House provides sanctuary for missionaries

Bogart-based ministry celebrating 10 years
House provides sanctuary for missionaries

By Jennifer L. Johnson - news@onlineathens.com

Originally Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Monday, March 01, 2010

Missionaries spend their lives sharing the message of God with other people, but sometimes, they might need a little ministering themselves.

"I tell everybody about God's love, but deep down, I had thought that all of that was not for me," said Marlene Huyler, a missionary who operates a Christian school in her native Bahamas. "I had started to question how much God loved me because of all the bad things that had happened to me."

That was before she came to unwind at a special place for missionaries in Bogart.

"Being here with these selfless people gave me evidence that God had not forgotten about me," she said.

That special place - Missionary Care Ministry, which celebrated its 10th anniversary Saturday with a banquet - provides a free place for missionaries to rest and relax after serving abroad. Over the years, the ministry has opened the doors of its seven-bedroom home on Snows Mill Road to 1,752 guests from 68 countries.

"We feel that this is still one of Athens' best-kept secrets," said Celia Stockamp, chairwoman of the board that manages Missionary Care Ministry. "God's had the doors to this place open (for) 10 years, and it is truly a time to celebrate God's faithfulness to this ministry."

Laura Keil, who founded the nondenominational Christian home here a decade ago, had been a missionary to Africa and stayed at a similar house in Europe before she returned home to the rush of friends and family.

Memories of her stay prompted her to search for similar places in the United States for missionaries working in foreign countries. When she discovered that there weren't any, she approached friends of the family Bill and Sudie Hanger, a couple now in their 90s, to help her fund the project. The Hangers gave the house and its 10-acre property to the organization in 1999, and after extensive renovations, the house had its first guests in 2000, Stockamp said.

"It is a much-needed haven of rest for missionaries," she said. "And it fulfills a desperate need for rest and relaxation."

Because of factors like burn-out and feeling discouraged, some 21,000 people a month leave their ministry work, according to Huyler. The guesthouse - or sometimes just knowing that it's there - has helped some missionaries remain in their assignments, she said.

"(Missionaries) do want to be with their friends and family when they come home, but sometimes you need a day off," Huyler said. "Having a place to stop and heal emotionally gives you hope."

Huyler learned about the Bogart home seven years ago, though she didn't get there for another four years.

She's stayed at the house on three occasions, each time in the same room, giving her a warm familiarity with the place.

Missionaries can spend three to four years out of the country, working in missions that often are under-staffed and leave them little personal time away from work, Huyler said. The ministry house can give them a sense of place - a home away from home if they don't have one in the United States.

For some families, the best part about coming to Missionary Care Ministry is having their own bed, a backyard full of grass and a stream to play in.

"As soon as the kids come, they run right out to the swings," Huyler said.

Everything in the seven-bedroom home - from the pictures on the wall to the children's toys in the closet - was donated.

Twenty-year-old Kati Braswell donates her time at the office in the house. The University of Georgia student learned about the ministry from a church group.

"I'm here because this is what I've always wanted to do," Braswell said. "These people need a place to rest, and I had no idea it existed until now."

Learn more about the ministry at www.missionarycareministry.org.