How Long is Long Enough?

BY LARRY AND JEAN RUS

In the “missions world” a person’s time of involvement can be measured by different terms…short-term, long-term, interim, consultant, trainer…and perhaps other terms we have yet to hear.
Such is the case with our assignments with Paraclete. Since our goal is to “come alongside” organizations to help with their needs, the time to accomplish the task can vary, so the length of commitment needs to be flexible.

Our longest assignment was three years with Wycliffe Bible Translators in New Zealand working on a millennium-oriented project and materials or the director’s seminars. Our second longest term was for two years with the St. Paul Cultural Center in Turkey, where Larry developed a governance structure and financial accounting system while Jean helped administer a camp for Third Culture kids. For a year we served in Kyrgyzstan to establish an administrative position and accounting system for an organization that was in its early stages of development. Jean helped with personnel needs and produced orientation materials for short-term workers. Our shortest assignment was three months in Russia to help in team conflict resolutions.

Over a ten-year period we served the Baptist Haiti Mission several times for 6-7 month periods reviewing their organizational structure, helping to implement statistical gathering systems and assist with their medical records systems. Jean wrote an Operational Procedures Manual for their child sponsorship office and coordinated material for their website.


Currently, we are working with The Well, a member care center in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Both of us are involved in administrative areas. Larry is working on organizational development and financing projects and Jean is involved in the work of the director helping to set up an administrative assistant position.

Since our involvement is primarily in the administrative and financial areas, it is difficult to project initially how much time is needed for an assignment. We have found that when we are developing new systems or recommending changes, it is important to see how our suggestions are working and to make adjustments as necessary before leaving.

Because our stay is usually longer than just a few weeks, we have to find accommodations, set up housekeeping and make an effort to integrate into the community. We submit to the authority of the host organization and attempt to fit into their organizational culture and procedures. By doing so we try to become “one of them” to better understand their challenges. The language barrier can also be an issue. Our stay is not long enough for formal language learning, but some basic vocabulary and phrases are necessary in order to survive on our own. Fortunately, the offices of many host organizations use English as their business language.

One of our greatest rewards is the opportunity to build relationships with teammates and local people of the country and it is difficult to say goodbye when our work is completed. Some of these friendships have continued long after our departure. We are privileged to see what God is doing throughout the world through our service with Paraclete, and how He uses His people to carry out the Great Commission.