“How is your vacation so far?”

…a blog about missionary furlough’s

If you are a (retired) missionary, this blog will sound familiar to you. If you are a missionary-supporter (member of a missionary sending church), this blog might be helpful for you.

One of the misunderstandings some ‘people back home’ have about the life of their missionaries is with regards to furloughs. We – our missionary siblings and friends, colleagues in the field – all recognize the ‘sweet&sourness’ of the question “How is your vacation so far?” Without doubt, the intention of the question is very sweet! The sourness is on our side, wishing it would be a little more restful.

Just look at it this way: How much would you be looking forward to your annual family summer vacation if that would consist of the following activities:

24.504 Kilometers traveling (including 15 hours of standing in queue’s and 22 hours entertaining your kids in waiting area’s)  -18 speaking arrangements  - culture shock and jet leg (your head spins from overwhelming gigantic shops, not knowing what to choose, bad sleeping because of all the impressions etc.)  - Visit all your relatives and if possible friends (and meeting their expectations)  -have everyone’s dental problems fixed  - Doctors’  appointments and necessary immunizations for living in the tropics -Doing all the non-food shopping (clothes, shoes, resources etc.) for the next term for every member of the family  -Having meetings with various committees

Somehow the word FURLOUGH has a connotation of vacation but I think when you think the list above really through with your family in mind you wouldn’t think this would be the coolest vacation for next summer. Actually, missionaries need a vacation after their furlough, many do when coming back home from furlough!

Another purpose for a missionary furlough is taking time to rest and recuperate. Beyond the initial culture shock of being in a foreign country, there is a certain level of culture stress that never goes away. Living day in and day out in a culture with different values, beliefs, and language than your own can create a certain amount of stress. You can never fully identify or understand the people around you, nor they you. This ‘culture stress’ is hard to understand for people back home but I think it’s good to share this. When I shared these kind of things with a dear supporting friend she said she was so thankful I shared it because she just never ever thought of it. Now, she is able to pray more specific for us serving in the field.

We are very thankful for the blessing of furlough. Thanks to the furlough our kids do know their relatives and their supporting church. Thanks to our furlough we do get the right medicines; messed up teeth can be fixed up and vaccines against nasty diseases be received. Thanks to hospitable supporters we did have a good time getting to know them around the dinner table, in the boat, on the tube… Thanks to the furlough we do get relieved from culture stress a while and are able to re-equip ourselves for the ministry (I wish however I had time to read but really, there wasn’t). The Lord is good and He is able to provide in everything we need to run the race He has set before us. The race of furlough and the race in the field. And we go for GOLD!

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Col 3:23-24

“…and the street of the city was pure gold…and they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.” Rev 21:21,26

Mirjam