If you know missionaries, you may have heard the term Home Assignment. It's a time when missionaries return to their home country for a period of time before returning to their country of service. But there is so much more to it than that!

OMF Japan missionary Wendy Marshall walks us through what's involved in Home Assignment, something she is going through with her family right now as they prepare to return to Australia.

Wendy is joined by OMF Japan missionary Kesia Pain. You'll be blessed by their honesty in the struggles that come with Home Assignment, and you'll be better-equipped to pray for missionaries who go through this period of transition. 

To read the blog series that's a companion with this episode, visit: https://omf.org/us/what-home-assignment-means-for-a-missionary-part1

About Wendy: Wendy Marshall is an Australian serving with OMF. She has been in Japan with her husband David since 2000; they have three young adult sons. Wendy is a writer and editor. She’s the managing editor of a magazine for and by missionaries in Japan called Japan Harvest. She’s also the editor for OMF Japan’s social media and blog.

About Kesia: Kesia has been a missionary with OMF International since 2007, sent out by the UK. She currently lives in Tokyo, Japan with her husband Chris and 2 daughters. They also have 2 sons, one in India and one in the UK. She is part of the Field Leadership Team with Chris, the Field Director, and is also involved in supporting TCKs.

It’s not often we look in the book of Numbers to see how it applies to our lives today. But Thailand missionary Bekah Farber has found great peace in how God uses that book to show just how much he cares for us, both then and now.

To read the print version of this story, visit: https://omf.org/us/every-sink-my-toothbrush-rested-on/

Last year, Lauren shared part of her journey through the Train & Go Apprenticeship, a partnership between OMF and Global Frontier Missions (GFM). Today, Katie, GFM’s Marketing Manager, welcomes us to hear directly from Lauren as she shares the power of what God can do, even when we think it’s going to be an uneventful and unproductive day.

To read the written version of this story, visit: https://omf.org/us/god-uses-our-words-more-powerfully-than-we-could-ever-imagine

To learn more about the Train & Go Apprenticeship that Lauren talks about, visit: ⁠https://omf.org/us/apprenticeship-program/

Sharing the gospel message across cultures can be challenging. What makes sense in our culture can be confusing or misinterpreted in another culture.

Today's episode gives some examples of these cross-cultural challenges and introduces a new program to help overcome these obstacles.

Learn more about Connecting2Culture at: https://connecting2culture.com/

How patient are you? How patient are you when it comes to God’s leading in your life?

Retired OMF missionary, Jerry Wibberly, reflects on the journey he and his wife, Barbara, had in Thailand. 

It was a journey that would require patience as there were times when Jerry felt he was doing something he didn’t feel called to do.

You can also read Jerry’s article at: https://omf.org/us/gods-calling-is-often-a-process/

(Written by: Jerry Wibberly; Read by: Mike Klassen)

“What would happen if every church... if every Christian in the U.S. decided to love their neighbors from all parts of the world?”

That's a question James and Lisa Dougherty ask as they discuss how loving our neighbor is sometimes harder than supporting missions.

James and Lisa are President and Co-National Directors of OMF (U.S.). In this episode, both of them share the important opportunities now available to us!

A written version of this discussion is on our blog at: https://omf.org/us/why-loving-my-neighbor-is-harder-than-supporting-missions

Discover the Candidate Course, one of the first steps to becoming a missionary with OMF (U.S.). It's both an evaluation and a preparation, and a springboard for partners starting their missionary journey.

Story by: Hannah Porter

Read by: Avery Bieber

Blog link: https://omf.org/us/first-steps-to-becoming-a-missionary-with-omf/

About us: OMF is a global fellowship of Christians with a heart for East Asia. We share the good news of Jesus Christ in all its fullness with East Asia’s peoples to the glory of God.

Ashley Boutte is an OMF missionary who went to Japan in the Spring of 2022. ⁠Her time in northern Japan has been wonderfully exciting in many ways, but there are many challenges she has faced as she adjusts. ⁠

Each challenge, though, has always presented an opportunity for her to move forward and grow closer to Christ. ⁠

Ashley's life so far in Japan will be of particular interest to anyone wanting to understand what it's like to be in a new country at the start of a missionary journey.⁠

You can also read the story on our blog: omf.org/us/learning-and-growing-in-missions

OMF Thailand missionary Bekah Farber and her family spent their time on Home Assignment in the U.S. visiting family and ministry partners. She shares with us that while the time together in the car was filled with treasured moments, the real treasures were the people they met and how it reflected what we read in the New Testament. 

Bekah says, "The hospitality and generosity of our ministry partners, as they shared their food, homes, and selves with us, was just what is described in John’s third letter."

You can also read her story at: https://omf.org/us/travels-filled-with-treasure/

Allen Rea, a missionary in Thailand, gives us some insight into what challenges he faced in the early days of his ministry that began in 2022.

Allen has been married to Kara for 16 years and they have four wonderful children: Katie, Hosanna, Bella, and Isaiah. He completed his B.A. at Brewton-Parker College where he met Kara on the first day of freshman year. Allen pastored for 15 years in Georgia while completing his M.Div. and D.Min. from Luther Rice Seminary. He enjoys reading, writing, nice long walks, fishing, and playing with his kids.

The blog edition of this podcast is available by clicking here.