The Connection of Communication

The following article is one that I wrote at the request of my friend, Sarah Earnhart, for the online newsletter/blog she recently started to encourage fellow "MKs" (missionary kids).

I hope you will find these thoughts inspiring!

The Connection of Communication

No matter what age a person is, everyone loves receiving mail! Right? I know I do! There’s something exciting about opening the mail box and finding an envelope with that distinct handwriting of a friend or loved one. I can’t wait to get inside to find out what’s in their letter! In fact, I usually start ripping open the envelope as I walk up the driveway and have finished half the note by the time I step foot in the door. A handwritten letter or card carries with it the concept of care. Someone has cared enough to take time from their busy life to send greetings and news my way.

Then, there’s the wonderful world of e-mail! Although it’s not quite the same as receiving a handwritten note with a stamp on it, finding an email from a friend waiting in my inbox never ceases to bring a smile to my heart! And I love the fact that I can type a response that will reach that person instantly. Yes, electronic communication certainly has its benefits.

Receiving mail may mean a lot to me, but I know for a fact that it means the world to missionary kids. MKs are a special group of people. Because of their parents’ call from God to serve in a foreign country, MKs by default grow up in that country, experiencing the best and worst of two worlds. For missionary kids, getting mail from friends and family “back home” isn’t just a nice addition to their day. It’s like getting a cold drink of water on a hot day! Refreshing! Invigorating! “As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” (Proverbs 25:25)

I’m not an MK myself, but I’ve lived with a couple different missionary families as well as observed many others. From this perspective, I’ve learned that MKs (and their parents for that matter!) need the connection of communication. They need to know that they are not living in some far-off, forgotten speck on the map, but that people from their home country think about them, pray for them, and care about them. People who care enough to keep in touch…and stay in touch.

I remember being in a missions conference at my church and hearing the missionary speaker from Ghana, West Africa, tell how his little girl had gone to bed with a stomach ache the previous night because she was so excited to finally meet her pen-pal of several years the next day! I don’t think it’s possible for us in America to fully understand just how much genuine friendship and caring communication means to MKs. All too often they have the discouraging experience of meeting new friends while on furlough who *promise* to keep in touch, only to discover that these good intentions get swept away by the characteristic busyness of American life.

For those of you reading this article who live in the United States, my guess is that most of you know missionaries personally or attend a church that supports missionaries. I’d like to encourage you to “adopt” at least one of those families as your own special interest. Devote time to building a relationship with them and let them know you care!

Five years ago, God gave me an adopted missionary family whom I absolutely love and adore to this day! I was 18 when I went to live with the Earnharts in Peru for six months. My purpose in being there was to teach school to the Earnhart kids (who at that time ranged from 6-12 years old) as well as assist in their church in whatever ways possible.
Those were some of the best six months of my life! We became very close and have worked at keeping in touch ever since.

However, you don’t have to visit a missionary family on their field in order to strike up a friendship and be a blessing to them! Here are some ideas for keeping in touch with MKs that I’ve learned from the Earnharts as well as from personal experience. (By the way, the same ideas apply to adults serving on the mission field!)

~ Write them letters or cards on a regular basis (international postage on a letter costs 94 cents). Or send emails to let them know you’re thinking about them. Either way, share news from your life, happenings at your church, book recommendations, poetry, quotes, pictures, and things the Lord has been teaching you lately.

~ Remember their birthday with a card, a phone call, a little gift, or all of the above! Gifts that fit into flat envelopes include tea bags, Kool-Aid, stickers, gum, perfume samples, jewelry, CDs, baseball cards, bookmarks, etc.

~ Send e-cards just for fun!

~ Cut out magazine or newspaper articles you think your MK friend might enjoy reading, or if they’re younger, color a picture they can hang on their wall.

~ Ask them for prayer requests, be faithful to pray for those needs, and then care to find out how God chose to answer that need.

(As a note to all MKs reading this article, those of us who send you mail or make phone calls your way also love to hear from you! I can speak from personal experience that anytime I send a package to Peru I really appreciate hearing whether it made it and how the contents were enjoyed. It also totally makes my day to receive a phone call or email from one of the Earnharts, and know that they care to keep in touch with me just as much as I do with them. So if you are an MK who is blessed by correspondence from others, make sure you respond!)

God’s Word tell us, “But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16) I know life gets busy for all of us, but let’s not allow that to be an excuse for neglecting to communicate with missionaries. Your letter or email will certainly bring a smile to their heart, and may even be the highlight of their day!