Pray for your Missionaries!

Hello all, in case you haven’t read any of my blog posts here is a quick bio.  My name is Anne, and for the past 6 years I have been a tent maker missionary in Suriname, South America.  A tent maker missionary is one that is able to fully support themselves by having an occupation in the country that they are residing in.  For me, I am an international teacher working at an international school in the nation’s capital of Paramaribo. 

I find it very awkward to talk about my mission field when I am in America.  I feel that the automatic picture that gets placed into people’s heads when a person says that they are a missionary is one of a person being in the middle of the jungle, or not in a city.  When I have talked about my school and job I received a comment like, “Oh, I thought you were teaching in a tent, somewhere out in the jungle with no desks and air conditioning.”  I actually teach in one of the nicest schools in the country, complete with air conditioning, desks, a computer lab, WIFI, and textbooks.  While I know missionaries that are placed in villages in the rain forest, my field is quite different. 

I serve three different groups of students at our school.  The first group of children is international children.  During my six years I have taught children from all six populated continents and 22 countries.  I view this mission field like Phillip and the Ethiopian.  We are mostly with these children for an average of three years before they move to another country and take the knowledge they learned from this place to the next.   It is my hope that they will here the gospel and go plant a seed in another country.   The second group consists of our scholarship children and children of the middle class.  Their family may own a small business or works very hard in another field and can manage to pay some of the tuition, but not usually all.  Finally, the third group of children are children that part of the upper class of Suriname.  These children’s families have other properties in other countries, have successful big businesses, and don’t really have material need in their life. 

When I explain that my mission field consists of children that are very rich, I am sometimes met with confusion.  However, I have witnessed that this mission field is intense, discouraging, and not for the faint of heart.  I think God’s words are very telling when he says, “. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” -Matthew 19:24.  I think this is an overlooked mission field that faces a lot of rejection.  I don’t want to speak for other people, but I find it very difficult to relay the gospel sometime in a way that connects with these students.  The need of a Savior in life is something that is not always understood.

If you sign up for missionary work, get a tough skin and do not forget your armor!  Trying to accomplish anything without God just won’t happen.  His hope is an anchor. 

I just think we need more prayer in general.  I feel that we could easily have blog posts that say, “pray for your teachers!  Pray for your nurses!  Pray for your mothers!  Pray for your Pastors!  Pray for your enemies! Pray! Pray! Pray!  Sometimes it might not feel like it is doing anything, but I assure you…it is!  I don’t want to speak for other missionaries, but I feel that a lot of them would say “Yes, please do not cease in praying for us.  Even though we are not there next to you anymore, please do not forget us."

I need prayer.  I need it daily.  I am greedy for your prayers, because I know of the fruit they will bring.  Maybe it is not physical things like airplane tickets home for Christmas or a green card for my husband (but please, do pray for that :)), but it could be patience, strength, and perseverance.  

What to Pray For?

Pray for my school, that the Word of God rushes through it like a crashing wave.

Pray for my school, that despite being from different denominations and backgrounds we are able to find unity as a staff.

Pray for my school, that it be a beacon of light for the searching and for protection from the enemy.

Pray for my school, pray for my school, pray for my school.

Pray for my students that they will one day embrace the gospel.

Pray for my students who are hurting so much.

Pray for my students who have welcomed Christ into their lives, but not told their families due to fear.

Pray for my students, pray for my students, pray for my students.

Pray for peace in situations that are out of my hands.  That I will trust that all is in God’s hands.

Pray for patience on days when I am running low.

Pray for knowledge and understanding for when to fight, when to talk, and when to listen.

Pray for strength to make it through the tough days.

Pray for me. 

I am writing this post today because I just feel that I am in the thick of it.  This immense battle of a Monday with new conflicts and new problems that can crush me if I forget that I am pressed, but not crushed.  I am persecuted, not abandoned, shut down, but not destroyed. 

It is very easy for me to feel isolated and a world away sometimes.  I know that if I am not talking to God, it is very easy for me to run dry and feel alone.  Burnout is real if real rest is not sought.  So please, today if you have time, pray for me.

Thank you.