A Thick Hide Helps

"I'm always embarrassed when people say that I'm courageous. Soldiers are courageous. Policemen are courageous. Firemen are courageous. I just have a thick hide and disregard what silly people say."

-Thomas Sowell 

Tears Of Lady Christian Missionary Converted A Muslim!

"Si Mebarek was a young Qur’anic student who taught the boys in the mosque to recite their holy book. For many years he had attended Sunday school classes, but the teaching had left no impression on him. He hardened his heart to the gospel and mocked his teachers. When he was eighteen and very proud of his knowledge of Islam, he went to the home of a woman missionary and asked for a gospel in Arabic, saying he would very much like to read it again. The servant of God was thrilled. Here was an answer to her prayers: a young man seeking the Lord. Si Mebarek took the gospel in his hand, glanced at it, and then, with a look of defiance, tore it to shreds and threw it on the ground, trampling on the pieces. He quite expected to receive a sharp reproof for having treated the Word of God thus. Instead he saw tears come into the eyes of the servant of God. With a look of inexpressible sadness, but of genuine love, she turned away without a word, going into the house to pray for him.

Si Mebarek headed for home, but that expression of the patient love of Christ, of his meekness and gentleness, really reached his heart. Within an hour, he was back again, now a convicted sinner seeking salvation. That simple expression of the love of the One who wept over Jerusalem achieved what the years of teaching had failed to accomplish."

("Sharing Our Faith With Muslims. Charles R. Marsh. Chapter 8 in "Encountering The World of Islam" Authenic books Atlanta 2005)

How Open & Honest is Your Missionary Journey?

(If You are Familiar with EMQ You Must realize Gary is not bashing Missionaries and Agencies.) But Gary is asking a valid Question. How honest are we about the challenges of mission, not just the successes?

Why we must be honest- if all people here is glowing success and none of the challenges they begin to question every missionary about their apparent lack of success. Certainly, in rare cases an odd missionary is simply not working hard, or refuse to look at some wise strategy change that might possibly help them. However, what about people working in limited access countries, where it takes years to build a church? Churches measure Pioneer missionaries against the success of regular missionaries who are working with a high percentage of Christian people with many existing churches of all stripes to work with and through.

Just a personal note. My experience with a "Rayner Rambler" private email that went to the over one hundred of the keenest of interested people within churches was a smashing success. Discussing ups, downs, discouragements, church struggles, raw form the village each week.
Those ramblers were the most commented on news, far out stripping glossy newsletters and printed materials. The 20-35 group is looking for real heart and life news about what is involved in the "Journey", not only wanting to hear about the end result, after the fact.

"I almost cringe when I hear of groups launching new marketing plans, expanding public relations departments, or engaging in “branding” exercises, While each of these may have its place, these and similar activities are also breeding grounds for the professionalization of falsehood. Whatever happened to just being ourselves and being faithful to our values?.....IF that is all the Lord requires of us, why is the massaging and packaging of truth necessary for others?

But these are not the only places where shaded truth emerges in the mission enterprise. It exists all the way from rank-and-file missionary prayer letters to the most articulately argued missiology. It’s too discouraging to our donors, we surmise, to burden them with the real struggles we may be facing. Things like loneliness, uncertainty about what to do next, and feelings of depression are not the stuff of missionary heroes, Besides, our partners support us in order to see certain things accomplished, and they want to hear how that’s happening, not the hindrances we’re dealing with. This is particularly so, we conclude, when those hindrances may reflect personal or professional inadequacy on our part. But in doing so, are we not declaring how unimportant we really think prayer is?

(A Second Look: The Audacity of Hype and Humility. Gary Corwin Editor EMQ. EMQ January 2009 Vol 45, No 1 pp6-7)

The Taliabo Story!

Testimony Steve Saint End of The Spear

Testimony Steve Saint End of The Spear (Get some tissue!)

"Sink" Yourself for God overseas? "Staying Power" ?

"Are we becoming short of missionary perseverance today? By all means let us acknowledge the value of short-term missionary assignments and see the divine purpose in many of them. But where are those who are ready to `sink' themselves for God overseas? Under the Lord's direction, let us look full in the face at such problems as missionary children's education and changing missionary strategy; but if men are to be won, believers truly nourished, and churches encouraged into the fullness of life in Christ, a great deal of `missionary staying power' of the right sort is going to be needed."

(Europe's Moravians. Colin Grant. Perspectives 4th edition, 2009, Ralph Winter, William Carey Library. pg293)

God is NOT Colorblind. But He is Very Colorful!

"A shift in the epicenter for world mission occurred around 2005. The 3rd world, our mission fields, are now the majority voice in world mission, and the majority voice in world kingdom affairs for the church. The church of Jesus Christ has expanded so globally that ethnocentric westerners, for the first time, must sit down and listen to other nations, and watch what unfolds as our God is glorified, and the Kingdom is expanded, from the roots of other nations, languages, and peoples.

For example. The Unity movement seeking to promote dialogue between all three lines of Restoration Movement tradition (Non-instrument, Disciples, and Christian churches - see World Convention.org) reminds us that all three share a common heritage around the content of "The Declaration and Address". It is still our vision for a united body under Christ. Certainly, there are differences.

However, interestingly, this movement is now reflecting the colorful global reality. The current president of World Convention, B. J. Mpofu, is a native of Zimbabwe Africa. The majority voice of the restoration movement is now rising from the nations, other peoples, languages and ethnic groups of the globe. Exciting times! I praise God for his colorful work!

We should be humbled as we see God raising up a new wave of global "Passion", surprising as it may be to some, among other peoples and languages of the earth. We for too long have though that we are in control of God's purposes of uniting a people in worship of his glory. God is moving on to the nations with us, and is some cases without us. Find Him there, and join him please!
I relish the international flavor of our movement. It's good to see Africa and Asia at OUR Table, only to realize it is now predominantly their table.

Is God Colorblind? God is not colorblind, but He is colorful. He craves the unique worship that only each unique tribe, language, people and culture can give him. God loves, desires, relishes in, and actively seeks out, the colorful variety of worship from the diverse nations. So the next time you see youth "Popppin"worship with some new form of christian music, or some Asian native in colorful dress swaying or dancing as he worships, or some Africans playing drums very enthusiastically in worship, just remember this; maybe "I don't like that", but who cares! Let's both be quite. You and I are not the measure of all things. God is colorful, and He desires to receive the unique kind of worship that only each generation, culture, language, tribe or ethnic group can bring, only they can bring it, to HIM. To God be the Glory!"

(Quote from Writings of A... R... West Africa.)

36 Km of pure Humility. I Cried Like a Baby Last Night!

36 km that humbled me Last night

Got this email from a co-worker in Africa - Eugene is on the right. Taught the guy many times, and know his home village of Bebou like the back of my hand. Here is the story about what his "Mentally Handicapped brother did after the leaders Graduation yesterday where Eugene graduated as a church leader.

"After all was over and we were taking picture after picture after picture, a guy showed up looking really angry and covered with sweat (Left). It looked like someone had dumped a bucket of water on him. It was quite amazing. Wisdom brought him to Eugene and had me take their picture together. The guy acted a little strange and didn't say a word. Then I realized it was Eugene's brother. I've always heard that he has Down's Syndrome. Looking at him, I don't think that's the case, but he's obviously mentally challenged or however you say that in PC terms these days......Anyway, Eugene's brother walked the 36 kms from Bébou yesterday morning to be there for Eugene's graduation. That's why he was so sweaty. He missed the whole thing but he didn't care. He grabbed Eugene right after this picture and started sobbing crying "Pastor!" "Pastor!" It was really really touching. Eugene just hugged him and told him it was okay and he was glad he was there and to stop crying. Bless his little heart. 36 kms on foot in blazing sun to see his brother become a pastor. That's love, disabled or not."

In Need a Modern Mission Hero!

Three Prince Edward Island, Canada, missionaries deaths bring the Gospel to Vanuatu, and I have to share the story.

Our, ......my........, shallow, convicted, evangelism of today does not stand the test of examination in the light of their sacrifice. How much passion do we have to reach lost people anymore in western Christianity? Sacrifice for the gospel, is it on the radar, called for in our preaching?

George & Ellen Gordon must have been people of deep conviction. However, the even, more profound story is embedded deeply inside –the story of James Gordon, Georges Brother. After receiving word that his brother George was killed in 1861, James finished his missionary studies and immediately went to pick up his brothers work in 1864. James himself was also killed in 1872. The Memorial Monument is not far from my house. So, in some small way, I can't help but wonder if my call to missions was not to satisfy, though in some very small way, the cry of the gospel to the nations that was left unfilled by PEI, and the kingdoms, loss? I do wonder, who are our missionary hero's today? Who is modeling deep, willful, intentional, sacrifice to free their lives, and resources, to get the gospel to the front lines. Shallow, shallow me, would my faith ever enable me to be a hero some day?

(The note under the photo states)

TWO DELEGATES from the Presbyterian Church in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu Rev George Aki, Moderator General and Pastor Kalsakau Urtalo, Assembly Clerk of the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu visited the birth place of martyred missionaries Rev George Gordon and his wife Ellen Gordon and his brother Rev James Gordon. They were slain by natives of Erromango in the 1800s but their work was not in vane. Now 38 percent of the islands once known as New Hebrides are Christian and they belong to the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu. (This Monument in Huntly PEI, contains a memorial plaque)

Here is the rest of the story that appeared in the West Prince Graphic June 11,2008:

Missionaries Visiting the Roots of Their Faith

Visiting Gordon Memorial Cairn and the Gordon Cemetery in Huntley held great meaning for Pastor George Aki and Pastor Kalsakau Urtalo.

The delegates from the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu were on PEI and NS as guests of the Presbyterian Church of Canada. They felt honoured to walk the same grounds as the martyred missionaries from Huntley didbefore leaving for the South Sea Islands of New Hebrides 150 years ago.

The islands are now known as Vanuatu, an archipelago nation consisting of 83 islands in the Southwest Pacific Ocean, north of New Zealand and east of Australia. Vanuatu has a population of 240,000 people and 38 percent belong to the Presbyterian Church.

Their Christian faith can be traced directly back to some of the first missionaries to go there so long ago, Rev George Gordon, his wife Ellen and later his brother James Gordon. They were raised in the peaceful little farming community of Huntley, PEI, which was literally and figurativelyworlds apart from the place they were called to spread the gospel.

“It is in our history, the story of Christianity”, Pastor Urtalo said while viewing the stone cairn that marks the Gordon’s birthplace in Huntley The cairn also serves as the tombstone for the three missionaries who were killed on the island of Erromango.....

Pastor Urtalo is assembly clerk of the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu and Pastor Aki is moderator general for the church. Joining these guests were the closest living descendants of the Gordon's, Robert Gordon of Alma and Jean Burnett Farris,who grew up on the farm where the missionaryGordon’s once lived.

Mrs Farris said her mother told her many stories about George and James Gordon and how they went to the uncivilized islands to bring Christianity to the people there. They were murdered by those who weresuspicious of their motives, blaming every disaster on their presence.

“There were a number of reasons’ Mrs Farris explained. White sandal wood traders were exploiting the islands for many years, doing unscrupulous things to the native people in the name of commerce. They were slave traders and through them, measles were introduced causing many to die. On the heals of that a hurricane and another disaster occurred-There were some who quickly became Christians but there were a number of island natives who didn’ttrust the missionaries.

Two missionaries came in 1848 from the London Missionary Society. They were killed as soon as they landed. In June of 1857 Rev Gordon, who had been educated at Free Church College in Halifax was placed as a missionary on Erromango. The island was described as a dark and godless place at the time.

In a 120-year-old book entitled “The Story of John G Paton’, also a missionary at that time, a chapter is devoted to the Gordons. It explains how they were making inroads among the people, gaining their trust. A group was attending church at a Mission House they had built and was listening to the stories from the Bible, singing hymns and reading a small book from the Bible that had been translated into their own language. The young men and women living at the Mission House were being trained to become teachers. Rev Gordon was in the process of moving the house a mile or so up a hill partly because of Mrs Gordon’ health and partly to escape what was described in the book as “the annoying and contaminating influence of the sandal-wooders on the Christian Natives:’

“On the 20th of May 1861, he was still working at the roofing of the printing office and had sent his lads to bring each a load of the long grass to finish the thatching.

“Meantime a party of Erromangans from a district called Bunk-Kill, under a chief named Lovu had been watching him. They had been to the Mission House inquiring and they had seen him send away his Christian lads. They then hid in the bush andsent two of their men to the Missionary to ask for calico:’ the author wrote.

Rev Gordon scratched a note on a piece of wood telling his wife to give them two yards of cloth each. They insisted that he accompany them back to the house, saying they needed medicine for a sick boy and their chief wanted to see him. As he led the way, he crossed a stream and slipped. “A blow was aimed at him with a tomahawk, which he caught: the other man struck but his weapon was alsocaught. One of the tomahawks was wrenched from his grasp”.

Rev Gordon was knocked to the ground with a blow to the spine and a second blow to his neck killed him. His wife was slain as she came out of the mission house to see what was happening. Over the four years of their mission work, the Gordon’s learned the language, and had been writing stories from the Bible in the native tongue. News of their murder travelled quickly and heightened the danger for other missionaries who were living on nearby island communities.

Mrs Farris explained that when Rev Gordon’s brother James received word of his death, he was studying to become a missionary. He went to the islands in 1864 with Hugh Robinson and his wife who stayed to continue the work started by the Gordons. James met a similar fate in 1872, becoming one of six martyred missionaries of the South Sea Islands.

“We are shameful this happened and regret it,” Pastor Aki said. Coming to the place where the early missionaries were born, is like a journey from the past to the future for him.

“We feel it is a great honour given by the United Church of Canada to be here with the roots of our Christianity”, Pastor Aki said. They came to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the arrival of Rev John and Charlotte Geddie in Aneityum, Vanuatu in 1848.They also visited Camp - Geddie and Geddie Memorial Church in New London, PEI as part of their tour.

“It is like seeing things come full circle. It was very thrilling to see these men and hear that the Islands are now Christian:’ Mrs Farris commented.

In 1968, the late Alice (Gordon) Green visited Vanuatu for a rededication of the martyr’s church. She brought back memorabilia which is displayed at Gordon Memorial United Church. Mrs Farris has her research papers about their ancestors, who are now very much revered in that corner of the world. A reception held at Gordon Memorial Church after the tour gave people from the community an opportunity to meet Pastors Aki and Urtalo.”

Challenge to Live Simply For Missions! Are we too High on the Hog on the mission field?

How far above the people is reasonable?
General Romeo Dallaire, of Canada took his post in Rwanda just before the Genocide there. He remained during the genocide. When offered the fancy perks that “Influential” people get in Africa, as he took his post he wrote;

“…..because of my rank and secondment contract from Canada, Hallqvist seemed to expect me to take advantage of every possible perk and privilege: fancy car, big house, all the little luxuries. I believe a commander does his mission a disservice when he lives high off the hog while his soldiers are eating meagre meals prepared by cooks standing in the pouring rain in temporary kitchens. I think I may have actually shocked Hallqvist when I returned the Mercedes staff car he assigned me in favour of the UN standard four-by-four Land Cruiser and sent Willem de Kant out to rent us a small house, where I intended to house him and myself, and Brent and my personal driver when they arrived. I did not want one of the comfortable residences that so many of the UN staff were acquiring, because it sent a message to the Rwandan people that we put our comfort before their interests, and I couldn’t stomach that. I loved the house that Willem found us: it was on a hill in Kigali and was cosy and clean behind its wall and single metal gate. Each morning I drank tea on the patio, staring out at the view of the city spread below me, and I sometimes struggled to find the resolve to leave that peaceful spot to take up the challenges of the day.

(Shake Hands with the Devil: A Failure of Humanity in Rwanda: LGen Romeo Dallaire, Random House, 2003, pg 107-108)

Is 21st Century missions to AFRAID? Afraid to Sacrifice and Suffer?

This quote struck me deeply. Why are the majority of missionaries serving where it is comfortable to live in a nice house and city, Often English works some what, and in close proximity to international mission schools? I’m convicted how about you. The authors have done us great service in this article. Read it all!

Lie #5: The safest place in the world Is within the will of
God.

“Are our missionaries safe? is a commonly asked question.
Missionary safety is of prime importance. Yet if that is the main issue for
families, churches and agencies, then there is only one thing to do: stop
sending. Western culture has attempted to cleanse faith of its rough edges.
Surely God only wants what is best for me, my family and my country! When
troubles come, are they not a sign of God’s disfavor? Has Western Christianity
attempted to neuter the heart of faith by removing the suffering and
persecution the New Testament promises are intrinsic to following Jesus?

It may be time for the Church in the West to admit we are
afraid. Often, when Muslim Background Believers are asked what they learn from
missionaries, they sadly respond, “Missionaries teach us to be afraid. This is
not just a missiological mistake. It is a sin. Missionaries may be afraid of
getting local believers arrested or harmed. They may be afraid they will lose
their visas or work permits. They may fear moving, learning another language or
placing their children in yet another school. Where did missionaries learn to
be afraid? They learned fear from their parents, churches and sending bodies.

The lie that personal safety and an absence of risk is of
paramount importance is a heinous lie that has infected Western, believing
enterprises globally. What do Chinese house church leaders call prison? They
call it their “theological training school.” What did pastors and lay leaders
call persecution, and even martyrdom, in
their environment during the years of the Soviet Union?
They called it “normal.” Fear is devastating. It paralyzes. It is the deadly
enemy of the Church. What can believers do in the face of such a destructive
lie? Choose not to be afraid. The one thing Satan can never take from one of
God’s created is the freedom to make the right and godly choice. Not being
afraid is commanded. What’s more, it is always possible."

(Five Lies about Missions,Nik Ripken & Barry Sticker. EMQ, Jan 2008, Vol 44, No1, p.38)

In Missions - The Prospects are as Bright as the Promises!

"But the pioneer husbandman must have long patience. When Judson was lying loaded with chains in a Burmese dungeon, a fellow prisoner asked with a sneer about the prospect for the conversion of the heathen. Judson calmly answered, “The prospects are as bright as are the promises of God.”

("The Glory of the Impossible”, Samuel Zwemer. “Perspectives on the world Christian Movement", 1999, William Carey Library, Pasadena California . Pg 314)