a visit from old friends

Late yesterday afternoon we got a call from some old friends who are missionaries in Germany who were in town and wanted to drop by for a visit. We first met David and Laura two decades ago when he was serving as the youth minister in our church. Paul and I taught their oldest daughter, who just graduated from Boston University, in a 3-year-old Sunday School class, and I taught their second daughter, who is about to begin her senior year at Colorado College, in Mother's Day Out. We recalled last night with amazement how David and Laura had entrusted us with their preschoolers while they travelled out of the country for several days back in 1989. What were they thinking? Somehow their daughters survived in spite of our inexperience.

When David and Laura left Tennessee in 1990 to serve as missionaries in Dundee, Scotland, we promised them (like many other folks) that we would visit them. In the summer of 1991, Paul and I made good on that promise, even though it meant leaving our 9-month-old son with my parents while we traveled. In fall of that same year, I returned to the area as a member of a mission team that led holiday clubs for children (a version of Vacation Bible School) and special events for teenagers. Then in the summer of 1997, Paul, Chaney, and I went on a mission trip to Nantwich, England, where we helped lead a Vacation Bible School for the children of missionaries from England, Scotland, and Wales who were attending their annual regional mission meeting. Our friends have spent their second half of their missionary careers in Germany, and I regret that we have yet to make good on our promise to visit them there. God willing, we will get there - hopefully sooner rather than later.

I have learned a lot of lessons from David and Laura through the years, but I have particularly been impressed with their parenting skills and their hospitality. They have raised four incredible daughters who are independent, missions-minded, and mature beyond their years. When we visited in their home in Scotland, I admired how Laura managed to juggle so many responsibilities as a mom and a missionary yet always maintained a great sense of humor. She had an open door policy in her home and was always willing to put another plate on the table. I don't have the innate gift of hospitality that Laura possesses, but I have tried to imitate her example. I am grateful that God has put people like David and Laura in my life through the years who have modeled what it means to be good stewards of all God has given us - including spiritual gifts and material resources.