What Do Missionaries Do?
Yesterday on Hungarian news radio there was a program about missionaries and what they do in this century. Since more than half of Hungarians are Catholics, the program focused mainly on Catholic missionaries. Three missionaries they interviewed were interesting to me.
They interviewed a Hungarian missionary priest in Brazil by Skype. The first question the reporter asked was, "What did you do today?" He responded by saying he had just had coffee and had made a quick trip to the store, but hurried back to be ready for the interview. Of course, it was still early morning there and his day had just started. Later in the interview, one could tell by the emotion in his voice that he was very concerned that Brazilians turn aside from their superstitions and concentrate on their faith in God.
There was also an interview with a priest from India who works as a missionary in Hungary. He spoke very good Hungarian. When asked about that, he said that he had lived in Hungary for ten years and it was very important for him to learn the language so that he could minister well to the Hungarians around him.
They talked with a chaplain at the Budapest airport who considers herself a missionary. She said that when people travel, they can be more open to spiritual things, so she has many opportunities to talk to travelers and minister to them when they seek out the chapel in the airport.
What do missionaries do? What do Mike and Nancy do? Like these people who were interviewed, we live our daily lives in a place that is unfamiliar to us. But our desire is to share Christ with the people who live around us. So, we work hard at learning their language so we can explain the hope that is in us. But the best way to encourage people to follow Christ is to follow him wholeheartedly ourselves and live in the presence of the Spirit of God, taking Him everywhere we go. Yes, we use tools like INSTE and preaching in churches, but it is God living in us and speaking through us who makes us effective for His Kingdom.
All of us who follow Christ are missionaries. We are all on a mission to share Christ with those around us. Some of us use the title, but most of us don't. May we remember to take the Holy Spirit with us everywhere we go so He can influence lives for the Kingdom of God through us.
They interviewed a Hungarian missionary priest in Brazil by Skype. The first question the reporter asked was, "What did you do today?" He responded by saying he had just had coffee and had made a quick trip to the store, but hurried back to be ready for the interview. Of course, it was still early morning there and his day had just started. Later in the interview, one could tell by the emotion in his voice that he was very concerned that Brazilians turn aside from their superstitions and concentrate on their faith in God.
There was also an interview with a priest from India who works as a missionary in Hungary. He spoke very good Hungarian. When asked about that, he said that he had lived in Hungary for ten years and it was very important for him to learn the language so that he could minister well to the Hungarians around him.
They talked with a chaplain at the Budapest airport who considers herself a missionary. She said that when people travel, they can be more open to spiritual things, so she has many opportunities to talk to travelers and minister to them when they seek out the chapel in the airport.
What do missionaries do? What do Mike and Nancy do? Like these people who were interviewed, we live our daily lives in a place that is unfamiliar to us. But our desire is to share Christ with the people who live around us. So, we work hard at learning their language so we can explain the hope that is in us. But the best way to encourage people to follow Christ is to follow him wholeheartedly ourselves and live in the presence of the Spirit of God, taking Him everywhere we go. Yes, we use tools like INSTE and preaching in churches, but it is God living in us and speaking through us who makes us effective for His Kingdom.
All of us who follow Christ are missionaries. We are all on a mission to share Christ with those around us. Some of us use the title, but most of us don't. May we remember to take the Holy Spirit with us everywhere we go so He can influence lives for the Kingdom of God through us.
posted by Mike and Nancy Juntunen @ 1:20 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home