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People have the idea of missionaries as going out with the Bible and hitting natives with it. It's not really what they were doing. They were all doing something rather different.

Some missionaries are giants in the Spirit and pygmies in skills in the Spirit. Work hard to develop a balance. Your leaders, and you, should teach the skills to each other.

In the past, missionaries have traveled to far countries with the message of the gospel - with great hardship and often with the loss of life. In contrast, we can reach millions instantly from the comfort of our homes by merely hitting the 'send' button on our computers, or with iPads, or phones.

For many years, the work advanced but slowly. One denomination after another embarked in the undertaking; and now, American missionaries are seen in almost every land and every clime.

Missionaries labor diligently to teach and baptize those who accept the gospel. In the process, their own testimonies become deeply rooted.

Any known attempt at proselyting would be instantly amenable at a criminal tribunal and would probably be punished by the death of the proselyte and the banishment of the missionary. All efforts must be conducted in private and are therefore very limited.

My heart reaches out to you missionaries. You simply cannot do it alone and do it well. You must have the help of others. That power to help lies within each of us.

After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.

I strongly believe that missionaries make better products. They care more. For a missionary, it's not just about the business. There has to be a business, and the business has to make sense, but that's not why you do it. You do it because you have something meaningful that motivates you.