Lawrence Spalink

Thanks for this. It reflects a lot of the same things we have thought and felt during our tenure in Japan 35 years and still ongoing). But yesterday we said goodbye to two very precious grandsons, and we're sad about that. And in a couple of weeks we will be saying goodbye to an aging parent, whose needs remain on our mind all the time. Still, the "benefits," if that's the right way to say it, are so much greater than the "sacrifices." 35 years ago, an international phone call from Japan to the US cost $9.00 per minute! Today we can Skype for free. Travel schedules are much more flexible than in the 1980s and 1990s, so we do get back more often. Sure, we have our frustrations and "if only" moments, but the Lord is faithful and gives us encouragement in so many ways. We're just finishing up home service, having spent almost 6 months meeting scads of people who care deeply for us personally and for the work of missions. We are indeed blessed! 

I have a lot of respect for WR and am happily working closely with the international disaster response staff in Japan. I couldn't help but notice though the reference to supporting "missions" and "missionaries" in this article. It seems to me that WR has been very careful NOT to describe its work as missions or its staff as missionaries. So what is going on here?