Maintaining Spiritual Life

From KB, 2004

  • From Carol H. video

You need to be in close relationship with Jesus to have strength to continue on.

  • From interview with Mrs. B

Spiritual life is not easy to maintain

Make sure to be strong in personal devotion time, get in scriptures.

Draw strength from the Lord.

Family devotions can be an important way to keep everyone spiritually healthy.

You may not always be fed by the culture’s worship where you are.  It can be hard to understand, and you may not want to go to church.

  • From Culture Shock

Self-love and self esteem is important to function normally and maintain a healthy image of who God created you to be.

Be committed to joy and being joyful.

Forgive yourself and forgive others,

Be thankful and be an encourager,

Establish some close friendships with people of that culture,

Take comfort in that you are not alone, Christ understands and knows you.

  • From Stepping out

Invest time in building relationships with other missionaries and pray together and for each other.

Be careful not to fall into a trap of guilt in dealing with bible study time

Discipline yourself.

Keep a journal.

From Interview with WF and FF:
Be careful of your priorities.  Work can easily become number one, to feel like you haven’t done enough or done what you should have done.  Put God first.

From 2nd video of the Takagoulo tribe:
Spiritual life will go through hills and valleys.  In struggles you may want to draw away, but keep on seeking God.  They missed the opportunity to worship with other Christians in English, but that was more at first.  As time passed they learned to get more out of worship with the people they were with because they were growing with them.

When surrounded by another language and culture, you have to go to God more because there aren’t other Christians to just be there to help.  You don’t have the advantages of a church and programs to make sure you are spiritual healthy, the responsibility lies on you.  They as a family emphasized spending time together and having devotions.  That is more easily pushed aside in the states because life is so busy.

Ideas from KA, 2003

Interview with JF:

  • Worship with other English missionaries on a regular basis.
  • Attend church at native church. You may not understand the words, yet you are united at least in the Lord’s Supper.
  • Before going overseas, develop a daily personal devotion time.

From Stepping Out:

  • How to keep in the Word while doing the work – (Ch. 25)
    • Build convictions by seeking God
      • Be sure that you really desire a strong life in God’s Word. How do you strengthen your convictions?
        • Remind yourself of how inadequate you are to serve God on your own
        • Set your heart to seek God
        • Ask God to bring you to this place of conviction in His own way.
    • Discipline yourself by anticipating distractions
      • Discipline only really starts when you get free from other good activities worthy of your time
      • Determine that no “ifs” will keep you from the Word: “if the weather is right; if I don’t feel too tired; if I get my letters written etc…”
    • Keep flexible by making plans
      • Make a plan for study
      • Try not to waste emotional energy worrying or feeling frustrated when you can’t execute your plans
    • Keep focused by varying your method
      • Try different approaches to keep your interest
  • “The key to any ongoing effort to study Scripture is to do what you hear (James 1:22). Your short term overseas could be the best chance you’ll ever have to grow in your Bible study life. That’s because you are already in daily, intensive action for God. With so many opportunities to obey God directly, you’re bound to understand His word more and more. Don’t miss out on such an opportunity to know God. Keep in the Word” (135)
  • “Expose yourself to regular spiritual nurture and direction from Christians in the culture” (Stepping 114)
  • “Don’t allow the pressure of activities or the demands of duties on your short term crowd out time for personal communion with God…prayer is essential to do the work of God. In fact, prayer allows God to do His work through us” (Stepping 129)
  • Practical ways to take time for prayer (Stepping 130-132)
    • Make it a priority
      • Schedule an appointment for prayer each day
      • Pray short, impromptu prayers throughout the day
      • Occasionally plan for extended time in prayer
    • Have a place for prayer
    • Recognize the power of prayer
      • Pray with an open bible – listen to God
      • Pray with a team
      • Be specific in you prayer – that way you can see the answers and be glad
      • Be thankful!

From Culture Shock:

  • “The difference in language puts a severe strain on the mental capacities…When the new missionary first goes to church on Sunday, he finds the service picturesque and fascinating, but after several weeks, he finds that trying to gain spiritual nourishment from the sermon is extremely difficult…finally, after six months of strained mental concentration, he may get the gist of the message and be able to find Bible references easily, but worship is still a tiring and demanding experience” (52)
  • Maintaining spiritual discipline and prayer, as well as reading devotion books, will help to cope with discouragement
  • “In work there is little time for worship, especially if one is working only to gain approval from his fellow man. When work interferes with a man’s relationship to God, then it must be interrupted. Work must not be allowed to become a substitute for spontaneous worship” (68).
  • “If done with right motives and attitudes, obtaining spiritual nourishment is a marvelous past-time. If done due to guilt or only from necessity, devotions are as exciting as rutabaga stew. We are supposed to be in love with Jesus: If we really know the goodness of the ‘man’ to whom we are betrothed, we will not find interaction with Him a grudging and difficult undertaking” (91).
  • It’s really a fight to maintain spiritual life against time and the climate and the spiritual atmosphere ( BO)
  • You have to be intentional about keeping up worship in the local language, as well as keeping up with your own personal devotions (interview with Dr. C)
  • Maintaining spiritual life can be both easier and harder. It’s easier because you have more time. You also feel lonelier, so you sense a greater need for God. Yet, it is harder when you are unable to attend English services and you don’t understand the local language. Meeting with other missionaries for devotions is a great help, as well as forming a small group for women (interview with SL)
  • It is very important to be in an area where there is a Christian presence of some sort. Attend a Christian church. Have personal devotion time. Get together with other missionaries. Have spiritual retreats. Look into getting tapes from the United States of English services. Listen to the radio. (interview with D's)

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