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So, are you like missionaries or something?

"So, are you like missionaries or something?" This is the number one question people ask when I mention we are moving to Honduras. It's a good question and one, to be completely honest, I'm never really sure how to answer. Are we like missionaries or something? I'm unsure.

What exactly does the word "Missionary" mean in today's world? When people ask that question, what mental image does the word "Missionary" evoke? Is it a title? A calling? A position? A lifestyle? Is it a job description? Maybe it brings to mind William Carey, English cobbler, father of modern missions setting sail for India. Or, maybe it's Harrison Ford in The Mosquito Coast (yikes!).

Truthfully, I've always had trouble with titles. Especially ones that can be and often are used by society to set apart or elevate a person socially or intellectually rather than being used to describe what they do. Maybe it's just my own insecurity because I don't have a college education and my own title or letters behind my name. Maybe I'm anti-authoritarian, a rebel, an Anarchist. Hmmmm...no, I really don't think so, on either count.

Your Honor, Doctor, Pastor, Officer, General, President...each of these titles demand the respect the position deserves and the power or ability that comes with it. But none of these titles describe the "person". Trust me, I WILL respect the Officer with the badge and gun even though I may not respect the man he is off duty. In the same way, when I'm sick I want to know the Doctor diagnosing me is competent, skilled and has M.D. after his name, at a minimum.

Okay, so maybe "Missionary" is not that kind of title. (I'm just thinking out loud here) Maybe "missionary" to most people is more of a "job description".  The Free Online Dictionary defines missionary as: 1. One who is sent on a mission, especially one sent to do religious or charitable work in a territory or foreign country.
2. One who attempts to persuade or convert others to a particular program, doctrine, or set of principles; a propagandist.

I'm not sure that helps my dilemma. We are going to Honduras to do religious and charitable work. We will no doubt attempt to persuade and/or convert others. But, what about all the time I'll spend being Husband, Father, Friend, Entrepreneur, Administrator, Mentor, Host, Leader, Servant, Driver, Cook, Blogger... Will I really be devoting the vast majority of my days and nights exclusively to charitable efforts or to the persuading of others to believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven? Unlikely. So which one of these things I've listed most accurately describes me, what I do and who I am? Should I only choose one?

So maybe it describes motive. Ah ha! That must be it. A missionary must be one who is motivated by the desire to spread the Good News and to do religious and charitable work. Problem: With the exception of being in a foreign country, my wife and about 49 other volunteers just spent a week at Camp Good News doing this exact thing. I don't remember them being referred to or calling themselves "missionaries". So perhaps to qualify for the position, title or job description of missionary it must be one's full time occupation and must be in a foreign country. Maybe that's it!

So what are we? I don't feel as though I am any closer to a good answer than when I started. You know something? I think I'll just skip all the titles and descriptions and tell people I'm a just a man who loves Jesus and wants to follow in His footsteps even if it means moving to Honduras. Now, ask me what that means!

Maps: 1" = 500 Miles

To the right is Google Map's recommended route from Farmington, Maine USA to Siguatepeque, HN C. A. It's 4000+ miles. That's the most direct route. Most of my life I've been a "direct route" kind of person. Time is money, wasted fuel = wasted profits, but there have been many times I have detoured out of my way to see friends and family or a particular sight. I once went over a hundred miles out of my way for some really good BBQ.

My point is this. It's not always all about reaching the destination in the shortest amount of time. I'm a big believer in goals and destinations, but I also believe in enjoying the journey. Sometimes the journey is the best part. Sometimes the destination isn't everything we hoped it would be, but I don't think I've ever been disappointed in the journey.


I love maps. I can spend hours reading a map, but I confess...I'm hooked on my Garmin GPS. For pure effectiveness, you can't beat it. But for sitting down and planning a trip, there's nothing like a good Rand McNally road atlas, now in it's 89th edition. You can see the big picture. Read the names of towns like Bucksnort, TN or Nothing, AZ. Scenic routes, interstates, back roads, national parks...decisions, decisions, decisions. The planning starts, but you don't plan every detail. All those will be filled in as you travel. The places you'll stop to eat, gas up or sleep, the people you'll meet, sights you'll see are all mysteries until you get there. Honestly, would you really have it any other way?

In my last post I wrote about how I was becoming disheartened. I realized that one of the reasons I was feeling this way is because I wanted answers to some of the questions that can only be answered when we get "there". Details that just can't be planned. I've recently begun following the blog of an incredible family as they take a 5 year journey from Alaska to Argentina with 5 children. Check out their blog Discover. Share. Inspire. One of the things I've particularly enjoyed has been their video Q & As to 55 of your questions about life, travel and pursuing the dream. If you get the chance, please take a look at these. They're open, honest and filled with excitement and zest for life. Greg and Rachel, I love what you're doing, setting the example, living your dream and encouraging others to live theirs.

Anyway, in one of their videos about how much planning they did before starting out, Greg and Rachel made this comment. (my paraphrase) "You can't plan the entire trip out. Sometimes you just need to take the next step. When you do that, the next step will reveal itself."  WOW!  DID YOU HEAR THAT?   SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP.

Are you waiting to start living your dream because you can't see every step or plan for every contingency (that's a future event or circumstance that is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty.) Do your research, get out the map, make some phone calls, but take that first step and then the one after that and the one after that.

I was worrying about steps that were way down the road. That's why I was disheartened. I needed to just concentrate on the next step. For us that's selling some land, some vehicles, getting paperwork together, renting the house. After we get all that done then we can start on the next step.

Get out the map. Decide where it is you want to go. Do you want to go back to school? Do you want to travel? Do you want to write a book? Whatever it is you want to do, make it your destination. Map out the route, understand that  1" may equal 500 miles and that there's a lot of living, a lot of adventure and a lot of uncertainty in that distance, and then TAKE THAT FIRST STEP!

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