The Making of a Missionary by Jay & Sunny McLaughlin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW:

Jay and Sunny McLaughlin bring the mission field into your home through this book. You are able to read first hand about the ups and downs, the joys and the dangers of serving God. And most of all, the McLaughlins share the amazing acts of God as they watch Him move in the hearts of many.

I enjoyed reading this book for the frank and honest approach it takes on missions. It's not sugar coated, but rather raw experiences of what missionaries - especially in a third world country - face. I also was blessed to read the amazing accounts of how they visibly saw God work in mighty ways - ways we in America don't normally experience. This book also holds a great amount of practical information, help, and encouragement for anyone considering entering missions. It is a pre-missions handbook so to speak.

I have to say that I would love all the teens in our church to read this book because I think it would be a great eye-opener to them. However, there are some doctrinal differences in this book and while I recommend this read, I think that one needs to be aware that they may not agree with everything that is said. All that said, I still say that this book can and is a great one for perspective missionaries to be reading and I especially appreciated and respected Jay's exhortation on asking yourself why you want to be a missionary.

If for no other reason, I would recommend reading this book just because it opens your eyes to the real challenges our missionaries face even today.

BOOK OVERVIEW:

After seeing the lack of knowledge in many churches, regarding missions, Jay McLaughlin was prompted by his supporters to write a book on the subject. In The Making of a Missionary readers will see life as a missionary first hand, through McLaughlin’s years of experience. These true-life examples place your mind in the middle of the dangers, blessings, miracles, failures, successes, arrest, escapes, joys, and rewards lived out almost daily.

For the person who is hunting for deeper mission knowledge, this book also categorizes pertinent subjects, such as how to prepare for a mission trip, how to know if you are qualified, and what crucial steps must be taken. Learn the importance of licenses, school, police and shot records, driving record, and any specialty training that you have. Where can you find medical and dental help oversees? What will the local officials expect of you when you arrive? The list goes on and on but is very much needed to help those who are called to be better prepared and make a difference for the Lord. It will help the people they are trying to serve, and those they serve with.

AUTHOR BIO:

Jay McLaughlin was a late-comer to Christianity, who crawled out of the world and started living for Christ at age 43. In 1984 he and his wife Sunny went out as missionaries to Mbale, Uganda. After some success and some real near-death experiences, their trip ended with a hair-raising escape that exposed a corrupt organization for what they were. They again went out in 1986 to Mombasa, Kenya for three months training. From there they went to Nairobi for three months of missionary excitements, language school, and slum work, before returning home with a fresh calling from God for Jinja, Uganda.

They spent the next five years studying and serving in many different areas in the church, undergoing various training groups and schooling, until the leadership saw it was time to ordain Jay as a pastor in 1990. After that the McLaughlin's put together a great mission team to handle things connected to their mission. He and Sunny prepared themselves to go out long-term to Jinja and start a mission base from scratch. Their life has been filled with many Christian-Indiana-Jones-type stories, with the miracles, dangers, failures, successes, sorrows, blessings, laughter, and tears of pain over the death of so many children and adults from AIDS. Jay’s story, expressed through his book The Making of a Missionary provides proof that God does provide for those who love Him.

Jay and his wife currently live in Corpus Christi, TX, where he leads the Silver Saints group at Calvary Chapel Coastland.

* * * * *

This review copy was provided courtesy of WinePress Publishing. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.