Gathering Intel

When I was at Siloam Homes back in January, I met a middle aged couple that was in Member Care, transitioning from a large agency to a smaller one, and planning to serve from the US. They were fascinating to me for several reasons; the main reason being that if someone were to describe them in one word, the word that most people would likely choose would be "Hippies." Now, hippies are not people that you generally run across very often in the world of missions, so I was intrigued. They both had long hair and piercings(she's the only person in her 50's that I've thought a nose piercing looked great on), and wore heavy wool socks with their sandals. They were truly genuine people and  I really liked them. One afternoon I invited them over for tea(hippies drink tea, by the way, not coffee) and a talk. I wanted to ask them questions, and they had questions for me in return. One question that the husband asked me really bothered me for a while,

"If one of your overseas missionaries were to have (          ) issue, where would you direct her? What resources would you try to get into her hands?"

And I kind of sat there stymied for a moment before I could give an answer. And it wasn't a fantastic answer, either, I assure you.

Here's the thing: I'm relatively young and inexperienced at this Member Care thing. There, I said it. Really, I have no issues admitting that, and I'm not sure that I ever have. As I go along, though, I become more aware of how much I really don't know. Depression? Burnout and Stress? Fear and Anxiety? How to set boundaries with others? Bitterness? Grief and Loss? Loneliness? Self-esteem? Spiritual Warfare? Trauma? Workaholism? etc.? Do I know resources to recommend to people? Do I have those resources myself?

Well, the answer is that I'm working on that. Whereas in January I didn't have much of a list, since then I've been steadily taking material in. As I've said before in my newsletters, my primary responsibilities right now are 1)support raising and 2)getting more knowledge into my head so that I can be better prepared to come alongside of others. And the list is slowly growing. And in spite of my knowledge of how little I know, I'm encouraged by what I'm learning. I'm encouraged by the wealth of knowledge that's available to me, that I can have the time to take some of it in, and that I myself am growing through the process. I'm not looking to be some great counselor or adviser. I'm desiring to be an encouragement, a soothing cup of water, the words that need to be heard in just the right moment. I'm praying that as I take in more information on many different topics, that God will store it away to be pulled out in His timing, and for His glory.