I got a book a while back from a used book sale, only $2!! Finally got a chance to read it a few weeks ago. It's called Give up your small ambitions by Michael Griffiths. He talks through the practicalities of what it means to be a missionary (in his context he focuses more on overseas missions... but thought it was really applicable to now as well). Since no matter where we are, in the middle of Africa, among the innercity shelters, or in our classrooms or workplaces, we're all missionaries & lights representative of God and His Kingdom calling out to others to come see and taste this great news, that we can have true everlasting life and be freed from all sin and all guilt because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross!

The big things i learned from this book were (1) know the Bible well! (2) know the culture of who I'm reaching out to well (3) know myself well - what are my strengths & weaknesses (4) know God well (grow & deepen our relationship with God)..which should be the outflow of #1. by knowing God well, our faith becomes more & more grounded in Him. so no matter what is thrown our way, no matter what discouragement or lack of inspiration we receive, still we keep on plodding for the Lord & His Kingdom's sake!

Some quotes to think on for later.

"By the grace of God we are what we are, and we are not what we are not"

"A people's soul is open only to the missionary who lives among them, and learns their language, their traditions, their customs, their ideas, and their values. If the missionary is indifferent to the culture in which he lives, if he pays no attention to the public opinion, if he is not interested in the best literary and artistic expressions of that people, how can he know the thinking and the feelings of the people?"

"The younger a missionary is, the more likely he or she is able to adapt and identify"

"The single worker is single-minded in his or her devotion to the Lord, and is able to devote more time to direct Christian work"

"It is not only that men have a deep need, but that I am answerable for whether or not I have really sought to meet men's need."

"A missionary needs not only to be an expert in his own subject - that is in the Bible - but also to have the widest knowledge of the language and culture of the country to which he goes. He needs a real breadth of reading; he will have to meet people from all walks of life, and it will be of great value if he can take an informed interest in them"

"Every member of the Mission is expected to recognize that this dependence for the supply of all his need is on God, who called him, and for whom he works, and not on the human organization... their faith must be in God, their expectation from Him. The funds might fail or the Mission might cease to exist, but if they put their trust in Him He will never fail nor disappoint them." (Hydson Taylor)

"There is a real danger that those bitten by a 'missionary bug' will spend all their time thinking about the future and neglect the present. It was significant that the men whom the churches chose and sent in Acts were people who were already active in the churches"

"There is a great deal that is tedious and humdrum in the life of a missionary: there is a great deal of heart-break and disappointment, not least with one's self. The wonderful things never seem to happen where we are. One spends so much time just 'plodding'. One is always having to discover that 'longsuffering' is just as much a fruit of the Spirit as 'joy'."