“Hey, they already had a shot at Christianity; why waste your time there?”

“But [mission field] is a vacation spot; why would they need missionaries?”

“What need could there possibly be in [mission field]? It’s such a rich country. You just want someone else to pay for your vacation!”

“So, you couldn’t handle Africa or China and chose an ‘easy’ place?”

“It’s too expensive to send missionaries to [mission field]/Western Europe. You should be a missionary to somewhere cheaper!”

“Doesn’t [mission field] already have their own religion?”

And my personal favourite:
“When you’ve got that out of your system, when are you coming back to the States to start being a ‘normal’ Christian again?”

@Rose: I had someone say, “but I thought Belgium was a real country” (as opposed to all the fake impoverished ones that usually “define” missions).

If your experience as a missionary to Western Europe is anything like what we’ve experienced, get ready to hear that question a lot. I talked about it back in “Missionary Defined” http://www.missionaryconfidential.com/missionary-defined

As you progress in your ministry, you might also come across these statements in “We All Know What Happens When We Assume” http://www.missionaryconfidential.com/we-all-know-what-happens-when-we-assume

I wanted to share… my husband and I passed the oral doctrinal exam required by our organization, so we are truly on our way to becoming missionaries. I created a Facebook group, and a dear friend advertised to everyone to join and support us. Someone (whom I don’t know) commented with the following: “why Spain? It’s very nice and modern.”

I thought, “and so it begins.” My friend replied, “just because it is nice and modern doesn’t mean they have the Gospel of Jesus Christ!” I opted out of a reply, but I did think of you. I have been praying for discernment of how to answer that question when it arises directly to me. “Less than 1% Christian” is a legitimate enough reason for me, but…

God Bless!
.-= Rose´s last blog ..A Celebration of God’s Word =-.

@Greg: Thanks for the link. Glad to see others taking Western Europe seriously. The need is great, and while the harvest is not yet plenty, the workers are still few for the seed planting. God bless their preparation for Belgium!

And wow…a comment from Stephy! Her acerbic wit keeps me going back to her stuff Christian culture likes blog. Truth is the bite of sarcasm…
.-= Greg in Mexico´s last blog ..Thanksgiving lesson =-.