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The Rearview Mirror

The Message invited these missionaries to look back on their time in prefield ministry. How were they helped to “get there”? What did they learn in the process?

Tom & Paula Doak—Kenya

While we were on prefield, our pastor, Bruce Snyder, suggested that we take one of the members of our deacon board with us when we made presentations at nearby churches. The deacon would introduce us to the church we were ministering in that day. He would usually say something about how we were involved in our local church as well as share a personal story about either Paula or myself. As part of the introduction he would thank the church for inviting us, tell the church that our home church, First Baptist Church of Horseheads, New York, was behind us, and ask them to pray about partnering with us in our ministry.

I would call the pastor of the church we would be visiting a few weeks before our visit and explain that our church would like to send one of our deacons with us to introduce us, and obtain his permission. All of the pastors I contacted thought it was a great idea and gave their approval. We took along a deacon only when we were scheduled for a single service and did not have an overnight visit. 

Several of the deacons told us that they came away from their visit with a new appreciation of what it was like to be on prefield ministry. A few months after we started taking deacons with us, our church instituted a prayer project for us. During each service, someone would pray for God to provide the funds needed for us to leave for the field.

Since missions is about local churches, Paula and I are grateful for the way our church and our pastor stood behind us during our prefield ministry. They sent a strong message to the churches we visited that they were behind us.

Coriann Kooy—Durban, South Africa

My pastor helped me line up a series of initial meetings, other people gave me contacts, and the ADEPT class at ABWE greatly helped me to put together my presentation. My parents helped out by letting me move back in with them so I could start doing full-time prefield right away. The thing that was probably most helpful, however, was the time that I’d already spent on the field in short-term ministry. Telling my own stories and showing photos of people I actually knew made sharing my excitement for this ministry with churches much more natural.

What did God teach me through the process? Patience, of course, and flexibility. It was also neat to watch how He provided and met needs and answered specific requests.

Tim & Martia Franklin—Natal, Brazil

Our family arrived in Brazil three years ago. One thing the Lord used to help me prepare for this transition was the book of Proverbs. A theme that kept popping out of the pages was to love instruction—not just to bear with someone giving an idea or correction, but to love it—because in that way you can become wise. It is a natural tendency to be self-sufficient and to say, “I know.” It sometimes can be humbling to listen to instruction or correction, or ideas when you already have some of your own, but it is so important to always be ready to learn—and to love to learn. Transitioning to another country, having to learn a new language, seeing things done a different way, and experiencing things you’ve never thought of, are all a necessary part of being a missionary.

I believe the emphasis of loving instruction was a helpful way that God prepared me for this transition. Of course we come with our own ideas, dreams, and plans because we must be prepared. And we hold fast to the things that are sure, but we also have to be ready to listen, consider, and value new information.