Things People Don't Tell You About Being a Missionary

So, this is my first time being a missionary (And I hope it's not my last). But there was very little and I new about being a missionary when we first came here. So here are some of the things I was not prepared for when becoming a missionary.
  1. You will be lonely; Since leaving Canada I have learnt who my real friends are which has resulted in me letting go of some false friends which has been great! I have made a few really good friends that I have grown closer to. But it is very hard not being about to actually be with them. I can't hug them, have a coffee with them or laugh with them. I love them, but I do get lonely. We really appreciate it when people send us letters or emails, Skype with us and just don't forget about us!
  2. Things won't go as expected; Yes, that's right. Plans don't go to plan and some things just don't happen. It's hard when things are unpredictable but going into things we are learning to expect the unexpected. Sometimes plans will be canceled, people won't show or you're not needed anymore. It happens and I used to get SO frustrated but it's a part of living in a third world country.
  3. You will get bored; The buzz of being a missionary comes and goes. Some days I just feel bored with life and bored. Going to teach  Khmer girls English is just a norm now and so is the crazy traffic. People aren't saved everyday and there are days we don't leave our house! It helps when we have people visit us because we get to revisit our excitement and wonder with them. We also love visiting new places in Cambodia. Personally I love getting out my camera and walking through town. I get to see things through a different lens and learn to appreciate things.
  4. You will feel guilty treating yourself; Because we live on donations an supporters we often feel guilty when we treat ourselves to a vacation or a new computer for example. You feel you always have to live up to expectations ans please the people who are behind you. You feel as if it's their money you are wasting and not using it for the mission. 
  5. You will have no idea what's happening back home; You won't always be able to keep up with what is happening back in your home country. I have no idea about the politics or happenings in Canada or Australia. We often aren't told what is happening with our friends and family too. Often in class people are talking about stuff going on and I have no idea what they are talking about. You don't hear about new movies, pregnancies, mission trips, birthdays, elections, ect. 
It often looks like I am having the time of my life (And I am), But there are things you might not know about being a missionary and people don't tell you about being a missionary. It's like we are in our own little world sometimes. I love being a missionary and I would want to be anywhere else but here. God is good!
Darcy-Rea
P.S. If you would mind and would like to help could you please fill out my survey for a project?
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YJQR2ZZ



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to Bible Study Methods

Image
Hey there friends, A while ago I asked if I could teach a Sunday School lesson on Bible study methods to our youth group. This isn't usually my class but as I was sitting in service one Sunday morning I was reflecting on the things I wish I had learned earlier on in life. Bible study methods was the first topic. As I thought about it more I realized how much I would love our youth to have access to the information I wasn't taught until Bible school. This blog post is an adaptation of the lesson I taught them. My lesson was over two Sundays and so this blog post will be a two-parter as well. I hope you find this interesting and informative. Let's get into it! I grew up in a Christian home—a very involved and active Christian home. In fact, by the age of 11, I lived full-time in ministry. My family and I lived and worked at a Bible school, my dad was an elder, and I helped in the nursery at our church. I also worked at the Bible School summer camp! From there, we went directl
Read more

A Little Life Update

Image
 Hey there friends, I've been gone from here for almost a year this time around! The last time I posted was in March of 2021. Life has been wonderful and crazy all at the same time. I'm so excited to say that I've got a brand new blog post to share with you. But, I thought it may be nice to share a little life update before we get to that. Firstly, I've taken on some responsibilities with our church. I do the scheduling for the kid's ministry. I am one of the teachers for our K-4th grade Sunday School class and I help with Children's church during service. Noah helps lead the youth Sunday School class and I got to chaperone our youth camp back in June. We took on hosting our community group every Sunday night for a while until we recently started meeting at our church building. All this definitely gives me a lot more to do with my days and I have loved being more involved with our church.  At the end of June, I took my friend Alyson and her friend Mar to a Sunfl
Read more

Our Little Wedding Plans

Image
  Hey there, It’s been a little while since I’ve written, but boy do I have news! I’ve been extremely busy this week, and I’d like to tell you why. As you may know, I’ve been living in Georgetown with Sarah and taking care of her daughter, Katie, since late May. But a couple of weeks ago, it was decided that it was time for me to move on. I had no clue where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do. Or rather, I had my dream, but I knew it wasn’t possible. Noah and I were supposed to have gotten married in July, and I was still hoping that would happen soon. However, COVID has been making that quite complicated—possible, but complicated.  If this dream couldn’t come true, I knew that I wanted to stay in the area, and I knew that I didn’t want to move into someone’s basement again. God arranged some great people to help me search for a place and someone to rent with. We’re still sorting that one out. To buy me a little more time, my mom suggested I go to Quebec to visit family for a little
Read more