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.