How Does Missionary Support Work?

Let's be real.  No one wants to talk about money.  It's awkward and uncomfortable.  But we know you have questions, and that's okay!  We thought it might be helpful to explain things in a blog post in response to some queries about how monthly support works (and why our numbers are as high as they are), especially for those who are used to religious denominations sending out missionaries as employees of the denomination.  First of all, monthly support includes our salary.  All missionaries with ABWE, whether they are surgeons or mechanics, make the same salary.  Our salary is $1560 per month.  For our eight children, we receive $1625 per month plus a $400 monthly educational stipend (homeschooling and online school is pretty pricey!).  Then we have a housing allowance of $650 a month.  We pay a bit under $800 per month in self-employment Social Security.  We pay $825 per month in health insurance, $25 in accident/life/vision insurance, $200 towards a medical expense account, and $243 monthly into a retirement account.  The remainder of our monthly support in the order of $2050 goes directly towards ministry expenses, as missionaries, through their financial partners, contribute to things like the hospital, the radio ministry, and all of the other ministries in the area.  So, as you can see, there's a lot going on, and truly our support partners are not just paying for the Fifes to be on the field, but also paying directly into the actual ministries in Togo, like the Hospital of Hope.  Pretty neat, huh?

Back to School Shopping

I LOATHE back to school shopping,  Which is funny in some ways, because I remember it being kind of the highlight of the summer for me when I was a kid.  Mom and I would go to ShopKo, where I would get some super cool duds, like a shirt that said NOT! on it in neon colors.  And then Walmart came into town and I scored a pair of black chunky heel loafers (hello, layaway!) in addition to the practical stuff.  Well, that romanticism has not lingered past the first few years of back-to-school shopping.  Now it's a necessary evil, something I tend to put off until the last few days before school starts, so that I can join the equally grumpy parents bemoaning the lack of colored pencils and glue sticks at Fred Meyer.  The fact that I will have THREE kids in Junior High and High School does not help on the budget - those registration days are expensive!  But school, blessed school, you are worth it.  Routines, quiet days, a baby that can FINALLY nap without being woken up, no one to referee between except for the pets, quiet days, only one tiny human to clean up after, did I mention QUIET DAYS!

Grocery Budget Challenge for August

August is a hard month for the budget, a close runner up to December for spending.  August is the month of back-to-school shopping and registering for things - school, ballet, skating, holiday show, and so on.  So, in the spirit of keeping things light-hearted, I'm issuing a grocery budget challenge to myself and anyone else who wants to participate.  My grocery budget for the whole month is $500.  Now, as opposed to some folks, I don't include household items in my grocery budget - strictly food products.  So, there's that.  But still, this is not where our grocery budget generally sits and I will definitely be feeling it.  We already did our first grocery shopping for the month, so we've already burned through $132.99 of our $500 budget.  I'm praying that our garden starts producing more than herbs and jalapenos :)  (it's close - we've got lots of flowers on our squash, cucumber, and zucchini plants and several green tomatoes on our three tomato plants).  Feel free to share your favorite whole-food, inexpensive recipes here if you'd like.  And pray.  Pray for diligence and encouragment for me this month.  Sometimes the menu planning, shopping, and meal prep for a large family can be as daunting as you might imagine - it's easy to lose steam.