# The Shrinking US dollar and American Missions.



## Puritan Sailor (Jan 17, 2008)

I just received this in an email from Action International about the effects of the falling US dollar on the mission field. Any missionaries here wish to confirm this? Any suggestions on how churches can help work through this? 



> This article below was written a missionary in Colombia name Dale Meade.
> _______________________________________
> 
> The Incredible Shrinking Dollar
> ...


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## Blueridge Believer (Jan 17, 2008)

I've heard the same kind of stories from people on the field in Bulgaria and Romania. They say they're being squeezed badly in food costs and rent.


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## VictorBravo (Jan 17, 2008)

Sounds plausible. This chart is from Yahoo finance. It shows Columbian pesos to the dollar. It shows a general drop from around 2650 to 2000 from July 06 to the present. That's about a 25% decline in a year and a half.


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## VictorBravo (Jan 17, 2008)

BTW, this is the chart for the past five years.


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## Ravens (Jan 17, 2008)

We had two missionaries from an eastern European country at my church a few months ago who essentially said the same thing: Namely, that they needed more money. Not because of a drop-off in support, but because the same amount of money was purchasing less and less as the dollar declined.


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## kvanlaan (Jan 20, 2008)

This is part of why we work in the local economy. I am fortunate to have a job that pays fairly well here (though to just about anyone living in the US, it would be an utterly laughable salary). I teach english but am paid in local currency, so that as we watch the USD go down the tubes in relation, we are still somewhat protected. The other problem here, inflation, is more of a burden, especially on the locals. Pork is a staple here and has gone (percentage-wise) through the roof. In economies like this, a little tentmaking goes a long way. We knew of some people on support who were on the way over here to serve just before the bottom fell out on the S African Rand some years ago. Suddenly, rent, etc. was all out of reach. We know it may have been the Lord providentially closing a door but it sure did hurt to watch it happen.


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## Pergamum (Jan 20, 2008)

The solution is simple if a few churches merely adjust for this change. Right now, I read from Barna that only about 3% of all church monies go to foreign missions, so there should be plenty of willing souls ready to chip in a few extra dollars and plenty of church monies that could be diverted.

Most mission groups have a range of support that missionaries can choose from. The lowest range is the "survival" range but most groups encourage their missionaries to take the top range or near the top to account for such things as this. Thus, there is a "padding" to account for all those unexpected crises thatr always seem to happen. 

Also, many mission groups figure in a one time support amount that is equal to 3 months of support as an extra padding so that - in case of bad times - the missionary has several months to tell their churches and so that their churches can adjust their giving to adjust for any economic changes.


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## JBaldwin (Jan 20, 2008)

Though I cannot verify this particular situation, but I know from experience that the changes in the dollar can severely affect missionary income. When I was serving in France, the value of the dollar dropped significantly, and in a matter of a few months, my buying power was half of what it was. It's something that churches need to be aware of.


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