Where Do Missionaries Go to Die?

This is a question I had never really thought about until recently.
In my mind missionaries travel off into the wild blue yonder and are heard from occasionally in the form of support/prayer letters.  Sometimes they come "home" on furlough and give talks at church.

Then I spent Memorial Day weekend with some friends who serve at a missionary sending headquarters.  They have several retired missionaries who live there.

They are provided extremely cheep housing, and several meals a week.  Some of them, who are able, have garden plots.  It's a beautiful place, and it's also where missionaries who are about to be sent to the field stay for training.  I'm just geussing but I bet it provides the old missionaries an oppertunity to mentor the young ones.

And that's when it hit me.  How many missionary sending boards think about retirement for their missionaries, or have a place for them to go when they are rushed back to the US because of health issues, or because war has errupted where they were living?

I can identify with the evacuation thing.  The summer between my 3rd and 4th grade years war broke out just north of our home in the Middle East.  Saddam Hussein had invaded Kuwait.  Thankfully we were already in the States on vacation, but many of my friends can tell you stories of gas masks and evacuation plans.

Though we were already in safety, our plans to return home were abruptly cancelled and my parents were trying to quickly come up with a plan for a place for us to live in the mean time.  That plan ended up including several tough months crammed in my grandparents house, and then several months in the house my parents ended up purchasing in the same town.

Thankfully after a year it was relatively safe again and we returned to the Middle East.  Though it could have been a lot more hectic and scary than it actually was, it is still a year of vivid memories, and was filled with a lot of quesitons and fears.

When I was spending time with my friends we talked about a lot of things, like what the stuff donated in the missionary bin actually looks like, and whether it's actually used, and what it's like to dress your kids out of it.

I really started thinking, we talk so much about supporting missionaries in the church, when we do, we talk about things like praying, and giving money.  But what about the spiritual and emotional needs?  What about clothing that needs to be bought new (like underwear, that doesn't get donated)  What about maintaining relationships with these people and their kids so that when they do return to the States, whether for furlough or forever, they don't feel like they are floundering and completely alone.

One time I was hanging out with my missionary cousin.  They were in the States for a very quick visit due to a death in the family.  They took me to the bookstore and said "you read a lot, put some books in the cart."  I'm not joking, they trusted me completely, I felt a little weird, what if they don't like my selections and this is what their stuck with to read in the next 2 years?  The next time they were in the States for a longer period of time, I sent a box of books I had read that were sitting on my shelf.  I said "take what you want, donate the rest to Goodwill."  What if the next time I bought a book I really wanted to read, I bought two copies and sent the 2nd to a missionary friend, or even bought one copy and sent it on after finishing it?  What if the next time I buy new underwear, I by a gift card to the same store to send to a missionary sending board to be passed on to someone in their ministry who needs it?  What if the next time missionaries from my church are in town, I invited them over for dinner, or took them to my favorite restaurant, or took them hiking on my favorite trail?  What if I wrote their birthdays on my calendar and sent them birthday cards?

I am just beginning to process all this, and wonder what it means for me.  I have several friends who are missionaries overseas.  How can I be a better sister in Christ to them?  How can is support them beyond praying and donating to their fund?
I haven't gotten to far into this process, but I started reading here, just to understand the needs better.  Do you have ideas?  I'd love to hear them, maybe we can embark on this journey of supporting our missionary friends better together.  And I know some of my missionary friends are reading this, I love you, I'm praying for you, and I would love your honest feedback too.

The great big search begins...

I am looking forward to life slowing down, and getting settled.  I've found a club to swim with, and local farm to get produce from.  I've learned which day to take my trash out, and where to take my massive amounts of cardboard.  I've found the local public library (it's awesome by the way) and driven home from work without Gretchen, the great GPS, yelling directions at me, and without getting lost.
 Part of getting settled is finding a church home.  This time I am going to be a little more cautious than I was the last time I moved.

I have a tendency to find what I think I'm looking for and jump all in without fully considering the pros and cons.  I have done it while looking for a church after a move, I do it all the time when I am shopping, I did it when I bought my first house.  In fact when I moved to Murray, I signed a lease without actually seeing the place first, talk about jumping in and taking a risk.

I am determined to have more self control this time, and take more time to consider the options.

Being in a new place is hard and I would prefer to skip ahead to the time when I am actively involved in a church, part of a small group, etc...  But it's a big decision.  I tend to just settle instead of holding out for the best fit.

This spring I was reading Financial Peace by David Ramsey, he said that in today's culture we expect to have today what our parents took 20 years to accumulate.  He was talking about finances but I think I look at church that way too.  I would prefer the settled, been going to this church for 2 years place, rather than the "hey I'm new and feeling awkward" phase.  I would rather skip that phase all together.  The reality is that you just can't skip that phase, and I need to be more patient in the beginning.

Some good friends had a very methodical method (I know that was redundant) when they were looking for a new church a while back.  They made a list of churches they wanted to check out, then they attended each church for a full 4 weeks before formulating an opinion.  Their rationale was that you can't fully experience a church in just one Sunday, you might love it or hate it, and it's a fluke.  Even if they liked a church, after 4 weeks they moved on to the next church, going to every church on their list before making a decision.

Making a decision to choose a specific church is a big decision.  This is the place where I am going to commit to ministry, these are the people that will influence my life, this is the pastor whose teaching I will listen to on a weekly basis.

Is this a healthy church body?  Is it a growing church body?  Are there people who can mentor me?  Are there people who will invite me into their church family?  Is there lots of drama distracting the church from it's purpose?  Are there cliques?  Is there a place I can serve?

These are all questions I will be asking over the next several months, it's a daunting process.  This time I am commited to perservering and not settling for the first church that seems decent.

The Night Before the 4th

About 4 years ago, when Rochester, NH was going to have to cancel their 4th of July celebrations due to budget restraints, one pastor, in one of those divinely appointed moments, said "our church will do it."  He and his church rallied, stepped up to the plate, and worked their butts off, so that their entire community would have a need met.  He had one condition though, that the church be allowed to conduct the celebrations however they saw fit.

Four years later, their Night Before The Fourth is still going strong, in a community very much different from the one I just moved from.  It's a community where church going is the exception, not the rule, people don't ask where you go to church, they act shocked to hear that you do go to church.

With over 300 volunteers, that's pretty much every church member old enough to walk, and maybe carry something, they pull off a pretty great event.  It was estimated that between 8,000-9,000 people attended this year.  You can read here what the local paper had to say.

I had heard about this event, mainly because I have several friends who attend this church.  On July 3, 2012, one of them was at the fair grounds early in the morning setting up, one was there in the evening painting faces, one was parking cars, and one was dressed as Superman, inviting families to bring their kids to vacation Bible school.

The youth group and their leaders where out and about, approaching families with teenagers, talking to them, and inviting to some special youth group events.

Bagpipes where played and veterans were honored.  It was an amazing mix of old traditions, and new.

A Christian band entertained as the crowd as the gathered to wait for the fireworks.

The lead singer shared her testimony and sung songs about Vietnam and her faith.
Then the church's worship band played, some of the youth group girls danced and recieved rousing applause.  Some of the youth group boys performed an original rap, the middle aged women on the worship team backed them up, the crowd was captivated.

The pastor gave a short gospel presentation, by this time the crowd was at it's max.  Think about this, in a town in a region of the country where Christians are few, and sharing your faith is often hard and not accepted well, this pastor had a vision and his church chased it, and in doing so 8-9,000 people who would never normally attend church, basically attended church on the public fairgrounds.

And then they watched the fireworks, provided by the church.

And just in case you want to go to their church, they provided these to all attenders.

Dirctions on the back.

Way to go Journey Baptist Church, you inspire me.

I Love This City

When Christi agreed to help me drive up my stuff, I told her I would take her site seeing.  That was before I knew where I would be.  When I was offered and took a job halfway between Boston and New York City, I told her we could go to either. 
She picked Boston, good choice Christi.

We had originally planned to ride the duck boat first, to give her an overview of the city.  However, we were running late and so we cancelled the duck boat and our adventure in my favorite city started.

After an uneventful ride in on the green line, we stopped first at Park Street Church, the Granary Burial Grounds, and THE Boston Common.  We saw the Frog Pond, and the enjoyed the people watching.

Then we headed to the State House.  We also viewed the monument to General Shaw and his regement of African American men in the Civil War, the National Park guide gave us an impassioned history of the regement.

Note the amazingly beautiful weather, it was perfect.

Next we headed to the Boston Garden, where we viewed the Ducklings.

And then we decided to ride the swan boats.  Something I frequently begged to do as a kid.

While we were riding the pedal powered by high schooler boat, we noticed something floating in the sky.  Low and behold it was actually Navy SEALs landing in Boston Common.  Happy 4th of July to us!

Next we walked over to Newbury Street, also known as the garment district.

Added sidenote... My friend actually used to make wedding dresses at this Vera Wang store.  True story... Anyway you just don't find shops selling $785 shoes in West Kentucky, we perused but didn't buy anything.

We weren't done yet, we hopped on the T and headed to government center, where we viewed the very ugly City Hall while walking over the Faneuil Hall

 

And also Quincy Market, and the street performances that were there, love those street performers

We weren't done yet.  We walked over the Long Warf.

Please note the apartment building on the left, I want to live there, or know someone who lives there one day.

We happened upon a Rose Garden, it was beautiful.

Next up was a walk over to the North End where we ate a delcious meal at my favorite Italian joint and then of course ate some Mike's pastry

Are you tired yet?  Well we weren't.  We walked back over to Long Warf (it's not that far) where we road the T boat over to Navy Yard
A stranger took this amazing photo, don't be jealous, I was in the middle of my canoli

The Tall Ships were in town for the bicentennial of the War of 1812, so we got to tour the Eagle, the Tall Ship at the US Coast Guard Academy as well as the Constitution... FOR FREE.  There were some very important men on the ship, we don't know who they are, but they were announced when they boarded the ship, so clearly they are a big deal.

We weren't done with Boston, but Boston had decided we had seen enough for one day.  We tried to take the Red line over to Harvard Square, however, um... there was major delays on the Red line so instead we hopped back on the Green line back to the car.   Christi noted that on our 1 train car on the green line there were more single men approximately our age than we know in all of my former town in West Kentucky.  Truth Christi, it's okay to be single and 31 here.

Christi also got to experience some unruly teenagers on the ride, wouldn't be a trip to the City without them.

2 GIrls, A Long Drive, And A GIANT Truck

After loading the truck with a few men from church on the hottest day of the year, Christi and I had a most uneventful drive north.  We did have the check engine light on most of the first day (don't worry her awesome handy boyfriend checked out the problem before we departed, said it was the gas cap, he was right)

We did stop to visit with Christi's BFF, a pediatrician in Pittsburgh.  We figured out that amongst us 3 women there were 7.5 degrees.

We took a short tour, via car, of the city.

The next day, due to the lighter outlet not working and therefore not charging the GPS, drove 100 miles past our exit.  We ended up crossing into New Jersey at the Delaware Water Gap where the lovely New Jersey welcome lady told us that it was a good thing we missed I-84 because lots of construction would have made it rough driving for us in the truck.  She gave us directions.  We then stopped for gas because I wanted Christi to experience the uniqueness of getting gas in New Jersey, she was amazed.

We arrived at about 3pm on Sunday where we found Arwen and Dan sitting on my new porch, and my parents pulled up a few minutes later.  We promptly started unloading the van.  Then a massive storm rolled through.  We did what all New Englanders do during summer storms, we stood on the porch and watched it.  There was hard rain, wind, hail, and lightening, and about a 20 degree temperature drop.
Then we went back to unloading.  Dan told me I was not allowed to acquire any more stuff, the girls stood to my defense to confirm that I did purge a ton before the move, and that I don't have that much stuff, just a lot of heavy furniture.

My amazing real estate agent came by with a house warming gift, mailing labels with my new address, and printed copies of my lease and what not to get the power turned on the next day.  Except that the power was already on.

Honestly this has been the least stressful move in my life.  Maybe it's because all my stuff was already packed and in storage.  Or maybe it's because God's hand is so clearly all over this change in my life.  Or maybe it's because God was well aware that I wouldn't be able to handle anything else.

After the unload, Arwen and Dan headed back to New Hampshire, Christi and I drove the truck to the Budget drop off, and picked up dinner.   We ate with my parents on my own dishes at my own table :)
Then we went about a block down the street to the beautiful boarding school (that some of my friends actually went to) where we sat on the lawn and watched the local community Symphony Orchestra give a free concert.  The weather was beautiful.  And yes I did just say that my town has a community Symphony Orchestra. 

There is also a YMCA just down the street, a BJ's with cheep gas, and a Popeyes which I will never eat at, but that my former coworkers in Kentucky will be jealous of.  That's about all the exploring I had time for.