The Missionary Lifecycle: Part 1– Preparing to go to the field
This is the first in a four-part series of articles covering the various stages of the cycle of missionary life. We will hear directly from SAMS Missionaries themselves about their experiences. In this pre-field stage, we hear from Logan and Samantha Gates, who with their young son Lewis, are currently SAMS Missionary Candidates interning at Christ Church Vienna, Virginia, in preparation to serve in Santiago, Chile, later this year.
“God has a way of making his calling clear…”
Samantha never thought she would be a missionary. Growing up in a Christian family, she had always thought she would support missionaries, not be one herself. But God has ways of making His calling clear! For both Samantha and me, that calling initially came from an Anglican Bishop in Chile who asked us to consider serving in a church plant there. It was later confirmed through the discernment of our church community and SAMS. Finally, the Lord affirmed it through the peace we have felt as a couple all along the way, and we are happy to share about what it’s looked like for us to prepare for the mission fi eld in 2026.
Things we didn’t expect
Becoming missionaries has been more challenging than we anticipated. We were aware that missionaries needed to raise support for things like housing and international health insurance, but seeing the full amount we needed to raise gave us some “sticker shock”! We also didn’t realize how long it would take to find the individuals, families, and churches whom the Lord was calling to be a part of the work we’d be doing. Balancing this alongside work, parenting, training, and immigration paperwork has been more than we expected.
Nevertheless, there have been as many blessings in this season as there have been trials. We initially thought our greatest “need” would be for financial provision. Looking back, we see how God has used that practical need to help us see what we were most in need of: a team of believers committed to encouraging us, laboring with us in prayer, as well as giving sacrificially to send us to the field.
We have been humbled by how the local church has come alongside us as well. We have not only had churches pray over and commission us, but also have had a church arrange for me to do a pastoral internship to get ministry experience in areas I would need to use in Chile, such as church planting and Spanish-language ministry. Another unexpected blessing has been the gift of moving in with family during this season of support raising. While we valued being on our own in the first seven years of our marriage, we have treasured this time of deeper relationship and dependence, and we know the Lord is preparing us to have to depend on others in a new culture and language when we arrive on the mission field.
Firstfruits of sorrow and joy
In our cross-cultural training, we learned that mission work contains a paradox of sorrows and joys. We have been tasting some of these sorrows and joys even now, before we arrive in Chile. Preparing for the field has felt like a “long goodbye” to our family and friends. In some ways, we’re grateful for how long it has taken us to get to the field, but in other ways, we are regularly reminded that the time we have together is temporary. We’ve come to see that this season not only involves sorrow for us, but also for the family and friends who are releasing us to the mission field. There is also sadness in the good things that we are leaving behind. Both of us recently completed several years of education and are leaving behind career paths that, in many ways, are more secure and “successful.” It is hard
to see our peers settling down and buying homes, while we attempt to winnow down our belongings to a few checked bags!
But we are also beginning to taste the joys that lie ahead. We feel joy in being in the center of God’s will, and in being able to make sacrifices for Christ. There has been joy in seeing His provision financially and through a team He has gathered around us. There has also been joy in having to grow in prayer and dependence on the Lord throughout this season of support raising. Looking ahead, we are excited to learn a new culture, discover a new city, and gain a new family in Christ. We look forward to the spiritual growth that comes from depending more deeply on the Lord, and to watching Lewis experience the richness of two cultures. We are eager to serve among secular, post-Christian people in one of the largest cities in South America. Most of all, we are excited to present Christ and see Him draw people to Himself as He is lifted up (John 12:32).
Amidst uncertainty, finding peace in God’s calling
The uncertainties that lie ahead of us are many. We know there will be trials being so far away from home. We know there will be trials adjusting to a new culture – we are both introverts who like early bedtimes, while Chileans stay up late, spending time together! There will be challenges integrating into an existing church plant, building trust by taking the posture of serving and learning. We don’t yet know where we’ll be living, or who our community will be. But amidst all these uncertainties, we have found peace in God’s calling. If He is calling us to Chile, we know that what he asks of us is simply obedience.
Our trust is in God’s words in Isaiah 46:11:
“I have spoken, and I will
bring it to pass; I have
purposed, and I will do it.”
Logan grew up in Vienna, Virginia, and has spent the last ten years in Toronto, Canada, working in the area of Christian apologetics and pursuing a PhD at the University of Toronto. He has a heart for people to encounter God for themselves by exploring tough questions about the Christian faith. In Toronto, Logan met his wife Samantha. Their son, Lewis, was born in 2025. Samantha just earned her certification as a CPA. She holds a BA in Modern Languages (French, Spanish, and German) and an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University, before working in accounting. She is half Latina and lived in Latin America for a time as a child. They both felt the Lord placing missions on their heart and that He was opening doors for them to serve in an Anglican church in Chile to plant a church there, through an invitation from the Bishop of Santiago. They are interning at Christ Church, Vienna ministering to Spanish-speaking believers there in preparation for a move to Chile in late 2026. You can learn more about them here.