Comments on: Question Week: How Much (or What) Should You Communicate Back Home?

By: C. Holland

C. Holland — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:19:30 +0000

Hi David, great point about the accountability partner and about discernment with info to different relationships. I suspect many of the missionaries that have left our field did not have a confidant of some sort that was either outside their family or their mission field that could provide another viewpoint on things.

By: David Anasco

David Anasco — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:58:36 +0000

I believe the question is not so much how much you communicate, but how much you communicate with whom? I have a Stateside accountability partner (my accountability partner before I left for the mission field). He is also one of our most faithful investors/supporters. I was completely open and honest with him when I lived in the States. I am still completely and honest with him living as a missionary. I am free to share with him all of my struggles and challenges. Some of our other investors/supporters I don’t have this kind of relationship with, so I am not as open to them.

By: C. Holland

C. Holland — Sat, 09 May 2009 18:50:48 +0000

Hi Greg, My friend who was an MK in the Philippines told me an almost identical story to yours about having a domestic servant–and the supporter upset that it caused. This story and other issues we’ve faced make me think that Christians, in missions or not, need serious education about cultural sensitivity.

I’m sorry to hear about the difficulties in Mexico. We’re praying for you, and I understand about how much to really reveal. Some supporters and family members get so freaked if you reveal some of the realities of missions (and I know our W. Europe issues aren’t nearly as pointed as yours).

By: Greg in Mexico

Greg in Mexico — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:15:58 +0000

When we were missionaries in Nicaragua we had a maid/cook and that threw off some of our supporters (they’d say things like “Well, THAT must be nice…”) but to be culturally relevant people of our social position (we were easily among the wealthiest 10% of our town of 20,000) it was expected that we would have a domestic. It also provided work for a widow in our church who was raising 3 children – we paid her much better than what she would’ve made working for a “national” family and we even paid for her children to go to a private Christian school. SO we always had to explain this when people in the U.S. found out that we had a maid!

Here in Mexico (where we DON’T live like royalty) the rub is how much “truth” do we communicate abt the intense danger that exists here. The safety situation here is pretty dubious these days with the Drug Wars and now that darn swine flu. We’ve had nearly ALL of our short-term summer missions teams cancel and people back home constantly beg us to come home until the violence & flu subsides.

As far as the locals keeping track of us thru our blog…in Nicaragua it was actually linked on the town government’s website! We hardly ever post anything too “iffy” but when I’m sure some of my rants could be easily misinterpreted by an over-sensitive Mexican.