An excerpt from: 

Who’s Got Your Back?

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By Bonnie Gouge, Regional Director for South America
July-September 2015

Do you ever wish that someone would just listen to your heart and hear your concerns? Don’t you want to know that someone “has your back?” Do you wish you had a mentor?

Scripture gives us many examples of mentoring and of learning and gaining wisdom from others. For example, Elijah was a mentor to Elisha. Paul was a mentor to Timothy. These older men poured into younger men, shaping their lives and helping them mature spiritually so that they were better prepared for kingdom work.

World Gospel Mission believes in its missionaries and wants them to succeed. When our new missionaries go to the field, a mentor takes time to be with them, helping them in their transition to the new culture, place, and language. Many times, we just listen. Other times, we lend a helping hand. We are often called upon to share what we have learned as we have served.

My husband, Ron, and I have worked with new missionaries in Spain. And that has not been easy since we do not live there. Thanks to technology, we can still connect with new missionaries in Spain through Skype. We work with them through a written mentoring program, but also spend a lot of time just listening, helping them process their new life in a new place.

As a mentor, I am keenly aware of my own inadequacies. I realize that although I have served for many years in a “foreign” country, I do not have all the answers. In many ways, I just “press on” as Paul writes in Philippians 3:12: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on.…” Our hope is that in spite of our mistakes and inadequacies, our experiences can help someone else grow and mature and maybe even miss some of our pitfalls, helping prepare them to reach out to their world for Christ.

Perhaps you never had a mentor to help you along your life’s journey, but I imagine there are younger people around you who could use a helping hand. Will you “have their back?”

PRAY: Is mentorship the next step in your journey in helping you grow deeper in your walk? Take time this month to pray and ask God to direct your path to the right person who can help you with this process.