A Good Rest?

We always get asked after our Home Ministry Assignment (HMA) if we had a good rest. If you ask most missionaries, they will tell you that HMA is not a time for rest... It is usually more stressful than living in your country of ministry because of the disruption and constant visiting that HMA requires. Personally, I get a lot more rest sitting on a beach in Ecuador with good friends. So how would I characterize our HMA?

"Crazy" is the first word that comes to mind. It was a crazy summer for many reasons, including Ruth and I spending 6 of our 12 weeks in different places. For 4 of those, we were in different continents. We also drove from Indiana, to California, and back again, which is crazy any time. Finally, Ruth was studying for much of the summer, taking the second level of classwork toward her certification as an educational therapist.

"Ministry" is the second word that comes to mind. I had the opportunity to speak or teach in the Spanish service and/or Sunday school classes at Church of the Open Door (COD) all summer long. Ruth participated in the Spanish Women's Bible Study. We spoke at a missions dinner at COD along with several other missionaries. Daniel and I played basketball with the high school boys on Mondays and the men on Tuesdays, and Daniel played indoor soccer on Thurs nights with the Spanish ministry, all of which were outreach ministries to the community. Daniel had the opportunity to translate for a High school outreach trip to Mexico. While there, he was asked to play piano for the high school worship team and for the Idrafoje (I'D RAther FOllow JEsus) camp for 3rd thru 5th graders. What a privilege to be able to minister to those who support us day in and day out, month in and month out!

"Social" is the last word that comes to mind. Even with the craziness we did get to see many people. We were able to see people in both Indiana and California. We hosted a supporter desert in Indiana. We met many new people at COD. We met with many supporters in California, Colorado and Kansas. We spent several days at the Grand Canyon with Ruth's family and we returned to Indiana in time for a family reunion on Doug's side of the family. We also got to spend some great time with other missionary families from COD.

So was our HMA restful? No... Was it a good HMA? Yes... It was a time to remember all of the great people who stand with us in ministry. It was a time to thank many of them personally. It was a time to share with new acquaintances about what God is doing in Latin America. It was a time to give back to many of those who give to us every day, month, year. So thanks... Thanks for standing with us. Thanks for praying for us. Thanks for supporting our ministry. Thanks for being part of the team...

Doug & Ruth

(If you want to be part of the team, write to us...)