Category Archives: Missions

Money…  this is such a tough thing for us to talk about in ministry sometimes.   And yet, really it is all God’s money.  We are just stewards of it, hoping to use it for building His kingdom and bringing Him fame.

We cannot tell you what an amazing journey it has been to live on the gifts given by others to cover our salary.  It has been a time of  learning to lean on Him for our every need.  We have learned a lot about trusting God for His provision.

Over the last four years 90% of our support team has remained the same.   A few have stopped giving for a variety of reasons and others have joined.   That means that of our original 85 financial partners (3 churches and 82 individuals and families) 76 of them are still giving!  That is AMAZING!!  You might be interested to know that our monthly gifts range from $10 to $500 in addition to everything in between.  God uses all those amounts of money to pay our rent, electric bill, car repairs, visa fees, school tuition, food on our table as well as money to help those in need that we meet.

This year we have 2 fund raising goals:

$800 new monthly commitments for the Loft center and Egli’s salary

$500 new monthly commitments for our personal salary

We will be meeting with groups and individuals LIKE YOU to ask for prayer and financial support.  Don’t feel left out if we don’t ask you personally!  If GOD is asking you to partner with us to bring the gospel to Albania you CAN!  If you would like to partner with us financially, you can visit our SUPPORT page and see the ways to give.  If you would like to receive our monthly updates send an email to Robertwheelis@gmail.com

Yesterday, we wrote about what is a furlough. Our upcoming furlough is called HMA by our sending agency, Frontiers.  We will be leaving the mission field for a period of three months in order to connect with our supporters and partners in ministry, share about ministry with churches and small groups, visit family (including meeting our new niece!), raise additional support for our personal funds and the youth center, and recharge and refresh – physically, spiritually and emotionally.  Our time will also include some health check ups since we don’t have the advanced medical care available to us there that we are blessed to have here in the US.

Some people have said “Wow, I wish I had a three month vacation from my job!”  We can assure you this is not the case!  While we do have a couple  weeks of vacation built into our time, most of our time will be spent working to keep us in Albania!  In order for us to be able to be on the mission field, a large part of our job is fundraising.   We are able to work and minister in Albania as a result of your sacrificial gifts.  We take the responsibility of reporting to you what God is doing with those funds seriously.  Without you, the advance of the gospel would not happen.   Our time will be filled with meetings with current supporters and partners, small groups, speaking engagements, as well as meeting with new friends and connections in order to raise additional support.

Check back tomorrow to read about our support needs and fundraising goals.

If your like us, you may not have heard the word “furlough” many times in your life.   Before we came to the mission field, we did not personally know anyone who was serving in missions overseas long-term.  So we had very little knowledge about many of the ins and outs of being a missionary.

200 years ago, missionaries went to the mission field with their worldly belongings packed in a coffin, knowing that the only time they would return to their homeland would be after their death.  100 years ago, missionaries would return to their home country for a year once every 7-10 years.  The cost and length of time to travel was too great for returning more often than that.

Thankfully, times have changed.  Today, the length and frequency varies among churches, denominations, agencies and missionaries.  Anywhere from every year for a few weeks, every other year for a few months, or even every fourth year for six months to a year.

Even on our team, our team leader has given us the freedom to make a plan that works well for us and helps us remain connected to our support team and family and gives us a chance to recharge emotionally and spiritually.

Our sending agency, Frontiers, calls furlough HMA or Home Ministry Assignment.  Check back tomorrow for more about our HMA this summer!

Most of you are probably like we were before we started this journey…unfamiliar with the how-to’s of international missions. We didn’t grow up in any churches that really had a history of sending missionaries overseas and, therefore, the learning curve has been huge. Over the last two years, we’ve tried our best to familiarize ourselves with the norms within the missionary community. (Although, there’s quite a bit of diversity with every mission sending organization.) I would say the majority of missionaries we know here come from churches with a long history of sending missionaries and/or are 2nd or 3rd generation missionaries. Many have spent the majority of their adult lives on the mission field (10-20 years).

One of the expectations that we were unaware of was the need to go home to connect with and report to our supporters in America every couple or three years. This has traditionally been called a furlough. Frontiers, our mission agency calls it HMA (Home Ministry Assignment). In the days before airplanes, it was common for missionaries to go home for a whole year every 4-7 years. This was because it was a several month journey on the boat home, not to mention extremely expensive.
There are some missionaries here who still do this. In fact, many churches even have a missionary house for missionaries to stay in when they come back for HMA.

Now, typically, the length of time for HMA is 3-4 months. Some of you might be wondering, “why on earth would you need that long to be home? I don’t get a 3 month vacation.” Don’t feel bad, I had the same question. Let me unpack it a little.

1. It’s not a vacation. In fact, most missionaries have told us that it’s actually more work and more stressful than being on the mission field because…

2. There’s a ton of travel time. As you know, missionaries are supported by churches and individuals who hear the call to “go and make disciples of all nations”. This summer we will be travelling by car over 3000 miles from Colorado to Chicago to Ohio to North Carolina to Oklahoma. I’m exhausted already! All of this to share the vision God has given us and ask people to join our effort, because the truth is…

3. It takes money to build God’s kingdom. Fundraising is a big part of a missionary’s job. This summer, while back in the States, we will be raising funds for the Youth Center, salary for an Albanian assistant youth pastor (Egli), and shortfalls in our own budget. And I can tell you from personal experience that this can really drain you. We’re happy to do it, though, because, we see what God is doing in our midst. But, it means that at the end of HMA…

4. missionaries need time for physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual renewal. This can’t be done in a quick 3 or 4 day getaway. I was reading a leadership blog (swerve.lifechurch.tv) recently encouraging American pastors to take at least 2 weeks at a time for vacation to relax and truly unwind. I think it requires a little more for missionaries because of the added culture stress, jet lag, travelling time in the states, etc.

So, we just arrived back in the states and are starting our first HMA. I’ll keep you posted on dates and locations over the next week. Please pray for our times to be joy-filled, for deeper relationships with our friends and supporters, and for patience with each other as we travel.

P.S. Sorry for the marathon post!