What Missionaries Ought to Know about Those Who Stay With Others Leave

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  • Approximate Time Commitment: 20 minutes
  • Partner: MissionaryCare.com

What Missionaries Ought to know… does not mean that the author sat down and decided what missionaries ought to know, but that missionaries themselves asked about these topics. During the author’s 35 years of college teaching he learned that if one person asks a question, others probably want to know the same thing—and if two people ask, it was certainly a topic that others need to know about. These are things missionaries need to know because several missionaries have asked about each of them at one time or another.

To read more from the What Missionaries Ought to Know series

Partner: MissionaryCare.com

Resource Description

Article

Imagine the following situation. Carlos and Maria have completed their term of service and are going “home” for at least a year. Their children, Jose and Susi, are reluctantly going with them.

At the airport, Peter and Martha along with their two children, Billy and Betsy, have just told them goodbye and now their whole family is in the car headed back to their home. All four of them are lost in their own thoughts.

Peter has mixed feelings. Carlos was an effective field director, but he expected everyone to be a workaholic like he was, so the pressure will be off. Unfortunately, Pete now has to serve as field director even though he dislikes administration, and it means he will not be able to spend much time on his ministry to street kids.

Martha is happy. She majored in accounting but has not had a chance to do much of it because Maria was field treasurer. Now Martha will be able to use her skills.

Billy is sad. Jose was his best friend, and now he will be almost the only boy there.

Betsy is relieved. Susi teased her and made fun of her much of the time, and now Susie will not be around to do that.

People usually think about the effect of goodbyes on the people who are leaving. However, such goodbyes also have a variety of effects on those who remain. Some effects are positive, but others are negative. This brochure is about the negative effects on those who stay.

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