New project: Breathing Out

Leestijd / Lesezeit / Reading time: 3 min

Last year we already mentioned a new project we are working on. Now we would like to share more information and need your help!

About a year ago, we received an email through the website from a woman (C) from Germany who was researching what retreats were actually offered for women involved in missionary work. She came across our website during her search and was curious about what we were doing. She was surprised at how little information is available online on this topic.

What makes this project so important is that women in missionary contexts often face expectations or circumstances that do not fully align with them. This applies both to women who are missionaries themselves and to wives of missionaries.

The problem is that these tasks often do not align with her own calling or gifts. Several things happen at once: she performs tasks she is not called to, which can lead to inner tension, frustration, or fatigue. This leaves her with less time and energy for tasks and responsibilities that do match her calling, such as family, personal projects, prayer, or discipleship. Her sense of self-worth may come under pressure, as success in a task that does not suit her is often difficult, while others implicitly expect her to perform well. A constant tension arises between what she must do and what she wants to do, preventing her from fully recharging.

There is also a subtler challenge. Sometimes a woman is indeed called to a certain work or project, but due to cultural or organizational circumstances, she cannot carry it out independently. In some cultures, women are expected to always do their work through or together with their husband. This can mean that a woman with a clear calling, such as teaching, mentoring, or leadership, can only fulfill her calling with difficulty or indirectly. As a result, time, energy, and impact are lost, and she feels limited in her own service.

Women in missionary contexts also face other female-specific challenges. They navigate cultures where women have less authority or freedom, encounter different norms around topics like body, safety, fertility, or life stage, and often carry constant caregiving expectations. All these factors together make it difficult to find space for their own calling and personal growth.

This is how we started talking with C, met each other, and had several in-depth conversations. She had a dream to organize a retreat for women involved in missionary work, both female missionaries and wives of missionaries. Without husbands, without children. Just inviting women to take a weekend to breathe out, pause, and be refilled by God. It will be a place where they can be themselves and explore their own calling, free from outside expectations and cultural barriers.

Over the past year, I (E) have been walking alongside C in this whole process, and the first weekend is now scheduled for the end of May.

A website has been created with more information and where people can register. We are also listed as staff.

Currently, we are busy shaping the content of the weekend. Stichting Emmy has been asked to train and prepare the volunteers for working with this specific group.

Do you know any German-speaking women who work as missionaries or are wives of missionaries? Please refer them to the Aufatmen website.

The cost for a participant is €500, and our costs are not included in this. Would you like to financially support us and/or a participant? Click here to make a donation with the reference “Breathing Out”. Thank you very much in advance!