My Grandmother Anointing

I have recently noticed that I am old enough to be the mother of many of the missionaries that I have been supporting.  Perhaps that’s because many of the missionaries my own age have retired and returned to their homelands.  And who can blame them?  Especially when many of them have labored in the mission fields 20 years or more[1].

Many of these young missionaries are couples with young children.  Lately I have been privileged to spend time with these littlest missionaries.  Yes, they are missionaries.  When God calls a person or a couple with children, he is calling the whole family.  Children are the most naturally evangelistic people I know.  They share their faith as easily as passing the salt at the dinner table.  In fact, children can share their faith with people who wouldn’t normally want to hear about Jesus.

This past weekend I was hosted by a missionary family with four kids.  Their mom had told them: “Alisa Brown is coming to visit.”  So the youngest started right away calling me Brownie, which evolved to Brownies, then Grandma Brownies.  It was absolutely delightful to be Grandma Brownies to these kids.

The week before that I was babysitting an adorable baby in Turkey, getting some grandma time with him, too.  And this week I had a little family visit.

Being a mother was the most wonderful, amazing thing to ever happen in my life.  Then in 2011 I became a grandmother, which definitely kicked things up several notches.  In my ministry, much of what I do is mother missionaries: I open my home to them, do laundry for them, cook for them, clean for them, rejoice with them in their triumphs, pray for their needs—and babysit for them.  Being Grandma Brownies to these missionary kids has kicked things up several notches.  I love my life!  God is good!

[1] I would love to retire, too.  But having only started six years ago, I feel the urgency to finish the job I’ve started.