Dealing with Uncertainity on the Mission Field (aka 5 Principles of Missionary Living -Part 3)

 I have previously shared some thoughts on missionary living in prior posts.  This is the third part in that series.  The series has been awhile in development and delayed with other events.  I encourage you to check out the other posts.  Here they are:

Part 1 - Calling

Part 2 - Convenience

A major adjustment in dealing with life on the mission field (and living in third world countries in general)  is dealing with the lack of certainty.  We, as North Americans, love certainty.  We embrace and celebrate it.  We really do.  We recognize it and reward it.  We want things and people to be on time.  Our culture awards consistency.

We like knowing that the car will start in the morning, that the store will be open when you go there, that the store will have what they said they would have, that they will deliver things when they say they will, and that the bank machine will give money out when we use our debit card.  But, reality in the third world is that certainty is a scarce commodity.  Things that are normal and things that we are accustomed to as being reliable, consistent and certain in the context of a North American culture, just are not in many other parts of the world.  We come to take for granted that type of dependability and it becomes glaringly obvious when it is lacking. 

Or, think of it from a different angle.  Like, I am certain I will need patience, that things will not go exactly as I plan, that I will be delayed, that other people will mess up my plans, and that circumstances will make things difficult.  Most everything here has a lack of certainty that provides for a greater dependence on God, and not our own abilities or ingenuity.  On the mission field, there is a degree and element of uncertainty virtually every day and in most events.  Things like having consistent water and electricity, getting the mail, the gas station having gas, the phones working, cell phones working - the list goes on and on.

And there is an effect that comes into play when these simple tasks become complex, uncertain, and unreliable.  It is the principle of compounding inefficiencies.  The effort of dealing with all the uncertainty can become overwhelming. 

It can seem that all of life is consumed in dealing with and resolving in innovative ways all of these situations that do not even exist in the context of the North American culture.  Many simple things need contingency plans built into the thinking and planning. 

And this is where we can see God revealed in our living.  Do we have the strength of character to deal with these issues?  Are we focused on how things delay and inconvenience us, or are we focused on what God is doing in each and every situation?  On what do we set our eyes?  Or maybe it is better to ask, on whom?  The lack of certainty is an obvious reality of life on the mission field and may be one of the most difficult adjustments to make. 

Comments

[Isaac Downing]

Thanks so much for sharing your insights about life on the mission field.

There's so much truth about Western civilization, and how much we take it all for granted.

It's hard for me to imagine life on the mission field (outside of the romanticized thought of living on a beautiful river in the exotic jungles of Brazil). But you're successfully stretching my mind... and I'm certain, many others as well.

Thanks again. I'm praying for you guys.

[Isaac Downing]

I just blogged about your blog.