Face to Face is Better than Facebook: How you can help connecting with your missionaries while on furlough
by John Mark Hatcher, missionary to France
We are grateful for the many conveniences available to us that facilitate communication worldwide. But, there is no better way to communicate than face to face.
Judy and I have lived and worked in France for 16 years. We are profoundly grateful for the faithful support that we receive from many people we have not met. But, we want to meet you. I think all the missionaries you support want to meet you personally. Why? New generations and new members in churches have a difficult time relating to missionaries they have never met. It is easier to understand the vision and passion of a missionary when you can personally talk to them and listen to them. The missionary better knows how to communicate with his supporters when he knows them personally. A missionary may be used by the Lord to help you reach out to folks in your community who need Christ. The missionary understands better how to pray for people he knows personally.
Making these personal contacts is not always easy because we can not be away from the work we are called to do for long periods of time. The longest amount of time Judy and I have spent in the United States since moving to France was 11 weeks. So, it is important that we make the best use of these short visits to the USA if we are to meet are supporters.
Here is what you can do to make this happen:
- When you see in our letters that we are going to be in the USA, contact us as soon as possible to set up a time to visit you or your church.
- Do not worry about not being able to give a big love offering. We know that churches are often strapped financially.
- If you know of a car that is available for us to use, let us know. It is expensive and difficult to purchase a car for a few weeks and then resell it. It is much less expensive to pay for insurance (and even monthly car payments) on a car loaned to us. So, if you have a car that is not being used (even temporarily) that you could loan to us when we are in the USA, contact us or David Parks.
You are important as an integral part of what God is doing.
