Money, the Media, and God’s Mission
Is it legitimate for people to ask questions in times of crisis? Certainly! Oftentimes in tones of desperation, we do ask why. When financial crisis hit, it is difficult to provide the reasons for its causes or even to speculate on who is responsible for it. Moreover,coming up with a concrete plan on how to…
Read MoreTCK Education Today: Options and Factors to Consider
What should we do about our children’s education? What are our options? What would be best for Sue? Ino? Kwaku?… If you’re a missionary and a parent, undoubtedly you’ve asked these or similar questions. Prayer, careful consideration of all available information, experience, and the sage advice of veteran missionaries who’ve walked this trail before, can…
Read MoreBalancing Act: Straddling the Demands of the Mission Field and Home
Nineteen eighty four – John Smith, a fictitious missionary to Zaire, receives a letter from his brother with news that their mother has suddenly died. That was three weeks ago – the length of time it took the letter to arrive. The burial and funeral had already taken place. John’s family knew he couldn’t come…
Read MoreManaging Crises and Emergencies
The Boy Scouts motto is “Be Prepared.” Successful work as an expatriate should include knowledgeable preparation for potential areas of difficulty in living and working abroad. While preparing for crises is important, the objective is to be equipped to respond in faith with wisdom, accepting that God’s call sometimes involves inherent risks and that we…
Read MoreWhere Are My Roots?
I find myself asking this same question every furlough. When we attended Mission Institute in France, some years ago, we were not the only missionaries looking at real estate brochures and wondering where we would live when we “stopped” being missionaries. So, it is not just us who feel that we want to put down…
Read MoreTaking Your Sanity onto the Plane
Life is full of transitions but very few of them are as challenging as making a move to (or from) an overseas missionary assignment. Missionary transition is complex because of the nature of cross-cultural missionary service. Crossing boundaries of culture, language, religion and geography is inherently messy. Moving from Michigan to Missouri or taking a…
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