European missions: 35% loss of buying power

Weak dollar undercuts missionaries, relief workers

Excerpt:

For missionaries and faith-based relief groups, the weak dollar has been a major headache. It's caused them to cut back on budgets and cancel projects around the world. And it's made the small things of daily life, like buying groceries or gas, more difficult.
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The main challenge is the strength of the euro. In 2002, the dollar and the euro were equal. It takes $1.47 to match a euro — a loss of more than 35% in buying power. The cost of everything from saltine crackers to the monthly heating bill has skyrocketed.

In response, missionaries have cut back wherever they can.

Susan Jett, a Southern Baptist missionary to Germany currently on furlough in Knoxville, says she quit buying necessities like clothes and even sending mail. "I don't mail anything back home," she said. "I wait for someone who is flying back and send it with them."

Jett said it's the cost of small things, such as day-to-day basics, like milk and bread, that add up. "I have to think twice before buying anything."

That means forgoing small familiar pleasures like going to McDonald's. Like many Americans living overseas, missionaries relish the chance to visit the golden arches.

"It smells like home," says Dennis Barton, a missionary who recently returned to the United States after more than 20 years in Europe. But even the bargain menu is now too pricey, Jett said. "For a family of four, it's more than 25 euros," Jett said. That's more than $36 in U.S. currency.

Comment: Something to pray about re missions!