A brief glimpse into the “Irregular Regular Lives of Missionaries…”

As this gets published to the online world, I (Dan) have just arrived into the US. Alone. Christy and Sofie will join me in a handful of weeks.

This begins our Home Ministry Assignment. And also, our Totalization, a process whereby we are required to leave Hungary for atleast 6 consecutive months every 4 years.

In a lot of ways, the above sentences encapsulate the regular life of a missionary, which is also wholly irregular!

Often we are asked by supporters: “What is a normal week like for you?”

What a normal, good question. But also what a laughable thought.

We have no normal week. ;-)

As an example, one week ago, we were leaving northern Italy (after spending time with our church in Arco), and flying directly to Madrid, Spain (to spend time with our church in Madrid, En Mi Lugar). In one week, I will be in North Carolina and Virginia.

There are a lot of great joys with the job of being a missionary. It’s wonderful to get to travel widely and see new places. It’s wonderful to spend our lives relationally, pouring into dear friends new and old.

But it’s also complicated.

Case in point: Why am I coming to the States solo, with my family joining me later?

Because we have a daughter who will be starting high school in the fall. And by my leaving now, my 6-month clock will allow me to return with Sofie for a relatively seamless transition to high school.

Being away from one’s home for 6 months is not a small feat, either. There are loads of preparatory things that must be accomplished. What about those houseplants? Mail? Bills? Etc.

As a point of comparison, my parents have not been away from their house for more than 2 weeks. Since 1985!!!

And yet, this is a regular activity for missionaries.

For some it’s even more complicated than it is for us. Maybe they have a longer time they are required to be away. Or multiple children. Or the local ministry activities are less easy for them to step away from.

Irregular regular missionaries live in a world of constant transitions and adaptations.

We, as always, are indebted to so many of you who sacrifice your time and finances to enable us to serve in the roles we are called to. We are indebted to so many of you who pray unceasingly on our behalf.

Thank you for allowing us to regularly serve in an irregular manner. :-)