Dealing With Family

At some point, many people who want to go overseas on mission trips, (even in the short term), are going to face some opposition from family members. This is likely to happen sooner with those who have non-Christian families, but it can happen with any family.

I’ve already dealt with this in a small manner, as my mother is very concerned for my safety in Uganda. She has told me that I’m going to die (in five different ways).

So, what can you do about this?

1. Listen to their concerns
These people are your family – they are expressing their concerns because they care about you. My mother is really concerned about my health overseas, and while she is taking this concern to an unrealistic level, the fact is she is concerned. Listen and find out exactly what their concerns are.

2. Take precautions
Allay their fears by taking precautions. For me, this means I have contacted extra people in Uganda (friends of friends of my Mum who work with Oxfam), had more than $700 in vaccinations (with more to come) and will be taking plenty of ventolin, anti-histimines, and anti-gastro medications (3 of the 5 ways I’m going to die are asthma, allergies, and gastro).

3. Don’t turn back
Different people will have different concerns, and even the same people will have different concerns for different length of trips. Again, with regard to my family, they are worried that I will get sick for this trip – but they are also concerned that I’m wanting to go back and then won’t have a job that will provide me with all of the necessities of life. This concern cannot be allayed, especially not this trip. In many countries where you are likely to go and do mission work you are not likely to have the same standard of living as you would have in Australia or other Western countries. But I cannot allow their concerns, whether real or not, to keep me from doing what I believe God wants me to do. Some of the most successful missionaries had less-than enthusiastic parents, girl-friends/boy-friends, etc. They pressed on, in spite of the difficulty that they faced, to bring a knowledge God to those who otherwise would be without a witness.