Missions Textbook 37 Understanding
the Exchange Rate

We Never Saw It Coming: An Introduction to Christian Missions (textbook)

I wrote to Sue in January 1986:

We just got the check from Eastgate for our car. We want to thank you for your support of us and for your trust. With the money you sent us and the money from Worker’s Together [another organization that helped missionaries] and our trade-in on our little Fiat, which is in excellent shape (after the people in Mureck had it repaired during the summer), we have enough. The reason we need another car, although the Fiat is in good shape, is that it’s just too small for us. Erich’s legs are too long already for the back seat, and the luggage for us usually doesn’t fit anymore [guitar, computer, and well, you get the idea].

We thank you for your trust, too. I write that, because I have been trying to explain to my mother how things are for us with our finances. Missionaries with mission boards have to account for every penny they spend, and they often can’t do things without everyone’s approval. We really appreciate your trust, and hope you would never have cause to think that it was ill-placed.

We bought a Nissan Serengeti – probably one of the first SUV’s. One of the things we had to learn when we moved to Austria was how the value of the dollar and the value of the Austrian Schilling would affect how much things cost. If the dollar was strong, then we could buy more Schillings; if the dollar was weak, then we got fewer Schillings for every dollar. Much of this was dependent on current events, political climate, and oil prices. When we bought the car in 1986, probably one thing that affected our currency exchange rates was the election of a new president in the Soviet Union (which was still very hostile to the west), who wanted a better relationship with the U.S.

We learned to ignore currency exchange most of the time (except when we cashed our monthly check!) because we always needed food and gas and clothing. When we bought a car (or considered buying plane tickets), however, it made a huge difference. At the time we bought the Nissan, the American dollar was fairly strong.

Three years later, when we left Austria for a year, we sold the car. In 1988, the world was moving closer to ending communism’s domination over much of Europe. The president of the USSR and President Reagan had signed a treaty, banning Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM’s). Communism was on the decline, and so the whole political situation seemed shaky. The U.S. dollar was weak, but for us that was good because when we sold the car, we received fewer Schillings – depreciation – but the same U.S. dollar amount we had spent on it three years earlier! We were happy.

Churches and supporters back home need to be aware of these fluctuations in the monetary markets. There were times when we would receive the usual dollar amount and exchange it for half the usual number of Schillings. At those times, it was difficult for us to make ends meet, and one unexpected bill for car repair or medical care would force us to use our credit card, not knowing how we would pay it off. Months or years later, the Schilling amount would be double. When that happened, Floyd would only use what we needed, and the rest he would leave in the bank in the States. Mission agencies understand all of this, but if a church is supporting a missionary family, someone in the church needs to be informed of this complicated financial situation. They need to help the church to understand when to meet extra needs simply because the monetary exchange rates have changed.

We Never Saw It Coming: An Introduction to Christian Missions (textbook)

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