Living faithful, fruitful and fulfilled on the mission field
“I’ve told him how I feel so many times. It’s like I am talking to a brick wall. Nothing I say sinks in!” These thoughts circled through my mind, making me feel miserable. My husband and I were talking, but definitely not communicating. It was …
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We all depend on the instant modes of communication the Internet provides us today. As missionaries, we can quickly connect with new donors, send updates, and collaborate on projects. We can even share our faith online. Is this safe?
After you have been on the field a while, you start to see that the hyper-connected world can be a double-edged sword. If you’re not careful online, it could mean the end of your mission in the country that you serve in.
As rapid changes occur in the online world, we, as missionaries, need to be quick to learn and adapt.
Last year I wrote two articles on security for Missionary Life. 2 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR EMAIL AND INTERNET SECURE ON THE FIELD and Social Media Tweaks and Tips. Those are both good articles and the principles found in them are worth paying attention to. Over the past year, some things have changed. The information in those articles needed an update, so C. Anderson asked me to write a new article on this.
Before we begin looking at the issue of online security in-depth, let’s take a step back. We need to ask the question, “What has changed?”
Companies profit from selling our personal data. They use this information to encourage (manipulate) us into buying products as well as changing our beliefs. These platforms are even used to influence who we vote for.
Countries formerly closed to the gospel are becoming even more so. These nations actively use technology to track down missionaries. Technology is being used in an attempt to put an end to the underground church. Those doing this are getting more and more skilled.
These two changes combined could lead to much greater hardship for the modern missionary.
Social Media Firms like Facebook and Instagram sell information to governments. Some are required to give access to do business there. GPS technologies on phones track the location of underground churches. They discover several people meeting together in the same location. Your entire social media history is scanned when you apply for a visa to go into that closed country.
What can we do? Can we even do anything? Here are a few suggestions to tune up your online security.
The very idea of this seems impossible. Our lives are so reliant on Google’s services, and most of them are free. Google is one of the world’s wealthiest companies. Have you ever wondered how this is possible? If a company is making money selling a product but you don’t know what it is, it’s very likely that you are the product.
Google poses threats to missionaries on the field in restricted-access countries. They may be required to release your sensitive data to the government of that country. It’s time to de-googlefy your life. Where can you start?
Jumbo is an app that can help you become more secure online. It’s safe and highly rated.
You start by downloading the app and signing into Facebook, Google, and Other Social media platforms through the app. It will guide you through making your settings on these sites more secure. It can even archive old Facebook posts, block targeted adds and delete all your search history on Google. This is a good intermediate step if you are not ready to leave Google and Facebook entirely.
Though in my previous article I recommended WhatsApp as a secure messaging app I now recommend Signal. WhatsApp is now owned by Facebook which has a poor record of protecting its user’s data.
The messages passed from user to user may still be secure and encrypted. It is likely that the metadata associated with those messages is available to companies and governments.
This metadata includes information about who is messaging who and how frequently. It includes information about who is in what groups together. That information alone can be a security risk. (Think back to the underground church being compromised by GPS location information).
Signal protects your metadata – in fact it doesn’t even have access to it. Signal also has a great feature – it allows you to set a timer to autodelete messages in a chat. This is extremely helpful in case anyone gets access to your phone.
Consider completely deleting Facebook, if you are working in a restricted access nation! At the very least, you must be completely aware of what it means for you to use it. Note: As missionarylife.org and dmmsfrontiermissions.com (my two blogs) we are seriously considering a change to a different platform for our insider groups. Watch for this in the next few months!
Facebook as a company has one of the worst track records. Information is gathered about your interests, your likes and your friends. Then, it is sold to third parties to create ads that target you directly. Facebook has been used to spread lies, hate and fear – manipulating national elections worldwide.
Facebook Messenger IS NOT SECURE. Messages sent by messenger ARE NOT END TO END ENCRYPTED.
I recommend you leave Facebook unless you are using it to have a business presence online. Do not use it for communications regarding missions or communicating with supporters.
For years I badmouthed iPhones. Now I have an iPhone. Yes, I know they are more expensive! But the value of the information that we leak to Google and other companies is much more. (You can also usually pick up an older or used iPhone fairly easily.)
Apple primarily makes its money by selling devices. They don’t make money selling your personal data. Apple has a strong data privacy policy. In fact, they refuse to unlock iPhones even for the FBI.
They are much more likely to protect your personal information from the governments of closed countries you may be working in.
Switching to an iPhone may be the only convenient way to totally disconnect from Google services.
Wipe phones and devices when you travel across international borders!
Yes, this is very inconvenient. It is worth the trouble. More and more closed countries are requiring people to unlock their phones when entering or leaving.
They may ask you to unlock it and they may even take it away for some time, possibly downloading the entire contents of your device. In this day and age, the best option is to wipe your phone.
You can re-download and sign in to your apps and services when you are safely in the next country you are traveling to. This may be the single most important thing you do. The potential for your security to be compromised by a direct search of your phone may be much higher than by any other means.
Navigating the online security risks that face today’s modern missionary is challenging.
Here’s my final bit of advice. Do everything you can to be wise and secure your online presence, but don’t give in to fear! Fear will stop you from being effective more swiftly than your online exposure ever will. Be wise, be smart, and trust that God will allow you to serve in the nation for as long as He has called you to be there.
Note: If you work in a secure access nation, be sure to use the form below and indicate that to us. We will be careful not to send you our normal course promotions and will remove anything sensitive in the titles of emails to you. If you are in a super-sensitive situation, however, it may be best to only access these blogs online and then delete your history or use a VPN.
“The police are raiding our offices,” said the Whatsapp message. “I got a phone call yesterday. We are under investigation,” another leader fearfully announced. The same day, a different leader sent me pictures. They were distributing thousands of gospel books at a religious festival in …
“Soon I will be going home. I am excited to see family, but I am dreading the support-raising part of it. I really need God’s help to get into the right mindset.” These words flowed out of my friend’s mouth a month or so ago. …
Hardship is not a popular topic. “Three Reasons You Should Embrace Suffering,” is probably not going to make a list of best-selling book titles.
Yet in our lives as believers, hardship is something we must embrace. Popular Christian preachers tell us God doesn’t want suffering in our lives. They say that we should always be healed instantly, and were created to be healthy, wealthy, and happy.
We call this teaching a prosperity doctrine. There are real dangers in this teaching as it does not line up with the whole counsel of God in Scripture. In my last blog, I wrote about the ten most important things that must develop in a cross-cultural worker’s life. Willingness to suffer made the list.
Unless we are willing to embrace a life of difficulty, we will not become effective ministers. This begins with a deep, heart-felt, surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. We also need a firmly held, foundational belief, in the goodness of God, no matter what happens.
We can not choose to accept blessing from God, but get angry when hardship comes. We must learn to trust His divine plan, and hold tightly to Him in the midst of suffering. He longs to comfort and hold us when hardship hits, yet so often we push Him away.
As we bow to His Lordship in worship, we experience supernatural peace and are filled with hope. As we surrender to a God we trust, He is released to use suffering in our lives. God prunes, refines, and makes us into fruit-bearing disciples that bring Him glory. Ultimately, it is in surrender that we find fulfillment, depth of intimacy with Him, and unexplainable joy.
As I write this, I sit in a special chair designed to take the pressure off my back. Over the past few months, I’ve suffered from an injury that caused a lot of pain. It’s been hard to function. I improve a bit, then have a setback. The pain returns. On top of that, these past few months I have had serious dental problems. I got sick with COVID 19, fell and twisted my ankle and knee as well. Let’s just say, I’ve had my share of physical challenges lately.
Those things may be nothing compared to what you are facing. You might suffer from chronic pain that has lasted for years. You may have lost a loved one this past month, or struggle to have enough food to eat. While my challenges may not be as bad as yours, they are real for me. I need God’s help and grace.
Your challenges are real for you too, be they great or small. Life can be hard, very hard, sometimes. When we face difficulty though, God wants to reveal Himself to us in new ways. He longs to hold and be there for us.
By God’s grace, I’ve learned a few things about suffering over the past thirty years in missions. Though these past few months haven’t been easy, I’m drawing on those lessons. I’m still learning, but I hope what I have to share will bring encouragement to your heart.
You, therefore, must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
2 Tim 2:3 NKJV
Many world religions have a theology that says suffering is to be avoided. Buddhists talk about the removal of desire. If you don’t want anything, you can’t suffer. Hindus blame hardship on bad karma and say that it is caused by sin in a previous life.
Our theology is different. The Word of God is clear. The cause of suffering is living in a sinful, dying world in need of a Savior and Redeemer. Though personal sin does have it’s consequences in our lives, suffering isn’t always caused by our own sin. The simple fact that we live in a broken world means we will get sick and experience hardship.
Jesus wants to walk with us through difficulties, to sustain, and empower us to live in victory. We draw close to Him, crying out for His help (sometimes on a minute by minute basis.) He doesn’t ask us to pretend things aren’t hard. He promises to help! God longs to give courage and strength to face difficulties with grace, our confidence in His goodness and love. When we live like this, it speaks louder to the world around us then any sermon we could preach.
Romans 5:3-5 teaches that difficulty and trials grow perseverance in us. This leads to character and hope. It is not easy to hold on to hope during times of intense trial. Despair and hopelessness threaten to overwhelm our troubled hearts. We have need of endurance.
As a long-distance runner, I know that to complete a marathon you must endure many painful training runs. You push through the pain so you can run a bit further the next day. It’s part of the process of increasing your strength. It’s not enjoyable at the moment, but on race day, when you cross the finish line, it’s all worth it.
Today we endure, so tomorrow we cross the finish line having lived faithful and fruitful lives for the Kingdom.
In a recent broadcast, Darlene Cunningham, one of the founders of Youth With A Mission, spoke about pruning. It’s not pleasant to be pruned. In India, where we lived for so long, there were many tea estates. The tea farmers regularly prune the tea bushes. After pruning, they are quite ugly. Pruning is necessary for them to produce new leaves in the next season.
Pruning means loss of the old. We liked those old branches! They were comfortable and we were used to them. When we lose something dear, we mourn and grieve that loss. This is appropriate. At the same time, we embrace the loss and ask God to sustain us in that time of ugliness until the new life begins to grow. We can be confident, that as we abide in Him, the new will come. And with it, an increase in fruit from our lives.
Paul wrote that he wanted to know Christ and have fellowship with Him in suffering (Phil. 3:10). Jesus suffered both in His life and in His death. He was persecuted, beaten, wrongly accused and ultimately murdered. Jesus understands what we are going through. As we hold tightly to Him in hardship, we meet Him in a way we never could had we not suffered. We grow in intimacy and closeness to Him as we go through a tiny taste of what He experienced here on earth.
Let me be clear. God isn’t a cruel, vindictive God who brings pain into our lives to punish us, nor because He enjoys watching us struggle. He is a good Father who wants us to be free, happy, full of life, and for His Kingdom to come in our lives and on this planet. His future Kingdom is one where there are no more tears, pain, sickness, death, or difficulty!
But we aren’t there yet. The path forward involves hardship as we are formed into His image, as His Kingdom comes on earth through us. So we endure. We pray and cry, and draw close to the Comforter, asking that His glory be made manifest in our lives, especially in our hardest days.
How has suffering shaped your character or increased the fruitfulness of your life? We’d love to hear your stories, comments, or questions in the comments below or in our Missionary Life Facebook Group.
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My husband stopped counting. Not me. This was the seventh time we’d rebooked our flights. I felt angry and a bit depressed. Would we never get to return home? Living in exile isn’t easy. Whether physical or other, I often find myself not quite where I long to be. God is training me and I’m growing in the practice (discipline) of godly contentment in all circumstances.
God allows seasons of exile in our lives. They are not easy. Yet His grace is available for us each day as we yield in surrender. The key to living in exile well is yieldedness.
Like many missionaries across the globe, my husband and I were caught in the COVID 19 travel bans. We had gone to Brazil for meetings. After that, we were thinking to stop for a month in our home country to see family. We went to the USA from Brazil. During those few weeks, our country of residence, Thailand, closed its borders. We could not go home. Month after month passed. We booked and rebooked tickets. Each time we did, discontentment and anger grew inside.
Feelings of frustration can drown out joy.
There were countless blessings in my life. Yet my heart was discontent. How would I find the grace to adjust my heart to my circumstances? I was not where I wanted to be! Yet, I was powerless to change my situation.
I needed to yield to God’s soveriegn control in order to receive His grace. Would I be willing to do that?
I’ll be honest. The struggle was real. I didn’t want to let go. I prefer, as most of us do, to be in control of my life. I like to chose where I go, and when I go there. I can’t do that during this season.
One morning in prayer, I knew what I needed to do. I had to let go and yield to Him. I needed to stop trying to be in charge of where I live. God is the one who called me to the unreached in Asia, He is the One who will open the door for my return, in His time.
As I gave up control, praying a simple prayer, I released my time and my location, into His hands. Peace began to seep into my troubled soul. It is a good thing to yield your life to a good God.
In surrender, I found grace to live in my exile, to live fully, with joy and hope.
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Phil. 4:11-13 NIV.
Be it visa challenges, or travel restrictions due to the pandemic, as missionaries, we face difficulty in this area.
Governments don’t issue visas, though our paperwork is in order and applications filled out on time. New restrictions are placed on us, or immigration laws change suddenly. We thought we understood what we needed to do, but find we didn’t fulfill new and mysterious requirements. Sound familiar?
Physical exile is a common theme in scripture. The Jews were exiled for 400 years. That is a long time!
There are many ways we can feel spiritually exiled. We are not where we want to be in our walk with God. You may have areas of sin or weakness you have struggled with for years. You wonder when God will show up and take this thing from you. When will he finally change and transform you?
Perhaps you feel distance in your relationship with God. You go through your normal Bible reading and prayer, but there is dryness. It seems like the Father rarely speaks to you anymore. There is a deadness or sense of going through the motions. You aren’t where you want to be.
One of the most painful things in life is when a relationship is strained or broken with one we love. Be it a family member, colleague, or friend, when there is distance in a relationship, it hurts.
It could be your marriage. You’ve noticed a growing distance. Where there had been loving and intimacy, you now feel walls and even disdain. You aren’t even sure if your husband or wife loves you anymore. You know you need to work on your marriage but it feels hopeless. “Who has time for that in the midst of a busy ministry?” You wonder. “We’ll be okay,” you think. In your heart of hearts though, you ache for something better.
Relational distance hurts. Whether with children, friends, colleagues, or those you are discipling, the pain is very real.
It is not easy, but the way to find peace comes in our daily yielding of these areas to God. We intentionally let go and give it to God. We give Him our pain and choose to accept His will. A friend of mine calls it “radical acceptance.”
It’s a practice not a one time event.
Would you pray with me today?
Jesus, I don’t like being in exile. This is not where I want to be. Today I choose to let go. Be in charge of this aspect of my life. I give you control of my location, my spiritual transformation, my relationship with you, and my relationships with others. I acknowledge Your goodness and love for me. I’m going to let You be in charge. I yield myself to You today. Please give me the grace I need for this moment. Thank you, Lord. Amen.
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