Missionaries don't experience any stress, right?  "Hah!" answers one missionary in Rwanda. WorldVenture recently hosted a three day conference in Kabale, Uganda for first-term missionaries serving in East Africa. Attendees discussed the various things that contribute to missionary stress, especially for first-termers, and generated the following list.

Common Missionary Stressors:
1. Loneliness
2. Unmet expectations about missionary life
3. Children’s schooling and needs
4. Differences between spouses regarding sense of call, desire to continue, and satisfaction in ministry
5. Language learning and communication in host culture
6. Difficulties with missionary teammates
7. One spouse moving ahead of the other in ministry and language skills.

May these categories help your church as you prepare, pray for, and partner with your missionaries.