Where's the Pastor?

I think too many times when people think of missionaries, they picture something like this:

And when told about a missionary in a foreign land they think of this:

I'm sorry to say that our mission will look nothing like this. First of all we'll be in color. And second, we'll be serving at a modern hospital. 

Erin and I do not have formal seminary training. We didn't get a degree in Foreign Missions. And we aren't polished up on presenting an hour sermon. But that's OK. A cool thing about how God works is that He uses people of every skill set and passion to minister to His peoples. 

The Karanda Mission Hospital, where we'll be serving for a year, focuses on healing peoples' physical problems, but at that same time, they understand that spiritual healing can often take place when people are physically sick. 

I will be serving the Lord with a video camera. I love finding and telling stories. If you've never had a camera pointed in your face with the red light blinking (yes they still have the red light) and asked very personal questions, you'll know that it's an intimate, intimidating scene. I hope to break down barriers with a camera and build meaningful relationships, and let that be my ministry.

So where's the pastor? Well, she's definitely there in missions. Churches and people groups need a formally trained spiritual guide and teacher. But Erin and I realized that's not necessarily our calling, so we'll serve in the ways God's had blessed and strengthened us. 

In conclusion, you can be a missionary without being a "pastor."

-Kam