Articles we love on the topic of missionary furloughs

We scoured our favorite blogs for articles about furlough. Thankfully, we didn’t have to look too hard. Because there is, especially in the first year, so many unexpected experiences and unmet expectations, furlough – or home assignment – occupies a huge part of what a missionary thinks about (and budgets for), in day-to-day life. For many, their lives our divided into these two huge chunks: preparing for furlough and returning from furlough.

For everybody’s benefit, we need to state this upfront: furlough is not vacation.

A Life Overseas

1) 6 Reasons Furloughs are Awesome (sort of) | This is a tongue-in-cheek post about furlough that deserves a serious read from those who care for missionaries during their time of furlough.

2) Visiting Home Might Not Be Everything You Dreamed | This post is for the missionary going home on furlough maybe for the first time. No doubt, the missionary needs to adjust – maybe lower – expectations about what furlough is going to be like.

3) Taking the Hypocrisy Out of Home Ministry Assignment | This piece emphasizes the need for fundraising while home on furlough, or in this post, Home Ministry Assignment. This article deals with family involvement in this endeavor.

Velvet Ashes

4) How To Welcome Her Back for the First Time {The Grove: Furlough} | This is written by a missionary recalling her first furlough back to the States after her first full year as a missionary in China. This read is especially for those who care for missionaries.

5) The Only Sure Thing | This piece is also written about the first furlough. But it focuses on the deep currents of the missionary’s soul, especially anxiety.

6) What to Expect on Furlough + {Biscuits} and Sausage Gravy | Written by a seasoned missionary with several furloughs under her belt, she writes that every time her family returned on furlough, the experience was different. Wisdom abounds in this post about hot to communicate about what furlough is to those who don’t get it yet.

7) 10 Things To Remember on Furlough | The title says it all. This is a great list geared toward the uninitiated first-time furloughers. This is good reading for someone preparing to go to the field, too.

Paracletos.org

8) You Know You are Prepping for Furlough When | Our friends on the Paracletos.org blog links to this fun furlough list of 50 items called: You Know You Are Prepping for Furlough When. Missionaries will love the memes posted in this list.

Paracletos.org is a great resource for all things missions, missionary, sending, caring, etc. Make sure you explore this website further.

IMB

9) Practical Tips for Hosting a Missionary Speaker at Your Church | When missionaries come home on furlough (or home assignment as the IMB calls it), they speak at churches about their work. In this article, the title explains it well, are practical tips for hosting a speaker. This is read where missionary and missionary host will both benefit.

10) Anchoring Yourself as an MK: A Review of Jeanne Harrison’s “Hiding in the Hallway” | This article is actually a book review written by a missionary of a book written by a former missionary. Both are moms who have raised Third Culture Kids (TCK) going through transition. Both the article and the book are practical for exploring the topic of “furlough”.

Taking Route

11) 7 Things I Learned about Transitioning |
Taking Route website has a ton of great resources covering missionary transition. When researching for this topic, I learned from the comments that missionaries have benefitted from this article about transition when it comes to furlough.

Thrive

12) Furlough: When Home Isn’t Home Anymore | Finally, this article is for the traveling missionary. The Bible tells us to live like pilgrims and nobody exemplifies that concept more than a missionary on furlough. This final article, as well as the others above should serve to educate and bless both missionaries and those who care for them during a furlough.