Serving Well
Help for the Wannabe, Newbie, or Weary
Cross-cultural Christian Worker
Jonathan and Elizabeth Trotter
Foreword by Marilyn R. Gardner
Serving Well
Help for the Wannabe, Newbie, or Weary Cross-cultural Christian Worker
Copyright © 2019 Jonathan and Elizabeth Trotter. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
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paperback isbn: 978-1-5326-5854-9
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Foreword
When it comes to missions, missionaries, and the missions conversations, we live in a cynical and skeptical age. Those who are serving or want to serve overseas are assaulted with everything from failed missionary blogs and podcasts to heated debates on colonialism and white saviors.
Despite the cynicism, God is still moving people to places around the world where they are putting down roots in unfamiliar soil and seeking to write their names in the lands where God has directed them. They seek to live out God’s story in a cross-cultural context.
Where do those who are intent on pressing forward in a life of cross-cultural service turn? How can they live well in places where they don’t belong?
Jonathan and Elizabeth’s book, Serving Well, emerges as a bright light and resource for those who are intent on pressing forward. Transcending place, this book is a wellspring of wisdom, perspective, truth, and encouragement for cross-cultural workers. Beginning with preparation, the book covers everything from preparation to returning, with sections on grieving, marriage, children, communicating, and more. It can be read consecutively or, depending on the reader’s needs, by section.
I am a missionary kid, a failed missionary, and someone who continues to serve cross-culturally. I met Jonathan and Elizabeth as all those identities merged, and I read their words and heard their hearts with incredible gratitude. Here was the real deal. My cynical heart found solace and foundational wisdom and understanding through their writing. This couple is living out God’s big story, and they are living it out in a cross-cultural setting. Their writing reflects their lives—the good, the hard, the awful, and the fun. We are not only invited into their words, we are invited into their lives. In Elizabeth, readers will find a friend and wise confidante; in Jonathan, they will find a counselor and brother; and in both they will find a couple who exemplify cultural humility, godly leadership, and deep joy in the journey of serving.
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul writes to people in Thessaloniki, Greece, and says this: “Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well” (1 Thess 2:8). In the library of missions literature you can find many things, but to be invited into a life through a book is something rare and precious. Serving Well is not just a book; it is a shared life.
Marilyn R. Gardner
Author of Between Worlds and Worlds Apart
Introduction
We were supposed to be church-planting missionaries. We were supposed to save the world, or at least our little corner of it. We were not supposed to be writers.
In January 2012, we showed up in Phnom Penh, Cambodia with our two selves, our four children, and a call. We started riding in tuk-tuks, driving motorcycles, and speaking Khmer. And we fell in love.
We tried to be faithful with the next thing, seldom seeing around the next bend. But we knew, come what may, God would be there—ahead of us and behind us—and so we kept driving. Trying to do the next thing faithfully, and with love.
He was faithful, and he was loving.
He is faithful, and he is loving.
And now, our deepest hope is that these words, these ink blots from Asia, will encourage you no matter what part of the road you’re on. Maybe you’re moving next month. Godspeed! Maybe you’ve been working cross-culturally for decades. Strong work! Maybe you’re disenfranchised and you’re preparing to return to a country you once called home. Grace to you.
Or maybe you just picked this up because somewhere in the distant future there is a sliver of a possibility that you might perhaps move abroad and/or minister across cultures. Awesome. And hello!
For all of you, our hearts are with you. And our prayers too.
It’s not always an easy road, but it can be a good one.
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We’ve had the privilege and joy of living and ministering overseas because people have sent us. They’ve prayed for us, they’ve prayed
