James Hargrave is a long-term missionary with the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) serving in the Holy Archdiocese of Mwanza in northwest Tanzania, East Africa. During his first term of service, James is learning the Kiswahili language and the culture of the people he has been sent to serve. He is also working for Archbishop Jeronymos of Mwanza to support youth activities, aid English-language communication, and facilitate short-term Teams from North America and from Finland.
James' love for East Africa dates from his early childhood as the son of missionary parents in Kenya. He first learned of the Orthodox Christian faith through the witness of Ethiopian refugees, and it was on a return visit to Kenya as an adult that his own commitment to Christ and to the Orthodox Church was established. His dedication to Christian ministry began developing in 2004 as he did social work in inner-city Los Angeles. James' faith was further shaped in graduate school by the Orthodox Christian Fellowship at the University of Florida and by his parish priest of blessed memory who was himself a cross-cultural missionary from Greece to America.
James was born in Gainesville, Florida and is a fifth-generation Florida Gator. You can read his missionary updates on the OCMC website here.
The formal beginning of my missionary career was the commissioning. I was brought before the faithful of my home parish and formally received my evangelistic task.
Commissioning is nothing new. One of the first missionary commissions is recorded in three of the Gospels, when Christ sends out his twelve disciples. Shortly afterwards, seventy more are sent on a similar task. Here are some bits of those commissions:
He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And he said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece...” So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere... “Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”
- Luke 9:2-3, 6; 10:8-9
"Do missionaries get married?"
It has not always been worded so directly, but the question has been asked of me many times. Finding a spouse while serving on the mission field seems like such a daunting task. Doesn't becoming a missionary mean giving up any hope of married life?
Well, it does mean surrendering the right to be married. For that matter, our life in Christ means surrendering every right, and relying instead on his abundant grace. Sure, you might not get married. But God knows what you need. And some missionaries do find their spouse on the mission field.
This blog is about missions and missionary work. So let's start with that. What is missions? What does it mean to do missionary work? Where, and how?
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