Am I a missionary? That's a great question and a hard one to answer. If your classic definition of missionary is "one who takes the gospel to others" then I guess we are all missionaries. That is, everyone who is a evangelical believer in Christ.

But today, so much has given even the word "Christian" a bad rap and you see Churches and people using the term "follower of Christ" or "Christ follower" instead. (How about one who "Walks Gods Trail" as they say in the jungle.) Either way, even the term "missionary" brings forth a broad spectrum of emotion. To the Christian churched, a missionary is often one to be admired and respected. When I'm traveling in the Amazon I'm greeted in the towns and villages like a celebrity and usually given all of the "perks" of the village. The local mayors and police all wish to meet me, I'm offered the best food and places to stay, everyone wants to sit and talk to me. Yet at home, no one really has much idea of what I'm doing or the extent of my work. I'm mostly invisible, but that's Ok too. If I'm at a Church that supports me then the level of "respect" is higher, but still no where near the level as it is in the jungle. That's OK too.....

In the secular world, the term missionary is often related to "one that destroys cultures and oppresses people until they relent and repent!" If you don't believe that's true, then go get an un-believing friend, once you have built relationship with him to the point that he will be honest with you, ask him yourself!

In the Classic sense, if a missionary has to move to an exotic land and teach people about Christ. Then I'm not one. I still live and work where I have lived and worked all of my life. Yet I still am involved in the lives of people in the Amazon, trying to make a difference in the name of Christ. So what am I?.............

A Missionary?......maybe, or an "Evangelical Adventurer"  I'm not too sure, what do you think? Contact me and let me know.

Tom Clark