What Does a Missionary Look Like?

Being a Racer means several things and can look differently for each person. Before leaving home, I read some blogs about what to bring on the Race, but truly you can never fully prepare for life on the Race. Being a Racer who’s whole life is inside of a 60 liter backpack, it means you do not have much room for much clothing options. Something that I have loved lately about living overseas is how creative one can get with their wardrobe and just how vastly different each country has been about what to wear. So, what does a missionary look like when living in Guatemala? Or in Romania? How about Albania? Wait, Turkey is also different? Jordan, its hot there, what does it look like there? What does a missionary look like in Thailand? Well, let me take you into a deeper, but fascinating look into what a missionary look like living in all these countries!

First of all, big disclaimer that I think is important! Each country is different based off the season you go in, what ministry you are doing, and your own sense of style!

My first country Guatemala! The topic of debate: Do you need a skirt or dress while being on the Race? Well, for my team you needed about 5 different skirts while doing ministry in Guatemala. Like I said in my disclaimer, your wardrobe depends on the ministry you are with. My team was known as the ones who only wore skirts throughout our time in Guatemala. I even got a shocking look when one of my squadmates saw me in shorts and not a skirt… lol! But, our ministry was going up into remote villages and being among local Guatemalan believers. Our host had told us that in order to be culturally appropriate, we would have to wear long skirts whenever we would visit these villages. Several women in Guatemala can be seen in their traditional Corte, so it was fun to wear our skirts! We got to hike in our skirts, preach off a mountainside in our skirts, ride in the back of a truck in our skirts, speak in front of churches in our skirts. By the end of our time, our skirts felt apart of us. We had to even borrow some from our minisry hosts wife because we all only bought about 1-2 skirts. So, while the other teams did not need to own any skirts, ours did. You never know what you need until you hear from your hosts, so it was helpful to come into the Race with our own but also be able to borrow some because we needed to wear skirts frequently.

So, what does a missionary look like in Guatemala? It looks like wearing a base colored shirt (so that it will go with each style of skirt), an ankle-lengthed skirt, chacos (or any open-toed shoe). We went during a hot season, but in our mountain town, we did have some chillier days. Being a missionary in Guatemala looks like being culturally apporopriate and wearing a skirt. It looks like being one of locals and experiencing their traditional wear. It looks like borrowing several skirts and passing them around the team. It looks like preaching off the side of a mountain and praying that a person in these small villages here our message.

Chicaman, Guatemala.

My second country, Romania! We went from hot, short-sleeved and shorts to winter jackets, gloves and beanies real quick!!! Romania was cold so we folded away our shorts and t-shirts and took out our long sleeves and jeans. I came into the Race with a beanie and scarf and that was honestly so nice to have when we were in Romania. An interesting thing about Romania is that Romanians normally look to your shoes to judge whether to have a conversation with you or not. When I had my running shoes on I could see the difference that made whenever I did not wear them. So, wearing your World Race best on your feet was important when evangelizing on the streets. Romania was rainy and wet a couple of times so I had to purchase some boots while there or else my feet would have been frozen within the hour.

So, what does a missionary look like in Romania? It means bundling up in your warm clothes to do street evangelism. You embrace the cold and accept frozen fingers in order for the Gospel to be shared. It means you look a little nicer because Romanians appreciate good outer appearance. Being a missionary in Romania means accepting the fact that in order to have conversations with locals, you get out your nice shoes. It looks like being thankful that the weather feels like home and embracing the two snowfalls we experienced.

Craiova, Romania.

My third country, Albania! Luckily, the weather was similar to Romania’s, so I was pretty prepared for the colder weather. Although, I was not prepared for the cold weather inside of the buildings. Albania has wooden stoves where we would start fires inside of them in order to keep the inside warm. It was really fun getting to be creative in our wardrobe to keep warm because most of the time, it would be cold whenever you would step out of the room where the stove is. So, long-sleeves, hoodies, fuzzy socks, and jeans were what I mostly wore during my time in Albania. I would even at times keep my big winter jacket on inside… fun times! Whenever being in the presence of male, even though we probably did not want to because of the cold, we were told not to wear shorts. It was an easy transition from Romania to Albania, but a couple more layers were worn in Albania.

So, what does a missionary look like in Albania? It looks like wearing big jackets inside when dancing the Cotton Eyes Joe in front of little children. It looks like wearing gloves during church and being wrapped around several blankets when having team time. It  looks like getting gifted a scarf and jacket from people. Being a missionary in Albania looks like embracing the cold weather and having fun doing ministry. It means sitting around the table with women and reading Bible stories. It looks like ATL and meeting new people each time.

Kotodesh, Albania.

My fourth country, Turkey! I kept some of my stuff from Albania, especially because we were traveling by bus, so there was no limit on weight. But, once again the disclaimer from earlier about it depending on ministry. For the majority of my time in Turkey, I wore an old t-shirt, jogger pants and running shoes that ended up getting paint all over. My team did manual labor work and we helped paint a church in our town, so I had to pick/accept clothes would have paint all over them by the time we left. I ended up leaving my running shoes because they were not repairable and was thankful my teammate gave me pants that I could use. But, aside from our painting clothes, we were told that our town was not as conservative as other parts of Turkey, so we were able to wear leggings when running outside and if we wanted to wear short-sleeves that exposed our tattoos that was okay. Luckily, it was warmer thank Albania, but still chilly so some of the layers I had were helpful.

So, what does a missionary look like in Turkey? It looks like getting ready to do whatever and sacrifice some of your clothes to help with manual labor. It looks like getting excited over the progress of this church buidling that will one day be a light in this town. It also looked liked being friends with locals and shown how to wear a hijab. Being a missionary in Turkey looks like embracing the culture and loving on people. It looks like getting gifted several scarfs and being reminded that no matter how many differences there are between this person in front of me and myself, we all are loved by the Father.

Ayvacik, Turkey.

My fifth country! Jordan was quite different than any other country. Our outer wear had to be culturally appropriate during our time in Jordan. Although the weather was hot, the women had to wear long sleeves and ankle lengthed bottoms. Thinking we would leave behind our long sleeves in Turkey because we would be entering into a hot country, we had to keep them in order to be in Jordan. I went to the Friday Market and bought a button-up long-sleeve, a long-sleeved undershirt, and a long-sleeved dressy shirt. Each day, we got used to grabbing our button-up and covered up our arms. By the end of our time, it just became a habit to cover up, even after we left Jordan and I got to put on a short-sleeved shirt, I felt so weird on showing my arms. I loved dressing this way because it gave me a very small look into how women that live there experience. Even if it is hot outside, women have to cover up, even with hijabs on, so it was interesting to be apart of that. Along with our dress, we also had to have our hair up. Hair is seen as a very high thing in Jordan, so in order to still be culutrally appropriate and respectful, we had to pin our hair back. It was definitely so weird how quickly you learn and adapt to the cultures and get used to wearing certain things.

So, what does a missionary look like in Jordan? It looks like not showing your arms or ankles. It means hiding tattoos and taking piercings off. It looks like getting creative with how you style your hair. It looks like sitting in front of refugees and sharing the Gospel in a way that they understand. It means getting to experience a Sudanese henna party and trying on traditional Sudanese dresses. Being a missionary in Jordan means putting aside norms and embracing the norms of the country and of the religion.

Amman, Jordan.

And my last country, Thailand! We have only been here a couple days, but it is hot! And humid! So, we ditched the long-sleeves and jeans for shorts and short-sleeves (which felt very weird coming from Jordan). We have not yet started ministry yet, we are actually in the middle of our PVT. But already I have been trying to get used to the climate and culture. There are a lot of colors and light clothing here in Thailand. Here in Thailand there are several pants with elephants and traditional patterns. I am still learning what each pattern means and where the origins are from. So each day, I put on my chacos, pick one of the four shorts I have, and choose a tee. I also remember to grab my fan I purchased and my sweat rag (which is just a towel I use to wipe my sweat throughout the day haha). It has been interesting to experience the wardrobe change from Jordan to Thailand, but I have been missing this type of weather.

So, what does a missionary look like in Thailand? It means embracing the sweat and taking three showers a day. It looks like getting tan within two days of being here. It looks like visiting several market stands and becoming friends with the vendors. It means doing prayer walks down a red light district in 90+ degree weather. Being a missionary in Thailand means buying cooler clothing in order to make being in the heat more comfortable. It looks like learning as you go, both in wardrobe and in connecting with people.

Chiang Mai, Thailand.

So, what does a missionary look like in Guatemala, Romania, Albania, Turkey, Jordan and Thailand? It is embracing all the cultural changes, the weather changes, packing wisely and picking outfits up. It looks several ways, but it has been so sweet to get to experience all the different changes. Something sweet that the Lord reminded me of the other day was the vision I had years ago. The same vision where the Lord called me to become a missionary. In the vision I saw myself dressed in several different outfits, speaking to several different people groups. And here I am, years later, embracing and changing, loving people and sharing the Gospel. All glory to God because He is so good. To see His calling for my life being completed has been so humbling. When He reminded me of the vision I had, I could not help but smile and thank Jesus for allowing me to see the fulfillment of His promises. This life is so good ya’ll, He is so good! Thank you for walking down memory lane with me and read how God has brought this back full circle. Until next time!

If you would like to continue to support a missonary and offset the cost of ilving necessities, I would be more than grateful! Living on the field has been intersting, especially changing currencies each other month and I will continue to need some of the living necessities. Such as shampoo, soaps, deodorant and any extra needs that would come up. The amount I needed to fundraise at the beginning does not go towards any personal needs, but instead for flights, lodging, transportation, etc. But any personal needs would have to be used from my own finances. I wanted to reach out to all of you and ask if you would like to financially support me with only two more months of being on the field. This also helps going back home and with any expenses needed when I first land. If you do feel led to give, it would not be through my giving donation link, but instead to my personal account. My Venmo is Joana-Quintana or I do have Zelle through my phone number, 720-483-8147. Thank you so much for your continued support and your love!

Blessings,
Joana Quintana