Comments on: Questions about Missionaries

By: Gabrielle Wharton

Gabrielle Wharton — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 09:09:39 +0000

Dear Greg Laden,I am 10 years old and when I grow up I want to become a missionary. Some people usually say that missionaries are bad people but then I tell them that is not true at all missionarie are good people they tell you about God’s Word.

By: Jason Thibeault

Jason Thibeault — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:27:57 +0000

My first loan was to someone in Togo, but unfortunately, the local loan company (HELP Africa) has apparently fallen under hard times and is having problems trying to recoup the existing loans, so one of my loans is 50% paid and in default now. I have faith that it’ll eventually trickle back in at some point; if not, there’s always adding a bit more money to the pot.

Otherwise, I just read through the loan requests and pick whomever you figure could need it the most. I’m easily swayed by the first good cause I come across.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:41:40 +0000

Jason,
Thanks for the link to KIVA, it looks like a really good approach. I love that it is using social interaction (having your loan count towards a team loan) rather than just you contributing. And there is a large FSM group 🙂
How do you decide who to loan to?

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:43:29 +0000

And what’s the missionary position on this topic?

By: Erp

Erp — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:49:02 +0000

Non-religious might be a better choice than secular for the search. Non-religious NGOs might be a good bet such as Doctors without Borders though it deals mostly with acute crises. I also suspect that groups through some religions (like liberal branches of the Quakers) are likely to emphasize aid not religion though as a volunteer you might get a certain amount of religion. The American Friends Service Committee is one place to look (try a google search for atheist on the site).

By: Jason Thibeault

Jason Thibeault — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:22:21 +0000

I actually have $50 being loaned through http://www.kiva.org that I’ve left there and have reloaned ($25 at a time) several times over now. It’s been in there for almost as long as I’ve been seeing Jodi. I have no intention of taking the money out, and every time it’s repaid back up to $25, I throw it into another pot. Once that person’s pot reaches their goal for the loan, they get the money and, as it’s repaid, my money trickles back into my account.

You can also keep adding to the amount of money you put into the system. I’ve been meaning to up this to $100 as soon as I can, but, well, you know how it is.

By: Katkinkate

Katkinkate — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:04:47 +0000

What about Doctors without Borders as a secular ‘mission’? Also those organisations that provide interest-free microloans to poor communities to enable them to control their own community improvements.

By: sailor

sailor — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:47:06 +0000

Would Paul Farmers “Partners in Health” (PIH.org) and
Greng Mortenson’s “http://www.threecupsoftea.com/” qualify as sectarian organizations that do the same kind of helping work but way way better? I think using the word mission just confuses things.