A plan to follow and a goal to achieve

The gentle prick of a pin`

A plan to follow and a goal to achieve

Through the years, especially more recently, Missionary Outpost has had quite a number of requests from different individuals and groups, including college students, for material to research missionary experience and practice.

Missionary Outpost is only speaking for itself in this column and will attempt to set out a range of articles that will reflect the life and experience of one missionary family. It will take time to develop this column, but by God’s grace work will proceed slowly as there is opportunity and strength.

Missionary Outpost will look over the communications of the past starting in 1958 up to the present time. Hopefully there will be a range of themes that will prove helpful for whatever need exists in this area. Some will peruse these columns just for interest and curiosity’s sake in order to gain a better understanding of missionaries, especially the missionaries at Missionary Outpost, at the post of duty attempting to leave an imprint, not tracks on the moon’s surface, but eternal imprints on precious lives..

There is scriptural precedent: Paul the great apostle spoke of himself as the least of all the apostles. Perhaps this feeling was based in the fact that he had bitterly persecuted the followers of Christ, plus he had not been able to personally company with the Lord and His apostles. Yet, the Holy Spirit saw fit to give to the ages bits of information about the personal experiences of Paul, including a blow by blow account of his traumatic experiences in II Corinthians chapter eleven.

Missionary Outpost claims no uniqueness and certainly no worthiness. Only it is the desire to share with others what God has certainly done and the human weakness which He tolerated and even used in miraculous ways. In some cases, past letters will be included in the “raw” with no comment. Then at a later time it will be developed into a more complete coverage of the subject. So the student of missions may read through “letters in the raw” and gain a general idea through the eyes of Missionary Outpost. If the readers of Missionary Outpost have a special interest in particular areas of missionary life and practice, it would be most helpful if they would write with suggested areas to consider.

For the time being a limited range of subjects will be indicated in title only. Gradually the skeleton will begin to “flesh out” into what Missionary Outpost hopes will be a useful tool. Changes will be noted from time to time, including the title outline as “Posts of the past” develop.

The title “Pin Pricks” was coined hoping that some of these subjects would “prick” the imagination and interest of the reader that might lead him to blessing. We’re not asking for “knife stabs” for the reader but “Pin Pricks” that will awaken his thinking and motivate him to greater truth.