Real Missionaries: Inspiring Gritty Cameos in 15 Nations

By Julia Love

Julia shares a number of wonderful, awe-inspiring missionary biographies of her contemporaries working in different countries across the globe. The book is also full of many useful cross-cultural principles, God’s miraculous hand moving in the midst of very difficult conditions, and lots of humor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Apr 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798369490532

Julia Love

Come and see how God enables these desperate but valiant teenagers to overcome the massive challenges they are facing in life.

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Copyright © 2023 by Julia Love.

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Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

Rev. date: 03/28/2023

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The Great Commission

Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in

the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and

teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And

surely, I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.

— Matthew 28:19

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1   Indonesia — Patience, Please!

Chapter 2   Mozambique — A Meal for the Mozzies

Chapter 3   Bolivia — Ven Espiritu Santo (Come, Holy Spirit)

Chapter 4   China Christian in a Communist World

Chapter 5   Spain — Stops, Starts, and Siestas

Chapter 6   Malaysia — An Asian Awakening

Chapter 7   India — Millions to Meet Their Maker

Chapter 8   Guinea — Working in the Window

Chapter 9   Vietnam — A Helping Hand of Love

Chapter 10  Chile — Latins Learning Biblical Truths

Chapter 11  Central Asia — Fresh Intestines, Anyone?

Chapter 12  Former Yugoslavia — Countries in Crisis

Chapter 13  Thailand — Short-Termers Who Decide to Stay On

Chapter 14  Croatia — Delivered from Dependence

Chapter 15  Philippines — Earthquakes and Typhoons

Chapter 16  Getting Started — Going on a Short-Term Missions Trip?

Suggestions on the Use of This Book

INTRODUCTION

O nce, on returning from missionary service and some hard times, I had a real desire to read some good, faith-filled modern missionary biographies. So with my Christmas money in hand, I was off to visit a couple of large Christian bookstores to make the big selection. To my shock, there was not really a big selection to make. Modern missionary biographies of the last years are as relatively rare. Yes, there is Jackie Pullinger and the Buntains plus, of course, all the revamp of old classics like William Carey and Hudson Taylor in their glossy new editions ut where are all the other missionary stories of the last century that tell us about real missionary life, warts and all?

Through the disappointment in finding only a few contemporary biographies, God began to sow seeds in my heart to write this book. From the start, I knew it was not to be just about me. I’d also heard so many great experiences from fellow missionaries across many lands that just had to be included. So the book Real Missionaries was born. Its focus is on the real human side of missionary life – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Perhaps we’re not of the stature of William Carey or Hudson Taylor, but we are the vessels that God is using to impact a whole gamut of countries, in big and small ways nd isn’t that what it’s all about? He still uses the weak and foolish things to display is glory and carry the salvation message to the utmost parts of the earth.

I have used the title Real Missionaries to first show how God uses ordinary Christians in world mission. We are real people who openly share some of our struggles, disappointments, delays, and triumphs. May you laugh, cry, and rejoice with us, at the same time receiving important insights into cross-cultural ministry. May you also marvel as we do, a what the Lord can do, in the midst of some pretty difficult situations.

The book is also titled Real Missionaries because quite a few people today still have an unreal perception of what missionaries are really like. This is not to say that there are not large numbers of Christians who do understand where missionaries are at and where they have come from. However, the types of comments I have faced from some people in my -plus-year career as a missionary range from You only became a missionary because you were over thirty and not married! to White missionaries are outdated and not needed in the world today.

Another reason for writing this book is to remind people why we still need missionaries today. The reality is that we live in a world with billion people, with over distinct people groups who are still classed as totally unreached by the gospel. Perhaps also, we need to mention the millions of national churches in hundreds of countries that desperately lack resources and sound teaching, while in the West, we are too busy relaxing in our comfy seats, remote control constantly in hand.

As I said, many people have wrong perceptions about missionaries. Some Christians automatically place missionaries on high pedestals, looking up to them as super-spiritual giants. Have another laugh. Once I was told, I’m so looking forward to having lunch with

you - for me, it’s like going out with the apostle Paul. I’m sure that lunch was a slight letdown! On another occasion, when I failed to turn up for an appointment, the father tried to reassure his daughter by saying, Julia would not forget you. After all, she’s a missionary. And if she didn’t answer the phone, no doubt she’s so sick and weak in bed that she didn’t hear it. I very rarely forget appointments, but that day, I simply did and was not ailing in bed either!

The book, although focusing on the human side of missionary life, contains tremendous keys for the missionary or cross-cultural worker. It’s great to be able to learn from others’ mistakes and insights so we don’t have to fall in the same holes. Even if you are not planning on going to the mission field personally, after reading Real Missionaries, you will have a better understanding of missionaries and be better equipped to support them.

If you desire to use the stories in conjunction with mission teaching or studies, there are a few reflective questions on each chapter at the end for this purpose. Each chapter has been designed to give a keyhole glimpse into the life and culture of a different country as well as highlight its main spiritual needs.

I have purposely tried to avoid using too many complicated foreign names of people or places that would distract from my central purpose. Because some missionaries worked in ‘sensitive’ countries, where there can easily be visa restrictions or ‘retaliations’ I have sometimes left out information on the number of new converts or baptisms that were a direct result of the missionary’s work. Apart from myself, all the real names of missionaries in the stories have been changed for greater protection. In any case, all the glory goes to the Lord!

Overall, my prayer is that you end up being inspired, fired up and receive a realistic picture of missionary life. My thanks must go first to the Lord, without whom none of these stories would have occurred. I also would like to thank all the missionaries who so transparently shared their experiences and struggles. A word of gratitude must also go to Patrick Johnson and his book Operation World, from where most of the statistics came.

So now come with me and enjoy an exhilarating but sometimes bumpy ride to different nations with real missionaries. Let’s go!

Julia Love

CHAPTER 1

Indonesia — Patience, Please!

W ow a country of 13,500 islands! So you’d like to work in Indonesia? No, not in a luxury air-conditioned hotel in Bali but living for and serving the Lord, perhaps in one of those hot, muggy, poorly sanitized cities where traffic is a nightmare.

Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous nation, with nearly 277 million inhabitants. This 87 Muslim nation often is an economic and racial tinderbox of strife ut we need to remember that God still calls his servants to minister in turbulent nations and times.

Although there are government-imposed restrictions on open evangelism, the Christian churches have been growing exponentially over the last fifty years. However, there is obviously still a lot to do and many workers to mobilize to reach nearly 277 million Indonesians with the gospel. Ian and Christine Jensen are a couple who took up this challenge.

Ian and Christine met while they were still at university and shortly afterward, were married. Early on, they had talked about missionary service, even to the point of approaching one organization who didn’t seem very interested in them. At this point, they shelved the idea of missions and got on with their married lives. The Lord spoke directly to Christine one day, saying, Have a child, my child, so they commenced their family.

Ian worked at a Dulux paint laboratory to support his wife and three children. All was going well when Christine received a distinctive and very memorable dream that they felt was from the Lord. In the dream, she saw herself working in a foreign country with lots of brown faces. The country appeared to have a tropical climate.

On waking, the faces were still so clear in her mind. She began to analyze their characteristics to determine the place of origin. She remembers saying to herself, Well, they’re not white faces hey don’t have slanted eyes like in China or fuzzy hair like New Guinea or black skin like in Africa. She finally narrowed it down to what she called an ‘Asian-looking face’ Because the only mission work her church was involved with in Asia was in Indonesia, this country sprang to her mind.

After this, whenever missionary speakers came to their church, particularly those from Asia, Christine felt her emotions were touched deeply. Finally, she began to say, I really feel as though I should be in Indonesia. Because Ian, at this stage, did not feel the same call, Christine reasoned that if she couldn’t go, at least she could support an Indonesian Bible college student.

This was the first concrete step of faith they took. They began to pray together for the work and missionaries in Indonesia. All the while, Christine’s yearning to actually be there increased. Nevertheless, one day she reached the point where she had to just hand this burden over to the Lord and entrust im with it.

When the missionaries they knew in Indonesia came home on furlough, they were looking for someone willing to go to Indonesia to teach their children correspondence lessons for six months. Although the Jensens realized that they meant single-type people and not those married with three children they felt right about applying. When they took this step of obedience, Ian also began to feel the call to go to Indonesia.

One day a missionary friend came to visit their house. They had all been sharing together, and as he was leaving, he suggested that they pray. As they prayed together, he began to prophesy over Ian an encouraging type of word ut as he finished, his closing words seemed strange – You’re like Jacob ou’ll serve seven years for Leah and seven years for Rachel. That was it! He didn’t explain what Leah and