This family can truly be called a family of missionaries. Yes, missionaries should follow God's call. However, God knows each person's heart and mind. He called Jonah to reach Nineveh, but also knew that Jonah would run. He may have chosen Jonah because his running away toward Tarshish would be the only way to bring a boat filled with peple, from many different backgrounds, to worship Him. (Jon. 1:16) In the same way, He used Elimelech on his team because he knew there was a women out there who would choose to Him, if she only knew of His love.
Our missionaries aren't perfect. Some will even leave, or grow discouraged, because they can't seem to bear any fruit. But, Elimelech, like Jonah, was used in a mighty way, even if that way only ends up reaching one peson with the Gospel. That one person is still an important person, for whom Jesus Christ came to this world and shed His perfect blood to save from their sin. Yes, it can be hard for a missionary to think of spending all that time and energy to win one soul. But, thankfully, there are usually more than that. It can still take a long time, though. Adoniram Judson spent years in Burma before winning his first convert, but he is known today as the father of Burmese Christianity.
This verse ends, then, with Elimielech and his family continuing in Moab. They weren't there as travelers; they meant to live there, at least as long as the famine continued. They just had to avoid getting so caught up int he culture that they forgot to honor and serve God.
