If the devil can’t stop you, he will push you!

I’ve wanted to be a missionary since I was thirteen. I was eager. There was no plan B. I was going to serve as a medical missionary in Africa or India. During my nursing training, I was able to do a work experience training block in Mali, West Africa. The missionary doctor working there told me about an organization that sends out medical missionaries (DMÄT Deutsches Missionsärzte Team). I was on fire. I needed that training, too. I was still in the middle of my nursing training, but I didn’t care and enrolled in their two-year preparation program.

Discovering burnout

The classes were held over seven weekends in another part of Germany. Surely, I could fit that into my schedule. It was an exciting time. I got nearer and nearer to fulfilling my dream. I met others who already had served or were going to serve as medical missionaries. There were so many options. The second or third of those training sessions was about burnout. The instructor said, “The five things that lead to burnout are perfectionism, idealism, yearning for harmony. . .” (I don’t remember the last two, sorry!); then I counted them off on my fingers and realized, I had all five of them!

I also met a missionary there who had been on the mission field for only two years and got such a bad case of burnout that ten years later, she still wasn’t able to work properly. In retrospect, I now think that was rather an extreme case. But back then I thought, “That is burnout!” and realized that I was rushing right into it. I will be forever grateful to this organization for their teaching, but at that time I decided to quit their training, focus on my nursing training only, and get to know myself. Why was I so perfectionistic, idealistic, and yearning for harmony? If this was destroying me, I needed to work on it. A little time later, I saw a quote in a magazine that summed up my situation very nicely: If the devil can’t stop you, he will push you.

I received more and more confirmation that I needed to change tracks. I remember praying, “Okay, okay, I will take a break in preparation for the mission field, concentrate on finishing my nursing training, and get some work experience, whilst looking at my personality, possibly getting some counseling. But then when it’s time to go, you need to call me!” I was now determined to not get burnout (idealism still in place—haha!).

In nursing training, we had standardized procedures for nearly everything—an A4 paper that explained why this procedure was necessary, how to prepare for it, how to do it, and how to tidy up after it. We called them “Standards.” Many were for prophylaxes (preventative actions): pneumonia prophylaxis, bedsore prophylaxis, contraction prophylaxis, and so on. There was even one on how to make tea properly (no joke!). I then developed the idea to make an A4 paper called the Standard for burnout prophylaxis. I never did, but with the idea stuck in my mind, I have always been very careful about not overworking. I got rid of perfectionism during Bible college (80 percent is enough!), still struggle with idealism, but consider taking time off very important.

Putting burnout prevention into practice

About 18 months later, God called me to the mission field, but not as I expected. A few years later, I found myself as an intern in Japan, not Africa or India, and not as a medical missionary.

In my mission (GAM), there were great stories of former missionaries putting in 80-hour weeks and considering that normal. The missionary couple I was working with had experienced burnout themselves and had a different approach. The day off was non-negotiable. This was a good environment for my first missionary working experience on the field. I still remember the mantra—people are always more important than programs. We care about people, so if all our programs make people tired, then let’s cancel them. This made perfect sense to me.

It was difficult at first to figure out what to actually do on my day off in a foreign land, but I decided not to work, even if I didn’t know what to do. Since then, I’ve been very keen to learn about self-care and encourage others to take it seriously. As Germans, we are very blessed with a minimum of 20 days per year of paid time off. Taking three complete weeks off is considered totally normal in Germany. In 2018, when I started working with KGK (Kirisutosha Gakusei Kai, a university student ministry), I was shocked to find that their regulations said a worker must take one “long holiday” per year, and yet that long holiday was defined as five days in a row! “But that’s short,” I thought.

I had heard that working for KGK can be very demanding, so I decided to make sure I was strong and healthy. Like I said, I never finished the neat A4 Standard, but I summed it up in a short statement: “Eat well, sleep well, exercise.” I took up the responsibility to ask my teammates when they were taking the “long holiday” and encourage them to do so. I ask them what refreshes them and what they do on their “day off.” I’m trying to lead by example, but at the same time I’m very aware that they face much more pressure and expectations than I do. Culturally, it’s not so easy for them to take time off. And yet I have noticed a change in the organization.

KGK’s theme for the last three years (2021‒2024) has been 再建 (saiken, rebuilding) and part of it is how we work as staff. The General Secretary (Shinya Yoshizawa) said when he started working for KGK saying “no” to a student’s request was unthinkable. We were there to serve and sacrifice after all. But if that destroys the staff’s health in the long run, this is not good. We need balance. Since then KGK has built a member care system and staff have to evaluate their health in their monthly report. I’m very happy about this positive change.

It is helpful when your organization gives you healthy boundaries and requires you to take time off, but we also have individual responsibility. We might not all be in a position to change things in our organization, but we can all take responsibility for our own body, mind, and soul and form our own “burnout prophylaxis” Standard. It might look different from mine or your teammates’ but the important thing is that it works for you!

Have you thought about what lies behind the tendency to overwork? Are you perfectionistic, idealistic, or looking for harmony? Are there boundaries in place that prevent you from overworking? Do you have healthy role models you can imitate and ask for help? Please take time to ponder these things, as this is too important a topic to skip over.

Photos submitted by author