It's an old joke of course that being a pastor is the best job in the world because you only have to work one day a week.  I remember thinking that of my pastor when I was a kid - that and he had that awesome parsonage for free too.  Of course, having been a pastor I can testify that there is more than the Sunday work to do.

A joke I heard more recently goes like this:  A kid and his dad are talking after church on a Sunday when a missionary had been there.  The kids says, "Dad, I think I finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up."  The dad says, "Yeah?  What do you want to be?"  And the kid says, "A missionary home on furlough." (drum rim)

And of course, the Sundays that we spend as we travel are great events - the congregations put on their best faces, special music, good potluck food or other special treatment.  Those are very special days - the highlight of the week sharing our family's vision, offering the opportunity for individuals and congregations to join in the story.  Good stuff!

But some of you may be wondering . . . what do we do the rest of the week?  And this is a great question.  First, you have to understand that our family is kind of living on two fronts right now - Maya with the boys and Becca are focused on being in a central spot in Saint Louis while the boys are in school and getting foundational education skills before we go to Botswana.

Rich, Chris, and Kat travel.  On a day that we travel, we will usually spend 6-8 hours on the road and that is pretty much the extent of those days (which thankfully are only once every 2-3 weeks).  On days when we are not traveling, Rich spends 2-3 hours in school lessons with Chris and Kat.  I also do research and reading of my own, devoting 3-5 hours per week in Setswana language learning (most of it theoretical right now) and 2-3 hours per day of any of the following:  1) linguistic research from articles and papers written about the area we will be living in, 2) theological or techinical reading, 3) contacting or following up with partner churches, 4) correspondence with donors and prayer partners. 

Also we usually are at at least one school speaking in chapels or student assemblies, and sometimes we attend church board meetings, dinners, or youth functions.  All in all the weeks get full quickly and we are not left wondering what we will do next.  It is the greatest job in the world, but a little more than one day a week.