{"id":772,"date":"2024-07-13T06:06:34","date_gmt":"2024-07-13T10:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/summer-zimmer\/?p=772"},"modified":"2024-09-02T06:09:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T10:09:02","slug":"frequently-asked-and-not-asked-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/summer-zimmer\/2024\/07\/13\/frequently-asked-and-not-asked-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Frequently Asked and Not Asked Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Frequently Asked Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.  When did you get here? <\/strong>May 10th<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.  When do you leave? <\/strong>Mid-August<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.  What have you been doing while you\u2019re home? <\/strong> Well, I visit with family and friends, enjoy the things I can\u2019t do in PNG like swimming and biking, stock up on things to take back, take care of all my medical appointments, try to fix things up at my house here (especially my landscaping) and visit with financial supporters to give them an update on my ministry this past year. I\u2019ve also been sharing at different events at my church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.  Will you get to live in the same house in PNG next year? <\/strong>Thankfully yes. This is the first year I didn\u2019t have to pack up a good chunk of my belongings to move or for home construction. I\u2019m very grateful that when I get back, I should be able to just do some cleaning and unpacking of my suitcases and be ready to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.  And maybe a not so frequently asked question, but one I want to share with you . . . What has God been teaching you in this past year?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of May I was able to go through a debriefing with my friend LaShawn, who served in PNG, but now works in stateside missionary care for our missionaries. It was such a blessing for me to walk through stresses, losses and transitions from the past year\u2014 the same process, using different tools, that I usually walk other ladies through at ladies\u2019 retreats. She also had me create Rocks of Remembrance<\/em> to build a tower with\u2014like the stones that the Israelites collected to act as a reminder of how God parted the water, so that they could walk through. We too have to set up for ourselves reminders of who God is and what He has done in our lives, so that as we lose sight of Him in our situations we can be reminded. A few of my rocks, summarized:<\/p>\n\n\n

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1. God can turn things we\u2019re fearful of into something good.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last summer, right before I came back to PNG, I heard that the man who made and sold fresh bread was leaving and that the PNG lady who had been working with me for 4 years wouldn\u2019t be able to continue helping me. Both were things that I was anxious about. What was I going to do? How would I ever have time to make bread and who would I have help me around the house and with the garden? How would I ever keep up with things with these two additional burdens? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord provided. I had a friend giving away an old bread maker and I tried it out and found out that I really enjoyed the combinations that could be made with a bread maker.  It ended up being a blessing. I also hired Simila to help around the house. And while I miss Elina, Simila became a treasured co-worker in taking care of my home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. God provides tangibly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I returned last year, the leaks in my house were fixed and a new ceiling was installed. I was able to buy the last of the furniture I was still looking for.  I needed all sorts of help with moving furniture and installing a few things and the Lord provided people to help me with all of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My washing machine broke down part way through the year, and when I went to purchase another one, I was able to get it on sale for a third of its regular cost! And there was even someone who helped me move it in and hook it up. What a blessing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. God Provides Relationally<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two of my best friends on the field didn’t return this past year and won’t be returning, but the Lord did provide another friend unexpectedly who will be at the support center where I live next year! I also had the opportunity to deepen existing friendships with ladies at other locations across the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m beginning to see that while I may not always have that deep friendship with someone who is close in proximity, there are other ladies who are a blessing to be with when they’re available. What a blessing it is to have so many friendships with people I will be very sad to have gone on home assignment this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. God sends affirmation and encouragement in ministry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are times I question the role I’m in and my ability to do it well.  But the Lord has often shown me through encouraging notes or texts at the right time, that my ministry is not the role I’m in or the job I’m doing, it’s the love He has given me for the missionaries I work with and the ways I am able to pursue them with care. I often feel like the most effective parts of my ministry are the ladies’ dinners I have on Sunday nights and the Ladies’ Retreats I facilitate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. God opens the doors and provides opportunity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year I was blessed by the opportunity to visit several places around the field and to attend a leadership workshop. The Lord used different situations to clarify my strengths (and things I\u2019m not so strong in) and possibly move me to a new department. All the details haven\u2019t been worked out yet, but while I\u2019ll be doing the same things\u2014providing resources for our missionaries to communicate with their sending churches and supporters, facilitating ladies\u2019 retreats and working with home churches on missionary care\u2014I\u2019ll be part of the Personnel Team for brainstorming and strategy. Please pray for the transition.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Frequently Asked Questions 1.  When did you get here? May 10th 2.  When do you leave? Mid-August 3.  What have you been doing while you\u2019re home?  Well, I visit with family and friends, enjoy the things I can\u2019t do in PNG like swimming and biking, stock up on things to take back, take care of all my medical appointments, try to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1137,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1422,52642,2159,118716],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-772","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-encouragement","7":"category-gods-provision","8":"category-life-lessons","9":"category-missionary-care","10":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/summer-zimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/summer-zimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/summer-zimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/summer-zimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1137"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/summer-zimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/summer-zimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/summer-zimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/summer-zimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/summer-zimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}