1 Year Furlough

Soon my family and I will be heading out on our one year furlough. Four months ago when my husband started planning this, I wasn’t that excited. I love Egbe so much that I didn’t feel like all the work to plan and leave was worth it.

Traveling out of Egbe isn’t so easy. The first battle is planning your trip through limited internet access, blocked websites and emails because we live in Nigeria and bad phone service. Once that is planned then you have to book tickets trying to use points so we can travel for close to Free.  Then plan your 8hr drive to the airport that will be an exhausting venture for our family. Both Lenny and I have roles and duties in Egbe that have to be delegated out to other Missionaries and national staff. We have to plan for the care of our dogs, cats, house, yard etc. and pack our entire family for different climates than we are used to. Sometimes you need a furlough just from planning your furlough…haha!

After all this planning we are less than two weeks from our furlough and I am so glad my husband made us do it. We are exhausted from the past year of work. Just in the past two months alone we have prepared 5 new missionary houses, oriented 6 new Missionaires to Egbe living, hosted over 24 volunteers, moved into the new OPD, moved CSR, put a facelift on maternity, built a new guardhouse and gate and I am forgetting so much more as the past two months is a blur. Needless to say our family needs this time together on furlough. So why do I feel so guilty for taking it?

As I think about the comfort and rest that this furlough will give my family, I also think of so many I leave behind that can barely afford to buy food and water.  How do I not feel guilty? When our supporters see our pictures on Facebook and wonder if we are using their hard earned money to play abroad, how do I enjoy my time away? These are the thoughts and feelings I battle with as we prepare to leave.

Mark 6:31 Then because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them. “Come with me by yourselves to a quite place and get some rest” This verse reminded me that even Jesus and his disciples needed to get away from their ministry to rest. We all need rest. So many of us go go go no matter what country we live in. When we finally sit down we feel guilty because there is still so much work to do. I have come to the conclusion that I am good to no one without rest. When you burn the candle at both ends it burns out so much quicker. When you live were you work you have to leave to find rest.

We are excited to find rest in Europe in less than two weeks. I hope you will enjoy our pictures on Facebook as we find rest in multiple SIM guesthouses. I pray you will celebrate with us as we get to spend time alone with God and our children as we re-energize for another year in Egbe!