From the field: missions is realistic

By Jessa Chadwick, Arts Editor

Courtesy photo/Rachael Sain

OBU alum Dillon and Rachael Sain discuss what missions is and how it looks in a realistic, daily routine.

The Sains are working towards leaving for the field in Japan; until then, they are working in their church, workplaces and hosting international students in their home.

“I never really stopped to think what realistically it would look like,” Rachael said. “What would my everyday look like; what’s the practice is going to look like; what am I going to miss? What am I going to miss out on? When I came to the realization that mission is definitely not the celebrity status that people think it is, that really helped me.”

It is common to think that missionaries are strange beings who are special because they are specifically called to leave their homes and go away for God. However, the Bible calls all of us.

“The church has a tendency to pull away from missions because we think that it’s not us,” Rachael said. “People ignore it and don’t think about the fact that the BGCO that has the disaster relief team, that’s built up of Oklahomans, will go to help hurricane relief, they don’t think that’s missions, not just a good Samaritan. Giving a homeless person food or giving someone a ride. Building a relationship. It’s all missions.”

Along with the belief that missionaries are certain people and not all Christians, comes the belief that missions is a superpower only given to those who are “called.” Not only is everyone called, but every Christian is equipped to love those around them.

“Be open to conversation with people,” Rachael said. “We have a lot of friends who aren’t Christian or of a different religion. We’re very open with them about what we want to do and say, ‘if you want to talk about it, let’s talk about it, if you don’t want to talk about it, then be open to the fact that we’re probably going to talk about it.’”

These ideas are not the only obstacle in the way of a Christian’s work on the field. It is easy to find a reason, that may seem valid but is in reality, an excuse not to begin the work.

“You’re never too young,” Dillon said. “We got comments all the time when we signed up to be a host family that we were twenty years too young to be doing it. The people that we signed up with were like, that’s awesome. The people that saw us were like, you’re a host family? They were happy, but they were like, that’s odd.”

As to how people are called, there are multiple ways that God calls individuals.

Different characters in the Bible were called differently. God often considers our personalities and our hearts when He speaks with us.

“I relate my call to Nehemiah because I saw a need in Japan,” Dillon said. “He saw a need and he went to go take care of it. It wasn’t a Samuel calling, where he hears a voice in the night. Nehemiah may be the called one because he went. You’re called when you’re willing to do something about it.”

Just as God takes into account how individuals process information, He also places desires and interests in our hearts and lives as a way of leading them.

It is important to follow the holy, godlike desires God has put in the heart.

“I help in my workplace,” Rachael said. “I wouldn’t work with the population I work with if I didn’t care and I didn’t feel called to be there. Honestly, I don’t know how people could work in social services or mental health and things like that and not believe in something. I think it all plays in together.”

Another aspect of the field to take into account is family and home. Ministry often necessitates sacrifice; sometimes in the form of leaving family who want to be with those leaving.

“My family has always been, why overseas, we think you’re called to home missions,” Rachael said. “They’re not doing it to be mean, they’re doing it because they love you. They don’t want you to go so they’re discouraging.”