Can I Put a Bug in Your Ear About Missions?

SIM is an acronym for Special Interest Missionaries. All Covenant women missionaries, active or retired are SIMS. The crucial networking between worker and home supporter occurs when each Covenant woman missionary is "partnered" to one of the nine Conference Women Ministries for a three year period.

Each year they are invited to submit a $300 project, that would enhance their ministries. The funds to meet this request come from the conference to which the SIM has been assigned. Each conference also gives $25.00 to their assigned SIM for her birthday.

The "Software" of Caring for Your SIM
Moral Support

Simply, it is just "being there" for your SlM. Write her! Send cards, birthday, Christmas or other holidays and just to say "Hi, I'm thinking about you". Have a birthday party for her and tape the event and send it to her. Some SIMS would appreciate pairing up with a specific group within the church. Send cards, cookies, or small gifts to your SIM's children away at school. Match the children of your SIM with children of a similar age in your church to become penpals.

Become a World Christian by familiarizing yourself and the group with the challenges faced by your SIM . Avail yourself of the World Mission Fact Sheets to find out more about the country of service. Create interest in the country where she lives (food, customs, dress, obstacles to the gospel) using bulletin board displays, and videos from World Mission etc.

Logistics Support
These are the bits and pieces back home. Offer to mail the periodic prayer letter for her in the USA Or send a gift of money through World Mission toward postage. Some of our SIMs are in counties where there is limited Christian fellowship and teaching. Tapes of Christian music, sermons, or Bible studies may provide spiritual nourishment to her thirsty soul.

Financial Support
Each year, SIMs are invited to submit a $300 Project that will enhance their ministries. Funds to meet this request come from the conferences to which they are assigned. Your group may also desire to contribute to personal gifts or Christmas gifts for your SIM. These funds should be sent by the local CWM treasurer to CWM Office with the name of the missionary and her field.

Prayer Support
The Covenant Resource Center Catalogue lists a "How to Pray for Missionaries and Missionary Kids" bookmark for a nominal fee. Why not order enough for all your ladies? Also, take an evening to create photo magnets of the SIM for all the ladies' fridges. Try a calendar such as Warren, MN church in Northwest conference is doing. The plan is to put together a wall calendar and feature the nine missionary families the church helps support financially, the special interest missionary, the NW Conference, and Covenant World Missions. Each of those items would get their own page. There will be a place for a picture of the family, a couple of recipes from their area of the world, a small map showing where they are located, and a little paragraph of information about the work they do on the top part and the bottom part would be the calendar with the birthdays and anniversaries of the missionaries.
When you communicate with her, ask her which areas of need are vital to her. As you let her know of your commitment to sustain her in prayer, she will keep you informed of more needs.

Communication Support
Communicating Through Letters and notes- e-mail or write! Say things that really matter. Get involved in the life of your SIM. If your group takes turns writing to your SIM let her know that she can write one letter to the group and you will share it with everyone

The telephone - plan to make a call to your SIM. Make the arrangements with her keeping in mind the time change and logistics.
Faxed messages can communicate with your SIM who may have access.
Communicate through Photo - either enclose a photo now and then with your letter or if your SIM has access to a computer take digital camera photos that can be sent via e-mail.
Videos - make a video of your WM gathering, interview people on a topic of interest, take a traveling tour around your town. Send audiotape letters - a way to introduce yourself and your group to your SIM. It can also include a sermon, radio clip etc.
A care package - check first with the post office and with your SIM or World Missions on what may be sent. Consider shipping costs and duty before you mail anything. New books, music tapes, Bible study tapes, a crafts or gardening magazine, even little things like a package of salad dressing that aren't available on the field would be an encouragement.
Visit her - what an encouragement that would be.
Reentry Support -After your SIM is established in her community consider inviting her to your group.
An interesting way to highlight your visiting SIM would be to plan a "Travel Social." Have simulated passports as tickets to a social, traveling to Mexico, for example. Dinner music and games, Mexican.
Have slides from the country, the SIM would share about her work there.

How about the Missionary suitcase? At various times of the year, i.e. Christmas, women bring gifts for a missionary suitcase/box. Whenever a female missionary comes to the church she can choose a few or as many gifts from the suitcase as she wishes. Put in things that they would not buy for themselves but would like to have, or practical items they might need such as cosmetics, shampoo,stationary, pantyhose, scented candles, linens, afghan, etc. So often missionaries are scheduled to death with meetings. Why not get the ladies together and take her on a relaxing picnic or to some area of interest. It is often easier to get an idea of how to pray for her, her interest, her passion, etc. when talking in an informal setting. Don't make it a "heavy" time for her. The picnic could be a theme picnic, for example, pioneer, at a scenic spot.

USEFUL RESOURCES:

Pirolo, Neal. "Serving as Senders" San Diego, CA: Emmaus Road, International. 1991.
McClung, Floyd. "Light the Window". Seattle, WA Youth With a Mission Publishing, 1999.
Johnstone, Patrick. "Operation World". Grand Rapids, MI. Zondevan Publishing House, 1993.
The new "Operation World" book will be available Sept. 1 2001. OM Literature is Publisher.

Coventant Publications available by phoning (800) 338-IDEA or e-mail CovResCtr@aol.com

Covenant Missionary Prayer Calendar
Helps. Published by the Covenant Department of world Missions.
Covenant World Mission Newsletter (The Covenant Companion) sent to churches.
Field Facts/Outline Maps - overview of ministry on each of the Covenant mission fields.
CAPS: Mission Possible! A resource manual for mission education.
"How to Pray for Missionaries and How to Pray for MK's" bookmark
Ask for a catalogue of Covenant World Mission Audio Visuals (Artifacts, Displays, Film, Kits, Music, Pictures, Posters, Slides) through the Covenant Resource Center. Rental or purchase options.