There are times when I feel like I’ve been a missionary forever. Deb and I came to Argentina when we were 25. I’m only 31 now, but in those 6 years, we’ve had two kids and seen and done a lot. Then I step back and realize that 5 or 10 good years at the start is nothing when you consider the span of lifetime. We have precious little room to be content, but instead have a long course in front of us left to run.
I mention this because Dave and Ruth Ann Martin are retiring from the field in Argentina after about 10 years of service. The Martins came to Argentina as second career missionaries, having already racked up years of faithful service and ministry to their family, community, and church. They then came and served humbly, faithfully, and with brilliant excellence at a time in their lives when most people feel like they’ve earned the right to coast on home. They sacrificed precious years with their grandchildren to joyfully show us all what it means to be Christlike in a difficult context. They are universally beloved, not just by the missionaries, but more importantly, by the Argentines. I doubt anyone could spend the first years of retirement more effectively or lovingly for the Kingdom.
Their retirement has impressed upon me all the more the need for us and our generation to be going out into the world. I can only pray that we can learn to be as gracious and kind as they were. We’ll miss them more than they know.
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