Staying Sent Well
By Michael Smiel
I recently had the privilege of hosting a missionary and friend at my home. He was passing through the city where I live so I picked him up from the airport and he stayed with me for a day. Our friendship began while going through SEND’s training, then we parted ways to head to our separate fields. He went to Japan and I went to Russia. So, what did we talk about? Our first four years on the field as missionaries!
I recently had the privilege of hosting a missionary and friend at my home. He was passing through the city where I live so I picked him up from the airport and he stayed with me for a day. Our friendship began while going through SEND’s training, then we parted ways to head to our separate fields. He went to Japan and I went to Russia. So, what did we talk about? Our first four years on the field as missionaries!
We found that, though our fields and host cultures were different, many of our experiences were the same for missionary life. We struggled with culture shock, language, missing family and friends, and learning about our flaws in the thick of ministry in a foreign land. However, the consistent topic we came back to was how hard we worked to get to the mission field and how hard it was to stay. We were sent well, but then we had to stay sent.
The three things we agreed would have helped us most are:
1) Dealing with Personal Baggage
If you want to stay sent well, deal with your personal baggage well. No, we don’t mean the baggage you pack all of your valued life belongings into when you leave for the field. We mean the hurt filled emotional and psychological experiences of the past that we all have and can cause problems if left unattended. A lot of people, including myself, are tempted to pack it away and think they can leave it behind. Well, when we got to the field, someone seemed to have forwarded it to our locations. The pressure and stress of living cross-culturally brought out insecurities, character flaws, and triggered responses that we developed throughout our lives. For me, I had thought of myself as an excellent student my whole life so when I struggled with language learning or doing basic things in life, like going to the grocery store; I felt stupid, beat myself up about it, and lost confidence to even speak in public. This is baggage that I can now trace back to the start in my memories. I wasn't aware of some of it until I got to the field but some may have been known before going. It’s best to unpack baggage as you find it rather than trying to leave it behind or save it for later, because chances are that you will find it right back on your doorstep the next time there is a stressful situation. And there are a lot of stressful situations on the mission field. Please know I understand that facing your flaws or your past is a difficult process. So, be gentle and patient with yourself as Jesus is.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." - Matthew 11:28–29 (ESV)
2) Communicating with the Team
If you want to stay sent well, communicate with your team well. When we were in training, I heard someone say that a top reason missionaries leave the field is because of other missionaries. I didn’t think much of it at the time as we worked on communication skills. I simply thought, “No, that won’t be me.” Well, both of us ended up in situations where it was difficult to work well with people on our teams and we both had times where we wanted to leave the field because of another missionary. Relational work is difficult work no matter what. The best thing you can do is communicate directly with whom you have a problem, acknowledge the problem, be honest about it, own your part of it, and listen to them. I recognize that we cannot control what other parties do but we can control what we do and my hope is that we do all things with love.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” -John 13:34–35 (ESV)
3) Running Your Race
If you want to stay sent well, focus on running your race well. It was tempting for both of us to look at other people in the field and compare ourselves to them. Whether it was someone being better at language, making friends, evangelism, or just doing something different than us; the temptation to look over at a teammate or a national ministry partner and be jealous, to irrationally change things up for ourselves, dislike them for it, or beat ourselves up was always there. Learning from others isn’t a bad thing and I encourage that! However, God has called you to do something somewhere and, though you can and should learn from others, God has gifted you to be you and run the race he set for you. That includes all the obstacles, advantages, and strength building along the way. Be a part of your team; help and be helped but be who God made you to be. Go where God has called you to go. Do what God has called you to do. Run your race and cheer your teammates on as you go.
“ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” -James 3:16 (ESV)
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” - Hebrews 12:1–2 (ESV)
Additional Posts
Choosing a Missions Organization: Why SEND International Stands Out “Why should I be a missionary through SEND International?” Jenna, a new missionary in Eastern Europe, shared with us what she appreciates about working with SEND. The highlights for her are: - Devotion to prayer - Diligence in communication - Commitment to development - Intentionality in accountability Prayer “Back in September of 2022, the Lord reconnected me with SEND after I had met them a year prior at the Moody Bible Institute. However, before he would sign me up for anything, my Missions Coach encouraged me to pray. He said something to the effect of, "I know that you've been praying on your own for a long time. But as the Church, we are not called to walk alone. So, you and I won't talk for about a month unless you have questions. I want you to go pray with 5 or 6 others from your church about where God is calling you." That October, more than 10 friends prayed with me and we saw God answer as He directed me to Romania. From February 2024 to November 2025, I had the pleasure of being a part of team meetings in Romania with my SEND colleagues. Our meetings were four hours long, two for prayer and two for business. This has been the minimum for our team. There are also prayer meetings with the local churches we partner with, among smaller groups within our team, of course prayer with many of you across the pond, including those at our US office. The organization was built, has been sustained, and continues to run on prayer. This is my favorite thing about SEND. Communication As I mentioned above, we have a two hour block for business / ministry details in each of our meetings. This provides consistency across our team which works alongside three different churches and in a variety of ministries. It also helps us to communicate about the need for change or growth, alongside what is working well. In addition, my team director also meets with each of us, allowing us to communicate needs, considerations, and prayer requests. I've also enjoyed getting to work with SEND workers outside of my immediate region . We receive emails with the minutes from the Europe leadership team, Friday communications from our international director, and information regarding projects that affect our work among the unreached. In December of 2024, our international director at the time wrote a note to my parents for the first Christmas that I was gone. If nothing else had convinced my mom yet, this did. He took the time to care for me, but also to care well for the parents that were sending me (What it meant to my dad and mom for him to do this well has been one of the greatest ways I've been supported.). I also have some pretty wonderful regional directors. These people have prayed alongside us (while also serving in their own countries of service), they have taken time to come visit and encourage our team, and they have also taken the time to encourage the people in our churches. Development SEND has provided much in the area of development and care (spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally). At our regional conference (every three years), there have been medical check ups available, counseling options, and time for connecting with others on the field with similar experience. At our conference last October, I connected with a missionary who served overseas for many years, and is now serving on the administrative side of SEND. She has met with me since then for mentorship and has also invested much of her time recently in preparing a retreat for the singles across Europe. Accountability Over the years I have read and heard amazing stories of how God has worked through missionaries. God has done great things and great things He is still doing! However, people who have committed their lives to the Lord in this way are not “super Christians”. We are still humans with the same struggle against flesh that others have . A major challenge is in being isolated -- living in areas with little to no presence of other believers to sharpen them can cause many difficulties. SEND has been a great resource in this area too. Through my team, I have an accountability partner that I meet with monthly. When my regional director came to visit, he and his wife spent a day with me and asked intentional questions about how I lead, handle conflict, and how I am growing in general as a Christian. In addition, my teammates share their wisdom with me on a regular basis. These things and more have assured me that SEND International is a highly valuable organization and I'm excited to partner with them in service to, for, and with our great God! Interested in being sent by SEND?
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