What Missionaries Really Do on Furlough? The Surprising Truth!

It’s not the first time someone has commented on our “vacation” in the States.  While we live and serve most of the time in Ukraine, we spent the last ten months in the US.

Some call this time in our home country “furlough” and others call it “home ministry.” Regardless of what it’s called it seems that there are a lot of misconceptions about what it is and exactly what missionaries are doing during this time.

Speaking

Let’s start with the most obvious. During our ten months in the US we do a lot of speaking! We focused on speaking with churches and groups that support our ministry but we also spoke in other settings.

Our goal in speaking was to enlarge people’s vision of what God is doing in the world by showing them what God is doing in Ukraine. We also focused on calling people to boldly share Christ and serve the church no matter where they live.

In all we had the opportunity to speak about 75 times during our furlough.

In addition to churches we also spoke in the following settings:

• Three Christian schools
• A Home-school co-op for about 100 students
• Radio interviews (one in English and one in Russian)
• Couples seminar at a Russian church
• Youth seminar for about 800 Slavic young people
• Many home groups
• Men’s and women’s fellowships
• Awana clubs
• Youth groups
• And probably a bunch of other places that I’m forgetting right now!

Travel

All those speaking opportunities mean a lot of travel.  We drove about 13,000 miles during our stay in the US. We went as far North as Bellingham, Wa, as far South as Los Angeles, Ca, as far West as Seabrook, Wa, and as far East as Belmar, New Jersey.

The best part of all the traveling was the many homes we stayed in! We are so thankful to the dozens of families who graciously opened their homes up to our not so small family! We spent many hours conversing with those who hosted us and building relationships. We made new friends and reconnected with old friends!

Cities we stayed at least one night in:

• Bellingham, Wa
• Republic, Wa
• Seabrook, Wa
• Colville, Wa
• Kennewick, Wa
• Notus, Id
• Adin, Ca
• Bend, Or
• San Francisco, Ca
• Redding, Ca
• Los Angeles, Ca
• Bandon, Or
• Grants Pass, Or
• Springfield, Or
• Lewiston, Id
• Victor, Mt
• Cody, Wy
• Sturgis, Sd
• St Paul, Mn
• Wauseon, Oh
• Harrisburg, Pa
• Philadelphia, Pa
• Washington DC
• Madison, Wi
• Northfield, Mn
• Butte, Mt

Medical

While we are in Ukraine we often put off major medical procedures that need to be done. Thus, one of the first things on our list to do when we get to the US is to see the doctor. In all we managed to get six surgeries done as well as routine check-ups and dental work.

Family

Family time is also important. Thankfully we got to spend some quality time with my side of the family, (Christina’s family all live in Ukraine). In January we got away for a few days to the Washington coast with all but one of the siblings. This summer we spent several days with all 19 of my parents’ grand-kids and all seven of my siblings plus their spouses!

Personal Enrichment

It’s impossible to effectively minister if you’re not growing in your faith and ministry skill personally, thus personal enrichment is an important aspect of furlough. I had the privileged of attending four events that helped me to grow!

• John MacArthur’s Shepherd’s Conference,
• Heart, Mind Soul seminar on sharing the gospel with Muslims
• Northern California Baptist fellowship conference
• Missionary Enrichment Conference

Writing

While in the States I continued with the discipline of writing as both a way for me to continually grow and as a way to minister to my readers.

During our furlough I wrote 77 posts on our blog and one book.

• I wrote about topics that are related to missions and the church like, “How to Become a Missionary” or “Is Missions Hurting Your Church?”
• I also wrote on more individual topics like “Why American Christians Are Fat and Unhealthy” and “Why You Should Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart.”
• I wrote about the situation in Ukraine with posts like, “Why I Love Vladimir Putin” and “Why You Should Care About What’s Going on in Ukraine.“
• Finally, I wrote about issues in the American Church like “The Problem with Worship Experiences” and “When Will Persecution Come to American Churches.”
• I also wrote a book called What If… How to Kill Worry and Anxiety Before They Kill you! If you haven’t purchased it yet, you’d better get over to Amazon and pick up a copy!

That’s It!

So that’s about it! I’m sure there’s some things I missed but really I’m just writing this so that you can have a better idea of what missionaries do on furlough. It’s not really a vacation time!

Question: If you’re a missionary, what could you add the list of things missionaries do on furlough. If you’re not a missionary, what surprised you most in the lists above?