What is Home Assignment (furlough)?

As time marches on and we continue to prepare for our time of home assignment (starting June 2016), I thought I would share some thoughts.

Home assignment, also known as furlough, is a time for reconnecting with ministry partners and churches, meeting and connecting with new ministry partners and churches, addressing any medical/health/education/other issues, rest & refreshment.

What home assignment is NOT:

it is not vacation.  We spend hours upon hours a week calling, setting up & preparing to share our ministry with others.  This is WORK!

it is not always fun.  Spending 12 hours in the car with carsick children to go to a 2 hour church service is hard. (But SO WORTH IT!)

it is not cheap.  Because we are spending our time in ministry, WE STILL NEED SUPPORT.

What home assignment IS:

Connecting.  It not only reconnects us (Joel & Angela) with our friends, family & church(es), it allows our children to reconnect as well.  And this time around, allows our youngest, Gabriel, to meet our friends & family for the FIRST time ever!  This is a big deal after living overseas for 7 years.

A time to address medical/health/other issues.  There are a number of things that we ‘put off’ while waiting to return to the USA.  This time of home assignment will give us the chance to address some of these concerns.

A time for humility.  It is NOT easy to ask for money.  But that is exactly what missionaries do.  We ask for prayer, encouragement (like e-mails, letters, phone calls, texts, packages, etc.) AND financial support.  We can’t do what we do without the body of Christ working WITH US.  It’s humbling.  Really, really humbling.

A BLESSING!  Hopefully as much to you, as it is to us!

So there it is.  Just a short version of what home assignment is and is not.  Really, there is more.  So much more.  But you get the idea!

Please be praying:

• for the tribes of Brazil (this is why we are here!)
• for the missionary parents & children (it’s hard being apart!)
• for the staff of the school (for wisdom, good health, unity & MORE co-workers!)
• that this semester will go well (for each of us to draw closer to the Lord!)
• for our upcoming time of home assignment (for the cost of airline tickets as well as, anything you can think of) 😉

We are praying for you & look forward to seeing you soon!