Expats Working with Nationals

A pair of visiting expat men and a national went out to share the Good News and found a man along the road. After the man listened for about fifteen minutes, he was ready to accept the Good News the expats shared. The expats were sure they had done something wrong and that the man did not understand, so they launched into resharing. The man again said he wanted to follow The Way. The national asked why the expats kept sharing when the man already said he understood. The expats live in an area where hardly anyone ever is ready to believe after such a short time. It took the national man telling the expats that indeed the man was sincere in his desire to believe.

A pair of expat ladies and a national lady went out to share in a neighborhood. In addition to sharing the Good News, the expats also wanted to learn about the healthcare system in the country.  The expat ladies spoke the national language of the country, however they could not communicate with most of the women because most of the women were not very well educated. The expat ladies needed the national to translate for them. In one visit, the national translated in addition to giving a bit of national medical history. A disease which has been eradicated, for all intensive purposes, in the United States had an outbreak in that country about twenty years ago. Many children died. A girl in the house that the expats suffered permanent physical and mental defects as a result of the disease, but she was learning to still function as a member of the family. The national woman was necessary to communicate effectively.

The expat visitors were sharing story after story in the village.  A few women were hanging on every word. The national translating for the visitors shared his testimony, which began exactly where one of these women lived. The woman eagerly accepted the Good News the expats had come across the ocean to share, but she may not have been as eager had it not been for the national.

The expat had shared with her friend over and over again.  Another expat had shared before. Though this expat had seen a desire to know, it seemed that the friend lacked that final commitment. The friend had an opportunity to hear the national tell what the expats had been sharing all along. Suddenly it was clear and undeniable for the friend. The friend knew she needed to follow the Way and needed to talk to her spouse about studying the Truth more.  The national reached a level that the expats could not.

The young expat ladies were learning language and going out to villages with a national. The people in the village are often so welcoming to visitors that they cannot be honest about their disinterest in what the visitor has to say. The national was able to discern for the expats where the people were interested and where they were not.

The expat and the national were talking. The national told the expat how crucial it is for them to work together. The expat agreed. The national said that she would be the one to continue the work in the villages after the visitors leave. The expat agreed for it is the national who will continue the work even when the expat has to leave.

The expat went to the village to learn language. As his language increased, he began to share the Good News. He was brushed off by his "family" in the village. A couple of years later a national is working in that same village, or right outside of it, and finds great reception as he shares. The national could do what the expat could not.

The expat needs the national. Beyond knowing where to buy bread or meat or how to find a good plumber or electrician, the national can read the people with whom he or she is so intimately familiar.  The national knows what illustrations or idioms will make what the expat desires to share clearer for the hearer.  The national is invaluable to the expat.

Pray for national partners for each of our team for us to communicate the Good News more effectively.