SIDE BY SIDE
A Missionary Story Marilyn Papierski I want to tell you a story about a missionary family. Thirty years ago, this fall, a missionary couple left to serve Jesus on the field. They weren’t off to save the world—that was God’s job—but they were prepared to offer their God-given skills and abilities to be used in whatever way God desired. After 21 months overseas, they came back to Wheaton for an eight-month home and study assignment. The wife was also pregnant with their second child, due in October. Their daughter was turning two that August. God provided in big ways that year. Scheduled to stay in a mission-owned apartment located in a rough part of Chicago, their support team immediately nixed that idea, especially with two small children and the husband away much of the time. This team found a reasonably priced onebedroom apartment in Wheaton and modestly furnished it for the time this family was stateside. And how would you go about finding a medical group seven months into pregnancy? The couple met an ob-gyn through a short-term team that visited in those 21 months on the field, who would then connect mom to his medical group. One of the couples in the support team offered to watch their daughter when the time came for the delivery. That call went out somewhere around 5 a.m. on October 11, and they came. Another came to clean the small apartment after the birth of their son and took their daughter to the store to pick out a special toy just for her; the overwhelmed mom was overwhelmed. Another family in the church had just given birth to a daughter, the last in the succession of children, the first three of which were sons. They gifted their boy clothes to this couple. No wonder this mom sat in the gallery in the Sanctuary, two weeks after delivering a healthy baby boy with tears in her eyes as the congregation sang out “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” The memory is as clear to me today nearly 27 years later. We were that family. That same group of people stayed with us on what turned out to be our final trip home from Ecuador in 2003. Access to our furlough home was delayed for a month. We knew about this right before leaving the field and were unsure where we would stay when we arrived. Members of our support team, heading north to their summer property, graciously extended free reign of their home for the month. We found out much later that they had
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intentionally moved up the dates of their summer cleaning on the property to coincide with our arrival. Other friends stocked the refrigerator and cabinets with enough food for about three main meals, enough to get us to the grocery store in the coming days. There were coupons for local restaurants, fast food and otherwise, park district brochures, and to top it off, tickets to the DuPage County Fair and pool passes. We have wonderful memories of a teardown across the street and the kids’ fascination of all the trucks that drove in and out. Library books galore and summer reading prizes to boot! There is no question of God’s provision for us through these very special people who are dear to our hearts even today. Being a former missionary by title, I could tell stories of all kinds, but this is what I want to pass on to you. How blessed we were by the seemingly simple acts of kindness from our friends. None was too small because God knew what we needed. The kindness, the thoughtfulness, the love and the care we experienced. Immeasurable! I want to stir your hearts and minds to consider how you can get in on the exciting opportunity of blessing a missionary family. Consider these practical needs. ADULTS: • Offer airport transportation, coming and going. • Meet them at their home to welcome them (appropriately masked and socially distanced of course!) • Organize your small group to stock the kitchen with basics to get them through a few days of meals. • Take them to a grocery store. Be prepared for an overwhelmed response to the mass choices if they’ve been living in a remote area. Jewel bags groceries for you; Aldi is self-service, and—oh my—I don’t have a quarter to get an Aldi cart. Who knew? • Introduce them to the community, for example, the park district, library, downtown, nearby parks. • Be a good listener over a cup of coffee or tea—add a dab of cream and sugar and a lot of prayer! • Don’t assume they know how to use all the modern conveniences that are part of everyday life here. Keep in mind they might know how to do something in their ministry country that would totally blow you away in the how-to department!
