When I wrote about the top five mistakes I made during my first year overseas, I loved checking my inbox for the several days following the post. I loved hearing from missionaries all over the world, some of whom have logged decades overseas, some who are leaving next month, and most of whom said that missions had turned out harder than they expected.
Honestly, the comment thread on that post has become a treasure trove of advice.
But, as I was talking to a new friend {you know who you are- wink, wink} about the possibility of her family moving overseas, I noticed another piece of advice that was first out of the gate which is my mouth, admittedly a gate which stays open too often.
I advised her to leave home with a {shorter} term goal of time spent on the field, already set and communicated to supporters. Now most missions organizations will require this, so for many this is a no-brainer. But, for those of us who are independent, the idea of committing to a one year, two year, or three year term doesn’t rank high on our decision-list {moving a family overseas, you’re already making a million of those, anyway.}
I didn’t expect that defining a goal would be as important as I think it probably is. Because when you shove off the shore into the great unknown with the general assumption that you will be there long-term, whatever that really means, you could be poising yourself to feel like an epic failure if you don’t make it as a career missionary.
However, if you leave with a goal of staying overseas for two years, say, and then having the full intent of being open to more, it helps your heart when things get hard in your new country. Because you can do anything for one year or two. And when things get awful and disappointing, this knowledge that you are walking towards a goal is helpful. But when you accidentally commit and communicate that you will be living the missionary life indefinitely, then you’ll feel like an epic-loser when you pack up bags and head back home after two years– even if two years was all that was needed to accomplish what you felt called to do in the first place. And no one wants to leave the mission field in defeat. {But many do. There’ s a post on that coming soon.}
[Obviously, this advice only works on the assumption that you didn't feel strongly from God that you were to commit to a particular span of time overseas. Of course, in that case, you should obey that is the only pearl of wisdom I'll give.]
Now, I assume that many will strongly disagree with me on this particular piece of advice. They will say that the only way to survive the challenges of the mission field is to enter it with a long-term commitment. They will say that if you go with a short term mindset, you’ll not invest enough time in the language or in relationships because you will always be eyeing your exit strategy from the time the plane touches down. And there is definitely some truth to that.
And I get this. But, but. I think for independents and for parents with kids, especially, it is particularly important to set a shorter term goal than you might assume you need from your homeland. While you might end up on the field for decades, maybe sometimes it’s better to start small. The idea that this new expat life does not have to be the one you signed up for forever might just be the encouragement you need to make it through those first culture-shocked months.
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What do you think? Is it suicidal for a missionary to set a short-term goal for themselves? Or is it just smart?
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