Me the missionary II

I am new on this thing of being a missionary mom and raising strong faith children. We pray with them every night. We start conversations about God. We tell them Bible stories before going to bed. We try to do a ‘Bible lesson” as they would have in a class as often as we can after lunch. Now, I am just like everyone else, so there will be times when those things don’t happen for a reason or another. Still we try to be on top of it.

Still, as MKs they are lacking so many things they would get if they were back home, in our great home church…. I miss our home church….

To understand this, and in case you don’t know, we are in the early stages of church planting. Really, really early… as early as we started in December. We didn’t start with a group of people, here you need a building first, or at least this was the way we felt God wanted us to start. So we are canvassing and doing what we can to invite people to the services. We have a couple of faithful girls (one is leaving us to go back to Germany in a week) and more often than not it is them two and us. So, if we rarely have adults, there is not need to say we have not children.
My girls miss children’s church, Sunday School, Patch the Pirate, Pee-wee Pirates, Awana, VBS, and any other things that any church may add for their children ministry. Of course that means they don’t have Christian friends to play with.

So it is not us adults as missionaries that leave behind many things, but those little ones leave so much more.

In the States, on top of being a good Christian parent, you get all those helps to help you help your child to live for Christ. Here, we are all they have. And we are people that fail just like anyone. If we mess up, we do it big time, we are all they have.

I remember when I got saved, I was already a teenager. I remember hearing about a white dog and a black dog fighting. The stronger dog that would win would be the one you fed the most. Of course they were talking about our old nature and our new being. The one you fed the most would be the one that would gain victory in our spiritual life. I try to give my kids as much as I can spiritually.

At times you realize you are failing in your job when one of them come to school telling you about something they were taught that you know it is against God. You asked them what God says about that and they can’t remember (my girls in school are 5 and 6). It is bad when that happens, humbling, puts things into perspective, but helps you realize your priorities and it is like a strength pill.

If you are not careful that happens to us as adults. We get (at least I do right now) one service a week and Sunday School while trying to keep my little one entertain. I get my devotionals and prayer time (again, I fail at times just like everyone else). I listen to preaching tapes every now and then. But I don’t get the 6 services a weeks that I got before (I went to Spanish and English church), we don’t get missions conference, Super Conference, the burst of spiritual energy that Revival Week gives you.

So, all this to say, if you are a missionary, you are not the only one… I don’t know maybe I am the only one…..
And if you are not a missionary, pray for the ones you know. Be thankful for what you have.