Partway into our first furlough, we are learning what it means to be homeless in our home country, spending four months as nomads visiting friends and supporters. The first shock happened when we walked into a small-town Walmart, and the whole family stopped and gazed at the full shelves stacked high with inventory around us. Awed, Christian whispered, “There’s so much stuff to spend money on here!” Jason wondered if there could be more kinds of merchandise in this Walmart than in all of Papua New Guinea.

A couple of days later, we were reminded how complicated it is to attend church here. Jason and I had kept Sabbath clothes in his mom’s closet, but the children needed everything purchased new: dresses, sweaters, tights, and dress shoes for each of the girls; and for Christian, slacks, a belt, dress shirt, tie, dress socks, and nice shoes. He also wanted a suit jacket to match! Once we attended church, the girls found they lacked church purses and hair bows. Making sure one has appropriate clothes and accessories in the U.S. is exhausting. Attending church in PNG seems delightfully simple in comparison!

Wherever we go, we continue to be amazed when we meet or hear of brothers and sisters in Christ who have not ceased to pray for us. One man continually raises his hand in prayer meetings to remind the church, “Let’s not forget our missionaries in Papua New Guinea.” Another friend told us that his children always remember us in their family prayers almost five years after we saw them last. And thank you for reading this article and caring about missionaries and our efforts to preach the gospel. Indeed, seeing people’s interest in our work and love for the lost is the best thing about furlough.

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