One of the most common warnings when one enters into ministry is “Beware of Burn-out”. Everyone knows about it. Everyone knows someone who it’s happened to. Everyone is prone to it BUT no one ever thinks it will happen to them.  I was one of those people. I thought I had my priorities straight making sure that the family was not overburdened by the work in Chile. I thought I protected myself from burnout because I took a “day off” from church work but in reality it quickly became a workday at home because I spent that day at home working on “stuff” for ministry. I was aware that it was a possibility but didn’t have an understanding of how subtle it really was. It was not a “bang” and here it is but it came on little by little as a fog creeping in over the mountains.

Let me give you a little history...

The last 2 years have been really full of ministry; Bible studies, counseling, marital restoration, leadership training, church ministries. It was a drive and a push to be as fruitful as possible in preparation for the transitional stage of the work in Santiago. My schedule was full of those things and my typical routine was...

            9:00 till 13:00 -- Preparing studies

            13:00 to 15:00 -- Lunches with members or possible studies

            15:00 to 19:00 -- Home with family

            19:00 to 24:00 -- Studies

This would happen at least 4 times a week not including Sunday or other weekend events. I thought I was doing a lot for the kingdom.

In June there was a feeling of “burn-out is coming” because the pace was just too much. There was a feeling and desire to make a change for the future but not yet. We took a three day trip to the beach with some friends and in those three days I was unable to disconnect from the work to have some R&R. Even to the point that the day we drove back from the beach we arrived at the house I unloaded the car, showered and went to a Bible study getting home after midnight. The next few days and weeks I realized that little things irritated me that would not have bothered me years before. I dreaded leaving to go to Bible studies. I began to check the caller ID to determine if I answered the phone or not. The week talking with Tae, we came to the realization that I was already in the first part of burnout because ministry consumed me, wore me out and i was loosing my joy to minister to people. Our future on the mission field could be threatened if we didn’t make a change.

We prayed a lot over those next few weeks. We talked some to our teammates and came to the conclusion that it was necessary to take a break from ministry. It was the first week in August that we told the congregation that we were backing away from ministry for a time so that we could renew our spirits and prolong our time in Chile. If there was no change I would not last another year. The church was supportive and it was a good step for the church.

As of the middle of September we, as a family, began our Sabbatical. We went to the desert in northern Chile. I traveled to Brazil to a missionary retreat. And as a family we went to Colombia. In that time I have not been involved in any aspect of the church planning, evangelism, preaching or teaching.  It has been a hard time for the church because many of the members are used to having us around.

It seems that as a family we have reconnected to each other and are enjoying our times together. I am feeling more rested and everyday the desire to be back in ministry grows.