Sandy was raising support, and she was stuck. She had exhausted all of her contacts – friends, relatives, acquaintances. She had contacted all of the churches where she knew someone, and had reached out to dozens of other churches with no response. Yet she was still far away from that elusive 100% funding goal.
So she tried a different strategy. Each Sunday morning, she would pick out a church to attend – cold turkey – not knowing a solitary soul. She would show up at this church where she knew no one, look for a friendly face, strike up a conversation with this complete stranger, and ask if this person could connect her with a pastor or missions leader.
Sandy is an introvert. She is warm and confident but not the kind of person who especially enjoys entering new churches and striking up conversations with strangers. But she did it because she had to. She was determined to get to the country where God had called her and was ready to do whatever it took.
I was Sandy's coach during her support-raising season. When she described this to me, my mouth gaped open and my eyes bugged out. All I knew was that I didn't think I'd ever have the guts to do what she was doing, Sunday after Sunday. This took resolve. This took courage.
I thought about my own support-raising journey. My husband and I would "divide and conquer" in our support-raising tasks. I wrote the newsletters and thank-you notes; he wrote the sermons. He fixed the printer when I was about to throw it out the window. And having him by my side every time I entered a new church gave me a measure of security.
I coach many single missionary women who are raising support, and they don't get to delegate these tasks. If they hate public speaking, they don't have a spouse to pass that off to. If they aren't good at technology, they still have to figure it out themselves. When their pitch is rejected, there isn't a partner by their side to share the burden.
We laud the courage of single missionary women when they single-handedly figure out how to exterminate a rat invasion, stop the flood seeping into their house, or replace a blown-out tire. But we don't often recognize the additional demands of everything they must do to build a support network on their own.
I realize that much of this could also apply to single men. However, I believe that single women often face unique challenges in earning others' respect and attention – in foreign cultures, on their missionary teams, and in the churches of their home country.
As I walk with these women on their journey to the mission field, I brim with tremendous admiration for their grit, perseverance, and resiliency. The truth is, most of these women would love to be married with a family. For many of them, it's their deepest heart's desire. Yet they are steadfast in obedience while they trust the Lord with their futures.
This is what courage looks like.
Do you have a single female missionary in your life? Probably more than anyone else, they need advocates to raise their support. Maybe that could be you.
No comments:
Post a Comment