Missionary Care in the Holidays
by Andy Johnson
MRN Director of Missionary Care
I’d like to invite you to try a little activity. Make a list of your five favorite parts of the holiday season. It can be food, people, places, songs – whatever you think of when it comes to your favorites.
Go ahead.
I’ll wait.
Now, ask yourself how many of those five favorites would still be with you if you were living on the mission field. Two? Maybe 3? The odds are pretty good that a majority of your holiday favorites would either be at a distance or difficult to recreate away from your home.
The first thing supporters of missionaries need to understand about holidays on the field is that they feel different. That’s not to say that they feel bad or that they’ll never reach a place where they become deeply meaningful, but they are certainly different. My first Christmas on the field in Burkina Faso included a moment on a Friday afternoon when I had eyes on both a giant inflatable Frosty the Snowman atop a grocery store as well as a major street filled with praying Muslim men, all while my ears were assaulted by the dissonance of the call to prayer mixed with a rousing French rendition of “Silent Night.”
Different, right?
Thing is, it might not be all that different to your missionary. How about you ask them? Talk to your missionaries about the holidays in country and give them space to talk about the different without judging or trying to convince them they should like it more than they do.
The second thing I’d like you to understand about holidays on the field is that they are a weird paradox of celebration and mourning. Every worker on the field chose to follow God’s leading there, and they all knew it entailed distance from family. Those losses are felt far more acutely at the holidays. Anyone who has moved far from home has an inkling of this, so let your experiences with distance from loved ones inform your care of your workers (without making it about you!). Ask how they’ve planned to connect. Find out if there’s anything you can do to facilitate those connections. Ask how you or your church can serve their extended family.
Third, get creative about blessing them! Yes, a well-timed, well-researched holiday care package from your church is great, but so is footing the bill for their families to ship them one. Consider gifting your workers with the funds to shop for a gift for their kids from their supporting church or for a holiday date night. If they (or particularly their kids!) have special connections with parts of your church, arrange for an online party. MRN did this last year for the MedRim Initiative workers. We provided each family enough money to order take-out from a restaurant they wouldn’t normally pay for and hosted a Zoom party using online games. Was it the same as an in-person party? Nope, but it was still pretty great.
Finally, I would suggest that you learn from your missionaries. Holiday traditions get reshaped on the field. Some of the garish foolishness that we heap onto a celebration of the awaited Messiah is stripped away, and family, team, and church rhythms are the better for it. While my family never observed Advent growing up, my bride and I discovered the beauty of celebrating the Christ-who-came-and-is-still-coming on the field, something into which we have since invited many harried American friends! As you talk with your workers during the holiday season, see what they’ve learned about observing this season on the field, and try incorporating some of what you learn into your own church or family’s rhythms – then let your workers know how they blessed you!
All of these things are, of course, dependent on actually communicating with your workers! Do not let the frantic pace of an American Christmas season distract you from the calling on your life to care for the missionaries you’ve sent out. They need to know that they are seen and heard and loved by you and your church.
Now, to any of you missionaries still reading: we see you. We know that the holidays are hard far from your families. We know that being away from them is a sacrifice, and we see it. The Father does, too, and we are in prayer that the God of All Comfort will provide you with hope, love, joy, and peace this season.
A few humble suggestions about finding joy in the Christmas season while on the field:
Don’t assume you can’t redeem or recreate those special traditions that made Christmas feel like Christmas. Learn how to bake cookies or pies from scratch; eat them, and on the off-chance they’re worth eating, share them. Decorate your home where and when appropriate. Take enough of a break from your normal life to feel like you took a break.
Explore the beauty of observing Advent. Find an age-appropriate guide to steer you through the season. Even though our oldest is about to start driving, we still love hanging up the handmade-by-little-hands ornaments from Truth in the Tinsel (link: https://truthinthetinsel.com) or spending evenings reading through Jotham’s Journey (and its sequels) by Arnold Ytreeide.
Let circles collide. Invite lots of people over, even those who’ve never come before. Do this with your national friends as well as ex-patriot. Be on the lookout for others, like you, who might be lonely or struggling with distance. Look for the intersection places between fun and meaningful and make sure someone comes with you!
Be silly. It’s amazing what a few bucks (or francs or euros or yuan or…) and a local market can do for a white elephant gift exchange among friends!
Don’t be afraid of being a burden. Schedule calls with family and friends. Trust me – they do want to hear from you!
Paraphrasing a popular TV Christmas episode, remember to thank God for family – the family we’re born with, and the family we make along the way!
Regardless of where you find yourself this season, whether on the field or stateside, remember this truth: the One who Came is still coming! May your home be filled with hope, love, joy, and peace, and may you and your family be a light to a lost world in need of those!
Come, Lord Jesus.