Allaying Concerns of Extended Family

I recently made a statement on a Facebook group for parents of missionaries that said, "We've been home a couple of weeks but spent Christmas with our kids in Angola. It was great to see them, walk in their shoes, experience the difficulties they face, and be part of their lives for a few weeks. We went worried about them (lack of first hand knowledge) and came home encouraged (we KNEW what was going on). An early trip to visit your kids is always time well spent." A number of mothers agreed. I know it certainly helped my own parents when my family lived near Johannesburg. There were always riots in Soweto that made the US news. My mother never had to worry because she had been there and knew that those riots were almost two hours across town from us.