Ch 8: Phase 6 - Furlough: Missionary Life "At Home"
Of all the rituals of missionary life, furloughs were the most freighted with anticipation and expectation.
Every six or seven years, missionaries expected to go on furlough back home (or to another destination) with their family members, lasting anywhere between six months and three years, and approved by their denomination. The missionary on furlough was in a liminal state, neither settled in China nor permanently outside of it. Yet, nearly everywhere they went, they were hosted and supported by other missionaries and members of related organizations that they knew from their “home” countries, or that were recommended to them by other missionaries they met in the field. As such, furlough journeys are among the most salient symbols of the transnational spaces in which missionaries lived and traveled. Furlough was a special time, when missionaries were acutely aware of their identity as missionaries, as they came into contact with new places and people.
Although many missionaries took the opportunity to travel the world on their way to and from China, furloughs were far from vacations. Missionaries were expected to continue work for their supporting mission organizations. Acceptable activities included furthering one’s education in the form of graduate study, workshops, and religious seminars or retreats such as the Sharman camps in secluded Minnesing, Ontario. Most missionaries on furlough were also expected to tour churches, universities and conferences giving lectures on the West China missions and networking with theologians, social activists and youth. Missionaries on furlough were highly sought speakers to inspire donors and prospective new missionaries, thereby perpetuating the cycle of the calling and initiation into missionary life.