Have you considered tithing your professional life?

A special note to mid-lifers, empty-nesters, and baby boomers:

A number of years ago my husband said, “At church they teach us to tithe—give 10 percent—of our money, so why not encourage people to also tithe their professional lives?” In other words, after people have worked, say, thirty years in their careers, how about working three years in a ministry? Great idea!

And, in fact, a number of mid-lifers, empty nesters, and baby boomers—instead of retiring to a life of leisure—are transitioning into ministries, even overseas missions. Most people in this age group have good health, energy, and a wealth of experience and wisdom to share. Many organizations recognize this and actively recruit such people.

Maybe you, too, are ready to try something new, ready to make a difference that really counts, so I invite you to read Grandma’s Letters from Africa, to read over my granddaughter Maggie’s shoulder and learn how a mid-life woman—I—moved to Africa and even lived to tell about it!

And while you read, keep in mind that maybe you could do something like this, too.

Consider the words of Shane Claiborne:

“All around you people will be tiptoeing through life,

just to arrive at death safely.

But dear children, do not tiptoe.

Run, hop, skip, or dance.

Just don’t tiptoe!”

Give it serious consideration!

Keep in mind, though, that change is inevitable. In the years since Dave and I returned home from Africa, Wycliffe Bible Translators has changed, as have other mission agencies. If you were to work with Wycliffe today, you would work with a different Wycliffe than we did. Field training (orientation) courses, such as Kenya Safari, have changed. Financial policies have changed, the U.S. headquarters has moved to Orlando, and furlough schedules are more flexible than they used to be.

           

And while Africa has changed, too, I’m sure some things have not changed: the flowers, animals, and birds; the vast open spaces, jungles, and deserts; and especially the dear, charming African people—their laughter and their music, their spirit, soul, and faith.

Perhaps a second career in missions

is just what you’ve been looking for—

maybe for a few months, maybe for a few years.

Working on the mission field is doable

as long as people are willing, flexible, and strong in their faith.

So while you read over my granddaughter Maggie’s shoulder,

I hope you’ll say to yourself,

“If that gal could do it, so can I! Where do I sign up?”

In many parts the world, not just Africa,

 the needs are enormous.

The rewards are, too.

P.S. Have you read my newest memoir? Entitled Please, God, Don’t Make Me Go: A Foot-Dragger’s Memoir, it covers three years my husband and I and our two little kids worked in rural Colombia, South America.

From the back cover:

What’s a comfortable—and cowardly—suburbanite to do when her husband wants to move their young family to Colombia so he can teach missionaries’ kids?

Linda K. Thomas has always planned to chase the American dream. Adventure doesn’t appeal to her and she’s ill-equipped for missions work. She prays, “Please, God, don’t make me go!” but after months of soul-searching, she hears Him say, “Go!”

So, with flimsy faith and wobbly courage, she sets out with her husband, Dave, and their kids on a life-changing adventure at the end of the road in the middle of nowhere.

But when culture shock, tropical heat, and a certain boa constrictor threaten to undo her, she’s tempted to run away and hike back to the U.S. Instead, she fights to settle in and soon falls in love with her work alongside modern-day heroes of the faith disguised as regular folks. God has sent her where she didn’t know she wanted to go.

Once life is under control and easy, she gets a surprise—an invitation to one of the world’s most dangerous drug-dealing regions where hundreds of people have lost their lives. The country is perilous in other ways, too. Marxist guerrillas don’t like Americans, proving it with bombs, kidnapping, and eventually murder.

Linda doesn’t trust God to help her make the trip, and she can’t trust herself, either. Gripped by anxiety, she longs to stay in the only safe place, the mission center. Again she prays, “Please, God, don’t make me go!”

In this heartwarming, sometimes humorous, sometimes shocking memoir, you’ll walk alongside a young wife and mother as she faces two universal struggles:

• choosing between her plans and God’s, and
• choosing faith and courage over fear and cowardice.

This compelling memoir will inspire you to cancel membership in the Society of the Faint-Hearted, take a trembling leap of faith, enjoy God more, and relish the adventures He dreams up.

You can order both Grandma’s Letters from Africa and Please, God, Don’t Make Me Go: A Foot-Dragger’s Memoir from your local bookseller or from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and many other online booksellers around the world.