Silly Questions that Everyone Asks

 

Byron and I have been on the field for over 30 years.  I try to give newcomers to my life the benefit of the doubt when they start asking questions.  It seems though that some questions are always the same...

• Do you speak Portuguese?
• Do you like Brazil?
• How long have you lived here?
• What do you do?
• Do you ever visit the USA?

Those aren't too bad to answer and make lots of sense when you meet a freckled faced lady that doesn't seem to belong in your part of the backlands.  The silly questions that always make me cringe are more from people I know and lately the same ones keep popping up...

• When are you going to retire?
• Don't you miss your grandchildren and boys?
• How long to you plan to keep working in missions?
• Haven't you been here long enough?
• When are you going back to the USA?

For the public record I thought today I would just answer some of these repetitive questions that people often ask here in Brazil and even in the USA.  First of all, when do we plan to retire?  No time soon.  I am 59 and Byron is 60.  We may look slightly old and sometimes I certainly feel older than others, but we still have a few good years left.  

This first question ties into the how long we will keep working in missions and haven't you been here long enough.  We have been in missions for 30 years.  Sometimes it seems like a long time and sometimes it seems like yesterday.  Sometimes it seems we have done a lot and on other days I wonder what in the world we have actually done.  Currently our work is coming to a nice place with younger missionaries coming to assist in the interior church planting project.  So what's the answer, we plan to keep working for a good while yet.

Do you miss your family, grandchildren, and sons?  The answer is yes, everyday!  We miss casual visits and being there for big events like holidays and birthdays.  We miss seeing the little ones grow and all that fun of first steps, first words, first ball games.  We love each one very much.  And we plan to visit them often and before too long.

In the meantime, I write letters, send silly phone messages and create monthly videos about what we have been up to for the little ones and the big ones often watch, too.  I pray for each one all the time and in my morning prayers.  I wake up in the night often and pray for a specific grandchild, son, daughter-in-law, brother, sister-in-law, nephew or parent.  And I thank my God for where I am and for the grace to serve in missions and love my family.

That's all for today.  Back to regular programming and missionary wife duties like making lunch, sweeping floors and wurshing laundry!