MK forum

NTM has changed with the times! When my family went to the field there was no retirement plan or health insurance. Whoever heard of missionaries having those things! No, if you were a good triber you went out in faith. You were not allowed to tell supporters you had needs, you were to have faith. Most missionaries were undersupported and went to the field where they struggled with finances as well as the work. I know while we were on the field there were times the missionaries took up collections to fund a family in need. In one case it was so bad they took up a collection and sent a family back to the U.S. As a preschooler, I remember having the children of one family spend their Christmas vacation with us because their parents could not afford to travel out to them or have the plane take the kids home. That meant the kids went 9 months without seeing their parents. We didn't get much for christmas, only one or two presents that my parents made, but they provided christmas for this family of children as well as our family. I have always wondered what happened to those kids later and where they are today? I was surprised when I went to college and found out that MK's from other missions had education funds to pay for college that had been deducted from their parents' support for years to build a college savings account. Then I realized that most missions had minimum support levels before you could go to the field, health insurance, retirement, education funds, etc.