel
2.That I would continue to be intentional with my time with God
3.Wisdom and discernment
4.My sinus trouble and allergies
5.Humility
6.Pray against any of the devil’s attacks
7. JOY
You can also pray for:
1.The people we will encounter and serve
2. Our hosts, ministry partners,and missionary partners
3. My time in a specific country, starting with Costa Rica (countries listed at the bottom of this blog: http://lauraebrown.theworldrace.org/post/dear-everybody)
4. My team (our smaller group of 7)
5. Our leadership team (both those who travel with us and those who stay at the base in Georgia.)
Encouragement
You know of the five love languages thing? If you do “words of affirmation” is dead last with “gifts” on my list…it’s a tie. Normally it’s just not something that effects me much at all. However, I’m going into this crazy uncharted territory for almost a year and it’s probably going to be way out of my comfort zone. In other words, encouraging me is way more helpful than you can imagine. It’s easy to start feeling inadequate, and every once in a while think, “Hey God…what exactly have I gotten into?”
Some may know from personal experience that the moment you open the doors to long-term ministry is the moment that you’ve become an open door to critique. This can be both good and bad. The majority of people are wonderful, excited for you, and supportive. But just one inconsiderate or rude comment regarding ministry can ruin anyone’s day. Getting a whiff of negativity in this field can be especially draining because it’s much more about personal conviction and nothing like hearing a negative comment about the company you work for at an average 9 to 5. Every bit of your encouragement means a lot to me, and I love you guys for it!! It helps me battle the few rude or uninformed comments I’ve gotten.
I would also recommend that you take this with you when you interact with other pastors, ministry leaders, and missionaries in the future. If you have criticism, share it in a loving manner. We’re human and we are not perfect, but for the most part we sacrifice a comfortable lifestyle for the kingdom of God. Some people on my squad have felt especially weighed down if they have not received any support from their families (this is actually another good thing to be praying for.) Recognizing that and encouraging them in their calling makes a huge difference.
Ask meaningful questions
This is good for anyone before entering the field, after, or on their Christmas break. I’ve got a few that I pull out sometimes:
- What has God been teaching you lately?
- Tell me a story of God’s victory in your life.
- How can I pray for you or your team?
After the field:
- Tell me a failure story from the field (or from recently). These are often pretty eye opening by the way.
- You–with the face! I need at least two epic stories from your trip nooooow!
We want to have meaningful conversations!!! They’re wonderful.Sharing what’s happening or how God is moving is just as exciting to us to share. Knowing that someone cares to know and listen is the best thing ever.
Also as someone who has served for over two months outside the U.S. before I know what it’s like to come home and attempt to readjust to the normal rhythm of their former life. Really ask and listen for any missionary’s story. I try to ask these things the moment anyone comes back from the field. They’re usually slightly surprised by my questions. But after telling their stories, they’re glad finishing with “I’m so glad you listened,” and that most people don’t seem like they care about hearing their stories.
While I know that’s not true, it’s really easy to slip into your routine chit chat on your career, who’s dating who, the biggest scandal in politics lately, and so on. But feeling like people don’t care or understand is part of what makes readjusting difficult after having a life-altering experience.Sometimes the timing isn’t right for a deep conversation, but be intentional about having them at some point. It’s very helpful to those who are returning and experiencing reverse-culture shock. Knowing that their now-distant life matters to someone makes the coming home process a bit easier.
If you made it this far, thank you so much for reading!! Love you!
