The Mission Phoenix

Everyone loves a good missionary story. Heck, I love a good missionary story, and I've lived dozens of them! The story we love to hear is the one where the precious Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ is shared with someone who - in all likelihood - would never have heard that old, old story if the missionary had never come. If we, as the Church, had not sent that person. If we had not supported him or her. We love the missionary story, because we - all of us - have a part in it.

There's another story that every missionary has. I know it, because I have it, too. Call it, the untold story. This is the one about the person who - in all likelihood - was lost to the kingdom because the missionary came. The one we offended, usually unintentionally. The situation we did not handle in a culturally-appropriate way. The time when we did not understand the seriousness of the situation. The uncrossable boundary that was crossed in ignorance.

We come to a people as outsiders. We need to learn their language, like a child. We don't always understand the reasons why people do what they do, or say what they say. We try, but we sometimes make mistakes. Sometimes our language or cultural ignorance creates a barrier to the Gospel. And sometimes, that barrier keeps people out of the kingdom.

Those stories aren't as fun to tell. And they aren't as fun to hear. They don't seem to be the kind of thing that encourages supporters. So they often go untold, and we missionaries carry the burden of the untold story - for the rest of our lives. "God help us," we sigh. "Lord, forgive me. I didn't know."

For every good missionary story, there's an untold story. I know. I have dozens of them - and I live with them, every day. "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner."