{"id":6186,"date":"2016-01-12T15:33:08","date_gmt":"2016-01-12T13:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=6186"},"modified":"2016-01-12T15:33:08","modified_gmt":"2016-01-12T13:33:08","slug":"you-know-youre-a-missionary-when-33-ways-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/you-know-youre-a-missionary-when-33-ways-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"You Know You’re a Missionary When… (33 ways to know!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m wrote this list for two reasons.<\/p>\n

I wrote it for you who are fellow missionaries. There’s something cathartic and encouraging knowing that you’re not the only one with these experiences and feelings.<\/p>\n

I wrote it for you, my friends who are not missionaries but you\u00a0know missionaries, so that you could hopefully have a better understanding of what the life of a missionary is like.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Some of these are unique to our context in Eastern Europe but many of them are much broader than that or they have a parallel in other countries and cultures.<\/p>\n

You know you’re a missionary when…<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. You measure your life in furloughs.<\/li>\n
  2. Your kids favorite food includes beets and pickled fish.<\/li>\n
  3. You say… “What’s the word for that in English?”<\/li>\n
  4. You try to post everything in two languages on Facebook.<\/li>\n
  5. You’ve woken up and wondered what country you’re in.<\/li>\n
  6. On road trips your kids don’t ask “Are we there yet?” but rather, “What country are we in now?”<\/li>\n
  7. You automatically think, “How much would that be in dollars?” before every purchase.<\/li>\n
  8. Your kids remember what the play areas are like in different airports.<\/li>\n
  9. You get asked, “Is life better in the USA?” regularly.<\/li>\n
  10. It’s hard to remember a time when you haven’t had “visa issues”.<\/li>\n
  11. You’ve discussed evacuation plans in case of war.<\/li>\n
  12. You’ve discussed what to do in a hostage situation.<\/li>\n
  13. The question, “Where are you from?” has several answers.<\/li>\n
  14. You’ve had to add extra pages to your passport.<\/li>\n
  15. Your on first name basis with at least one immigration officer.<\/li>\n
  16. Your younger kids are sure Grandma and Grandpa live somewhere inside your computer.<\/li>\n
  17. You\u00a0sometimes root for the team that’s playing against the US team.<\/li>\n
  18. Your favorite sport doesn’t exist in the US.<\/li>\n
  19. You if you hear a foreign language spoken while you’re in the US you go out of your way to introduce yourself.<\/li>\n
  20. You’ve been called in as an expert on something you know little to nothing about just because you’re “American”.<\/li>\n
  21. You can’t think of the last time you drove on a road not littered with potholes.<\/li>\n
  22. While you’re in the States you ask for a medium anything and they give you an extra-large.<\/li>\n
  23. You can’t understand why people in the States don’t dress weather appropriate.<\/li>\n
  24. You’ve been to more international potlucks than you care to remember.<\/li>\n
  25. Men walking around with machine-guns seem pretty normal to you.<\/li>\n
  26. You prefer\u00a0an outdoor market\u00a0to\u00a0Walmart or Costco.<\/li>\n
  27. You hate leaving just as much as you love going.<\/li>\n
  28. It’s normal to take part in at least 3 worship services every Sunday.<\/li>\n
  29. You have to pause to swallow the lump in your throat as you explain to people back home the needs of those you serve.<\/li>\n
  30. You wish furloughs lasted a few days instead of a few months so you could get back to your home and ministry sooner.<\/li>\n
  31. You feel like you’ve never done enough.<\/li>\n
  32. Your greatest joys and deepest pains are wrapped up in the lives of people your friends and family back home will probably never know.<\/li>\n
  33. You can’t ever really explain to others the burden and passion God has given you for those you serve.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you’re a missionary I’d love to hear what you could add to this list!<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I’m wrote this list for two reasons.<\/p>\n

    I wrote it for you who are fellow missionaries. There’s something cathartic and encouraging knowing that you’re not the only one with these experiences and feelings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31],"tags":[395,64],"class_list":["post-6186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing","tag-missionary","tag-missions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/You-know.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3izZc-1BM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6759,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/charles-spurgeons-advice-to-new-missionaries\/","url_meta":{"origin":6186,"position":0},"title":"Charles Spurgeon’s Advice to New Missionaries","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"July 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"You need to read this letter if you're a missionary or a pastor of a missionary! Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote the letter to a new missionary to north Africa named Patrick. It appears that he may have been the first missionary from the Pastor's College Missionary Association. As a missionary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/SHINING-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/SHINING-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/SHINING-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3029,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/thirty-seven-ways-to-serve-your-missionaries-better\/","url_meta":{"origin":6186,"position":1},"title":"Thirty Seven Ways to Serve Your Missionaries Better","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"January 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Most churches love their missionaries but few know how to serve them well. After our time in the States last year visiting all our supporting churches I thought it would be good to put together a list of ways churches can serve their missionaries. Below you'll find both suggestions about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/DSC01253.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/DSC01253.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/DSC01253.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3017,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/08-profile-of-a-successful-missionary\/","url_meta":{"origin":6186,"position":2},"title":"#08 Profile of a Successful Missionary -Podcast","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"September 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This week I shared with you 7 Ways to Fail as a Missionary\u00a0and I promised that I would follow it up with characteristics of a successful missionary. In this episode of Now is the Time\u00a0I introduce you to a real life hero missionary. I spent 2 months with Duane Howe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ministry"","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Scan.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Scan.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Scan.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3001,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/7-ways-to-fail-as-a-missionary\/","url_meta":{"origin":6186,"position":3},"title":"7 Ways to Fail as a Missionary","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"September 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Missionaries are not superheroes. If you're a missionary hopefully you know that by now! I've failed more than once as a missionary and that's why I want to share with you some common ways that missionaries can fail. Sometimes it's helpful to look at our mistakes so that we can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ministry"","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/photo-41.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/photo-41.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/photo-41.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4253,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/what-missionaries-really-do-on-furlough-the-surprising-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":6186,"position":4},"title":"What Missionaries Really Do on Furlough? 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It's not the first time someone has commented on our \"vacation\" in the States. \u00a0While we live and serve most of the time in Ukraine, we spent the last ten\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ministry"","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/DSC00070.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/DSC00070.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/DSC00070.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4982,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/47-confessions-of-a-missionary-wife-surviving-furlough-with-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":6186,"position":5},"title":"#47 Confessions of a Missionary Wife -Surviving Furlough with Children","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"January 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Let's get one thing straight, if you're a missionary and you have kids, then furlough is anything but a vacation! 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