How to Train for Long-Term Missions

How do you prepare to move long-term to India?  Well, it's Sunday afternoon, it is pouring rain, and I find myself sitting in the only hip coffee shop in downtown Gainesville Georgia with two empty cappuccino mugs sitting on the table in front of me.  I have been here all morning sending emails, typing specific combinations of words into my google search bar, calling various people, and now writing this blog.  Does that answer your question?  Yes.  Surprisingly, it does.

And just how does that answer your question?  Well, it tells you that I didn't attend church this morning.  Not because "not attending church" is part of my training to prepare for a place where there is no church to attend, but because I already attended church every day this week.  I worked there 9 to 5 each day, I slept there every night, worshipped with them Monday morning, and played ultimate frisbee with them on Wednesday.  Possibly the biggest part of my training is to take part in the community, or church, here at AIM headquarters.  It is important to understand the sending agencies' vision, expectations, and culture and to build relationships within the organization before I run off to India.  The way that AIM represents the diverse body of Christ as the church is exactly what I want to replicate in Hyderabad with my own team.

It also tells you that I don't have time during the work week to write a blog or research the "top ten reasons missionaries leave the field" or call my friend at EastWest Ministries to ask what kind of language training her team leader is putting her through before she leaves.  That is because my time during the work week is taken up by classes on cultural lenses and conflict resolution, discipleship meetings, and following around the CEO of AIM to get an understanding of how he runs things.  Life stays very busy here in Georgia. 

This little snippet of my life this Sunday afternoon also communicates one of my top priorities: research.  I am continually interviewing and reading about how to train a team, how to lead, how to be a missionary, what my Indian contacts' expectations are, how to be useful overseas, how to plant a church and feed hungry children and not file for bankruptcy in the process, and a myriad of other things.  There are a lot of things to think about when you are starting up a new ministry. 

So how do you prepare for long term missions?  Well let me just say it takes lots of cappuccinos. 

Church? 

PS. Thank you so much everyone who has begun to support me monthly!  I now have about $180 per month coming in, so I am beginning to build up to my goal of $1000 monthly.  I am going to automatically add my supporters to a prayer-request email but if anyone else would also like to partner though prayer just send me a message. Dios le bendiga!