Alabama parents of missionaries support each other through national organization

The crates are packed and the commissioning ceremonies are now but a memory. All that is left to do is hug a tearful family goodbye and board the flight to a new life — a life of uncertainties, of fears and of sacrifices, but also a life of joy, of fulfillment and of calling.
   
A person’s life takes on new directions after surrendering to the call of the missions field, but that person is not the only one affected.
   
A parent of a missionary also discovers a new purpose — one that ranges from being happy for the child’s role and being sad for losing close contact, not to mention being fearful for his or her safety.
   
“Sometimes it’s hard to have our children and grandchildren so far away,” said Laurelle Stoudenmire, whose daughter and son-in-law (Judy and Steve Anderson) serve as Southern Baptist missionaries in the Philippines.
   
“It’s nice to be able to talk with other parents about the issues that we go through,” she said.
   
She has the opportunity to experience this support through Missionary Parents Fellowship (MPF), a national organization with an Alabama chapter. Stoudenmire’s husband, Allen, serves as president of the Alabama MPF.
   
Laurelle Stoudenmire serves as historian for the state chapter, which hosted the national group April 30–May 1 at Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center.
   
Terri Willis, director of national relations for the International Mission Board, said, “The national Missionary Parents Fellowship retreat provides significant time for fellowship with parents who truly understand what each other is facing while their children are on the international field.”
   
Allen Stoudenmire said, “As a missionary parent, the meeting was very helpful and encouraging. The fellowship meeting gave us as parents of missionaries an opportunity to share that common bond that we have with one another.
   
“Also, we were able to provide prayer support to parents of missionaries who were struggling with their child’s call to the field,” he noted.
   
In addition to sharing with each other, missionary parents also hear from Southern Baptist missionaries. This year two of the retreat’s featured missionaries happened to be the Andersons.
   
“Both of our parents are here, and I think this has been very good and helpful for all of them,” said Steve Anderson.
   
The parents also learned how to have a live Web cast with their children overseas and participated in a WorldCrafts Store provided by national Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU).
   
WorldCrafts allows national WMU to purchase handcrafts from nationals in more than 23 countries and sell them to people in the United States. WorldCrafts will soon have 260 products from 28 countries.
   
Candace McIntosh, executive director for Alabama WMU, said, “This has been an excellent meeting, and our staff and I believe all of the participants have been so blessed. Many of the missionary parents have told me how they have been encouraged by one another.”
   
For more information about Alabama’s MPF, contact Pat Hall at 1-800-264-1225, Ext. 223, or by e-mail at phall@alsbom.org.  (WMU)