As of December 31, 2018, we will be fully engaged as members of Paraclete. We will function as a nonprofit under their direction, will be reporting to them concerning our ministry and all financial gifts will be directed through them.
But MRC will continue to exist!
Our ministry of encouraging missionaries, networking with other member care people here in the triangle area and debriefing missionaries will remain same! MRC has sold all of its cars and our 501(c)(3) and incorporation will both be terminated at the end of 2018, but we will continue to function.
Debriefing of missionaries - We continue to feel that this is the most useful and needed item that we have in our toolbox. In 2019 we already have two local debriefs scheduled here in the Raleigh area, one in January and one in February. We also plan to be involved in two group briefings in north Georgia as we have in the past, one in June and one in July. Our goal is to be involved in about 8 or 10 debriefs during the coming year.
Member Care Connect Events - There are a number of folks in our area of NC who are doing Member Care for missionaries. Some are trained in counseling, some have places of respite and our specialty is debriefing. We want to get acquainted with each other’s ministries in order to be able to draw on each other’s strengths, so to this end we plan to have one or two Member Care Connect Events each year. We have had several such meetings in the past with leaders in this field speaking and have had great discussions. Our next Member Care Connect event will be on February 28. MRC is spearheading this event.
Ashley continues to home school her older three; she and Eric are hopeful building will begin on their land in 2019! Julie is a TA at a different Christian Academy this year where her two attend. Andrew is performing all over the place so we love it when he’s back in our area and can join us in our everyday lives. Here are some recent photos of the family.
Visit Paraclete – If you haven’t done so already, please visit the Paraclete website (www.Paraclete.net), click on “People” then “Paraclete Associates” and read our bio. All the information concerning giving financially to “The Crowes” can be found there by clicking “donate”. Or go to www.paraclete.net/crowe.
Reminder: Any donations which arrive at MRC postmarked after December 31, 2018, will be returned to sender.
In our June Update we shared that we feel like we need to be slowing down. We had a very busy spring with a good number of debriefs, extra trips to Atlanta to help with siblings and a trip to Portugal for Linn. The last week of June we had a family vacation together on the coast of NC which was a first for our family and a lot of fun. July brought a wedding in Charlotte and visits with a number of long-term friends and supporters there, and in August we traveled to Maryland to attend John’s 50th high school class reunion. While there we also visited several other friends and supporters and were able to report on our ministry in a supporting church there… so we have not slowed down much!
But during the next several months we have no specific plans for doing any debriefs or attending any conferences or anything directly ministry related. Instead we are intentionally cutting back and we are focusing on some changes which will help us to have more time for ministry in the future. In our last update we mentioned that we have gotten rid of the three cars which we used to loan to missionaries. We miss having the cars to loan out but this has relieved a good deal of responsibility and stress, especially for John.
Now we are working on getting rid of more of the administrative/bookkeeping responsibilities by joining a ministry called Paraclete. Paraclete is an organization that comes alongside Christian leaders around the world with counseling and coaching, and our ministry will fit into it nicely. If you’d like to know more about Paraclete go to www.paraclete.net . If you are a financial supporter of MRC you will be receiving more specific information in the near future about how this will work but we think Paraclete will be ready to receive MRC’s contributions at least by the end of October.
Summer Family Fun – This summer we were able to do go swimming (Linn) with the grands a few times and also go on several bike rides, some short, some 6 miles or so, with our grandkids. Linn enjoys a number of activities with them, but bike-riding is John’s favorite means of exercise these days and he enjoys having one or more of the grands along as he rides!!
His sister turned 71 this week and she really loved eating out with us to celebrate. Our family has had some hard times this summer, but we are grateful for the fun times that were sprinkled over these months as well.
We were delighted with an overnight visit from our dear friends Steve and Pat Mosley who are stateside now after 40 years in Portugal.
We so appreciate your prayers as we transition soon to ministering with Paraclete.
How time flies! It's already the middle of June and the summer heat has hit the Carolinas. But we are so glad to be here where the Lord has planted us with our children and grandchildren nearby… and with His blessing on the ministry to which He has called us. We praise his name!
Linn's trip to Portugal! You know how sometimes you think you're doing something to serve someone else and it turns around to be a total blessing to you as well? Well that is indeed what happened: I went with the plan to help our dear friends and ex-colleagues pack up after 40 years of serving there. And we did work very hard for several days. But the Lord also allowed me to have some incredible visits with very special people and an afternoon drop-in of seeing many from our old church plant. But the main thing that happened was that my burden and passion for praying for Portugal was deepened and strengthened. I am so incredibly grateful for that. I had asked Father also for some good opportunities to share while traveling and He gave them. Thank you if you prayed… He answered over and beyond all I asked or thought!
Debriefings - The LeRucher debriefing model continues to be a great blessing to many missionaries. We are so thankful to be involved in sharing this with many people who have served overseas. If you'd like to know more about this ministry you can go to www.lerucher.org to see the headquarters in France or to www.leruchereastcoastusa.org to see more specifically what we are involved in.
As of last month Linn and I had debriefed two couples and two singles by ourselves and then we were involved in a group debrief in north Georgia, where 3 couples and a single were debriefed. The Lord faithfully showed up and ministers to people for which we are so thankful. Our hope is that we will be able to continue to use this effective tool to encourage many of His workers as they find themselves back to the States.
Blessed… but needing to slow down! It is so encouraging to see how the Lord has blessed Missionary Resources Connection since its inception almost 7 years ago. We started out looking for opportunities to encourage missionaries and walked alongside a number of individuals and couples as they were headed to the field or were home on furlough. Then the Lord gave us cars to loan to missionaries, brought Dr. Ringenberg to MRC who has developed an amazing medical coaching ministry and also opened the door at just the right time for us to be involved in the LeRucher Debriefs.
But as is often the case, with blessing often comes responsibility and busyness and we are realizing that we need to cut back on some of our activities. Although it has been a great joy to have cars to offer the missionaries when they are on furlough, we have decided that we need to eliminate this aspect of MRC. The three cars that we did have to loan to missionaries have now been sold.
This will be a help but we feel that we also need to cut back in some other areas as we simply cannot keep the pace we used to. So please pray for us that we will know what things to eliminate and how to relieve our schedules so that we will not feel overly busy or stressed and if/when to think about retirement.
Greetings to all of our friends and supporters in 2018. It’s hard to believe that it’s already March. We trust the year is off to a good start for all of you.
Cars and Medical Coaching 2017 - In our MRC Update last December we gave some highlights of what MRC was involved in during 2017. Two things we did not mention are the cars that we have loaned to missionary families and the medical coaching that Dr. Ringenberg has been doing. During 2017 we loaned cars to 13 different families and Dr. Ringenberg spoke with about 50 different workers concerning medical issues they have been facing. We again praise the Lord for the privilege of helping meet needs of these families serving overseas.
We spent 5 very profitable days with John and Linn in a quiet place away from our normal routine. The aim was to review and pray over our many years of service in SE Asia. They led us in brief Bible studies followed by in-depth assessments of the stresses/losses we had encountered during those years. After time in prayer we sensed God directing us in some important decisions related to family and ministry matters. We ended the debrief giving to the Lord the burdens we still have been carrying. John and Linn are excellent listeners and their own experience in ministry overseas helped them connect well with us.
This week Linn debriefed a single gal who was overseas for a short term of service. In March we have a debrief scheduled with another couple and I am scheduled to debrief another missionary later this spring. Then we have two group debriefs scheduled for the summer in north Georgia.
Pray: Again, please ask the Lord to use these DEBRIEFS to refresh and encourage these servants of His.
Linn to Portugal – This summer one couple with whom we ministered during our time in Portugal is moving back to the States after over 30 years of ministry there. You can imagine how difficult it would be to pull up roots and return to the US after so long in another country, so the end of May, Linn is flying to Portugal to spend a week there helping them pack and get ready to move. Join us in asking the Lord to make this a great help to them as well as emotional encouragement and support to them.
Children and grandkids - We are so glad and thankful that all three of our children live here in the Raleigh area and are doing well. What fun also to be able to see and enjoy our grandkids at these young ages! We constantly thank the Lord for this privilege!
Siblings - But our siblings continue to have many challenges. Linn's sister Betsy who has had all of the emotional and psychological problems is now living with their older sister, Sarah. That seems to be going very well for which we are very grateful. Her other sister, who had the stroke last fall, is doing OK, but her husband just this week had 5-bypass heart surgery. He made it through the surgery OK but they will be needing assistance when he gets home so Linn and I will be going to GA Sunday to help during his recuperation. John's sister, Connie, is still at the assisted living facility and has generally been doing well. Last week, however, there was a crisis (she acted-out with a couple residents) and for several days we thought she might have to leave that facility. But, praise the Lord, it seems that the situation has been resolved and now looks like she will probably be able to stay.
We continue to be very thankful for the health and energy that we have to be able to serve our extended family, but we very much need and appreciate your prayers for balance in helping siblings and doing ministry. You are such a blessing to us… and therefore also to many who serve our Savior around the world. We pray for you regularly so please let us know if there are specific things that you would like for us to bring before His throne.
The year 2017 was mixed with good stuff and some hard as well. Isn’t that life?! We consider it a HUGE blessing that we can be do our MRC ministry in Raleigh and also be close to our daughters and their families.
Julie is a TA for a K5 class at Cary Christian School and Ashley continues homeschooling her older three. I, Linn, love helping out with the kids almost weekly and being a hands on Nana. Andrew still travels with his theater work…we love that he lives close by (1/2 hr. away) and that we get to see him when he’s off!
But it has been a sad and difficult year with our siblings. Linn’s sister Betsy has been in and out of psych facilities in Atlanta. She has been psychotic, delusional and needless to say, difficult to deal with. We are praying she can get stabilized on her meds and return to her old, sweet self. Also sad that her sister Anne had a mild stroke 6 weeks ago. Thankfully it was not worse but it did affect her left leg. She’s back home now using a walker and adjusting but it’s a huge change for her and Hank. Linn’s brother George has done well in the rehab program (also in N GA) and will complete his commitment this August. John’s sister Connie was in the hospital for 5 weeks in April and May and was then placed in a Memory Care Assisted Living facility. She has adjusted well and is healthier and more active than she has been in years, but will probably be there the rest of her life.
Praise for new board members and staff!
MRC has been needing some new board members and last week at our meeting we had 4 new board members plus our new administrative assistant. What wonderful and encouraging answers to prayer!
We are happy to have a couple now on board who have served overseas for the past ten years and have focused on international ministry full-time. She is Member Care Coordinator for their organization and we have already been blessed to collaborate together with her this past year. Another Board Member comes from a large local church nearby and has done many short missions trips and helped missionaries in many practical ways like keeping them in her home when stateside. Marabeth Ringenberg is the wife of our MRC doctor/coach, having lived overseas for over 25 years. She has a natural Member Care heart and will bring depth to our insight and endeavors. And our new admin assist, Conner, has just the experience and heart to help us in practical ways with our office management.
Several times in the past years MRC has come to a rather critical point financially. You may remember that on more than one occasion we have said that unless the Lord intervened MRC would not last more than a few months… and each time the Lord has provided in wonderful ways. MRC is His doing and we trust Him to continue meeting our needs. However….
Now we find ourselves in a similar situation but this time it has an additional critical element. In the past we have had a little buffer in the bank to fall back on, but this time that is not true. At the end of 2013 MRC still had $23,000 in the bank. Through the years that buffer has dwindled and now we have only enough in the bank to cover about one month’s expenses.
Wisdom for us to know if there are changes which should be made to either decrease our expenses or charge more for services we offer.
Oct. 29 – Nov. 3 - Debrief retreat - Next week Linn and I will again be at a debrief in north Georgia. Debriefing seven units (couples or individuals). Please ask the Lord to get these folks there safely as they travel and that each of these will meet the Lord in a new and fresh way as they unpack some of the struggles and challenges they have faced in their overseas experiences.
Here is a testimony from our last debrief: "I can honestly say that during my first month back I did not think I could go back with a willing spirit, but after the retreat I got my excitement back to return to where Father has me serving."
Dec. 5-9 – John and Linn will be doing an individual debrief retreat for a couple back from 33 years of service overseas.
Linn and I continue to feel that our time debriefing missionaries is perhaps the most effective and valuable part of our ministry. We haven’t been involved in a debrief for over 4 months but we leave this Saturday to travel to north Georgia to help with a group debrief retreat where two couples and four singles will be debriefed. Our debrief team provides meals and overseas the whole event which demands a lot of time and energy and can be rather stressful.
Above is the Graph for our expenses verses our income for this fiscal year right now. Our Expenses are in Blue and our Income is in Red.
New Board members- Over the last several years we’ve lost several capable board members who had much experience in Member Care. We’ve known that we needed to fill these positions but have not found anyone we felt really understood what MRC does. We now have several possibilities. We’ve extended an invitation to several individuals and ask you to pray that the Lord will give us the ones that He knows will be beneficial to His people who need member care.
Administrative Assistant– Several months ago our Administrative Assistant/Accountant resigned leaving a huge gap to be filled. Zack has been a great blessing in taking care of the accounting needs (which are absolutely essential) and we are thankful for that. But we still have not found the right person to be our Admin Assist. Please ask the Lord to direct us to the right person as we post this need on a couple different websites.
Debrief next week– Join us as we ask the Lord to come and meet each of these servants of His in a special way. Pray for us to listen well and to sleep well while there.
Linn and I were very busy with MRC the first three months of 2017 but then a family situation erupted which occupied nearly all of our time the last 8 weeks. We will explain that later in this Update and we do apologize for not communicating in a while.
Busy: Four debriefings in three months – During the first three months of this year we were the busiest we've ever been in terms of debriefing missionaries. Each debrief takes about 5 days and we debriefed four couples in three months. This is the most we've ever done in that short amount of time. We were busy and it was tiring but we were encouraged that word is getting out that we are here and people are seeing the need for missionaries to be debriefed. And we were again encouraged by the fact that the Lord showed up each time and met His workers.
Since the end of March we have not done any debriefing but June 16-19 we will be in North Georgia for a time of planning and prayer with the other LeRucher-trained debriefers with whom we have so often co-labored. This group has been our trainers and role-models in debriefing and a great encouragement to us individually so we look forward to this time with them. In August and again in October we will return to Georgia to be involved in group debriefings.
*For the Lord’s direction as we plan and pray this coming weekend for future debriefs.
*That the Lord will bring the missionaries who need to be debriefed in August and October and that He will meet each of them in a special way.
Association of member-care people – Last April MRC put on a luncheon and invited people in the area involved in member-care of missionaries. Four couples showed up along with our board and it was a very encouraging time as these folks appreciated hearing about MRC and being with other folks who were involved in the same kind of ministry. Networking is an important key for missionaries in finding the help they need so our goal is to continue to develop this association and we are planning another meeting for sometime this fall.
Ask the Lord to give us wisdom concerning the program, whom to invite and that this association will become a useful tool for member-care people in this area to network with others involved in the same kind of ministry.
Family Crisis – During the last 8 weeks Linn and I have been very preoccupied with a family crisis. Many of you know that we have been helping take care of my (John’s) sister who moved to Raleigh seven years ago. We knew that she was declining and becoming more of a recluse, spent hours each day sitting in front of the television, and in general had a very unhealthy lifestyle. But about eight weeks ago, after we had been out of town for several days, John went by to see her and she was not feeling well and ended up in the emergency room dehydrated, under-nourished with digestive problems, was complaining about her hands hurting, etc. She was in the hospital over five weeks during which time it became apparent that she could not go back and live by yourself, and just over two weeks ago she was moved to a memory care assisted living facility.
This has obviously been a hard time for her, but it has also been a very taxing and stressful time for both Linn and me… first of all coming to the conclusion that she would not be able to go home and take care of herself, hoping at first that we could take care of her but then realizing that would not be impossible either, and then finding a facility for her. She has always been rather private and independent and we thought that she would go kicking and screaming. Moving day was awful! But now she is adjusting amazingly well. She is healthier physically now than she has been in a long time, her short-term memory is so bad that she is even beginning to realize that she cannot live by herself, and she is has started to interact with some of the other residents. We are so thankful for the Lord’s provision of this place and for how well she’s doing. Also, God has certainly sustained us through this very challenging time.
John’s sister sitting between Ashley and Toria at the assisted living facility.
​Thanks for being part of our team.
Dr. Ringenberg served as a medical missionary in Ecuador for over 25 years and much of that time he was the director of a teaching program in a mission hospital in Quito. Several years ago he returned to the states because of a family medical crisis and ended up staying here to help care for disabled family members. Roy now serves on the board of directors of MRC and partners with us in ministry. He and his wife, Marabeth, and family have become close friends of ours.
While in the States helping his family Roy began “coaching” missionaries on the field that were asking for his help with medical issues they were facing and he began to get a vision of developing a “medical coaching” ministry to those living and ministering overseas.
In a recent prayer letter to his supporters Roy said, “God has provided me a variety of patients to assist with medical coaching. One of the more recent ones teaches English in Siberia in the 'coldest city in the world.'” Another patient traveled to Ecuador prior to leaving for service in Spain to get hip replacement surgery that would have been far more expensive in the U.S.
One patient with a serious infection following a relatively minor surgery was medevacked to another country where he received the help he needed, probably saving his life, and is now back in his country of ministry. The examples of how Roy has ministered could go on and on.
Dr. Ringenberg serves with Reach Beyond and can be reached via e-mail at rringenb@gmail.com or rringenberg@reachbeyond.org or for medical emergencies at 765-506-2638.
We thank the Lord for how He provided for MRC through our faithful supporters. We received over $8,800 in December that really helped to cut our deficit for the year!