Since the pastor and his family moved from Charlotte to Prague three years ago to start a church, the falling value of the U.S. dollar has brought home a sobering reality: The money they raised to support themselves and their work overseas does not go nearly as far as it once did.

The dollar's decline has stung many expatriates, who are paid in U.S. funds, but missionaries serving internationally are particularly at risk. Many depend on money raised years before they left, when exchange rates were more favorable.

As a result, the Davises and fellow missionaries are facing tough financial questions: Should they move to a smaller house farther from those they're trying to reach? Where can they save on groceries? Can they raise enough money to stay?

The Davises are paying nearly $100 for a tank of gas in Prague. One Charlotte-area missionary had her family bring food and toiletries when they visited her so she wouldn't have to buy them in Sweden. In Armenia, a North Carolina-funded service project needed an emergency grant to get by.

It's unclear how many missionaries are from North Carolina, but more than 44,000 American Protestants are serving internationally for a year or longer, according to the Mission Book, published by a division of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College in Illinois.

"We're seeing our missionaries' accounts begin to struggle," said Paul Leary, director of ministries for World Harvest Mission of Philadelphia, which works with 150 missionaries, including the Davises, in 13 countries.

Euro gains on dollar

After declining steadily for most of this decade, the dollar has dropped sharply in the past year. It hit a new low last month against the euro, the currency used in 15 European nations, before rebounding slightly since. At home, a weak dollar can boost exports and encourage foreign investment. It makes the U.S. more affordable for foreign travelers. But it also makes living or traveling abroad more expensive for Americans.

Though the exchange rate has always posed a problem in a couple of countries, the issue is now almost universal, said Twila Schock, director of global mission support for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Missionaries still serve widely in developing areas in Africa, Asia and South America. But in recent years, Europe has become popular as missionaries seek to spread Christianity to recent African and Asian immigrants and reawaken belief among Europeans, who are less engaged in organized religion than their American counterparts.

The dollar has declined about 45 percent against the euro since 2002, and nearly 15 percent in the past year. It has experienced similar declines versus other European currencies.

Missionaries in poorer countries, particularly those in Africa with currencies linked to the euro or British pound, are also feeling the effects, said George Salloum, chief financial officer with Charlotte-based Serving In Mission, which has more than 1,000 missionaries in Africa, Asia and South America.

"If you had a 10 percent pay cut, that would be significant," he said. "That's what those people are feeling right now -- at the low end."

Donations have not declined, but they have not kept pace with the currency drop-off, agencies say. Now missionaries -- typically reluctant to talk finances -- are mentioning the exchange rate in prayer letters to supporters, online and in conversation with other Americans abroad. Mission groups and pastors say they may have to bring people home early to raise more money. Some may return to the U.S. for good.

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