The Truth about Missionaries

Ruthie and I have fallen ill several times lately.

I feel like it has a bit to do with our work load, a bit to do with hosting 20-something kids in our apartment every day, and some to do with personal stress.

A friend called to check up on me today, and said that he had bought an air purifier for our apartment. I thanked him profusely. He and his wife have us over for meals frequently, and constantly encourage us about the work we are doing here.

So here's the truth that I promised in the title of this post: Missionaries are a needy bunch. We exhaust ourselves easily. We live on unstable income. Every day, we face a task that we cannot accomplish on our own, and sometimes we see miracles, but most of the time we simply put in what we can without knowing what will happen.

That's not to say that I don't love it, because I do. It's just to say that supporters who are willing to be friends and friends who are willing to be supporters are pretty much a neccessary factor in the work getting done. If the missionaries get exhausted or burn out or lose hope, no matter how great the plan or facilities or ideas, the work doesn't get done.

I've had three different friends remind me of this in the past week, and I'm thankful that they are the ones who remind me to care for myself, to rest, to put the work aside when I need to so that I can return to it with the energy it deserves.