My Personality and Missionary Work

A missionary is a person who goes to a foreign land to promote their religion or
perform services such as providing healthcare and education on behalf of their religious
group. Since missionary activities involve interacting with people that a person is not familiar
with, I do not think that I can become an effective missionary.

Even though I consider myself a social person, I tend to hold back when I meet people
that I am not familiar with. For missionaries to be effective, they have to be people who are
comfortable with interacting with people who do not share their culture, language, country of
origin, religion, and worldview. For instance, missionaries who spread Christianity in many
parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South America often dealt with people that were completely
different from them. I do think that my personality can allow me to accomplish such feats of
courage and resourcefulness.

Apart from requiring a person who is easily comfortable with strangers, a missionary
should also be a risk taker. Missionary activities are not without dangers. Some missionaries
have been killed or injured while conducting missionary activities in areas whose inhabitants
or some of their inhabitants were hostile to their teachings. Can I take such big risks? I do not
think so. I am generally a risk-averse person. I do not think that I can venture out to places
where I have no guarantee that I will be safe and secure.

Based on the reasons that have been discussed here, I do not believe that I can be an
effective missionary for my religion. My personality and temperament are completely
unsuitable for the kind of work that missionaries perform.