Secret Scribblings of a Missionary on Furlough

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jmuehleisen
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Secret Scribblings of a Missionary on Furlough

Post by jmuehleisen »

I ran across the following article (somewhat humorous / somewhat serious) on the Strategic Network's web site http://www.strategicnetwork.org: Here's the original article: http://www.strategicnetwork.org/index.p ... v&fto=729& and here is the original posting on the author's web site: http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert.fs/furlough.htm

Secret scribblings of a missionary on furlough
by Howard Culbertson, Nazarene missionary

What follows was discovered in the belongings of a missionary who had to be carried off mumbling incoherently in a strait jacket in the eleventh month of his home assignment or furlough year.

What is furlough?
  • Furlough is being away from your wife and children almost all fall, winter and spring.

    Furlough is being cooped up all summer with your wife and two kids in a cramped car.

    Furlough is a speeding ticket for being careless in the 18th hour of a 26-hour nonstop trip from the California coast to keep a commitment in Colorado.

    Furlough is having a service or two canceled and foolishly beginning to think nobody wants you.

    Furlough is having seven requests for services on the same date and wondering how to keep all your friends happy.
What is furlough?
  • Furlough is watching your slide presentation 200 times and seeing something new on the 137th time.

    Furlough is having a friend get up early, sneak your car down to the service station and fill up your tank without saying anything to you about it.

    Furlough is giving the same story on 50 consecutive Sunday mornings and getting blessed yourself every time.

    Furlough is learning how large and how big-hearted your spiritual family really is.

    Furlough is answering the same questions night after night, but getting excited because people are really interested in your work.
What is furlough?
  • Furlough is having a pastor assure you his amply-windowed sanctuary will be dark enough for a slide presentation at 6 p.m. when the sun doesn't even set until 7:30 p.m.

    Furlough is discovering that Glad trash bags make ideal "darkeners" for sanctuary windows.

    Furlough is having spend thirty minutes every night catching insects to feed the land turtle your 6-year-old caught on some church lawn.

    Furlough is having both the main tape deck and a backup one you're using for slide narration break down in the same service.
What is furlough?
  • Furlough is being with old friends, sharing your prayer burdens, even unloading some frustration, hurts, and disappointments.

    Furlough is finding out where your friends are on their spiritual pilgrimage, sharing their prayer burdens, letting them unload some of their frustrations, hurts and disappointments.

    Furlough is 250 beds in one year.

    Furlough is spending a semester in graduate study and wondering how those young whipper-snappers know so much.

    Furlough is an opportunity for your wife and children to get involved in a strong local church in your native country for several months.

    Furlough is having people take you to a lot of nice restaurants.

    Furlough is getting a delicious home-cooked meal after a couple of days of nothing but truck-stop cafes and McDonald's.

    Furlough is meeting people who say they've been praying for you by name every day for years.
What is furlough?
  • Furlough is all of the above . . . and more. And it's all of that crammed into 12 months.
John Muehleisen
Mentoring Emerging Christian Leadership in Africa for Excellence / Integrity / Innovation
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