It's hard to let them goWhy being a missionary parent is so difficult “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters With more and more young people discerning and obeying God’s call for them to enter global ministry through BIC programs like The Call and short-term cross-cultural experiences like STEP, I am thinking of parents who find it hard to say goodbye to a son or daughter going to the foreign mission field. Though the pain of separation and the fear of the unknown are often overwhelming, parents can take comfort in the knowledge that this problem is not new: even the father of BIC pioneer missionary H. Frances Davidson grappled with the same acute anguish as he let his own daughter enter the African bush. Henry Davidson, who served as the first editor of the Evangelical Visitor, was also the head of the BIC mission board when the decision was made to undertake overseas work in the late 1800s. And, ironically, it was he whomade an appeal for recruits for the new mission field in Africa. But when he received an application from his own daughter, Frances—who had previously settled into a comfortable teaching position in Kansas—he was grief-stricken, filled with conflicted feelings of delight and dread. “How can I say ‘yes,’” he wrote, “and how dare I say ‘no’?” Despite his own feelings, however, Henry relented, and in 1897 Frances participated in the first BIC missionary efforts in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Although my own experience was somewhat different from Frances Davidson’s, both my family and I, like her father, found that overseas missions work required great (and sometimes painful) sacrifices. My mother, called to missions at a time when she had a growing family and lacked education for such an adventure, began to pray that her call would be realized in one of her children. She had to wait until number nine came along to fulfill her expectation. When I decided to pursue overseas missions work, my father did not sense the same urgency to reach the lost but relinquished me for the Lord’s purposes. Despite his willingness to let me go, we both still experienced profound heartache during our separation. While my husband and I were buying mission vehicles in South Africa, my father lay dying at the age of ninety-seven. I think my father always expected me to care for him and my mother in their later years (especially after having five sons in a row!). But I thank God for siblings who stepped up to the plate and did what I wish I could have done. What a comfort to later learn that, despite his desire to have me nearby, my father remarked from his deathbed that he knew I was where the Lord wanted me. Still, our time in Africa was not easy. Already middle-aged when I was born, my parents both died while I was overseas. My parents never truly knew my work in Africa, as missionaries did not return home for deaths in those years because of the prohibitive costs. What a blessing that, today, parents are often able to visit the mission field and become part of what the Lord is doing through their children! During our time in Africa, we noted that young couples sometimes did not finish out a term or did not return for a second term, often because they could not bear the distance from families. Without a doubt, it is painful for both children and parents to experience this separation. But as my father-in-law, who had four children on the mission field, used to say, with great emotion in his voice, “There is no greater joy than seeing my children walk in light.” My advice to parents of young children is this: As you dedicate your little ones to the Lord, start gaining a mindset that they are the Lord’s. Start releasing your hold on them, counting it a privilege that God has entrusted them to your care during their years of formation. Encourage them in things of eternal value. Then, when they hear that voice calling them to go, it won’t be as hard to say goodbye. Give of thy sons to bear the message glorious;
|
 |
 |
 |
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Sitemap | Home | Make a Donation
