Just looked back at the former blog postings and saw that John had just been here for a visit and when he left it made me sad to have you all so far away. I try not to be jealous when I see retired missionaries from our church whose children live near them here. It is such a grace for them. But all of our children are doing what God had planned for them and we relax in that thought and cherish each communication we have with all of you. We are blessed beyond measure to have such wonderful children, grands and great grands!
It was our fifty ninth anniversary yesterday and John arrived in the afternoon in time to take us out for a special meal together. Lavonia now has a fairly new high standard restaurant and John drove us there for the meal together. It was fun. It was a wonderful change to have our positive son here with us - after a fairly difficult jail ministry in the morning. We heard so many sad tales in the jail yesterday - both Dad and me.
Jail is so degrading for people. You are stripped of all you own and made to wear a loose fitting striped orange suit which is totally without shape on the girls. They know that they are supervised day and night from a perch up at the top of the building - no privacy of any kind. Some do develop close friendships with others while incarcerated. And our visits on Wednesday mornings is like a breath of fresh air to them. But it always leaves me limp as a dishrag and feeling like crying inside. The poor people.
One of our women from our church is a real evangelists and she makes sure everyone in there each week has made a professions of salvation. She also provides written Bible studies for any who will work on them. One girl who just received the Lord last week is the wife of a man Dad has worked with for years. He is at home with their little girl (Dad says she is the prettiest child he has ever seen. I need to go and visit this beautiful little girl.) The dad lives in the family home (we have been connected with this extended family for years) and he told Dad last week that his wife is not a believer. So he was happy when Dad phoned him and told him she had prayed to receive Christ! Almost every member of this family has done jail time.
The lady who cleans our house - thanks to all of our kids - is part of that same family. The father was the leading drug lord of all this area of Toccoa. Dad had worked with him and when he went to prison (from jail) he had a wonderful experience with the Lord and writes beautiful letters to Dad about his life - now still in prison. The grandma of the family is a saint. I worked with the wife of the former drug lord for years when she was incarcerated. Anyhow, our cleaning lady was talking to me one day and she said that their entire extended family was into drugs. Their evening recreation was for everyone to sit around in a big circle in their living room and smoke joints. The one house that this family lived in was so affected with evil spirits that some of the jail team men went down there and spiritually cleansed the place of demons. There is a lot of demon activity associated with drugs and Dad came upon a bad case of it yesterday in the men's pods.
Happily, jail is not the only reality in our lives - we have plenty of good events in our lives as well. And we are most blessed with family, church, friends from many different venues of life. I always think that our Wednesdays are well balanced - we have all of this sadness in the morning and in the evening we have the fun of working with the AWANA kids.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Back in touch again!!
I see it has been almost a year since I last entered anything into my blog! It has been an interesting year with lots happening in our lives - as usual. How we both thank God for good health. I had a doctor's checkup recently and he was very pleased with all my blood levels, etc. And doesn't want to see me again until August. I am so lucky to have had Dad through all of my sicknesses! You kids know what a good "doctor" he is. He also spoils me - and I love it!
My physical troubles started back when I had unexpected brain surgery - a pituatory tumor removed when up in Pittsburgh. Some of you were with us during those hard days. In addition to getting over that, I have also had various falls and broke my nose and an elbow, had a knee replacement, pulled the ligament in my left upper leg and terrible bruising as a result. I seemed to save all of my falls and sicknesses for retirement as I was always so well during my earlier life!
My left eye no longer has any sight, so I am a danger to myself and others!! I cannot drive anymore - used to love to drive, but Dad takes me everywhere. Any time I go out, Dad is always with me and is my constant caretaker. God has been very good to us to allow us to live together all these years - 59 tomorrow! - and we are also presently in good health. People are always shocked when we tell them how old we are - I guess they think we should be sitting at home by the fire or wheeled around in wheelchairs!
I have been planning to get back to this blog for some time and finally made it today. But I cannot remember all of the subjects I have written about, so will check this before progressing here. We old folks often repeat ourselves, so better to check. A bientôt!!
My physical troubles started back when I had unexpected brain surgery - a pituatory tumor removed when up in Pittsburgh. Some of you were with us during those hard days. In addition to getting over that, I have also had various falls and broke my nose and an elbow, had a knee replacement, pulled the ligament in my left upper leg and terrible bruising as a result. I seemed to save all of my falls and sicknesses for retirement as I was always so well during my earlier life!
My left eye no longer has any sight, so I am a danger to myself and others!! I cannot drive anymore - used to love to drive, but Dad takes me everywhere. Any time I go out, Dad is always with me and is my constant caretaker. God has been very good to us to allow us to live together all these years - 59 tomorrow! - and we are also presently in good health. People are always shocked when we tell them how old we are - I guess they think we should be sitting at home by the fire or wheeled around in wheelchairs!
I have been planning to get back to this blog for some time and finally made it today. But I cannot remember all of the subjects I have written about, so will check this before progressing here. We old folks often repeat ourselves, so better to check. A bientôt!!
Friday, October 18, 2013
We are happy in Toccoa
WE ARE HAPPY IN TOCCOA
Just having John here for a visit, made me a little sad that you all live so far away and are so very busy that our contacts with you are pretty spasmodic. We cherish every visit and phone or SKYPE call, and we are happy that you all love the Lord and are involved with people where you live. At the same time, we are happy here in Toccoa and have never regretted coming here to live.
Just after John left yesterday we had a phone call from Jan Arnold, inviting us to join them for supper tomorrow night in order to see Jess and Anne Jesperson! Out of the blue - what a surprise. This sort of event happens quite often. For one thing, we have so many ex-missionaries living here in Toccoa and we all have connections with others who come to visit. I made a list of all the retired missionaires living in Toccoa yesterday, just for fun, and here it is:
Ritcheys, Knickerbockers, Albrights, Stombaughs, Arnolds, Ballards, Strongs, Hooblers, Greenfields, Wiggins, Betty Smith, Fred Smith, Walkers, Crosbys, Tonnesons, Holcombs, Schultz, Scarrows, Bealls, Adams, Beaks, Harveys. the TFC MIR - and us!
All of these folks have others who come to see them and we often have a short visit too from those in town. We do not all hang out together by any means, but it is good to have this kind of a safety net as you get older. We have plenty of friends in the community and many who are not IW's in our church. So we are happy to be part of this friendly community. If we want to live the atmosphere of a bigger city sometimes, we can always go to Atlanta or Anderson.
Probably the largest group of missionaries we have ever had under our roof was soon after we moved here. That Mamou palaver was brewing in the Alliance and the people from Colorado wanted to get us all together and explain what was going on. So Peter Nanfelt called us and asked if we could host a meal for all missionaries in the area and give a safe environment to let all hear the details of the palaver. We would provide place and meal and they would pay all the bills!! An unusual request to be sure - but of course we accepted! There were 65 people whom we entertained that evening and I put out a big spread of all kinds of buffet dishes, hot and cold. It was quite a gathering!
Good to know that God orders our ways, and also makes us content to live for Him wherever He leads us. Africa is still home - always will be! - but we are also content in our situation, where God has led us. COME AND VISIT!!
Just having John here for a visit, made me a little sad that you all live so far away and are so very busy that our contacts with you are pretty spasmodic. We cherish every visit and phone or SKYPE call, and we are happy that you all love the Lord and are involved with people where you live. At the same time, we are happy here in Toccoa and have never regretted coming here to live.
Just after John left yesterday we had a phone call from Jan Arnold, inviting us to join them for supper tomorrow night in order to see Jess and Anne Jesperson! Out of the blue - what a surprise. This sort of event happens quite often. For one thing, we have so many ex-missionaries living here in Toccoa and we all have connections with others who come to visit. I made a list of all the retired missionaires living in Toccoa yesterday, just for fun, and here it is:
Ritcheys, Knickerbockers, Albrights, Stombaughs, Arnolds, Ballards, Strongs, Hooblers, Greenfields, Wiggins, Betty Smith, Fred Smith, Walkers, Crosbys, Tonnesons, Holcombs, Schultz, Scarrows, Bealls, Adams, Beaks, Harveys. the TFC MIR - and us!
All of these folks have others who come to see them and we often have a short visit too from those in town. We do not all hang out together by any means, but it is good to have this kind of a safety net as you get older. We have plenty of friends in the community and many who are not IW's in our church. So we are happy to be part of this friendly community. If we want to live the atmosphere of a bigger city sometimes, we can always go to Atlanta or Anderson.
Probably the largest group of missionaries we have ever had under our roof was soon after we moved here. That Mamou palaver was brewing in the Alliance and the people from Colorado wanted to get us all together and explain what was going on. So Peter Nanfelt called us and asked if we could host a meal for all missionaries in the area and give a safe environment to let all hear the details of the palaver. We would provide place and meal and they would pay all the bills!! An unusual request to be sure - but of course we accepted! There were 65 people whom we entertained that evening and I put out a big spread of all kinds of buffet dishes, hot and cold. It was quite a gathering!
Good to know that God orders our ways, and also makes us content to live for Him wherever He leads us. Africa is still home - always will be! - but we are also content in our situation, where God has led us. COME AND VISIT!!
Friday, October 11, 2013
Entertaining friends and strangers
From my childhood, my family, and now our family, have loved to entertain people in our home. You cannot know someone by just exchanging Hello's at church or at Walmart, you need time to get to know other people. And what better way than inviting people to share a meal with you in your own home! All of our children seem to have followed in our footsteps, and no doubt the custom of entertaining will pass on to the grandchildren as well.
Today and also last week we have had people in for a meal with us. In one case, it was very dear friends and in the other case someone we see at church but did not really know before now. And now they are friends. The meal can be simple or complicated, but the friendship being developed is always a blessing to us. Milt and I work together when getting ready to have company.
The folks who joined our table today are longtime friends. They were overseas with the Alliance and now they are working in a recruiting capacity for missions, based here at Toccoa Falls College. These are also friends from the church and our Sunday School classes, we are interested in the same things and our conversations can go on forever. We also work together in Jail ministry. So we never run out of things to talk about and today was a blessed visit for us, and we trust for them as well.
Last week we had invited a family from church, recently started attending our church. I had gotten to know the mom at Retreat last year and Dad got to know the Dad subbing at the High School. He is a coach and teacher there. They came over last week on Monday and on Sunday I asked the lady how many they would be, as I had seen them with various children. Her answer was - they are eight people, two adults and six children!
So I started planning for that. That many children meant fixing a meal kids would like, so I did enchiladas which seemed to be a hit with everyone. I set a table for six in our back sun room and the kids loved that. There is a TV there and after eating they watched something on TV. We adults had a nice quiet meal in the dining room, just the four of us. So we got to know these folks better and that was a blessing. We showed them a video of our life in Africa so they could understand a bit better who we really are and the kids seemed to love that too. The children who came were a mix of black and white, as these folks take in foster children! And how well behaved and friendly those kids were. The evening was a blessing for all of us I think. And we made some new friends.
When you entertain strangers, they become friends, and so we have some new friends in our church. We like to use our home and time in entertaining others. When small groups are in session, we host a group in our home. God has given us a roomy home and we enjoy using it to get to know others better, as well as to deepen friendships with folks we know.
Today and also last week we have had people in for a meal with us. In one case, it was very dear friends and in the other case someone we see at church but did not really know before now. And now they are friends. The meal can be simple or complicated, but the friendship being developed is always a blessing to us. Milt and I work together when getting ready to have company.
The folks who joined our table today are longtime friends. They were overseas with the Alliance and now they are working in a recruiting capacity for missions, based here at Toccoa Falls College. These are also friends from the church and our Sunday School classes, we are interested in the same things and our conversations can go on forever. We also work together in Jail ministry. So we never run out of things to talk about and today was a blessed visit for us, and we trust for them as well.
Last week we had invited a family from church, recently started attending our church. I had gotten to know the mom at Retreat last year and Dad got to know the Dad subbing at the High School. He is a coach and teacher there. They came over last week on Monday and on Sunday I asked the lady how many they would be, as I had seen them with various children. Her answer was - they are eight people, two adults and six children!
So I started planning for that. That many children meant fixing a meal kids would like, so I did enchiladas which seemed to be a hit with everyone. I set a table for six in our back sun room and the kids loved that. There is a TV there and after eating they watched something on TV. We adults had a nice quiet meal in the dining room, just the four of us. So we got to know these folks better and that was a blessing. We showed them a video of our life in Africa so they could understand a bit better who we really are and the kids seemed to love that too. The children who came were a mix of black and white, as these folks take in foster children! And how well behaved and friendly those kids were. The evening was a blessing for all of us I think. And we made some new friends.
When you entertain strangers, they become friends, and so we have some new friends in our church. We like to use our home and time in entertaining others. When small groups are in session, we host a group in our home. God has given us a roomy home and we enjoy using it to get to know others better, as well as to deepen friendships with folks we know.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
DELIVER ME FROM WEDNESDAYS!!
I have kind of a love-hate relationship with Wednesdays! Monday and Tuesday are normal days, but when I waken Wednesday mornings, my thought is always, "Oh dear, it is Wednesday again!" But I scramble out of bed when I am fully awake and wash my eyes (as the Bobos say) and head for the den where Dad brings to me my first cup of coffee while he prepares what I want for breakfast. Yes, I am spoiled by my husband in many ways and I am happy to have it stay that way!
But there is no lingering over breakfast - after eating, we then have devotions, get dressed, and by then it is time to head for the county jail. I am always a little apprehensive before I hit the jail, wondering what we will face. We visitors talk a bit and then gather for prayer before we head down those long halls, waiting for doors to be unlocked before us, led by a prison guard who remains with us during the entire time we have with the ladies. Most of the guards are also Christians and sympathetic to the gospel being given to the gals. We are from various denominations and usually five to seven visiting women. Only once have I been the only one present and had the whole time of an hour and a half to myself. That was a rough time and I don't want to do that again.
You never know what you will find when you get to where the girls live. Some women never come out of their cells, many join us for a time of singing and reading God's Word and asking questions and so forth. We all prepare something ahead of time and usually have a chance to share something from God with the women. They love it when we wear something bright and pretty to brighten up their lives. Our apparel is a nice relief from their one piece jail suits - orange stripes, flimsy material, no style - and they often compliment us on what we are wearing! 0 We get lots of hugs and compliments - we are the bright spot in their boring days. The women do puzzles and talk to each other, but many just stay in bed, wishing away the day! And sometimes fights break out among them and then the offenders get put in solitary! What a life.... We always take prayer requests and pray for the women and their families, and often have the opportunity of leading someone to the Lord. We make sure every inmate has a Bible and most read them avidly and ask questions when we come in each week.
So that is the beginning of each Wednesday here. It is also the day our cleaning lady comes so that she can have the house free to clean while we are gone. When we get home, Dad and I both have prayer requests to get written. Mine are the missions requests each week for international workers and included as a page in each Sunday bulletin. Each week it is my responsibility to send them in. Dad has jail requests to send to a group of ladies who pray for this ministry.
Yesterday was our once a month jail committee meeting in the board meeting room at the church. Those of us who visit in the jail are members of this committee and we usually have some interesting times of discussion and prayer for this ministry. Home again then for a bit of rest and getting the evening meal ready.
After eating, it is off to the church, picking up teenage riders for the youth group along the way. They join the youth and we go straight to the AWANAs for an hour and a half program. I love my girls and they are all so affectionate at that age. How privileged I am to help these young girls hide God's Word in their hearts. I am with a team of four women who help these girls.
After our assembly meeting, Dad and I find out riders in the youth group and head home to deliver them back to their homes and return to ours! Maybe I feel my age that evening when we get home, more than any other time in the week. At the same time, it is great to still be involved in people's lives, the suffering women in jail, the teenagers and the young girls, friends who participate in ministry with us. We all have a bond among us, and for that reason, even though I am sometimes very weary by nine pm every Wednesday, I can always know that it has been a good day!
I have kind of a love-hate relationship with Wednesdays! Monday and Tuesday are normal days, but when I waken Wednesday mornings, my thought is always, "Oh dear, it is Wednesday again!" But I scramble out of bed when I am fully awake and wash my eyes (as the Bobos say) and head for the den where Dad brings to me my first cup of coffee while he prepares what I want for breakfast. Yes, I am spoiled by my husband in many ways and I am happy to have it stay that way!
But there is no lingering over breakfast - after eating, we then have devotions, get dressed, and by then it is time to head for the county jail. I am always a little apprehensive before I hit the jail, wondering what we will face. We visitors talk a bit and then gather for prayer before we head down those long halls, waiting for doors to be unlocked before us, led by a prison guard who remains with us during the entire time we have with the ladies. Most of the guards are also Christians and sympathetic to the gospel being given to the gals. We are from various denominations and usually five to seven visiting women. Only once have I been the only one present and had the whole time of an hour and a half to myself. That was a rough time and I don't want to do that again.
You never know what you will find when you get to where the girls live. Some women never come out of their cells, many join us for a time of singing and reading God's Word and asking questions and so forth. We all prepare something ahead of time and usually have a chance to share something from God with the women. They love it when we wear something bright and pretty to brighten up their lives. Our apparel is a nice relief from their one piece jail suits - orange stripes, flimsy material, no style - and they often compliment us on what we are wearing! 0 We get lots of hugs and compliments - we are the bright spot in their boring days. The women do puzzles and talk to each other, but many just stay in bed, wishing away the day! And sometimes fights break out among them and then the offenders get put in solitary! What a life.... We always take prayer requests and pray for the women and their families, and often have the opportunity of leading someone to the Lord. We make sure every inmate has a Bible and most read them avidly and ask questions when we come in each week.
So that is the beginning of each Wednesday here. It is also the day our cleaning lady comes so that she can have the house free to clean while we are gone. When we get home, Dad and I both have prayer requests to get written. Mine are the missions requests each week for international workers and included as a page in each Sunday bulletin. Each week it is my responsibility to send them in. Dad has jail requests to send to a group of ladies who pray for this ministry.
Yesterday was our once a month jail committee meeting in the board meeting room at the church. Those of us who visit in the jail are members of this committee and we usually have some interesting times of discussion and prayer for this ministry. Home again then for a bit of rest and getting the evening meal ready.
After eating, it is off to the church, picking up teenage riders for the youth group along the way. They join the youth and we go straight to the AWANAs for an hour and a half program. I love my girls and they are all so affectionate at that age. How privileged I am to help these young girls hide God's Word in their hearts. I am with a team of four women who help these girls.
After our assembly meeting, Dad and I find out riders in the youth group and head home to deliver them back to their homes and return to ours! Maybe I feel my age that evening when we get home, more than any other time in the week. At the same time, it is great to still be involved in people's lives, the suffering women in jail, the teenagers and the young girls, friends who participate in ministry with us. We all have a bond among us, and for that reason, even though I am sometimes very weary by nine pm every Wednesday, I can always know that it has been a good day!
Monday, October 7, 2013
It has been a long time!
Yes, it has been a long time since I have looked at my blog or added to it. Katy's decision to go back to blogging gave me a shove in the right direction and I will resume a chronicling of family and personal events, beginning tonight. This will be of interest to some of you and others will give it a pass, but I am doing it for myself I guess! And to leave behind a historical legacy of sorts for my extended family. So here goes....
We were asked recently what we think about death and Heaven, now that we are 80 and 85 years old??! I guess we are so busy in what God gives us to do each day that we do not seem to have the time for prolonged, introspective thoughts about the future. In thinking of death, my mind always goes back to Aunt Donna ( a death out of season I thought) and also to Josiah (again a death that was not supposed to be (in my mind). And I again mourn their leaving us so soon..... My parents were not well and were a ripe old age when they died, and it was time for them. I mourned but not as deeply or as long as I have for Aunt Donna and Josiah.
Death - and even Heaven - do not preoccupy me - when I sing about heaven, it makes a warm feeling in my heart and I would certainly say that I am ready when the Lord has my place prepared in Heaven, but I do not dwell on that in my day to day living.
Probably part of the reason for this is that we keep so busy. God has led us into so many ministries and friendships and our lives are more than full. When we have a day without activities, we enjoy it together and it becomes a day of rest physically and emotionally and mentally. Our lines have fallen to us in pleasant places and we enjoy what God is giving us to do in our lives right now. We realize how fortunate we are to be together thus far in life. And we do often talk together about that - God's special grace to us. A teenager whom I have befriended recently and who is always asking for relationship advice, wrote recently on FB to me, saying "I love the relationship that you and Mr. Milt have - I want to be like you!" Quite a sweet compliment.
So with this post, I go back to where I left off a few months ago, And chronicle some of the good things that are happening in our lives right now.
We were asked recently what we think about death and Heaven, now that we are 80 and 85 years old??! I guess we are so busy in what God gives us to do each day that we do not seem to have the time for prolonged, introspective thoughts about the future. In thinking of death, my mind always goes back to Aunt Donna ( a death out of season I thought) and also to Josiah (again a death that was not supposed to be (in my mind). And I again mourn their leaving us so soon..... My parents were not well and were a ripe old age when they died, and it was time for them. I mourned but not as deeply or as long as I have for Aunt Donna and Josiah.
Death - and even Heaven - do not preoccupy me - when I sing about heaven, it makes a warm feeling in my heart and I would certainly say that I am ready when the Lord has my place prepared in Heaven, but I do not dwell on that in my day to day living.
Probably part of the reason for this is that we keep so busy. God has led us into so many ministries and friendships and our lives are more than full. When we have a day without activities, we enjoy it together and it becomes a day of rest physically and emotionally and mentally. Our lines have fallen to us in pleasant places and we enjoy what God is giving us to do in our lives right now. We realize how fortunate we are to be together thus far in life. And we do often talk together about that - God's special grace to us. A teenager whom I have befriended recently and who is always asking for relationship advice, wrote recently on FB to me, saying "I love the relationship that you and Mr. Milt have - I want to be like you!" Quite a sweet compliment.
So with this post, I go back to where I left off a few months ago, And chronicle some of the good things that are happening in our lives right now.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
OH, THOSE MISSIONS TRIPS!!
Missions trips to many countries of the world have become almost a missions mania in today's church world. Not just in the Alliance but in many other denominations also. The youth sign up eagerly and then look to the adults to provide funding. Spaghetti suppers are planned, frozen chicken is sold, the church young people hire out to work for cash - all in order to go on a missions trip to some far off area of the world. Young people, old people, pastors, youth leaders, - everyone is going to some new and interesting country overseas, it's the "in thing" in missions today! I recently read about a group of young children who made a special trip to hold a VBS in some far off country!
Some of our training schools in the United States and Canada require every missions major to spend a semester overseas - or at least make a shorter trip to another country. TFC is one of those schools, and almost every year I get asked by students to help prepare them culturally and in some cases even linguistically for what they will face. Actually, I enjoy that part of missions trips!
When we first went to Africa, we had never heard of untrained, English speaking young people coming to help in our work. But during a Home Assignment in 1983-1984 we were missionaries in residence at Nyack College and a group of students wanted to visit us overseas and "taste" missions firsthand! So we succumbed!
We had already decided on a list of proper comportment for our team of 18 young people. (Yes, 18!!
We were aware of what had happened when a carload of American Christian tourists came to our city bringing large bags of hard candies. These people loved to drive through town (with the Mission Protestante sign painted on the van!) and wave to all the children lining the streets and toss handfuls of hard candy to them. For weeks after they left, we had children coming to the Mission asking for more candy - long after the work team had gone!!
We also experienced the visiting college student who had learned how to say "Jesus loves you" in French. He would go to the local market - a block from the Mission - and say Jesus loves you in French to a young person, and then take him by the hand and lead him to the Mission, find a local missionary deep in his work to whom he would say, I've told this boy "Jésus t'aime", now you can lead him to the Lord in his own language.
Given all of this, we prepared some cultural lectures for our College group arriving from Nyack College, and really they adapted quite well, given the big leap from Nyack-on-the-Hudson to Santidougou village!
But 18 extra people are still a lot to feed and sleep and to keep occupied. You girls worked hard along with me to feed and entertain this group - plus giving them a meaningful experience. All in all, that was a very positive experience, and a number of them later went on to be international workers in several countries.
Today missions trips seem to be an integral part of many Alliance churches. Some are "Taste and See" tours, others are work teams sent out to accomplish a specific job. But none of them would succeed without the involvement of an on site international worker to help care for them: driving them around, interpreting for them, caring for them when they become ill, and a dozen other jobs required of local workers - to help this multitude of work team people have a positive experience!
All of this also uses up a lot of money that might perhaps be better used by local international workers and local Christians. At the same time, work teams are a fact of life in international missions it seems, and in this day of seeing is believing, many churches in the U.S. have become more involved in the Alliance Missions program in the world. To my knowledge, no one has calculated how much is spent in Missions trips each year in the Alliance. Nor has anyone articulated clearly the positive side of all this rush to the nations by amateurs in our churches
A couple weeks ago I was asked to help interview a TFC student in our church, headed for the Far East for six weeks this summer. A nice guy but not a clue about most things culturally. I wish him well and will pray for him. He will certainly return to us wiser than he is now!!
Some of our training schools in the United States and Canada require every missions major to spend a semester overseas - or at least make a shorter trip to another country. TFC is one of those schools, and almost every year I get asked by students to help prepare them culturally and in some cases even linguistically for what they will face. Actually, I enjoy that part of missions trips!
When we first went to Africa, we had never heard of untrained, English speaking young people coming to help in our work. But during a Home Assignment in 1983-1984 we were missionaries in residence at Nyack College and a group of students wanted to visit us overseas and "taste" missions firsthand! So we succumbed!
We had already decided on a list of proper comportment for our team of 18 young people. (Yes, 18!!
We were aware of what had happened when a carload of American Christian tourists came to our city bringing large bags of hard candies. These people loved to drive through town (with the Mission Protestante sign painted on the van!) and wave to all the children lining the streets and toss handfuls of hard candy to them. For weeks after they left, we had children coming to the Mission asking for more candy - long after the work team had gone!!
We also experienced the visiting college student who had learned how to say "Jesus loves you" in French. He would go to the local market - a block from the Mission - and say Jesus loves you in French to a young person, and then take him by the hand and lead him to the Mission, find a local missionary deep in his work to whom he would say, I've told this boy "Jésus t'aime", now you can lead him to the Lord in his own language.
Given all of this, we prepared some cultural lectures for our College group arriving from Nyack College, and really they adapted quite well, given the big leap from Nyack-on-the-Hudson to Santidougou village!
But 18 extra people are still a lot to feed and sleep and to keep occupied. You girls worked hard along with me to feed and entertain this group - plus giving them a meaningful experience. All in all, that was a very positive experience, and a number of them later went on to be international workers in several countries.
Today missions trips seem to be an integral part of many Alliance churches. Some are "Taste and See" tours, others are work teams sent out to accomplish a specific job. But none of them would succeed without the involvement of an on site international worker to help care for them: driving them around, interpreting for them, caring for them when they become ill, and a dozen other jobs required of local workers - to help this multitude of work team people have a positive experience!
All of this also uses up a lot of money that might perhaps be better used by local international workers and local Christians. At the same time, work teams are a fact of life in international missions it seems, and in this day of seeing is believing, many churches in the U.S. have become more involved in the Alliance Missions program in the world. To my knowledge, no one has calculated how much is spent in Missions trips each year in the Alliance. Nor has anyone articulated clearly the positive side of all this rush to the nations by amateurs in our churches
A couple weeks ago I was asked to help interview a TFC student in our church, headed for the Far East for six weeks this summer. A nice guy but not a clue about most things culturally. I wish him well and will pray for him. He will certainly return to us wiser than he is now!!
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