calling | | Peter's Wife

An Inheritance

When I was a young woman, I imagined my life would include a husband, two or three girls, a suburban home, and a white picket fence. When I married my husband, I amended that to having a pastor as a husband, a couple girls, and a series of parsonages throughout our lifetime. By the time our second son was born, I knew I wouldn’t have the girls or the series of parsonages. We had already lived in eight homes and none of them were the traditional parsonage.

During our marriage, we have lived in a total of 21 homes on three continents. Our pastoring expanded from one small congregation to serving in many churches. We’ve stayed in many homes, hotels, and guesthouses.

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PWs Sharing and Caring

I Feel Like Quitting

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Am I really a PW? I am only doing what wives and mothers back home are doing? If I am not “out there” working, I’m not really worthy to be called a PW. I’m a failure if I can’t learn the language well. A “real” PW wouldn’t be crying over bugs in the rice, mildew in my shoes, and having to cut my own hair.

These are distortions we have all heard in our heads from time to time. They are usually triggered by a bad day or a long series of bad days. They are the ones that bubble up from some ache deep inside and are blown all out of proportion the longer we think about them. They are a slippery slope to depression.

Some of these were the very reason Peter’s Wife was first started. Twenty years ago PWs coming from nearby countries to renew their visas would stop by and visit or stay with us for a few days. The husbands would visit with my husband in the living room. They would excitedly tell of all the wonderful results for their work. Their wives, on the other hand, would be with me in the kitchen crying because they hadn’t been able to learn the language, home schooling was not going well and the ants were taking over their kitchen. Peter’s Wife began as a way to connect these women with others in similar situations. It helps so much to know we are not alone.

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Remember the Journey

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Here we are on the brink of another year. Have you, like me, been looking back? As Micah told God’s people: remember your journey (Micah 6:5). Where have we been? What have we done?

Some of us began a new journey this year. We’ve finished deputation and are making final plans to go to our first overseas assignment. Others have been home on furlough visiting many old friends and family. Some have gone through the very real stress of changing fields in this last year, with all the upheaval of packing, saying goodbyes and resettling.

A few have experienced threats to the work or even their lives. They learned about persecution at a very personal level this year. Sickness may have struck. A few may have even lost loved ones.

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