Monthly Expenses updated

 

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Below you will find an itemized list of expenses that we expect to have in the Philippines. 

To compare our findings, we have searched for other expenses for foreign ministers and found a wide range of costs and expenses. One thing we did notice is that our mindset, in the beginning, was like many people from North America. We assumed that living as foreign ministers in Southeast Asia, we would live below the standard of our counterparts in North America. It's just cheaper to live there, right? 

During our research, we came across this article asking, why would a missionary need so much money to live in a poor country? He has some great insights into living abroad while being a supported minister.
One particular part was quite eye opening for us and helped us to set what we feel is a much better, well-rounded expense and budget analysis for our ministry in the Philippines.
 

"Missionaries leave behind their support network of family and friends often moving into a dangerous environment where daily life is so much more difficult. A place where a car that breaks down is more than an inconvenience, and living in a nicer neighborhood is not about prestige but being able to sleep with less fear at night. Where power and water outages make being able to buy fast food a life saver, and where shopping at a decent store is more about not getting sick from parasites than convenience. In a foreign land missionary kids feel lost and alone struggling to communicate and spending most their time locked in their homes because of safety concerns. They miss dearly the freedoms they had in their former life. There is no walking to meet friends at a local park and very few free opportunities for recreation as most has to be done in areas with security and high walls. For a missionary couple, having the financial flexibility to allow their kids to participate in an extracurricular activity is critical to the family’s survival.   The above are just a few of the challenges missionaries face; there are many others (cannot flush toilet paper, no hot water, days spent in long lines trying to pay bills or get government documents, the list could go on and on.). So why when we send them out to face so many challenges do we also expect them to live at a level we would deem unacceptable in the US?" - Peterson

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If you feel you would like to join and help us continue the work we are doing here financially supporting our ministry, please join us today. Whether it's a monthly or a one time gift, we really appreciate every blessing that we receive to further God's work here in the Philippines. Thank you for your prayers and support.

 

Joe and Nadine Klinkenberg

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