We Never Truly Retire

An excerpt from...

We Never Truly Retire

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The key to keeping active in ministry
By Tracy Dubois, Support Staff
April-June 2015

For many people, retirement looks like an extended vacation. They head south, running from colder temperatures in the winter, and then make the trek back north, running from heat and humidity in the summer. However, as Christians, we never truly retire from ministry. Yes, the types of outreach we are involved in and the locations where we serve might change, but we should never stop doing God’s work.

For Kenya retiree Carol Trachsel, the key to keeping active in ministry has been the Lord blessing her with good health and great ministry partners. Since retiring in August 2007, Carol has delivered Bibles into China eight times, taught English in China on three additional trips, and returned to Tenwek Hospital in Kenya every year.

“Every trip is its own adventure,” Carol shared. “I am always thankful to have many people praying for me as I go, because you never know what is going to happen. When I served as a missionary, I had a lot of pressure to get things done. Now, as a retiree, I do not have any responsibilities or demands on me. It makes serving that much more fun.”

Her housemate and ministry partner for most of the Bible trips to China is her sister, Joy May. Carol took her first trip with Joy in October 2007.

“It was natural for me to go back to China and Kenya, because those two places are both home to me,” Carol began. “My parents were missionaries in China when I was 6 to 7½ years old and then in Taiwan when I was in eighth through eleventh grades. For many Chinese Christians, owning their own Bibles is a dream that seems unlikely to be fulfilled. Our team has been able to bring more Bibles each year, but the need is much greater than we can supply.”

Carol is also active in her local church choir and ladies’ society, and she is looking into a new activity this summer—teaching English in Argentina.

“If a retiree has medical problems, ministering within the United States or going for a shorter period of time are possibilities,” Carol advised. “If they really want to go overseas, they should keep their eyes and ears open for opportunities. There was a time in my life that the Lord was telling me that my ministry was prayer, and I have a lot of people I pray for. Prayer is available for everyone, retiree or not, but retirees often have more time to pray.”

PRAY: WGM offers a variety of prayer ministry options—daily Prayer Calendar, weekly Prayer Lifeline, monthly The Best of the Story article, and the quarterly The Call Prayer Calendar on the back of each issue of the magazine. Start making an impact for missions on your knees.