SENT WITH A MISSION: AREA FAMILIES PREPARE FOR OVERSEAS MISSIONS

While their children start language lessons with a French tutor, Jim and Angela Beise are trying to raise support for and awareness of the mission needs in France.

The Beises are preparing for a return to the mission field after a 10-year hiatus during which Jim graduated from seminary and their son Michael, 4, was born. They will serve as church planters in a suburb of Paris, France, with the Mission Society for United Methodists.

Across town, Eric and Lisa Laffoon are making some adjustments to life in the United States after living four years abroad. They recently returned from Malawi, an African nation where they serve as Southern Baptist missionaries.

The biggest changes in living cross culturally come in small differences. Jim Beise misses the rich, aromatic blend of coffee found in a streetside Paris cafe. Lisa and Eric miss the consistency of telephone dial tones and communications found in the U.S.

Lisa also has noticed a decline in moral values since her stateside return last month. When she left for Malawi in January 1995, she took with her a JCPenney Co. catalog so she could shop by mail. And since returning, she's noticed a lot of changes in the clothing styles.

But it's not just the change in clothing. "The morality has slipped, just judging by what you see on TV," she said. "People are more accepting."

Although they will work in different nations of the world for different denominations, both the Beises and the Laffoons have the same message: strengthening the church and encouraging people to have a deep, meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ.

Beise said many of the French people have no connection with Christians. There are plenty of churches but few priests or pastors to meet individual needs in the villages and cities.

"There are an incredible number of people who wouldn't know where to go if they wanted to talk to someone about God," said Jim Beise, discipleship pastor at La Croix United Methodist Church. "They don't have Christians in their circle of friends."

People in France call themselves Christians but don't really practice their faith, he said.

The Laffoons encounter a similar problem among the Malawian people. Most attend church regularly because it is socially acceptable.

"We want more of a committed response," said Eric Laffoon. "We are trying to encourage them to dig a little deeper."

Eric trains pastors and teachers who lead churches in the villages of Malawi. Much of his day is spent in training sessions with these church leaders; he serves as a catalyst for new churches.

Lisa spends her days at home caring for Anna Marie, 4, and Nathanel, 2. She also spends part of her day visiting with people from the village who stop by her house.

People are constantly knocking on her door asking for food or work. "They want to be my gardener or my cook or my nanny," she said. "Sometimes you get nobody and sometimes you can't even get the cooking done."

The frequent interruptions can be difficult for a mother of small children, Lisa admits. It means taking a break from her home schooling lessons with Anna Marie or postponing Nathanel's afternoon nap.

"You think `What am I doing over here?' If I was in the States, at least I could go to the mall or the park and see people, but because I am here I get to minister to these people."

And the ministry is the reason for their work. "It teaches you to mature," she said.

Because they worked on a short-term mission project while in France previously, the Beises aren't really sure exactly what their task will be this time. They will join a team already working in the Paris suburbs.

Jim Beise has been working with small groups at the La Croix church and hopes to implement some of those same outreach principals in France.

"We're not going with a list of things, but recognize that God is at work and we just want to be part of it," he said. "We'll try to be as useful as we can."

And that means immersing themselves in the French culture and their community. They will enroll their four children in public schools, sign them up for soccer leagues and meet their neighbors.

"The reality is that a lot of people would never with a Christian who could talk to them about God and let them know he loves them. We are going to change that for the people around us."

On a mission

Accepting an assignment as a missionary means forsaking home and often traveling abroad. One Cape Girardeau family is making preparations for an assignment in France, while another has just returned from four years in the African nation of Malawi.

France

Population: 58.8 million.

Principal language: French.

Ethnic groups: Celtic and Latin; Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese and Basque minorities.

Major religion: 90 percent Roman Catholic.

Malawi

Population: 9.8 million.

Principal language: English and Chichewa.

Ethnic groups: Chewa, Nyanja, Lomwe, other Bantu tribes.

Major religions: Protestant, 55 percent; Muslim, 20 percent; Roman Catholic, 20 percent.

Source: World Almanac 1999