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You are here: Experts > Religion/Spirituality > Religious Careers > Missionary Work > Preparing to be a missionary
Missionary Work - Preparing to be a missionary
Expert: Mrs. Priscilla Lyons - 10/31/2009
Question
Hi
I used to be a convert to Islam in the US, and when I was 21 I got in trouble with the law and ended up going to prison and was deported to Taiwan a year later. I got saved while I was in prison and upon returning to Taiwan I started working to pay my bills, then did my mandatory military service, then worked again. While I was in the military I found a YWAM base in Taiwan which I started becoming indirectly involved with (they require a DTS before you can be fully involved with them). Then in July I went to Germany to another YWAM base to do a DTS but I wasn't allowed to complete the outreach phase due to some personal issues. While I am not perfect I and others around me can see some definite growth and I am not the same as I was 4 months ago. While in the DTS I felt a burden to reach out to the Muslims, since before I had been avoiding them because I was afraid of persecution. Now I am back in Taiwan, trying to get back into the DTS and finish it, and I am trying to get involved with a church and also I found a mosque in Taipei (they are rare) so I can attempt to reach out to them.
My issue is what can I do to continue getting involved, and also to get back into DTS since I want to continue my involvement with YWAM, not just an indirect involvement. I have prayer support from fellow YWAM members but I am lost as to how to get financial support since I just have no connection in those circles, and many churches have a policy against supporting individuals (they almost always only support organizations). Also to make things worse I am not raised in Taiwan therefore I am still not very good with adapting to the culture which is actually foreign to me, and few churches in Taiwan wants to be involved in missions in the first place. I have a website (www.operation-jericho.org which I hope to raise support over the internet, and I have a few friends in Europe and the US who have given financially. Currently I am trying to find a part time job to pay my bills until I am accepted into another DTS (they are full time, you are generally not allowed to work while on a DTS). Please let me know if there is anything else I can do, thanks.
Answer
Dear Tai,
Thanks for writing. I think it's wonderful that you are willing to use your experience with Islam to witness to Muslims.
I'm not familiar with YWAM or DTS, but I would think that a person with a secular job could witness better to Muslims than a paid missionary, since a "religious" position would automatically distance yourself from them rather than starting from a common person position of sharing experience and dialoging on "level ground."
Perhaps you could use the internet to witness to Muslims also. I have had opportunity to "visit" with Muslims on AllExpert and it doesn't cost me anything but my time, which is not financially compensated, of course.
It takes time to gain trust in a new church, but it's very important even apart from the issue of getting financial support for your ministry. Being open about your life, being willing to serve in even small ways in the church, taking time outside of church to fellowship with other members--are some ways to develop Christian friendships and have opportunity to get involved in other Christian organizations.
It never hurts to practice financial economy, which helps conserve any support you may receive, as well as assuring supporters that you will not waste any money given to you.
May the Lord shine through you to bring others to Him!
Priscilla
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