Want to know a little secret about missionaries? Well, maybe not all missionaries all over the world. But, a secret about the ones I know personally, and especially the one I see every morning in the mirror. Are you ready? Here it comes....
Sometimes... not all the time, mind you... but sometimes... we get lonely. Can you believe it?! I know, shock!! But it's true.
And you know what? You can actually help us overcome this battle with very little effort on your part. All we need is one thing - communication. That's it.
That one small thing will make a huge difference in the hearts and minds of people giving all they have to God far from home (no matter how close or far that actually is). And it doesn't have to be some big, grand gesture of encouragement and support. Just a simple email or message or card/letter in the mail. That's really and truly all it takes to help a missionary go from singing, (insert Donkey's voice from Shrek) "I'm all alone, there's no one here beside me" to feeling pumped and shouting, "Yeah! Who's got this?! I got this! Devil better watch out today, cause someone back home remembered me! Boo ya!" Okay, maybe not so dramatic, but still... you get the point.
So please, for the sanity of those you love, email a missionary, call a missionary (if possible), write a letter, send a card, take a picture and turn it into a post card, mail your child's birthday invitation or your save the dates to a missionary knowing full well they can't come, get your two-year-old to scribble on some paper and call it a letter and mail it to a missionary. Or better yet, take one of the thousand school art projects your kids bring home and stick a stamp on it and mail it to the other side of the world. It's a much better option than file 13 (trash can) where it will most likely end up. And I guarantee the missionary will think it's the best piece of art in the entire world because you took the time to send it to them and make them feel included in your life.
Now, fair warning, bragging's about to begin, but it's a good example of what I mean. So brace yourselves. Would you like to know someone who is a super star at this in my corner of the world? My grandmother! Truth be told I generally poke her to get her going by emailing and saying things like, "I miss you and I was thinking about you today..." But after that, she takes off running; telling me all about her garden projects, or her Bible Study group, or my grandfather's latest visit to the doctor, or what trouble she and her friends got into. Anything that's going on in her world, she tells me all about. And just like that I feel like I'm home again and a part of things again. That's really all it takes! She tells me about the mundane, day-to-day of her life and I'm reminded of why I'm here, of who loves me and is there for me, of all the blessings God has put in my life to bring me to this point of serving Him so far away from comfort, of the joys of simplicity, and so much more. It's almost magic (if magic were a real thing). She's the best at keeping me from falling off the cliff of loneliness! And I love her more and more for it!
So, if you want to love on a missionary and in return make them think you're the best person in the entire world, all you have to do is communicate! Seriously, they need it more than you'll ever know! And if you're looking for more than one missionary to love on, besides me of course (wink), just let me know and I'll give you a few suggestions here in South Africa as well as a website that lists missionaries all over the world you could reach out to.
Share the love, people! Communicate!
Love Always,
Kristin/Freudy
PS: I'll do my best to share some other ways to love on your missionaries soon. This one was just the easiest way to make a big, lasting difference for any missionary.
** This message brought to you by a sassy missionary with a full supply of sarcasm today. Sorry if I offended anyone with my hyper writing. But not too sorry! Cause sometimes a missionary needs to let it out, too. Love ya!! **
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