Would this annoy you? (Long rant)

OK, my husband and I know this couple who do "missions work". They are constantly sending mailings addressed to my husband only soliciting donations for their trips. (This right here annoys me).

Now, it wouldn't bother me so much if we actually heard from them besides soliciting donations.

Add onto this, that neither of them really work. I think the guy has a P/T job at Petco, if that.

Add onto this, that the woman is like 7 months pregnant. I think she should be concerned about the health and safety of her child and being able to afford to take care of her child, instead of trying to get money to go off to third-world countries every couple of months, especially with a newborn.

Everyone in "our group" feels the same way. I know it's totally not the same thing, but we all work hard for our money to do hobbies and trips and stuff. They don't. It's just really annoying. I feel like saying something to them, but know that would totally start unnecessary drama.

Discuss!!!

Re: Would this annoy you? (Long rant)

I know EXACTLY what you mean. I have a few friends that do this too, and one in particular stands out to me.

When we graduated college together, I was struggling to find a teaching job, and she decided she was going to be a missionary. Great, the world needs good people willing to help others!

However, then she started sending out those funding requests, and I was really upset. Here I was, working my butt off trying to find a job so I could support myself, while she planned trips to places like Costa Rica and Switzerland and asked everyone she knew to send her money to pay for everything.

I resented the fact that she was asking me for money while I could barely afford to pay my rent, and I resented the fact that she so brazenly expected other people to fund her lifestyle. That goes completely against my own values - paying your own way, being financially independent, etc.

And like you, after a while I stopped hearing from her personally. I tried over and over to email, write letters, find out about the cool places she got to see, and only got back those generic newsletters and requests for money, which she obviously sent to everyone she knew.

Eventually I sent her a very brief letter requesting to be removed from her mailing list, and wrote her off completely. Which is sad, because I used to consider her a very close friend. I never did outright tell her how I felt about being asked for donations, though.

Re: Would this annoy you? (Long rant)

my opinions on their lifestyle aside, i would not consider these people friends if all the contact i had with them consisted of soliciting $$ from me for their missions.

i don't really know the extent of the work they do, so i won't comment on their jobs or ideas on child-rearing (as much as i'd love to make assumptions here i won't )

Re: Would this annoy you? (Long rant)

i will reply to this as being a person who has served both within and out of the country doing justice work....

essentially, they don't sound like friends if all they do is ask you for money.

when i've done things like this :
1. I never went on a trip i could'nt afford on my own.
2. I never asked people for donations that i did not speak with on a regular basis. people need to talk to you about where you're going and what you're going to be doing... sounds like your friends are just talkign to you when they want money and that's not cool.
3. and the few times i did receive money from friends to either subsidize my cost or that i donated on their behalf to the work i was doing, I ALWAYS sent a thank you as well as an update on my trip... and what progress was made and how the trip helped me.

and on my return, i was always pumped up to share... it's a life altering experience and i needed my friends to understand how these trips were drastically effecting me as a person and my view on the world. sounds like your friends are not sharing... and the point of those of us that do this work is to share and educate others.