"Do you know where your missionary is?"

We just got back from our annual trip to Laredo, Texas and Mexico.  We got to do some very special things while we were out west, including delivering shoe boxes and spending some time at a Mexican orphanage.  One of the best things we got to do was invest quality time into our missionaries’ lives.

 Keith and Carole St. Clair and Hannah, Rebekah, Josiah and Jeremiah have spent the last several months in Guadalajara, Mexico learning the Spanish language.  They arrived back to Laredo just days before we joined them for our trip.  They were visibly tired and the boys were sick, but their hearts warmed at our arrival.

 Missions trips are not just for the trip taker or for the kids we do activities for.  They are also a time to catch up with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are part of our body and doing a special work for our Savior on our behalf across the country and world.

 We desired to go and not be a burden to our missionaries.  That’s why we did dishes after meals, emptied trash cans and paid for their meals when we ate out.  It’s a caring process that we see in scriptures and that we want to implement into our own lives. 

 1 Thessalonians 2:8 says: “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.”

Sharing our lives with our brothers and sisters is part of ministering to the body.  Not only did we have the chance to minister and encourage the St. Clair family but they in turn ministered to and encouraged us and we are better off for it.

 Missionaries face a wide range of on-field issues.  One missionary friend wrote about a first time doctor visit, trying to navigate through the language barrier.  Some are homesick, some have children with learning disabilities and some are empty nesters.  Just think, everything you can and do experience, many of our missionaries face the same on the field, but often back in Virginia we don’t know. 

 Not many know because often when a missionary is “out of sight, they are out of mind.”  Our missionary care teams are being established to fight this very thing.  We yearn to offer care and support all year long—to build a relationship with our missionary and to be built up in return.

 Investing in any life is worthwhile—come join us and invest in our missionaries’ lives.  That way, next time someone asks you “Do you know where your missionary is,” you can answer with a personal knowledge and love for them.  We will give out more details in January—but until then—pray, love and invest in your missionary. 

 Blessings!