10 Ways

Okay, so I don't usually steal for my blog.  But this is really good, and I know lots of people who would agree.  If you've wondered what you can do for us overseas, here's the Top 10 list.

10 Ways to Encourage a Missionary

In an effort to learn how we can best encourage missionaries, I emailed some and asked how they would most like to be served and encouraged. This list is drawn from their responses, including many direct quotes.

1. Pray for them and let them know that you are doing so frequently.

"One of the most encouraging/inspiring things we receive from people is a quick note via email to say that they are 'thinking' of us."

2. Send "real mail."

"Send a small care package. Some little fun food items that we can't get where we serve is a good idea."

"One idea is to send a special package before an American holiday (like Thanksgiving) filled with things that we can use to decorate for that holiday."  **Please note that packages can take 6-8 weeks or more to get to us!**

"Send us a birthday card. This doesn't have to be some long handwritten note, just a little card - maybe even printed at home."

"Real mail is always special. Really, the thing with real mail is more than just getting some nice stuff from home (which is nice), but it seems a more tangible reminder that the people I love and miss love and miss me too and are thinking of me."

3. Pray for the people the missionaries serve and not only for the missionaries and their families.

4. Recruit others to pray for the missionary's area of service (city, people group, etc.) or for the missionaries themselves.

"This can be an amazing thing to have a person or group of people actively supporting the work that we are doing overseas - becoming an advocate for our city/work. It really encourages us to know that there are people going to bat for us and raising more prayer support for the work."

"Become an arm of our work in the United States. Some ideas include handling our newsletter distribution, website hosting (i.e., hosting a virtual website for the city), logistical arrangements, or short term team orientation."

5. Go visit them with the purpose of serving and encouraging them in their work.

"Have a group of your people come to minister to us as we are seeking to pour out our lives to others. This could be hosting a small retreat in country for our team or something similar, or coming to prayer walk the city we live in."

6. Send them updates and pictures of you and your family (by mail or email).

"It would especially be nice to receive end of the year updates or Christmas card pics. We want to stay connected to you! We love hearing from friends and family and enjoy keeping up to date on what's happening in your life!"

"If you have a friend overseas, stay in touch with them. Don't let cautions about being careful with spiritual language keep you from talking about the day to day "un-spiritual" things you would talk about if you met up for lunch one day. Sometimes the least spiritual emails are the most helpful, because somehow I feel less distant when friends talk to me like they always did before I left. Share updates on family, school, work, life, sports-whatever it is that you used to talk about with them."

7. Ask questions about their work.

"Ask not only how we are doing, but ask about our work and try to learn all you can about the people or city where we are serving."

"I know that this has been said, but truly CARING about the work is the best way to encourage us."

8. Continue to be a Christian friend and continue to minister to them.

"Don't stop being the church to us when we leave. Whenever security allows, spiritual conversations are good for our hearts. Missionaries struggle with the same sinful attitudes that plague Christians everywhere. Leaving home to live among unreached peoples, may be a step of faith in the process of sanctification, but it is not a step that roots out all sin. It is likely to lead to and expose all kinds of previously unnoticed and unexpected sin. Having friends that know me, are patient with me, and expect me to be the same struggling sinner I was when I left helps me stay humble when tempted toward arrogance, and hopeful when tempted toward despair."

"Even for us with strong member care, it is helpful to receive pastoral care from the stateside church's pastor who many times will know the missionary personally and have the history with them to be able to invest and mentor them and their family and marriage."

"Ask us those hard questions. Do a little pastoral counseling with us."

"Please don't elevate us onto some false pedestal. We are normal people too who have been forgiven much and for some reason God called to live and minister overseas."

9. Support them financially.

"Finding out if we have any specific needs and meeting those needs is great."

10. Seek to encourage them when they are on stateside assignment.

"Let us talk to you and your congregations, and small groups. We want to share what God has been doing and would love the opportunity to talk about it, raise awareness and hopefully gain more prayer support."

"Invite us out to lunch or dinner. Nothing fancy is needed. Remember we've just been in places where we may not have been able to even enjoy a little Mexican food."

No missionary mentioned this to me in emails, but I know it is a blessing when someone shares their summer home or cabin for a missionary family to get away and relax for a few days.

"Let us know about any good books that are must reads. Tell us about any good resources that may benefit our personal growth or ministry work: things like conferences, training for ministry/leadership, and so forth."

Mark Rogers is a Ph.D. student in historical theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/01/06/10-ways-to-encourage-a-missionary/

Dubai: America East

I think I can say, pretty confidently, that this is the first time I've ever sung "O Happy Day" while walking through an airport. But tonight, it is totally justified. After 14 months in the Ugandan bush, I am in America… for the next 3 hours, anyway. And I hat to say it, but I'm loving it.  The Dubai airport is massive. Think Atlanta-Hartsfield, but bigger.   It's 1 am here, and it's busier than Greenville-Spartanburg ever thought about being. All the sotres and restaurants are open around  the clock, and the lines are long.

And oh, the restaurants! I saw Burger King and teared up… and I don't  even LIKE Burger King! I paid 8 dollars for a caramel mocha at  Starbucks. (I figure if I only spend 8 dollars at Starbucks in almost 2 years, I've done pretty well!) I saw all the pretty different  flavors of ice cream at Baskin Robbins and wound up having to wipe my drool off the sneeze guard. Dunkin Donuts, Coldstone Creamery, Cinnabon… I don't have to eat there—just seeing the signs makes me happy!

I have to admit, though: when I first got into the airport, sensory overload kicked into overdrive. I guess you can tell you've lived in Africa for too long when walking into an airport is overwhelming!

Praise the Lord!

I am on cloud nine!  I met with Jesca this morning for Bible study, and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't go in with a spirit of expectation.  In the past few weeks, I've seen lots of spiritual walls coming down around Jesca, and last week she asked me to pray that God would speak to her, and that she would be able to hear Him.  (I didn't tell her I'd been praying for that for the last year already!)  We gathered up our tea, coffee, and Bibles and went to sit on the porch of the boys' quarters.  I prayed, and we began to discuss the third chapter of John, Jesus' conversation with Nicodemas.

Jesca has grown up in the church, and so is very familiar with spiritual things, but the idea of having a relationship with God is completely foreign to her.  Knowing that some very popular verses are in this passage, I asked her if she had ever read the whole passage at once before, and she said yes.  I asked her if God said anything new to her this time.  "He told me that I'm just like Nicodemas," was her answer.  I was floored!  I could almost hear the Father saying, "She's ready-- it's time for Jesca's harvest!"

We talked and talked, about baptism and asking forgiveness.  We read "that everyone who believes in [Jesus Christ] may have eternal life," (John 3:15) meaning that we don't have to be baptized to secure eternity, and we don't have to keep on asking for forgiveness.  Jesus' blood covers our sins once and for all.

That part was a little hard for Jesca to grasp.  She had been taught that any unconfessed sin would keep her from heaven, whether she was following Jesus or not.  I told her that believing in Jesus' forgiveness means trusting Him to forgive all our sins-- sins from childhood, from yesterday, from today, from tomorrow, from five years from now.  That we don't have to try to be good enough; we want to be like Jesus, because that's the pursuit of holiness, but it won't keep us out of heaven.

Jesca is by nature a very quiet person, and I didn't want to push her to something she wasn't ready for.  I asked her if she wanted to ask Jesus to forgiver her once and for all.  Her question was "Oh, but how can I do that?"  I offered to lead her in praying for salvation, and she said that's what she wanted.

We prayed.  I cried.  It was all I could do not to lose my composure as this precious friend became my sister!  When we finished praying, Jesca was grinning and glowing like I've never seen her before!  I shared some Scriptures to encourage her, and challenged her to read God's Word on her own, and to ask the Father to speak to her through His Word.  Jesca's very countanance looked different, and I told her so.  She said she felt "relieved"; for the first time, she doesn't have to fear death.  She knows that her sins are paid for and her eternity is secure.

In less than an hour, I will be getting on a plane to visit some sweet friends in India.  I hate to leave town on the very day that Jesca accepted Christ.   I've been praying for her salvation for over a year, and I know many other people all over the world have been praying, too.  Thank you for your prayers.  Please keep praying for her, that she would grow in her new faith and find sound doctrine in the Word.

I hate to leave Arua today, but I can't think of a better way to start a vacation!  Praise the Lord!

India: The Beginning

If you read my last post, you know that my vacation got off to a great start before I ever left home.  The journey from Arua to India started off uneventfully enough: I spent a while at the Arua airstrip waiting on a late Eagle plane, but I still got to Entebbe 3 hours before my flight to Dubai.  Easy peasy!   Just boarding the plane out of Uganda made me happy.  I've been on more than my fair share of little planes recently, and the sight of that big Boeing 777 did my heart good.  When it was finally time to get on board, I had to make a conscious effort to keep my jaw from dropping.  I'd never flown Emirates before, and it was the biggest, nicest, cleanest, roomiest plane I think I've ever been on!  The seats are nice, and comfortable.  We had a sandwich snack served on the 2-hour flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and a 4-course steak dinner on the way to Dubai.   Even the bathrooms were posh!

In the middle of such luxury (sadly, this is luxury, compared to my little world in Arua!), all I could say was, "Thank You, Jesus!"  He's reminded me, over and over again today, that His mercies are new every morning.  His Name is Faithful and True.  And He knew that I need this precious trip to see precious friends even more than I knew it!

+++++

We just flew in to Addis Ababa right in the middle of the sunset.  Hello, Ethiopia.  I don't even get off the plane before we continue on to Dubai.  Goodbye, Ethiopia.

When I first looked out the window and realized we were over Ethiopia, I thought I was looking at another planet.  Seriously.  It's less than 800 miles from Entebbe, but it doesn't begin to feel like even the same continent.  Uganda is so green and lush and welcoming, and Ethiopia just seems desolate.  The sunset cast a red glow over the dusty desert, making it seem even less welcoming, if that's possible.  The thought that people can survive here, in as harsh conditions as they do, simply blows me away. 

The Father simply astounds me with this world He's created.  Just when I think I've seen the peak of His imagination, He goes and shows me that I really have no idea how His mind works.  The thought that a place like this existed on this planet, not so very far from where I live, never crossed my mind.  And He reminds me, yet again, of how glad I am that He is the One holding it all together, and not me!

Pray for Jesca

I wrote about Jesca several months ago.  She has grown up in the Anglican church and is very caught up in the tradition of the church.  She doesn’t really understand what it means to be born again or to follow Christ, and thinks her membership in the church secures her eternity.  Recently, Jesca and I have begun meeting for Bible study each week.  She has started asking more and more questions, and seems to be really open to the Gospel.  She has even asked me to pray that she would be able to hear God speaking to her and calling her heart to Him.  Please pray that Jesca would accept the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, and that God would give me wisdom in my conversations with her.

The Big Fat African Wedding

About a week ago, I had the privilege of going to an African wedding.  Our friend Lamech, who owns Orasea Supermarket in town, was getting married and invited the entire team to attend.  Thinking, “Hey, great cultural experience,” I was definitely game.

About 2 weeks before the wedding, our invitation was hand-delivered.  The first hint that this would be more than we bargained for: the invitation said the ceremony would be at 10 am, with the reception to immediately follow at 2 pm.  Starting to sound like a long day?  Knowing how “African” functions tend to start a little late, we decided to leave the house at 10—we definitely weren’t going to rush and be 30 minutes early, like we would be in the States!  We weren’t exactly sure where we were going, but we had a general idea, and figured we could ask directions once we got close.  Well, we started driving, went off-road pretty quickly, made 2 wrong turns, and before we knew it, we were in the wedding parade!  (Many people here don’t have transportation and so just walk or bike everywhere they go.  It’s customary for the wedding organizers to plan for 5 or 6 cars to pick up the bride, the groom, and their entourages and take them to the wedding.  These cars are always decorated with streamers and bows in the bride’s colors.  People come out from houses as the cars drive past and scream, shout, and cheer for the happy couple.)  So we’re in the middle of all these decorated cars with drivers honking and bystanders waving tree branches as we drive by.  They’re thrilled, and pretty impressed, too, that a bunch of Mundus are a part of this wedding!

We finally arrived at the church, before the groom and well before the bride.  We met with a few people we knew, and eventually they led all 15 of us into the church and onto the platform.  As honored guests, we sat right behind the priests.  Talk about priority seating!

Around 11 o’clock, Lamech and his best man cam in.  The band and choir were playing local songs and “warming the church” for the bride.  By 11:20 or so, there was a huge commotion outside as Jenipher, the bride, arrived and the local women welcomed her.  The Boys & Girls Brigade (think RAs and GAs or Awana) and Mothers’ Union (maybe something like the WMU?) escorted her in, and they walked so slowly it took over 5 minutes for her to get down the aisle!

Jenipher sat on the chair next to Lamech, one of the priests prayed, and we sang one of two hymns in Lugbara.  Most of the actual marriage ceremony was pretty much like what I was used to, except that Jenipher’s uncle came up to the front, took her hand, and gave it to the priest who then gave it to Lamech.  The couple said their vows, exchanged rings, knelt for a blessing, and the actual ceremony was finished.  But the service still had a LONG way to go.

We sang another song.  We read 3 different passages of Scripture.  We sang again.  One of the 6 priests gave a full-length sermon.  All in Lugbara.  (They were kind enough to translate the sermon for us—I guess they thought we needed it!)  We took an offering.  We went through 3 different liturgies and then took communion.  After 2 more prayers, the priests brought Lamech and Jenipher up on the platform to sign the marriage license.  Then they went to the front of the platform to take pictures—all while the congregation was looking on!  Finally, the service was over and the couple left, but again they walked so slowly it took 5 minutes to get out for the church!  (I am NOT exaggerating—I wish I was!  My friend Kathryn actually timed them!)  Before we got out, the decorators came to get the flowers to take to the reception.  We finally got out of the church at 2:15.  But the “event” was only half over.

We walked about 100 yards to a school where the reception was being held.  About 30 big tents were arranged in a huge square with a big open space in the center.  Under one small tent in the center was the 3-tiered wedding cake, surrounded by 9 or 10 smaller cakes, all decorated with ribbon bows.  There were also 7 long tables set out in front of the tents.  Each ten was set aside for a different group: the bride’s relatives, the groom’s relatives, the choir, the clergy (that’s us?), and invited guests.  There were also 5 or 6 tents that weren’t labeled.  People who weren’t specifically invited to the wedding were welcome to sit there.  Many brought their own chairs. 

The banquet, consisting of about 12 full cooking pots, was set out on each of the 7 large tables.  The largest pot could hold about 15 gallons and was mounded 6 inches high with enya.  Enya is the staple food of the Lugbara people.  It’s cassava flour, sometimes mixed with sorghum or millet, and cooked with water until it’s the consistency of playdough.  It’s eaten with sauces, meats, and greens as a combination utensil/stomach filler.  It’s NOT my favorite food in the world!  The enya pots were by far the largest cooking pots I’ve ever seen, and were so heavy it took 5 men to carry each one!

We sat and waited and waited and waited.  And sweated.  And waited.  The emcee finally announced Lamech and Jenipher’s arrival.  One of the decorated cars drove up, and many of the women who were seated ran up to greet them.  They spread big patterned pieces of cloth on the ground for the new couple to walk on, and they started the quarter-time walk across the fairgrounds.  It took another 5 minutes for Lamech and Jenipher to walk the 50 yards to the tent of honor where they would sit.

Someone prayed a blessing over the food, but we weren’t invited to eat yet.  A wedding is very much a community event, and all the women in the village had spent the morning preparing the feast, following Jenipher’s recipes and instructions.  It was explained that, since this was the first meal Jenipher had prepared for Lamech (with the help of the other women) as his wife, she would demonstrate how it was to be eaten.  They spread a mat on the ground and put a chair at one end.  Jenipher knelt on the mat in front of him and fed him a bit of each dish with her fingers.  When Lamech had had some of everything, it was his turn to feed Jenipher.   We were all then invited to the buffet where our plates were loaded with food.  Enya, chicken, rice, boiled potatoes, greens, roasted goat, and every part of the cow.  We ate with our fingers.

After the meal was eaten, it was time to cut the cake.  Or at least the big cake in the middle.  The mat and chair were put back in the middle of the ground, and Jenipher and Lamech fed each other pieces.    The cake was then cut into bite-sized pieces.  Lamech served cake to Jenifer’s parents and uncles, and Jenipher served Lamech’s family.  Bridesmaids then served pieces of cake to the rest of the guests, and it was, without a doubt, the driest cake I’ve ever eaten.  At some point, Lamech and Jenipher snuck out, because about 20 minutes later everyone went back to the far side of the grounds to greet them again.  Jenipher had changed from her wedding dress into a gold evening gown.  They repeated the painfully slow walk, but this time they only walked to the cake tent.  It was now time for them to give away the small cakes to the “honored guests.”  First the bride and groom’s families were called up and presented with cakes.  The emcee then asked for the chair of the wedding committee, the staff from Orasea Supermarket, members of the Arua Business Community, the clergy who officiated the wedding, and the best man and matron of honor.  Then he requested the “friends of Lamech” to come forward.  That would be us.  They made a big deal about how we had made the wedding an “international event” by attending.  Then they gave us our very own driest cake ever to take home.   I was SO excited.

They moved one of the big tables to the front of the grounds, right in front of where Lamech and Jenipher were sitting.  They then invited everyone to present their gifts to the couple.  Everyone carried their gift to a conga line and danced up to the table to give it to Lamech and Jenipher.  Finally, we had our chance.  After we presented our gifts, we conga-ed on out of there!

We walked back to the car, greeted the guys who were responsible for guarding all the bicycles, and drove home.  We finally walked in the door a few minutes before 6 pm.  We were all hot and exhausted, but it was definitely worth experiencing my first big fat African wedding!