(originally posted on 2017-01-12)
I’ve shared some work with MKs (missionary kids) and that is still something I do within Wycliffe. My main role though is called a Member Care Adviser (MCA). It’s a role that I have been slowly taking on and have recently stepped into more fully. In Wycliffe Bible Translators Canada, a MCA has a wide range of responsibilities.
Some are administrative type things: making sure forms are filed on time in the appropriate place with the appropriate people. For example, your daughter and son-in-law are missionaries. Every time they end a visit in Canada and return overseas we ask for information such as, where is your will located, who are your emergency contacts and what is their contact information, are you financially able to carry on this work. We make sure they have their overseas medical insurance in place and that they have met all the OHIP requirements for continued coverage even if they are out of the country. An avoidable outcome would be to have your daughter and son-in-law lose their OHIP. It is not simple to regain.
Some responsibilities are more person-focused. When your brother has moved around the world, you want to know that he is going to “be okay.” Is he learning the culture and the language? Is he making friendships? How is he growing spiritually? Is he taking care of his health? Is he adapting so that he can live in a new place with the least amount of stress possible? These types of questions are mostly addressed by his supervisor overseas but his MCA here in Canada keeps their eyes open. When something seems potentially questionable in a work-report or in a newsletter, the MCA follows up. And when your brother returns to Canada for a visit you can be sure all of these questions are explored.
Some responsibilities are work-focused. Your parents have worked overseas maybe for 25 years, maybe for 10 years. Are they satisfied with their work? Are they still able to achieve the results they and/or others have set with or for them? Are their supervisors keeping up with their responsibilities for your parents? Are they considering moving back to Canada, or to another country, or just to a different position? There are many factors (health, finance, ability…) to consider in any of those scenarios and your parent’s MCA is one of the people who ensure your parents are not only aware of those factors but also take them into account.
I currently care for 25 families of about 40 adults and several kids who come from Manitoba, Ontario, and the East Coast. I have one family whose parents are aging and need more care. What does it look like to honour parents when your work is overseas? Are there opportunities in Canada if they move back? On the other end of the family spectrum I have a family whose children are considering post-secondary education. Some families return for 6 months, settle their child into university, and then return overseas. Some families return for a full year. Some return and stay until all their children seem to be settled. Some return permanently. What is the right choice for these families and how do they make their decisions?
When you pray for and support me, you are also supporting missionaries in parts of Eastern Europe, Asia, East Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North America! Your reach is far. Not only to these families I care for, but also to the families who have let them go.
Thank you for your ministry to me and to them.
Some are administrative type things: making sure forms are filed on time in the appropriate place with the appropriate people. For example, your daughter and son-in-law are missionaries. Every time they end a visit in Canada and return overseas we ask for information such as, where is your will located, who are your emergency contacts and what is their contact information, are you financially able to carry on this work. We make sure they have their overseas medical insurance in place and that they have met all the OHIP requirements for continued coverage even if they are out of the country. An avoidable outcome would be to have your daughter and son-in-law lose their OHIP. It is not simple to regain.
Some responsibilities are more person-focused. When your brother has moved around the world, you want to know that he is going to “be okay.” Is he learning the culture and the language? Is he making friendships? How is he growing spiritually? Is he taking care of his health? Is he adapting so that he can live in a new place with the least amount of stress possible? These types of questions are mostly addressed by his supervisor overseas but his MCA here in Canada keeps their eyes open. When something seems potentially questionable in a work-report or in a newsletter, the MCA follows up. And when your brother returns to Canada for a visit you can be sure all of these questions are explored.
Some responsibilities are work-focused. Your parents have worked overseas maybe for 25 years, maybe for 10 years. Are they satisfied with their work? Are they still able to achieve the results they and/or others have set with or for them? Are their supervisors keeping up with their responsibilities for your parents? Are they considering moving back to Canada, or to another country, or just to a different position? There are many factors (health, finance, ability…) to consider in any of those scenarios and your parent’s MCA is one of the people who ensure your parents are not only aware of those factors but also take them into account.
I currently care for 25 families of about 40 adults and several kids who come from Manitoba, Ontario, and the East Coast. I have one family whose parents are aging and need more care. What does it look like to honour parents when your work is overseas? Are there opportunities in Canada if they move back? On the other end of the family spectrum I have a family whose children are considering post-secondary education. Some families return for 6 months, settle their child into university, and then return overseas. Some families return for a full year. Some return and stay until all their children seem to be settled. Some return permanently. What is the right choice for these families and how do they make their decisions?
When you pray for and support me, you are also supporting missionaries in parts of Eastern Europe, Asia, East Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North America! Your reach is far. Not only to these families I care for, but also to the families who have let them go.
Thank you for your ministry to me and to them.
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