Minding the Home Front

Most of us give minding the home front little thought. When Mom requires surgery, we camp out at the hospital and provide a few days of follow-up care. If a daughter presents her university graduate recital on Saturday, we take a long weekend to attend. Following a favorite uncle’s death, we book a flight or hop in the car and go. Wanting to surprise a son with the latest gadget in his arsenal of tools, we pick it up on our way home from work.

Minding the Home Front--Costa Rica jungleAlthough sometimes inconvenient, rarely do these situations present a major problem. However, the simplest family need grows complicated for international missionaries.

We give to mission offerings. We pray for missionaries. Our church may provide housing for missionaries on furlough. We send cards, emails, and gifts on their birthdays. Yet, how often do we consider their daily needs or those of their parents, children, and extended family? How can we offer family support and, in the process, ease the minds of missionaries who miss so many major events and day-to-day opportunities?

One Family’s Experience

Bill and Linda Egbert served as international missionaries in Costa Rica and Columbia for 19 years. Linda said the most difficult times for them were illnesses and deaths of parents and siblings in the United States. They’re thankful they were able to return home before Linda’s mother died in 2005 and before Bill’s father’s death in 2013.

Living so far from their children, Matt and Jessica, also proved difficult when both began college. The Egberts had a well-established network of friends at Campbellsville University and in the Campbellsville, Kentucky area, where both children received their undergraduate degrees. That eased their mind during those painful transitions.

Nevertheless, Matt and Jessica, much like international students, were more familiar with Costa Rican culture than American. They had to adjust to a new environment and a new way of life.

Based on their experience, Linda and Jessica shared the following suggestions if we want to help.

Minding the Home Front--student with book surrounded by question marksMinding the Home Front for Young Adult Children

  • Acquaint them with local stores and what they can buy in each.
  • Invite them to our home for meals.
  • Include them in our daily routine. Treat them like family.
  • Introduce them to age-appropriate Sunday school and other small groups meetings and activities.
  • Arrange time with other students adjusting to American culture.
  • Provide transportation, particularly in areas with no mass transportation.
  • Offer a place to stay between semesters or during holidays or vacations.
  • Help students find a job related to their area of study, if possible. However, any job will help.
  • Provide tutoring, if needed.
  • Take the initiative. Instead of saying, “Call me if you need anything,” call students regularly, offering, “Do you need anything?”
  • Establish a genuine relationship, so they will not be embarrassed to ask for help when problems arise.
  • Be there for them, whatever the situation. If they’re going through a tough time, give them the support we would want for our family members if we had to be away from them.
  • Provide practical assistance, such as repairing or replacing damaged items.
  • Provide finals week care packages.
  • Love and pray for them and tell them of your love and prayers.

Minding the Home Front--older woman's hands on caneMinding the Home Front for Parents and Older Family Members

  • Maintain frequent contact to verify adequate physical care and to provide social opportunities.
  • Help with household chores and lawn work, if still in their homes.
  • Hang pictures and provide gifts, letters, music, and outings when health permits, if in assisted living or nursing care.
  • Provide care packages of puzzles, games, and medically-approved snacks.
  • Aid in contact between the missionaries and family members, particularly with Internet issues.

When possible, adopt the missionary young people or parents. Become their second family.

Happy, secure stateside relatives find it easier to support the continued work of their missionary family members. Likewise, if missionaries know their family’s needs are met, they can devote more time and attention to the work God called them to do.

Missionaries on Furlough

Let’s reach out in friendship to missionaries on furlough. Can you imagine the stress of sabbatical in an unfamiliar area?  Yet, that’s what many face. Let’s provide for them like we do for their families. They can then return to their field of service with their batteries recharged and their hearts refreshed.

Diana Derringer

Diana Derringer is an award-winning writer and author of Beyond Bethlehem and Calvary: 12 Dramas for Christmas, Easter, and More! Her articles, devotions, dramas, planning guides, Bible studies, and poems have been accepted more than 1,200 times by 70-plus publications, including several anthologies. In addition, Diana writes radio dramas and question-and-answer television programs for Christ to the World Ministries. Her adventures as a social worker, adjunct professor, youth Sunday school teacher, friendship family for international university students, and caregiver for her husband supply a constant flow of writing ideas. For a free copy of Diana’s “Words of Hope for Days That Hurt” and her weekly Words, Wit, and Wisdom: Life Lessons from English Expressions, join her mailing list at https://dianaderringer.com.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook - LinkedIn - Pinterest