Agency Coordination
We want to develop an open working relationship with each missionary’s agency to learn how they provide missionary care so we can “fill any gaps” that might exist. We will learn from each agency who is responsible for missionary care; specifically for medical, evacuation and emergency care, what their confidentiality policy states and what mental health care resources are available on the field. This will enable us to prepare a practical care plan for each of our missionaries that will match needs with resources.
Koinonia Groups adoption and care
In an attempt to have the individual missionaries become well known to a larger number of our congregation we have sponsored an “adopt a missionary” campaign in the Koinonia groups. Each group adopting will pray for a particular missionary/missionary family every time they meet together, they will contact their missionary once a month, they will learn about their missionary and allow the missionary to know about them, and they will include the missionary in their group when the missionary comes to Redlands.
Coaching for intercultural adjustment
We are in the process of implementing an assessment instrument (the CSAI) developed by Christian psychologists for missionaries that will show them how they are doing in their adjustment to a different culture. Some of the areas covered are spiritual vitality, emotional health, workload, relationships (with nationals, their team, and their family), language learning, etc. We will use this at least once or twice a year within a confidential relationship with a coach to encourage them with their strengths and coach them through their challenges in an effort to prevent problems before they become unmanageable.
Emergency care
Critical life experiences can be even more critical when overseas. A medical crisis in a country that has poor health care, or a family crisis when in an isolated part of the world can necessitate immediate intervention. Trinity’s mission budget has provision for “boots on the ground” where we can be present with our missionaries in concrete ways to help when life hits them hard.
Resource list
It’s our desire to link the Trinity Church body with our missionaries by sharing gifts and abilities that may be needed and helpful for them at home and abroad. We are keeping a list of willing medical, dental and mental health professionals with their specialty areas, insurance needs and availability for short home visits. We have a list of professionals who would provide volunteer crisis help through email, skype or video conferencing so that help can be accessed during the times of need.
Home Hospitality Needs
When our missionaries/missionary families visit us here in Redlands we want to anticipate their needs for housing, transportation, exposure in Trinity, and individualized help wherever possible. We maintain a home for missionaries to use when they are on home assignment. We borrow whatever we can for their temporary use during the period they will here be with us.
Pre and post-field visits with each missionary.
Before they go, we want our missionaries to get to know us and how we can be of help, and to hear from them the particular needs they would like us to help with while they’re on the field. When they come home, we want to debrief with them about their experience on the field, to learn from them the areas we served them well, but also how we can improve on our care for them.
