I’ve got to say that Florida in March is pretty nice. Even nicer when you get to attend the wedding of a grandson. We still had time to compile some resources for all you missionary advocates, so here you go. Put them to good use.

 

EQUIP YOURSELF

Here’s a new resource for missionaries on home assignment in the U.S. Tributary Retreat & Training Center, in the beautiful Ozark mountains of Arkansas, “exists to provide missionaries on stateside assignment an affordable place to retreat for rest, renewal, training, recommitment to God and reconnection with family.” Who could you send for some R&R?

 

Another resource you should know about: Missional Living. Located near Knoxville, TN these folks offer housing, transportation, and coaching for missionaries on home assignment.

 

God takes people overseas as much for what he plans to do in them as for he will accomplish through them. That can be a hard lesson for some to learn, but when progress is slow and productivity is nearly nil, it is a reminder that will alleviate a lot of stress. Laura Bowling offers her perspective on the process in this post. Erin Rain Gautier makes this contribution to the discussion.

 

Sooner or later your missionary friend will need to take a sabbatical. (At least, they should.) C. Anderson provides a handy checklist for planning an effective time-out. It includes the involvement of some key people. Might you be one of them?

 

LIFE ON THE FIELD

It’s hard being different. But that is the essence of working cross-culturally, and it is a gift. Heather Fallis explains. Anyone you know who is in the initial throes of culture shock will appreciate this post.

 

When it comes to homemaking, life in a foreign context can be challenging. Rosalied offers some tips for making one’s abode “cozy and tidy.”

 

So many times on the mission field dead ends can threaten to undo field workers. But are they really dead ends?

Because of Jesus, what looks like the end might actually be the middle.

Kaitlyn Bouchillon has a perspective that your friends on the field might find refreshing.

 

Life often produces more questions than answers. That is certainly the case for the global workers you know. Addie Zierman suggests embracing those questions—slowly, silently.

There is more to this slowness than meets the eye.

Better than ignoring the questions, better than frantically trying to find answers, is learning to regard them as invitations.

 

Crying over spilt soap? Seriously? Oh yeah. Seriously. Emotional responses to life on the mission field can be over the top at times, as Emily Raan admits in this piece. Who could you forward it to as a way of encouraging them? Emily goes on to mention a few more catalysts for crying. Things that, in her words, allow her to cry.

They bring freedom from the hardness of this life that I carry with me.

You might as well forward this one along with her other post. The missionaries who receive it will be blessed by her candidness.

 

Here’s a post you should pass on simply for its beauty. Emily Gibson’s photography is stunning by itself. When she combines it with poetry, well…the result is delightful, refreshing, encouraging. See for yourself before you forward it.

 

TRANSITION

When it comes time for their next transition, how will your missionary friend handle it? Mallory Brooks has some good suggestions. You should send this to anyone you know who is about to go through a transition, whether it’s geographic or relational.

 

God never sends us where he hasn’t been. That’s a good reminder from Sue “Screams in the Desert” Eenigenburg. In her unique and humorous way, Sue reassures those who fear the unknown aspects of transition.

 

The unanticipated bright side of perpetual goodbyes. That’s how Jerry Jones chooses to look at the never-ending farewells of missionary life.

Who knew that there was a skill set for saying goodbye?

There’s always a “hello” that comes after the “goodbye.” Every global worker you know will appreciate this piece.

 

MKs/TCKS

Everyone leaves. That is a reality for MKs, and Tanya Crossman has addressed it in her earlier posts. Now she moves to the “solutions.”

The problem is that it’s not a choice between pain or no pain, it’s a choice between two different kinds of pain.

This is critical information for all of you who interact with MKs and TCKs. Tanya has lived this; she knows what she’s talking about, and she explains it well.

 

Thank you for caring enough to stop by, for equipping yourself to care well for the global workers God has brought into your life.

 

New on my bookshelf:

• Tables in the Wilderness, by Preston Yancey
• Out of the House of Bread, by Preston Yancey
• The Missionary Family: Witness. Concerns. Care, Baker & Priest, eds.
• Career-Defining Crises in Mission: Navigating the Major Decisions of Cross-Cultural Service, by Paul Keidel

What I’m reading this week:

• Desiring the Kingdom, by James K.A. Smith
• The Fellowship of the Ring, by JRR Tolkein
• Dying Well, by John Wyatt
• Formed for the Glory of God, by Kyle Strobel

Recently finished reading:

• Finish First, by Scott Hamilton
• Erasing Hell, by Francis Chan
• Faith Unraveled, by Rachel Held Evans
• Running Down a Dream, by Tim Grahl
• Healing the Wounds of Trauma: How the Church Can Help, by Hill, Hill, Bagge, & Miersma

 

Up next:

• Invitation to Retreat, by Ruth Haley Barton
• The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown