Curried Missionary - Part 3

This is part three of my booklet entitled 'Curried Missionary'. Part 1 can be found here and Part 2 can be found here. (pic: us in PNG when visiting my parents)

"Discouragement
It is very easy for a missionary who is a long way from home to become discouraged. An overseas missionary (or one in their own cultural context) is not a super spiritual person who is immune to this but someone who the Lord has called to minister in another country and culture and who, like all Christians are prone to the devil’s attacks from every angle. If that person receives little or no news from home the discouragement increases.

In a missionary environment the feeling of failure to produce ‘results’ rears it’s head often. The devil will attack in any way possible and from every angle. As with all Christians, a missionary is fighting a spiritual battle every day but often without the constant physical support that is available to us here in Australia. If we are discouraged we can go to a number of sources to be encouraged such as our church Pastor, family members, friends or even go to our Christian bookstore and pick up an encouraging book.

Your missionary is most likely not able to do these things and therefore, the spiritual battle is very wearing and tiring both physically and spiritually. It is up to us as part of our missionary’s support system to encourage them in every way possible. Unfortunately we have often failed at this and so we can be 'in part' responsible for many missionaries leaving the overseas field discouraged. In the following pages I will share way’s to encourage missionaries physically through what I have found out in my own experiences and through speaking to many missionaries personally."

For a Laugh

Rodney and Lauren have challenged bloggers to post an old photo of ourselves, so here's mine:
Myself (left) and Karen aged around 15;
Me in year 1 (1980);
4 yrs old;
Funniest of the lot, me in 1989, year 9, note the birds nest for a fringe, lots of hairspray!