I’ve known David Armstrong for five years now. We’ve shared office space for more than three years.

David served with OC International for 20 years, most of that time overseas in Latin America. After three or so years back in OC’s home office he co-founded Mission Data International (proprietor of this publication) with his son and eventually moved to Arkansas to work in the M-DAT office full-time. In this interview I tried to draw on his lifetime of knowledge on mission involvement.

Propel: What events or interests led up to your decision to pursue missions?

David: Mary and I have always been interested in missions, and supported missionaries since we were age 12, but I never thought about being a missionary. It wasn’t until after two years of college, four years of electronics in the Air Force, and I was in Seattle working that I wrestled with what I what going to do with my life. I’m not the kind of person who can work eight to five and then sit and watch TV or spend my weekends fishing. I needed something worth putting my life into. After a couple years of thinking during which we had our first child and bought our first house, I thought “anything I do in electronics or home remodeling (both interests for me) is going to be gone in 50 to 100 years. The only things that are going to stay around forever are people and God and His Word. If I want to be involved in something that is going to last, that where it needs to be.

That was in essence a decision to be involved full time in ministry. The decision to be involved in missions was almost simultaneous as we asked “where is the greatest need?” Having grown up in a good Bible teaching church, that answer was obvious – overseas. And since we had always been interested in missions, it was a fit. With that we sold our home after only a year and headed to Multnomah Bible College in Portland.

Propel: What did you and your wife do to prepare for long-term, cross-cultural mission service?

David: Looking back, the best preparation for missions was being involved in a good church as we grew up. We learned the Word, we worked with people, we taught kids and worked with youth, we experienced church life and we learned to walk with God.

Bible School was a good review of what I believed and rounded me out well. Seminary exposed me to the breadth of “Christian” thought, and prepared me for the many heresies that abound.

The life experience of having and raising three kids while working my way though Bible School and Seminary while also being involved in a church kept my feet on the ground, rooted in reality.

David is on the left — the one without the nametag.

Propel: How important are college level Bible classes to a cross-cultural missionary? Can certain kinds of mission-workers get away with little or no formal training?

David: The type of missionary activity largely determines the amount of formal Bible training one needs. If you are going to do evangelism and church planting, you need to be a life long learner of the Word. Bible School and/or Seminary will give you an overview and organize your thinking. But they are only a beginning. If you are flying a plane or doing relief work, a consistent growing walk with the Lord is essential, so that you are ready to respond to questions and situations. You will still be walking by faith – so your relationship with God has to be growing.

Propel: What would you have done differently in hindsight?

David: Spend more time hanging out and talking about life as I grew up. I am more task oriented – but ministry is about people.

Propel: How did you decide on a sending organization to serve with?

David: We heard dozens of missionaries speak in our church as we grew up so we had a couple organizations in mind due to the kinds of ministries and types of people they were. In Bible School and Seminary we met many more at the annual missions conferences.

We came up with a short list of three or four that we kept tabs with and checked out. We had decided on one before we finished school.

Propel: What obstacles did you have to overcome as you planned and prepared to go overseas?

David: Getting through school with a family. God was very faithful in providing as needed. We learned live with a lot of stress.

Propel: What were the biggest struggles for you and your family in the first year of living overseas? What were the greatest joys of the first year?

David: The first year was great! It was language school and we had no other responsibilities. We got up at the same time, had three meals a day together and watched Dukes of Hazard in Spanish in the evening. We memorized verses in English and Spanish and enjoyed life. And we all learned Spanish. It was a wonderful relaxing year after all the stress of school!

We were over 30 with kids aged 8 to 13 by the time we moved to Latin America.

Propel: How has preparing to be a missionary changed in the last twenty years? What’s more difficult than it used to be? What’s easier?

David: If you are going to do church planting, Bible translation or evangelism, it hasn’t. If you are going to a part of the world where you can’t get a missionary visa, you have to think creative! You still need a solid Bible base and a growing relationship with the Lord, without an “I’m a missionary stamp” on your transcripts. You will need a legitimate reason for living in the country to which you are going, i.e. a reason understandable to the common person there. A reason which you intend to live out.

Propel: What can people do to prepare for career missions even if they are four or five years from actually being in ministry?

David: Talk and talk and talk. And read and read and read. The more stories of Godly lives you hear and see the better prepared you will be for life in whatever setting you end up. My varied experiences in jobs and education, and my varied interests have all helped me connect with people everywhere I go.

Get to know God! That is what it is all about. It is his show that you are getting involved in. The better you know him and the more clearly you hear his “voice and leading”, the better.

And learn to appreciate people and the differing ways they see life. Learn about different styles of personalities, hear their values and view of life. You will have to live and work with every kind in the ministry. Learn to communicate; to hear others, to resolve conflicts, to encourage others, to live with differences, yet live with boundaries. Most everyone loves the culture and nationals they go to. It is their fellow missionaries they will have trouble getting along with.

by Paul Nielsen

Jeran Anderson grew up in Missouri; her sister keeps a goat, whis is apparently something people in Missouri do according to her Facebook.com album about the goat.

Jeran is my Facebook friend: I “randomly Facebooked” her after seeing her at an art gallery opening and later realizing she was in a design class taught by a friend on mine. Jeran participated in a mission trip to India in 2006. The country and its people captured her heart, and she is biding her time until God lets her return. This interview was conducted over Facebook.

Propel: Were you interested in missions before you went to India, and if so can you point to what got you interested in missions?

Jeran: I first had an interest for missions when missionaries came to my church when I was in the sixth grade. I thought the life of a missionary seemed so adventurous and exciting.

P: What prompted you to go to India for three weeks?

J: The thing that prompted me to go to India was really God. He used a good friend to spark my interest in the trip, and I also read an article that had a quote from a huge hero of mine, Amy Carmichael. In the article it talked about how she said the biggest problem in India is the lack of prayer. I decided to let God move and open doors if it was His will. I thought going to India for three weeks would be a good way to see if missions was for me. God opened all doors and taught me so much.

P: What was the nature of the mission trip — that is, what did you do while you were in India?

J: While I was in India I worked with Indian pastors doing village evangelism. I also worked with widows, lepars, and orphans. It was an amazing time to see such beautiful people of God that needed His love.

P: How did your time of service in India change you, if it did it?

J: I feel that India has forever changed me. I am in love with a country and the people in it.

The first day I was in India I thought it was so different and exciting but I wanted to have more passion for the people. I prayed that God would give me a heart and passion for India and it’s people. God did exactly that. Even though it was hard at times, each day I loved India more and more. During my time back from India I have learned even more about the country and miss it very much. I feel drawn to those people, and every day I feel more sure that God is calling me to spend my life in this country.

P: What is it about India that has you so intrigued, if you know?

J: I think that India is so beautiful with its bright colors, spicy food, dark people, fun music, and passion for Jesus. The gospel is spreading so quickly over there and it is great to see. There are also so many that are under the darkness of Hinduism and Islam. We as the body of Christ need to pray that they would see Jesus as the one way and truth (John 14:6).

P: You have plans to study abroad for a semester in Ireland. Did your mission trip to India prompt you to look into other cross-cultural opportunities such as this?

J: I was originally wanting to study in Uganda but God seemed to close doors towards that trip and open them to Ireland. I am really excited to live in another culture for a semester. India helped boost that cross-cultural excitement, but I have loved other cultures.

P: What do you look forward to learning from your time in Ireland?

J: I am interested in just learning more about how other people in the world live. I think that there is always a great deal to learn from those around the world. I want to have fun and adventures too. I think it will also be interesting to be able to study the church in Europe and see some of the problems they are having.

P: As a graphic design major, do you think you’ll ever use your field of study on the mission field?

J: My major has been something that I really don’t get. I do feel that it has been something that I need to trust God in. Most people would ask why I am not a cross-cultural services major. I feel that by being in graphic design I have a service to offer. I feel that God has told me to finish my education before He sends me out. I don’t know if I will ever use it, but it is something I do have. Honestly, I like [graphic design] but my passion is missions. I am waiting to see how God will use that in my life. I would love to take pictures overseas for a mission board.

For some it may be hard to say yes to God’s call to serve in missions overseas but for me I have to keep saying, “Yes, Lord, in your time. I will wait for your time.”

by Paul Nielsen

Eddie Landreth and his wife Rhonda are pointed towards the long-term mission field. They presently volunteer in many different ways at University Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas, but their hearts are aimed at cross-cultural missions

Propel: Do you remember when and how this passion, this interest for world missions began for you?

Eddie: Rhonda and I felt God’s call on our lives at First Baptist Church McAlester, Oklahoma, in June 2002. It was during a missions festival we attended just a month after my first mission trip to Malawi, Africa. I knew that this was my purpose in life. God confirmed it by calling us both at the same time.

P: In what ways were you involved in missions this past year?

E: I went to India with the Washington-Madison Baptist Association last May to help with Tsunami relief work. We went to help build a “vocational/lifestyle rehabilitation” in Vidjayawada. I have taken the IMB’s Thessalonica training course taught by the author and IMB facilitator Bruce Carlton.

P: What obstacles have you encountered as you have pursued your interest in world missions?

E: My wife and I are currently and persistently working towards becoming debt-free so that we may pursue our calling to serve God wherever he sends us.

P: What would help you overcome the obstacle, the debt?

E: An outpouring of God’s abundant grace in providing a way for this debt to go away!

P: How has God used other people or resources to help you along as you continue to pursue missions?

E: We often find ourselves discouraged because we don’t see things happening fast enough. I personally get dejected at times. However, when this happens and never without fail God puts someone in our path to bring missions to the forefront of our thinking. I can be in a poor frame of mind and will come home to find that I have received emails from many friends in four different continents, eight different countries. This is my silent confirmation from God. He has called us to this undertaking. Why should I doubt that he will not provide a way to make it happen? I must remember to remain in Him and we will receive these things in His time, not ours.

P: How would you like your missions involvement to look ten years from now?

E: I fully expect to be on the field. If not we will continue to serve locally, wherever He leads.

P: You’re a member of a Southern Baptist Church, correct? How has this influenced your missions vision for good or bad? Or has it influenced it at all? I’m interested to know your thoughts on the IMB, the way they function and the work they are currently involved in abroad, perhaps in particular where you see yourself serving with them.

E: As we are Southern Baptists, we will apply as missionaries to the IMB. If for some reason the IMB doesn’t share in our being sent, then we will simply find another sending agency. We believe God has called us and that He is currently preparing us. He will send us out. I believe that the The Cooperative Program that is currently in place is a wonderful way for all churches in the Southern Baptist Convention to participate in God’s plan for missions. I also can appreciate how IMB missionaries are allowed to spend all their time serving in the field. Most other sending agencies require that their personel spend up to half of their time raising their own support. I think that would be most distracting and disheartening as I can see that this might require a lot of time and energy that could be spent on assignment. It is our prayer that God would use us wherever and however He sees fit.

Eddie on a mission trip, in the back with the straw hat

by Paul Nielsen

This is an older interview with a couple who was involved in international student ministry while attending college.

Propel: Long-term missions is a real possibility for you in the future.

Sarah: Missions is definitely a possibility for us in the future. As of yet, we have no concrete plans and our speculations of where God will lead us range from China to Africa to Germany. Only He knows and it’s in His hands.

P: Do you remember when and how your interest in world missions began?

Tom: When I came to college it was clear to me that I wanted to reach out to students. So I joined a student ministry group which was doing missions on campus. Soon I realized that there were a lot of international students on campus and together with some friends we started an international bible study group and invited international students over to our places.

Sarah: The interest in missions for me began at an early age. My mother used to read to my brothers and me, stories, biographies, and accounts of missionaries all over the world. I’ve had an inkling since then that I would someday be involved in God’s work. But missions became a calling at college. At a university in the US, I got involved with an international Christian fellowship. The group’s vision was to witness to international students on campus, to make disciples, and ultimately to see those students return to their native countries as missionaries.

P: What role does “welcoming” — or international student ministry — have in the scheme of world missions?

Tom: International student ministry is a great chance to reach out to many people from all over the world in your home country. At colleges and universities there are students from almost every nation of this world, even from the most closed ones to Christianity. Being away from home and their own culture can open students for new experiences. Often they are eager to get to know the new culture, and Christianity being a part of it.

Furthermore, international students are often the elite of their countries and will often have important positions where they can influence many other people. I think international student ministry is a very important part of fulfilling the great commission.

P: What are some effective strategies, in your experience, for reaching out to international students?

Sarah: I think one of the most effective strategies for reaching out to international students is being there for them at the very beginning, picking them up at the airport, to the very end. We found that just being there, helping them settle in to a completely new country and environment helps build long-lasting friendships.

Tom: Offering help with administrative errands or other hurdles or inviting students into your home can become a good starting point for initiating the first contact and building friendships.

Sarah: I guess I’m not so much the direct evangelist type of person but rather the one-to-one, or what I like to call the friendship evangelist. I think that the best witness to internationals and to people in general lies in our conduct towards our family in Christ (as in John 13:34), and towards others. When we show international students that we genuinely want to love them, their natural tendency will be curiosity, “Why are they so nice? What’s different about them?”

Keeping an open home or dorm room with some food, movies, games, and open hearts will ensure a constant flow of visitors too! This is especially true during thanksgiving, or Christmas when the dorms are deserted and internationals look for some company. If you’re going home to your family, take an international friend with you!

I have found that food is not only the door to a man’s heart but to everybody’s. Internationals love to taste the cuisine of their host countries.

Tom: Also organizing parties, trips, retreats, or various other activities are a possibility for reaching out. Bringing together international students with a group of Christian students will automatically create possibilities for witnessing. While I was studying in the US, I joined three retreats together with other international students. In the course of these, friendships deepened and many possibilities for sharing arose.

P: What obstacles have you encountered as you have pursued your interest in world missions?

Sarah: For me, world missions or even evangelism itself begins to blur from my vision when I start to concentrate on myself. In other words, I lose interest in missions when my needs, dreams, or desires become greater than the need to see others coming to know their Savior. Other worldly things, such as my career, start to cloud my vision of Him and I lose perspective of His great commission!

Moreover, I also struggle with the lies of the deceiver that tell me I’m not good enough and that I could never be a part of God’s great calling — that I’m spiritually inferior to others and I should leave the work to those more experienced than myself.

P: How would you like your missions involvement to look ten years from now?

Sarah: We can only speculate but it looks like we might be heading towards careers in academia. One thing we have in common is a passion for students and academics. Our guess is that we will remain in the university ministry scene working with students, especially internationals. That could happen here in Europe or elsewhere in the world. One advantage being in this field is the myriad of world mission possibilities, even in countries with closed door policies towards Christianity.

P: From your experience, what word of advice or encouragement would you offer to others on the journey of deepening involvement in world missions?

Tom: Stay actively involved in your church. Seek contact with international students or foreigners at your place. And attend mission conferences.

Sarah: Stick with people with the same passion! Get to know missionaries; they have lots of wisdom to share. If you have a chance, go on a short-term mission trip. They give you an idea of what it involves and it will also give you lots of ideas how to pray and support your missionaries. Keep your doors open to opportunities as well as to people and be sensitive to God’s promptings. I am always so encouraged to hear people talk about their desire to serve God in missions. There are so few. If you know that this is something you would like to do, go all out!

Names were changed per the interviewee’s request.

by Paul Nielsen

Casey and Traci Letellier are on a mission to serve with Innovista. For the past four years, Casey — a Minnesota native — has been the graphic designer for a mission organization based in Denver. Traci — born and raised in Arkansas — is a writer and folk musician.

Propel: You are in the midst of fundraising for a term in the United Kingdom. Did you receive any type of training before beginning the funding process?

Letelliers: Yes. It was fairly informal training. Jason Lane, the director of Innovista International, spent a day with us to help strategize a fundraising plan and an initial time table. We’ve also received lots of good advice from our missionary friends and acquaintances along the way — something we really value.

P: How has the support raising process been different than your expectations?

L: We didn’t fully realize how many missionaries were already being sent from this area [northwest Arkansas]. Many of the people traditionally interested in missions work are already giving to their capacity and are unable to help anyone new. Some of our most generous support has actually come from people about our age who are just getting established in their jobs and are interested in missions. But then again, one of our most generous supporters is a World War II veteran.

P: From your experience, what word of advice or encouragement would you offer to others preparing to begin the support raising process?

L: At times we felt the expectation (and have received advice) suggesting that to be effective we needed to approach our support raising as we would a political campaign, and use carefully chosen emotive terms throughout our presentation. One time in particular, we received this kind of advice and went away really discouraged because taking an approach like that would be completely inauthentic to who we are. While the support-raising process is almost certainly going to be stretching, and some serious hard work no matter how you go about it, it seems to us that support raising shouldn’t require you to be people that you’re not. We’re still figuring out how this looks for us. One thing that we have found is that we usually connect better with individuals or small groups, rather than a crowd.

Another thing we would encourage other missionaries to do is to present your vision with excellence and sensitivity to the audience before you. There is an old stereotype that identifies missionaries as a certain hyper-spiritual sub-group of believers who tend to look a certain way and talk with their own insider jargon. This stereotype does a disservice to the Church by pigeon-holing a certain group and alienating Christians who might excel at some mission-related work but just don’t fit the look. Do your part to help do away with this dated missionary stereotype!

Obviously, any missionary raising their own funds would like it to be finished as quickly as possible. We initially hoped to leave for the field in January, so we found places for our stuff and moved out of our home in December. It is now April. We’ve been living out of a suitcase without the privacy of our own home for about four months. This has been hard at times, but we still think it was a good decision. We think it was a clear demonstration to our community of our determination to go as soon as possible. It has also been good to make a clean break from our ‘former’ life and focus on support-raising full time.

Neither of us are big risk-takers by nature, so embracing this time of transition as an adventure has been incredibly helpful. The word “adventure” does such a great job of communicating the feeling of discomfort and occasional peril, but also of joy and occasional triumph. As silly as it may sound, it has really summed up our experience so far.

Finally, as you embark on this adventure, make your plans and set your time-frame — but beyond this, trust God. When things don’t go according to your plan or time-frame, try not to lean on your own understanding or limited perspective. Like we’ve been discovering, you can’t know exactly what God has in store for you. No matter what kind of successes or set-backs come your way, acknowledge that God has not left you to wander aimlessly. He has a purpose for you — even now — even during the times of transition.

P: What has discouraged you the most in the fundraising process?

L: We’ve been discouraged to encounter many people who are just too busy and their schedules too full to even take the time to hear about what we’ll be doing. This is especially discouraging because we’ve pretty much dismantled our former life in order to go. Sometimes we’d just like people to get excited with us about this adventure God has us on, even if that’s as much as they can offer right now.

P: What obstacles have you encountered as you have pursued your interest in world missions?

L: Since our missions focus is Europe, we’ve occasionally encountered a traditional view of missions that doesn’t quite know how to categorize us. Britain is not a third-world country or a tribe without a written language. Our roles will also be professional in nature: graphic design, writing and editing primarily to develop relational evangelism training material and resources geared toward 16-30 year olds. On the surface, our field and focus just aren’t what people think of when they hear the terms “mission” or “missionary.”

P: How have you overcome these obstacles?

L: Once we get the chance to sit down with somebody and explain the nature of our work at Innovista, they usually get it. I think a lot of people enjoy and are even encouraged by having their idea of missions and, even more specifically, their idea of evangelism expanded.

P: How would you like your missions involvement to look ten years from now?

L: Ten years from now we see ourselves on the sending end again — praying for and giving to other missionaries. The whole experience of being one of the sent has been so valuable for us! We’ve discovered just how vital it is to have a team of people who are willing to stay on the home front and do the work of sending others.