We're missionaries???

The other night as we were doing our nightly "time with God" with the boys, we discovered that our 6 yo didn't realise that our family is categorised as "missionaries". Bit tricky that one. The usual "missionaries are people who go overseas to tell people about Jesus" doesn't work so well for our kids. Firstly, they've spent more time in Japan than Australia so the word "overseas" doesn't have quite the same meaning. Our 6 yo was even born in Japan. They consider themselves Australian, but as you should realise from yesterday's post ("Steak") they are not totally Australian either! Secondly we are not the evangelists that most people imagine missionaries to be! Surprised? Yes, we do talk about Jesus. David teaches Bible at the Christian Academy in Japan (CAJ) and many of his students are not yet Christians. He also teaches Sunday School. I have made friends with several Japanese ladies during the last four years and try not to miss an opportunity to talk about Jesus, without being disrespectful or pushy. But you could not categorise us as evangelists. More or less, we are support workers, supporting those who are evangelists and church planters. Many of the parents at CAJ are missionaries and would struggle to remain in Japan if CAJ didn't exist. Much like the Olympic team would have struggled in Beijing if they hadn't taken their doctors, physios, trainers, dieticians etc., with them. So, that brings me back to trying to explain to my son in the minutes before he falls asleep, that yes, we are missionaries. It is a bit like famous people trying to explain to their kids that they are famous, when the kids just laugh and say, "But you are just Mum and Dad." I don't think I convinced him. Probably he'll pick it up as time goes on. Our oldest son has.