Missions Textbook 43
Dealing with Foreign Governments

We Never Saw It Coming: An Introduction to Christian Missions (textbook)

Read Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-14.

“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” –Romans 13:1.

This verse all by itself causes a conflict in our understanding of just how far God will go to allow evil in the world. Did God appoint Hitler and Stalin? Nobody wants to say yes, and yet in Proverbs 21:1 we read that “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord.” We have to begin with the nature of God. God is absolutely sovereign. Not partially sovereign, but absolutely sovereign. God is also absolutely Good. Not good just some of the time, but always and perfectly good with no imperfections of glitches. And God is omniscient, meaning that He knows everything, including all the options that could be.

These three characteristics dictate all of his actions, and we humans are stuck trying to figure out why He does or allows some of the things He does.

Darlene Deibler Rose, a missionary, was a prisoner of the Japanese in the Far East for eight years until November, 1945. Her suffering was almost indescribable, but she endured because she understood that God, who is all-powerful and all-knowing and totally Good, is not obligated to explain to His saints why He is allowing so much suffering. Rose commented that “Viewing those eight years from this far side, I marvel at the wisdom and love of our God, who controls the curtains of the stage in which the drama of our lives played; his hand draws aside the curtains of events only far enough for us to view one sequence at a time.”[1]

The rest of Romans 13:1-7 gives more details and the example of taxes, but verse 7 covers every believer’s own specific culture. Different cultures show respect and honor to different people in different ways. Ultimately every believer has to decide where to draw the line, as did the apostles in Acts 4 when they were forbidden to talk about Jesus any more. They responded, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard.” Those believers were persecuted for their faith, but with a clear conscience, they disobeyed the Jewish authorities. The principle: obey the authorities until they forbid you to talk about Jesus or to live a high moral life as Jesus commanded. Your conscience will have to decide what other laws you choose to break. Just please remember, you are not in a foreign country to gain more comfort or freedom, but tell people about Jesus. Never get sidetracked into social justice that does not include the clear Gospel message, either written or spoken.

Whether you plan to get involved in the politics or economy of a foreign government or to avoid those things at all costs, you will still have to navigate the regulations of your target country. Every foreigner in every foreign country has to deal with issues that usually do not affect the nationals. Here’s a list to prepare you for the massive red tape you will probably run into in your new country.

1) Upon arrival in any country, register with the local government office and with the nearest American Consulate. You should already know where both of these government bodies are located.

2) Conform to all regulations on crossing borders or frontiers. Make sure that all your paperwork is in order, so you will only be surprised by things you couldn’t have prepared for.

3) Declare all dutiable articles. Research this ahead of time, so you don’t end up in jail for bringing something illegally into the country. You will be surprised at what some governments ban from entering their country and the penalties (or bribes) associated with those items. (For many years the United States banned those children’s chocolate eggs with tiny toy surprises inside. The fines were steep.) Also, obtain all the necessary papers for the importation of desired items, such as: guns, medical drugs, cameras, etc. Get proper information and follow it. If you have to take some medication, your target country might not allow you to bring that medicine into the country. Don’t show up at the airport having overlooked that. It could be quite unhealthy.

4) Always carry copies of your identification papers with you, such as passport, bank card, proper visas (if needed), vaccination papers. Be careful flaunting your real documents. An American passport is worth a lot of money on the black market in some countries. Keep your original documents in a safe place. Use only copies if you can, although at border crossings and to register your place of residence, you will have to show the original.

5) Keep your vaccination and inoculation shots up to date. You can be refused entry for not having taken care of these medical issues before arriving. And you might not want to get the shots in your target country. Always study the health standards of your country before making any major decisions about where you are going and where you are going to live. Are you willing to live near a nuclear powerplant that just recently melted down? What are the hospitals like? Is medicine readily available?

6) Show your appreciation of services rendered in every office. How? “Good morning,” “Thank you,” “I’m sorry I didn’t understand.” Introduce yourself. “Yes, ma’am,” “Yes, sir,” etc. Be polite, no matter how you are treated. It’s their territory, not yours. People in some countries – or even in a section of a country – may strongly dislike foreigners.

7) Remember - the local government may be new, young, slow, dishonest, proud, incompetent, perhaps illiterate, disagreeable, exasperating, but it IS the legal government, and it IS the higher power. Don’t overstep your boundaries.

8) Do not criticize the government or government workers. If you do, you will experience much longer wait times at government offices. People can choose to make things difficult for impolite people. Accept any inefficiency with grace and kind words, and adjust to it.

9) Do not use radio transmitters without a proper license. Remember the whole world is listening. Some governments will confiscate all of your electronic gear if you violate these laws.

10) Marriages, births, and deaths should be promptly and accurately reported. This might seem logical to most people, but there have been incidents where a foreigner did not report a death and ended up being accused of murder. Secret marriages are problematic in a foreign country. Why would a person do that? And it’s difficult to keep the birth of a baby secret, but doing so makes the authorities very suspicious as to why someone would do that.

11) Be sure you understand the insurance laws for all vehicles: dogs, trucks, motorbikes, housing, etc., and obey them. Get those insurance policies as quickly as possible.

12) Discover what the tax laws are on radios, guns, cars, personal support, and “render unto Caesar . . ..” You also may have to pay income tax. Twice. Once to your home country and once to your host country. If you are self-employed, you will have to pay your own Social Security, if you have not opted out. If you are employed by the mission agency, they may take care of a lot of these things for you.

14) Do nothing for personal gain without the clearance from your local government and your mission agency. Running a business of any kind in a foreign country without the proper paperwork and without paying the required fees can lead to some disastrous consequences.

15) Prepare your will before going overseas. Give a copy to relatives, mission agency, lawyer, etc., and discuss with them the things in the will. Include in the will all of your possessions, including who will take care of your children if you do not return. Also include where you want to be buried. Remember, your burial will be a burden for others, not for yourself. Make your burial easy for everyone. You might give consideration to being buried in the location where you pass away, instead of making your relatives foot the bill for flying your body back to your home country, unless one of your relatives just can’t imagine having your corpse rolled over in a ditch and cover up with leaves. It won’t make any difference to you.

Have you read Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-14 yet? Do it, and pray for a clear conscience in all of your choices. Don’t get sidetracked from spreading the Gospel.

[1] Darlene Deibler Rose, Evidence Not Seen: A Woman’s Miraculous Faith on the Jungles of World War II, (New York: HarperCollins, 2003), 221.

We Never Saw It Coming: An Introduction to Christian Missions (textbook)

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