MISSIONS EMERGENCIES and SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAMS
At the time the Missions Hotline was first formed, one of our principle goals was to improve missions safety around the world. Each year Christian missionaries and church workers do get into trouble ... sometimes serious trouble. Yet the means to deal with these crises are often hopelessly slow - or even non-existent. Ironically, we have found that while a need exists to provide help to missions workers in trouble, it's also one of the most difficult things to do. Let's take a few moments to explain why:
"I'm concerned because my daughter is going on a long-term missions trip to Africa. But the group that's sending her doesn't seem to have given her much practical training. Will she be safe? How will she take care of a medical emergency ... or even a pregnancy? Are there even hospitals out there at all?"
"I don't understand why you guys are talking about missions emergencies. Are there any bad incidents actually happening to missionaries around the world? I don't read about anything in the newspaper. Is this even relevant?"
"Our youth group was flying in a small airplane over the frozen Arctic Sea. I looked out the window at the waves and icebergs, and I thought to myself ... I sure hope we don't go down in that stuff!"
"Our Christian college has been sending students on missions field trips all over the world. Yes, some of those destinations are "high-risk" I guess, like the cities we visit in Colombia. But we've never had anyhting go wrong ... so why change our format?"
"My wife and I are missionaries in West Africa. We've both had malaria at least ten times. Not to mention hepatitis and a string of other diseases. My wife is not feeling that well at present. But our work is really important, and we don't want to leave."
"Armed guerillas came into our village in the morning. They rounded up all the men (missionaries) and just drove them away. We haven't seen them since. No-one seems to know what to do. The church has been praying for us. But nobody is actually doing anything!"
The conversations above are just some of the messages we have received at the Missions Hotline over the last seven years. You only have to look at a small selection of the messages to get an idea of the confusion which exists within the church about missions safety and missions emergencies. Let's talk about some basic aspects of the issue, and explain the problems.
First, many people have no idea that "bad" things actually happen to Christian missionaries, or to church workers. This is partly caused by the fact that many incidents are never reported in the media - either due to a lack of interest or due to privacy requests from the families involved. But there is also an underlying problem with the church itself - church leaders, pastors, priests and colleges simply don't want to admit that the problem exists. First, it's easier to simply "cross your fingers" and hope nothing goes wrong ... as opposed to providing proper training for your staff. But beyond this (all too human) behavior, the issue of "bad things" happening to Christians is something that the church doesn't always want to admit to itself. After all, doesn't God provide protection to Christians? Why would this protection fail .... why would God let them down? Apparently many churches (even pastors!) are not reading the Book of Job in the Bible, which reminds us that "bad" things can happen even to truly faithful people. It's just not a message that the church really wants to hear. We have found that the church tends to bury its head in the sand, when it comes to problems affecting missions groups. Unfortuntately, this also means that resources are not made available for "missionary care", nor is a proper level of training given to many missionaries who want to go overseas. So each year lots of church workers get on airplanes and go to far-off places, but they are often woefully unprepared should things go seriously wrong.
Do bad things actually happen? Well, lets look at recent news, and also some statistics. At the time of this update (April, 2002) some recent incidents in the media that come to mind are: Christian missionaries jailed in Afghanistan, a plane crash of a medical missions group in Central America, a church worker injured by a wild animal attack in southern Africa, and a Catholic priest shot to death in East Africa (suicide or murder?). Going back further in time, let's look at some statistics. When the Missions Hotline was first formed, we collected reports on serious incidents affecting Christian missionaries and church workers all over the world. During the first three years of our operation, we had assembled reports on over 200 incidents. Probably the most common (and painful!) problems for missions families were car accidents and serious ilnesses. These can be devastating to families, and they can ruin people's lives for years. It's not hard to understand how they happen ... anyone who's travelled in the "rough country" of the world knows how bad the roads are, how careless the drivers often are, and how few medical services are available. But beyond just car accidents and health problems, the Missions Hotline also received plenty of reports of more serious crimes. Missionaries and church workers were also victims of airplane crashes, home burglaries, robberies, armed holdups and carjackings, rape, massacres, and kidnappings by guerillas or terrorists. These things _are_ going on in the world, whether or not the church publicizes them. Really this should not be surprising ... there are a huge number of people who travel each year to serve God - whether as short-term missionaries or on permanent assignments. These people are all a part of the world, and they do get caught up in serious crises. Currently the Missions Hotline no longer is keeping a database of these incidents ... we were simply overwhelmed by the workload. But we do continue to see on-going reports of problems, and there is every reason to believe that things haven't changed at all from just a few years ago ... bad things do continue to happen.
So what can be done? Well, let's look at a few conclusions. The first thing we noticed, after reviewing the data on accidents and crimes affecting missionaries, is that most of the incidents were preventable. Many of the victims could have avoided serious trouble ... if they had been better prepared. Yet instead people sem to just go through a seminary (or college), then just jump on an airplane and head to a remote corner of the world. Sometimes these folks don't seem to be carrying anything more than a Bible and a few bandaids. It's little wonder that trouble happens. The fact is that here at the Missions Hotline we are constantly amazed at the miracles that God does every day. The Lord is constantly bailing "unprepared missionaries" out of a constant stream of trouble ... most of which woulod never have occurred in the first place, with just a little forethought. Obviously, there is a need for realistic training programs to teach church workers, trip leaders, College staff, and missionaries how to take care of themselves.
This page is currently being updated with fresh content. This paragraph will soon give a description of our training courses on missions survival and safety. These courses are designed for missionaries, church workers and Christian educators who want to improve their skills. If you are planning to do a missions trip to a third world destination ... you need to seriously think about these courses! Please stay in touch as we upgrade this Web page.
Finally the Missions Hotline may be of assistance for some situations involving missions emergencies. Please keep in mind that we are a small organization and our resources are limited. Therefore we cannot help all the inquiries we receive. We recommend you try to resolve a crisis through all normal channels first ... local police or emergency services, diplomatic requests, and church organizations working in your area. If these fail, you can contact us with an e-mail explaining your situation. We evaluate all requests through prayer, and by considering whether we can be effective. Please be aware that the Missions Hotline _never_ sends money to an emergency request (contact your local church if you need funding). You can reach us at: info@missionshotline.org
Please check back very soon
