I did not set out to write a book. However, in the late 1990s I did set out to make material on member care available to anyone anywhere at any time. At no previous time in history has that been possible, but with the invention of the Internet in the late twentieth century it became a reality for missionaries nearly anywhere in the world to access material posted there. As search engines have improved more missionaries have found the material.
Some missionaries did not have Internet access, but they did have email, so I could send the material to them anywhere at a moment’s notice at their request. In addition, people working in member care in mission agencies asked for these as attachments so they could distribute them to the missionaries for whom they were providing care.b
Some missionaries did not have email (or they had it but had to pay by the kilobyte to download), so I printed the material in a series of “brochures.” I could send these to people who had postal service anywhere in the world. People working in member care could also copy these and send them to missionaries in their agencies.
I did not set out with an outline or a preconceived set of topics. However, I wrote one item (depression, because it is the “common cold” of psychological problems) and asked missionaries who read it to suggest other topics. Each article on the web page said, “You are invited to suggest other topics you would like to know about to the following...” Each emailed and each printed brochure ended with, “This brochure is one of a series, and you are invited to suggest other topics you would like to know about to the following…” Most of the chapters in this book are a result of missionaries’ suggestions.
Member care workers in several countries requested permission to translate the chapters into other languages, and they did so, distributing them to missionaries individually or publishing them in periodicals. Friedhilde Stricker translated them into German, and Verlan fur Kultur and Wissenschaft published Was Missionare wissen sollten… Ein Handbuch fur Leben und Dienst in 2003. Although I have never personally met Mrs. Stricker, I want to express my deep gratitude to her for translating the material and having it published in book form.
Of course, no author can express adequate thanks to everyone who had a part in developing a book. However, I want to thank all my colleagues in the Psychology and English Departments at Asbury College, with special thanks to three of them who made the most significant contributions. Art Nonneman read every brochure and made many invaluable comments over a period of more than five years. Marty Seitz co-authored several of the chapters with me, and his name appears on those. Yvonne Moulton did the final editing to correct grammar and punctuation as well as make sure the right meaning was conveyed. Art, Marty and Yvonne deserve credit for many good things in the book, but they are certainly not responsible for any shortcomings.
Finally, there is no way to adequately describe the contribution my wife, Bonnie, has made. We have talked to missionaries together, presented material together in seminars and orientation. We have led reentry retreats together. She has cooked hundreds of meals for TCKs in our home, and she has proofread everything I have written. Though not recognizable, her input is found on every page.