MISSIONARIES IN ISOLATED PLACES Spiritual Growth 在孤立的场所精神成的传教士.docVIP

MISSIONARIES IN ISOLATED PLACES AND SPIRITUAL DIRECTION by Joan Gore A Research Project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Spiritual Directors’ Formation Programme of Spiritual Growth Ministries.  Contents I Introduction II Difficulties encountered III What to do in these situations IV Conclusion V Appendix 1 - Letter to participants VI Appendix 2 - Background Information VII Appendix 3 – Questionnaire VIII Bibliography I INTRODUCTION When I began this paper my first thought, when considering “missionaries in isolated places”, was geographical isolation, but as I began to delve deeper into my own experience, and the experiences of others, as a result of the responses to my initial questionnaire (Refer Appendix 3), I became aware of the many forms of isolation we can experience when on the mission, so my paper now embraces three forms of isolation: geographical isolation – - My husband and I were very isolated and met once a year at a conference where a bible teacher would minister to us - There was no access to anyone nearby an image of God, when it is different from that of the host country to which one is missioned – - The God I thought I knew and related with seemed to disappear and I needed what I called a third world God. …. - all of this because I was immersed in situations quite different from a God ‘who cared, one who loved, one who protected and one who saw to it that evil, oppression and violence did not dominate in the lives of the poor. language as an isolation barrier – for a number of years I was not able to express myself sufficiently in the host language to be able to share my journey Though this paper will address the first type of isolation more fully, I feel that the other two forms play an important part and cannot be dismissed entirely. II DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED WITH REGARD TO SITUATIONS OF ISOLATION AS MENTIONED ABOVE Ideally, Spiritual Direction is seen as happening on a regular basis. However