PNG (Sept.) Day 8: "Useful!"
An interesting phenomena of being a missionary wife is that you don't always have a job description, especially on a mission trip. It doesn't mean that the wife isn't useful or needed at times, but it means there aren't always clear-cut tasks to perform or goals to achieve within her skillset. The result is that often I feel like extra baggage and at loose ends when on a trip with Dan. (He's the one that mentors the person doing the accounting and the staff trying to understand the reporting system, the business end of directing the ministry here. He also is directly responsible for the people under him, helping them with their goals and personal growth.) While I stand by and offer any insight and encouragement (which, I have to say, IS my skillset), it's all in a general, unspecific cloud of being a support. I know this role is important, and that God doesn't waste people when He puts them somewhere...It's just that I feel a little at a loss to assist when Dan has a long list of jobs to accomplish that I am out of my depth to be of help.
That's why it's so fun when something does come along that is more in line with my skillset...like finalizing the design of a student life brochure to be given out on Saturday, for the coming project in February. We gave some ideas to Greg (our PNG staff guy who is very artistic,) and he gave us back an attractive prototype of the brochure. We just did the production work of alignment, consistant font...that sort of thing. (I made suggestions, Dan did the computer part.) FUN!
An interesting phenomena of being a missionary wife is that you don't always have a job description, especially on a mission trip. It doesn't mean that the wife isn't useful or needed at times, but it means there aren't always clear-cut tasks to perform or goals to achieve within her skillset. The result is that often I feel like extra baggage and at loose ends when on a trip with Dan. (He's the one that mentors the person doing the accounting and the staff trying to understand the reporting system, the business end of directing the ministry here. He also is directly responsible for the people under him, helping them with their goals and personal growth.) While I stand by and offer any insight and encouragement (which, I have to say, IS my skillset), it's all in a general, unspecific cloud of being a support. I know this role is important, and that God doesn't waste people when He puts them somewhere...It's just that I feel a little at a loss to assist when Dan has a long list of jobs to accomplish that I am out of my depth to be of help.
That's why it's so fun when something does come along that is more in line with my skillset...like finalizing the design of a student life brochure to be given out on Saturday, for the coming project in February. We gave some ideas to Greg (our PNG staff guy who is very artistic,) and he gave us back an attractive prototype of the brochure. We just did the production work of alignment, consistant font...that sort of thing. (I made suggestions, Dan did the computer part.) FUN!
Yay!
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