What is a Furlough?

If you look in a thesaurus you will find these synonyms for the word furlough: leave, vacation, absence, leave of absence.  I can tell you that while we are taking a leave of absence from the field, we are not on a big long vacation.  Just to clarify, we do take time to rest and sometimes take a vacation, if at all possible, but we are very much at work.  During our last furlough we were in the States for 15 months, traveled nearly 50,000 miles, and spoke in 105 church meetings.  This is not to mention the Christian school chapels and other civic organizations (They wanted to find out more about the devastating earthquake that had just taken place in Haiti.) that we spoke to.  We were tired, and at the end, when we were supposed to have a few weeks off, we spent going from doctor to doctor for a medical situation that came up with one of our children.  We got back to Haiti and hit the ground running and did not stop.  The only absence during furlough was an absence of rest.  Thankfully we love to travel, and we take advantage of museums, zoos, state capital tours, and historical site tours along the way to enhance the homeschool curriculum.

There is a pattern that exists for a missionary to be on the field for four years and take a year long furlough.  Dr. Ernest Gambrell writes about this in his book “A Return to First Century Missions.”  He is a proponent for furloughs but adds that we should think outside the box when deciding when to take a furlough and for how long.  There have been many missionaries that have come back after a year away and found that everything has all but crumbled.  I recently spoke with a missionary that went to the states for a month and came back to find that his house had been robbed.  Whether short or long, I think that you particular ministry situation at the time should determine the frequency and length of a furlough.  Consult with your pastor and seek advice from your mission board (if you have one) and follow the Lord.

So having said all this – is it necessary for a missionary to take a furlough?  Should a missionary leave the field and report to supporting churches?  Really the best thing would be for all of our supporters to come visit us on the field, but that is not always possible.  However, I do believe missionaries should take furloughs and here are some reasons why.

Furlough is a Biblical principle.

Paul and Barnabas did the following as an example to all missionaries.

Acts 14:27 KJV “And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.”

We as missionaries need to tell the churches that support us what has happened in our ministry and what their mission money has made possible.  I know that we send back letters every month/quarter whatever the case may be.  Let me stop here and scold my fellow missionaries.  If you, as a supported missionary, do not send out a prayer letter at least every six months, then shame on you.  I think 4 times a year is sufficient, and some even do more than that.  There are exceptions in closed countries where any slip of information could result in the imprisonment or death of the missionary family.  Other than that in the day we live in and with technology as it is, everyone can get a letter out to his/her supporters at least two to three times a year.  Even in the most limited countries, missionaries go to a large city for supplies from time to time and can call on the help of fellow missionaries.  Anyway that is another subject for another blog.  To get back to what I was saying about letters, how many people actually read our letters?  I was in a church that supported over 100 missionaries, and the letters and prayer cards were each displayed in clear plastic insert type things on the back wall of the auditorium.  All of them were evenly spaced and all in neat rows that went nearly to the ceiling!  Who could see, much less read, the letters way up at the top?  So if our letters are not being read, then how will our supporters know what is going on and how to pray for us?

A missionary should guard his/her heart in order to keep a pure heart and attitude when talking about the work.  Don’t let pride take over so that your report becomes a “look how good I am” contest.  I have been at conferences where the missionaries were trying to outdo each other.  They were constantly trying to butter up the pastor and would not give other missionaries the time of day.  “Pastor so n so, this is the best conference I have ever been in.” “Wow pastor, I pray that God allows such a wonderful church like yours to partner with us.” Blah Blah Blah.  Give me a break buddy.  Check your pride.  How about this story I came across for a change:

When William Carey was on his death bed a fellow missionary came to visit him by the name of Duff.  As Duff Began to leave Carey said, “You and I spoke about Dr. Carey, Dr. Carey.  When I am gone, say nothing about Dr. Carey but say Dr. Carey’s Saviour.”

The sin of pride resides in the missionary not the hearers.

Furlough helps you to avoid burnout.

I saw a quote on a friend’s Facebook page that said:

Sometimes retreat is better than defeat – 2 Tim. 2:22

Of course this reference is talking about fleeing youthful lusts, but I think it can be applied to defeat in the ministry through burnout.  Living in another country and culture is very difficult at times.  In a town with the population of about 52,000 our family and the other missionaries we work with are the only white people around.  Every place we go from church, to funerals, to weddings to the market, we are the only white people around.  We will never fit in – ever.  I know some missionaries that have spent over 40 years in Haiti.  They may have some level of respect and acceptance where they live, but let them go two towns over and they are just like the new missionary that arrived yesterday.  Everywhere you go people stare.  Then if we take our kids somewhere it is ten times worse.  Even at our church where we go each week, people still say, “Look, there’s a little white.”  Some Haitians will say things like, “You are Haitian,” because I speak Creole or I know how to count their money (which is more confusing than it sounds).  Don’t deceive yourself.  You will never be one of them no matter what.  Even if I were to change my citizenship, I could not change my skin color or my accent.  This fact wears on you, and you just need a break to get back to a culture and people where you can just blend in.

Furlough is necessary to give your children ties to America.

Your family needs a break and needs to do things with friends back home.  We always refer to Inman, SC as “home” and our sending church as our “home” church and our sending pastor as “our” pastor.  We want that tie with an area to provide our kids with some sort of foundation.  I remember when I was in Bible College, there was a guy that was an MK (missionary kid), and his family did not believe in furloughs.  He had only been to the States a couple of times in his whole life because he spent most of his time in the Philippines.  When he came to college, he did not fit in at all.  I tried to help him out by giving him rides to Wal-Mart and such, but he was like oil in water.  He eventually left mid-semester.  I have read of MK’s committing suicide because they could not take the sudden change.  One missionary told me that when her daughter went to college, the bells that rang to end and start class drove her crazy.  I believe in furloughs to help my kids adjust.

Furlough is necessary for medical reasons.

We are fortunate to work with a medical missionary that has been in Haiti for over 25 years.  She is right there when we need medical care.  She has stitched up our kids, saved my life twice, operated on my wife, and kept us all well.  But she will tell you that she has her limits.  For other missionaries medical care is not that close by.  In most countries health care, if it exists within 100 miles, is substandard to say the least.  Missionaries need to take a furlough to have a physical and to take care of medical problems.  A missionary friend went to an optometrist here in Haiti and got a pair of glasses.  When he went to pick them up, the bifocal part was so bad off that he could not see out of them, and he just threw them away.  You take things like that for granted in the States.

Furlough is necessary to maintain ties with extended family.

Both of my grandfathers died before I was born.  My children have the blessing of having three of their grandparents and one great grandparent still living.  I want them to have more than just a simple knowledge of their names.  It is important for the grandparents as well.  Not all missionaries have a situation like we do, but it is important to help those relationships grow which in turn can help the transition of an MK when he/she returns to the States for college or to live.

Furlough is necessary to raise additional support.

When I was a teenager in camp, we would put canoes in a river for a day of fun.  Three other friends would rush to get in two canoes and paddle as fast as we could to reach the turnaround point and then tie our canoes together with our life jackets and then head down stream flipping over every other canoe we passed.  Loads of fun!  This story is a perfect illustration of financial support for a missionary.  It is like paddling a canoe in a river; in order to stay in the same spot you have to paddle.  In order to go forward you have to paddle at least twice as fast as the current. If you simply took your paddles out of the water and looked around to enjoy the scenery, you would find yourself going backwards.  The brutal fact is that once you raise your initial “target support level,” by the time you are ready for your furlough, you have gone down stream financially.  And if you want to go forward and do more in the work, then you must not only replace lost support, but you must also raise additional support.  Churches will drop you because of splits or economic difficulties, or maybe a new pastor comes in and makes “changes” that do not include continued support of all the missionaries.  For one reason or another missionaries are in a constant battle against the current of financial support.

Conclusion

To give this subject a “furlough,” I will conclude by saying that I believe that furloughs are necessary for missionaries.  I do not believe a missionary should spend more time on furloughs than on the field, but there should be a regularly scheduled time off of the field.  Depending on your pastor’s recommendation along with your board and budgetary constraints, the frequency and length can differ.

Serving Jesus,

HGP3