Things I have learned on Furlough:
Our furlough is now over and in only a few short days we will be back in Bolivia. In total we have traveled over 50,000 miles and visited over 60 churches during our time here. While that is not that impressive compared to when we were on deputation, we averaged over 4000 miles per month which is quite a few. Furlough just like anything else has it’s positives and negatives but overall it has been a great experience and wonderful time for our family. While many might be critical of the missionary furlough, I can say that it has been a time of reflexion, refreshment, and recharging for the ministry. Here are just a few of the things that I learned while on this furlough.
God Provides:
It never ceases to amaze me how God provides for our needs above and beyond what we can imagine. This is not only financially but also in protection and guidance. While some might count is a great sacrifice to go to the mission field, I can honestly say that our blessings far out way any sacrifice we make.
The Church is not Dying:
While there is no doubt that the church in America needs a great revival and return back to the fervor of what it once was, we have been blessed to see how the Lord is still using and blessing many churches today. Many of the churches that we visited were truly being blessed by God and the future is bright. We pray often for our supporting churches and the church as a whole that the Lord will continue to keep His hand on them.
Time is Short:
There is a strange phenomena that takes place every year that goes by. It is that people get older. We get older, family gets older, our children get older, pretty much everyone gets older. When you are away for years at a time like we are as missionaries, it is much more noticeable. When we see how fast time flies, it has to motivate us to take advantage of the time we have and not let it slip by. So we would like to encourage you to not waste a single moment.
Honor what you Want:
As we have visited many churches and especially our home church I have seen how each church emphasizes certain things and the things they emphasize are usually what they produce. At our home church the focus in every service is on serving the Lord and missions, so you can imagine what is being produced there. This is encouraging to me because when we return to Bolivia we hope to make this the focus of every service and thing we do in the ministry.
So while it saddens us to say our goodbyes, it also excites us to think about what the Lord has for us as we go back to the mission field and continue to reach many for His honor and glory.
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray for our family as we say our goodbyes and the challenge of getting set up when we arrive.
2. Pray for the churches across America and around the world that they can continue to strive.
3. Pray for our families as they will be adjusting to us being back on the mission field.
4. Pray for our children as we make this transition because it can be a stressful time for them.