Personal plans for being a missionary

[CatholicSage]

Hello everyone! After a fun and rewarding mission trip that I took to Poland last summer that made me fall in love with this sort of thing, I just figured I'd post some personal plans I have for missions in the future. The most immediate one is another trip to Poland next summer, but my really ambitious plan includes deciding whether or not to become a dedicated missionary in Japan. I had started to study the Japanese language back in 1999 with hopes of being able to have a serious advantage in the business community, but recently I've become aware of the increased need for missionary activity in that fine country. This is a tough and potentially life-changing decision between more money and more God, and I'm sure I'll be wrestling with it in the future. I don't have any immediate concern for it since I'm only 17, but I guess I figured I'd just share my feelings and populate this forum :smile:

[Rayado]

:pray:

[Da Lone-Warrior]

Japan is a hard country to be a Christian missionary in.

I recommend the tent-maker approach.

blessings,
dlw

[$cirisme]

Awesome. :thumb:

Praying that God gives you the wisdom to decide what is best. :pray:

[CatholicSage]

Thanks everyone! And dlw, what is the tent-maker approach?

[Da Lone-Warrior]

Thanks everyone! And dlw, what is the tent-maker approach?

Paul supported himself as a missionary by making tents. The tent-maker approach is where one finds employment in the country as a means of partially supporting oneself and one's ministry and use the contacts that your job provides to help you in your real reason to be in Japan. This saves the amount of time you have to spend raising money in the US and, as mentioned before, it also provides a foot-hold for you to make relationships with others.

but be sure to spend all your free time posting at TWeb if you do get a job in another country....
dlw

[CatholicSage]

Thanks for the advice. I could sell TWeb trinkets to the Japanese masses :smile: Still, this decision is really years off, so I won't be leaving TWeb anytime soon.

[Da Lone-Warrior]

Thanks for the advice. I could sell TWeb trinkets to the Japanese masses :smile: Still, this decision is really years off, so I won't be leaving TWeb anytime soon.

Sure, but you'll be wanting to plan your college schedule and internship activities based on such a goal...

dlw