The S.S. Enterprise was in its final stage before departure. The 1st , and only, pilot is going through his pre-departure check list; coffee – check; enter mileage – check; bathroom stop – check; snacks – check; GPS coordinates set – check; and inflate travel pillow for the very pretty passenger- check. The next step is ignition … no wait, the pilot forgot to lock the front door (pretty passengers are so distracting). OK, he’s back. Now this time it really is ignition, put transmission into reverse and the S.S. Enterprise easily slips from the tethers of space port, oops, I mean the car port. Isn’t it fun to imagine? When am I going to grow up?
As you might have guessed we made a major road trip (five weeks) this past August and September to Washington, Oregon, and California to visit NTM missionaries (13), relatives, and supporters. We had beautiful weather and wonderful fellowship all along the way. We slept in 12 different beds and of coursed lived out of our suitcases every day. We’ve lost count on how many times we’ve said to each other, “Have you seen …..?” or “Where did I put ….?” We always found it even though in some cases it days later.
Each time we met a missionary couple or single for coffee or a meal we never knew what the tone of the conversation would be. Will they be excited, anxious, hurt, encouraged? ‘Three before me’ is a guideline we try to keep bookmarked in our brain when visiting with missionaries. Each time we visited and each time there was a change of subject during our conversation we endeavored to ask three questions pertaining to the missionary before we chimed in with our thoughts or advice. What a challenge that was! It was worth the effort though as it went a long way toward establishing a relationship.
Thanks so much for your prayers on our behalf.
Two of our grandchildren from Florida, Steven and Alyssa, were with us over the summer. We had a lot of fun camping, games, and the water park (some of those rides are really scary!)
Frequently Asked Question
What exactly do you do?
Good question! We’re in the Member Care department of New Tribes Mission. We are responsible to contact by phone, email, and personal visits, missionaries on home assignment (furlough) who live in the Southwest United States. Our region is a six state area, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. The two states that have the most furloughing missionaries are California and Arizona.
Steve also co-facilitates workshops for missionaries. These include debriefing workshop, Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills, Conflict = Opportunity workshop.
Besides these responsibilities Steve is also assistant director of Member Care for NTM U.S.A. There are approximately 2,200 U.S. members of NTM.