Pages

Monday, June 30, 2014

Reclaiming the Word "Missional" for Missionaries

Did you know that the word "missional" has several connotations and connections these days that makes many in-real-life missionaries leery of using the term themselves?

That's annoying. I mean, the adjectival form of the word mission works perfectly for my Monday writings. "Missionary Monday" is a little awkward and cumbersome since it's not an adjective, and "Mission Monday" has some connotations of its own. Did you know that even whether the "s" is on the end of the word mission or not can define you in a certain camp?
  1. Mission
  2. Missions
  3. Missional
  4. Missionary
The odd-numbered terms are in one camp (that, along with removing the "s" also removes the article, saying things like, they are "on mission.") The evens are apparently in an outdated, colonialist mindset that loves dinosauric institutions like churches, and says that they "do missions" or are missionaries.

It's really very confusing. I read several articles trying to understand what it means exactly to be "missional," but I'm still on mission to get at the substance of it. It seems kind of like the word evangelical--a hazy, encompassing word that lots of people use to describe themselves, from some Mormons to some fundamentalists to some Catholics.

So am I missional? I thought I was, but I guess it's gotten redefined from some guys tracing back to Karl Barth. Like the word gay, it means something different now than from the 40s; and you might want to be careful about using the term if you haven't made your definition clear first.

Some people in our postmodern age hate labels altogether, and thus would say it doesn't matter what term you use. But Seth and I feel that labels can have value in saving time, IF the speaker and hearer have the same definitions for the label. For example, rather than saying, "I'm a Biblicist," and then using a lengthy doctrinal statement to define what you mean by that, you could say, "I'm a pre-mil, Reformed Baptist." (Providing your hearer understands your definition of those labels!)

It's also difficult to use labels if the labels themselves have become so amorphously defined that people of all different stripes use it, which seems to be part of the difficulty with the term missional. I normally don't like to play with redefining terms or labels, (though I'm going to break that rule today). Definitions do exist, and truth can be found.

Here's Seth's definition: Missional refers to interacting with culture for religious ends; striving to redeem or transform society with a spiritual motivation. Wikipedia and Christianity Today use missional authors to define it, and 9 Marks Journal and Kevin DeYoung critique it in the other links in this post.

Seth's definition above doesn't seem too incendiary. It's the applications of what the mission is perceived to be and how it is achieved that can be scary. For example, church as a governed institution is rejected and undermined, as is typical outreach or churchplanting done by traditional missionaries. "Engaging culture" seems to be a thinly veiled term for actually clinging to sinful culture. Rather than encouraging daily denial of self and taking up one's cross, new believers are encouraged to stay in the groups or acts they were in or doing and to "redeem" them for Christ.

A hunky student at an evangelical college models licentiously for an Abercrombie & Fitch ad, and student writers for the college newspaper commend him for his efforts as a "missionary" to Hollywood. That's missional living (according to some). (Totally crossing the line to use our word there--"missionary"!)

An evangelical mega-church near my home (in America) advertised their weekly singles' meeting, in which they would watch an R-rated movie together to find the "redemptive value" in it. That's missional.

Even with these problems with the word missional, however, I feel that there are three reasons I can apply the term to myself.

1. I do agree with some of the underlying passions of missional proponents.

As Kevin DeYoung says in a very helpful critique of missionalogy, "At its best, missional represents everything Christians ought to be. We should be concerned about the lost and compassionate about the hurting. We ought to sacrifice personal preferences for the good of others. We should think critically about our own traditions and creatively about new strategies. We ought to bless people, love God and love neighbor."
In the sense that "Missional refers to interacting with culture for religious ends; striving to redeem or transform society with a spiritual motivation," I am missional. In the bad exegesis and applications that missional proponents have married to the term, I am not.

2. The etymology of the word missional applies to me.

According to my Latin guides here, "miss-" means to "send, let go." The noun suffix "-ion" means "condition; quality; act." And the adjective suffix "-al" means "characteristic of; relating to." What is relating to the condition or act of sending, more than actual missionaries? And if we're going to apply the term "missionaries" (people who have the quality of being sent) to people who are not actually going somewhere (and by that I mean, crossing a cultural, linguistic boundary), then we need to find another term for those people who do that.

There needs to be some adjective for us, if we can't use "missional."

3. I feel the errors of the missional movement need to be critiqued by real missionaries.

I'm not sure the most obvious way to do that without trying to snub the fallacious exegesis of those on mission, by taking their term and reclaiming it for myself and other missionaries like me, who I feel are really doing missions! First, the term is confusing and amorphous enough that I feel I can play with it and apply it to myself. Secondly, some of the connections that are somewhat clearly linked to the term are bad enough that I want to reclaim it for us! The real missionaries!

"Missional" should mean people who leave their own culture to go to another lesser-reached one in obedience to Christ's commands in Mt. 28:19-20, NOT people who stay in their own culture and focus on Christ's commands from the Sermon on the Mount.

"Missional" should refer to a carefully crafted sermon prepared through hours of thoughtful study of both the Word and the linguistics of a foreign language, NOT an exegesis of the latest article on the 17 hottest guys in America in Seventeen magazine.

"Missional" should refer to carefully defining the Gospel--repentance, faith, substitution, grace, NOT calling "instituting peer mediation among students" in the public school "preaching the Gospel."

"Missional" should refer to people who evangelize using the Ten Commandments and terms like "sin," NOT people who evangelize using the 11th commandment of general nice-ness.

"Missional" should refer to people who have think-sweat from trying so hard to figure out how to help the poor culture they are living amongst without hurting them, NOT people who assume that throwing money at the noble savages is the best way to salvage our conscience that we have done mission.

"Missional" should refer to those who give themselves to the Word and prayer and keep themselves unspotted from the world, NOT those who are conversant about the phone-book-thick catalogue of rap artists on the music scene today or the newest alcoholic beverage brand name.

"Missional" should refer to me and those like me, who have left houses, lands, and family for Christ's sake, have suffered unique trials and temptations because of our mission, have dug fence post holes with their hands on Saturday morning and practiced sermons Saturday night in another language, have as our most embarrassing moments those language mistakes we made while preaching, are fluent in the critter population in our storage, remember the names and faces of numerous villagers we have had a Bible study with, are trying our 20th method of attempting to penetrate this culture for Christ, wonder if our water or electricity or gas will be reliable that day, whose children have been called "stupid" for not speaking the language well enough, who have cried over their own failures and earnest desires for a foreign people group...

Missionaries are the ones who should get to use the term missional. NOT a model in Hollywood.

To give the term to others so different from us undermines our true missional efforts. Use another name. That one’s taken.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Ashamed to Require

It was an interesting weekend to say the least. The police called the pastor to tell him that a strict Hindu group was planning to cause problems for churches during their services. The police wanted to send a plain clothed police officer to the church to make sure our services were uninterrupted. Just the week before, the same Hindu group pressured the police into arresting dozens of Christians for “forcing” people to convert. They were later released, and that apparently infuriated the Hindu group. They want the country to be a Hindu country again, making it illegal for the people to become Christians.



Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Wednesday's Wonderings...



How do you draw the line between helping the national people and being taken advantage of?      

Monday, June 23, 2014

Reaching the Unreached in South Asia

I thought it would be so interesting for us to have some in-real-life missionaries answer those "Good Questions to Ask Missionaries" that I posted here a while ago. That way, you can compare fields a little bit and understand what missions ministry looks like all over the world. What difficulties are specific to a certain continent or culture? Perhaps you can apply this information to pray for other missionaries in a similar field to the lady being interviewed.


Today, meet Charity Woon, a fun, thought-provoking contributor here at the BMW blog. She blogs about everything from adventures on the field to homeschooling tips to personal devotions at her personal blog Road Schooling...Our Life on the Road of Life. If you'd like a good gross-you-out story, you might enjoy reading Meat Shop Adventure; or if you'd like to have your heart stirred for evangelism, read her post about heroes of faith across the world, We Will Not Fight Back.


  1. How many children do you have? What ages?
We are a family of seven. My husband's name is Jason, and my name is Charity. We have three crazy, adventurous, fun children: Ben (15), Michaela (10), and Gabriel (7). Then there are our two dogs, Chief and MoMo. (Got to love the furry babies, too! They keep us safe from rats, snakes, and robbers.)

  1. Do you homeschool? Name your favorite curriculum that you use (whether just one subject, or an all-in-one):
We are very eclectic in our homeschooling style. We try to make the schooling experience fit each child the best we can. It is a little tougher on the field, though, so I have to say Landmark Freedom Baptist is my favorite "go-to" curriculum. Landmark Freedom Baptist Curriculum

  1. Country of service: Southern Asia
  1. How long have you been there? 19 months
  1. What do you do there?
We are church planters seeking a location for our first church, but in the mean time, I play the piano for a young church plant, and I practice Titus 2 any opportunity I get. Right now my role is more of hospitality, motherhood, and mentorship, doing my best to demonstrate Biblical marriage and motherhood to first generation Christians who are hungry to learn how to parent God's way. 

  1. Are you learning a language? How is it going? Are you discouraged?
Language? Um... It's coming slowly, but surely! I am not discouraged at all. Some days are better than others, but every day is one day closer to communicating clearly what God has put in my heart

  1. Success: Have you had any encouragement in ministry recently? Can you tell me two or three things that have encouraged you?
I... am... growing... strawberries! That may not be encouraging to you, but for the garden-challenged person like me, it is HUGE! Why? Our garden has opened up many opportunities to meet and talk to people. The more it succeeds, the more opportunities we have.

We recently went to visit my husband's language school instructor and his wife. We were there four hours and I was actually able to hold a pretty good conversation with them. Definitely encouraging!

It is a blessing to be forming deep friendships with nationals. God has also supplied a national man to work with my husband in planting a church.

  1. Challenges: What is your greatest challenge in ministry? What other difficulties wear you down?
On this field, there are plenty of things to potentially cause stress, but there is one thing that brings me literally to tears on occasion. Driving! The roads are very dangerous here. Even the most cautious drivers have accidents. The rule "look both ways before crossing" doesn't exist here for drivers, pedestrians, animals, and more. I thought maybe most third world countries were this bad, until a few very well-traveled people told us these roads were far beyond what they had experienced in other third world countries. Every time we arrive home safely it is a clear demonstration of the grace of God.  Driving my little scooter here with two young children in tow has improved my prayer life dramatically, though.

As far as general ministry challenges? Many fields struggle with some of the same issues we have. The people here do not know anything about Jesus or what a Bible is, so we have to start from the beginning... literally Genesis 1:1! It takes quite a while to share the Gospel clearly. Then when they do understand, they face the fear of real persecution (losing home, family, friends, job, etc.) Many women will not go against their husband's commands if he forbids her to become a Christian.

  1. How is your life similar to life in America?
Our schooling is very similar. Our bedding style is the same. At home, our eating is very similar though the preparation is much more involved. We still have family nights. Shopping? Totally different! Cleaning? Different. Entertainment? Different. Clothing? Sometimes similar. Housing? Different for the most part. There are many more differences than similarities.

  1. What are some special benefits you or your family experience from where you’re ministering? (or from being missionaries)
God has helped us all grow spiritually by putting us in a place where what is in our hearts is forced to come out. I truly believe God did not put us here because we have something special to offer. He put us here because this is where He can make us most like Christ. Thankfully, while we are here He is choosing to use us for His glory.

  1. What are some positives and negatives of your culture (that you’re ministering to)?
Positives: The women here work harder than my American mind can even comprehend. I have also seen people who were willing to become Christians even when they knew they would lose a home, family, and more. With the exception of driving, the people here live a less time-oriented life. The people here know how to survive on next to nothing.

Negatives: Much of their culture/government/education system is permeated with their religion. In much of the culture there is a lack of respect for the sanctity of human life. It is heartbreaking to see such intense child abuse or neglect and not be able to legally do anything about it. It is a "me first" culture, and yet they can be some of the most generous people. Lying and stealing are a part of their culture and is often seen as acceptable. The caste system exists here.

  1. What sins might a missionary be especially tempted with that another Christian in the U.S. might not?
Honestly, being here has revealed some ugly things in my heart that in the States I would have never realized were there. In the States, I never struggled with "road rage." I assumed it just wasn't a problem for me. God has put me in the right hot water situations here, and what's in the heart has come out! I am thankful for His patience with me! Another temptation I battle? Being critical of people in America who complain about power outages, three days of rain in a row, or having a long drive to church. Those problems are a way of life here. But being critical is no less of a sin than complaining.

  1. What books have you been reading? Do you have any book recommendations?
I am currently reading Don't Let the Goats Eat the Loquat Trees by Thomas Hale. Love it! Though he was a medical missionary, I can truly identify with so many things he faced. I just finished The Choice is Yours by Terrie Chappell. It was a great "refocusing" book. I treasure her other book, It's a Wonderful Life.

  1. How can we pray for your people or culture in a general way?
We desire that this country would continue to head in the direction of freedom. It has only been in recent years that it became legal for the people to become Christian, but it is still illegal to influence them in that direction. Christians are still persecuted. Also, the country needs political stability. The situation gets pretty ugly during elections.

  1. How can we pray for your family specifically?
We are about to enter a new phase of life. Our oldest child has two more years of school before he will go to Bible college in the States. I am not sure this Mommy will be ready for that, but I am trusting God's grace is sufficient. Just as He gives saving grace and dying grace, I am sure He will give "child-going-to-college-10,000-miles-away" grace. In the mean time, we desire prayers in our preparation for him to finish high school. We also desire God's direction in ministry as we prepare to plant a new church. Finally... visa renewal is due! We are hoping to get one-year visas this time. 



Friday, June 20, 2014

Loving Others as Christ Commands



"Jesus saith unto him,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 
This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Matthew 22:37-39


My husband has been preaching on the words of Christ the past few weeks.  Recently he focused on these verses, mainly the second - Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  This afternoon I came across this blog post - How Can We Possibly Love as God Commands.


Is it possible to love as God commands?

"Jesus beheld them, and said unto them,
With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." 
Matthew 19:26


So, Christ tells us to love God with all our heart, and to love our neighbour as we love ourselves.   This seems like a difficult task.  But a few chapters later He tells us with God all things are possible.

Can we love someone who has hurt us?

Can we love someone who has talked badly about us?

Can we love someone who has physically hurt us?

Can we love someone who has no desire to love back?

Can we love someone who is unlovable?


We're not told to tolerate them, we're told to love them.  From the human perspective, we put our guard up and say, "no way!"   When we are hurt by someone, it's easy to put up the walls of protection to be sure we're not hurt again.  But this isn't what Christ wants us to do.   He wants us to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile.

 "But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.  And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"  Matthew 5:39-44

We read these red letter words, we know they belong to Christ, but do we obey?  James 1:22 tells us
"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only..."  The Lord has been working in my heart regarding this topic.  I pray that He will help me to love those that hurt me, those that are unlovable, those that talk badly about me, and those that have no desire to love back. I am going to chose to love, not just tolerate, but to love as Christ loves, because with God all things are possible.

How about you?  Do you find some people unlovable?  Will you join me in choosing to love them?

After all, God loves us, even when we're unlovable.




Thursday, June 19, 2014

One Full Year Driving a BMW

A missionary with a BMW? How can this be?!!

Actually, I have three BMW's!

But tomorrow marks my one year anniversary being a writer on the BMW blog. My other two BMW's? My oldest two children's initials are BMW. My husband and I always joked that our children were the only two BMW's we would ever own. Boy oh boy, did we get a kick out of adding one more BMW to the family!



A look back at this year...

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Wednesday's Wonderings...


This is for veteran missionary wives; What are some tips you have for the MK who grew up on the field and is now returning to his parents' home country.  Any helpful advice for helping him to adapt?  Any advice for the parents he's leaving behind?

Monday, June 16, 2014

30 Years in Spain!

I thought it would be so interesting for us to have some in-real-life missionaries answer those "Good Questions to Ask Missionaries" that I posted here a while ago. That way, you can compare fields a little bit and understand what missions ministry looks like all over the world. What difficulties are specific to a certain continent or culture? Perhaps you can apply this information to pray for other missionaries in a similar field to the lady being interviewed.

I will add that two of the questions are so interesting that I'm hoping to compile several responses to them and put them all into a separate post later on. Stay posted! 

Today, meet Lou Ann Keiser, a wonderful contributor here at the BMW blog. She blogs at In the Way, and her favorite post on missions at her blog is "Do You Know Your Missionaries? Eight Ideas." Hop on over there for some great eight ideas! :)


1.    How many children do you have? What ages? Two, both married and parents of our grandsons. Becky is almost 31, and David is almost 28. Both of our kids teach in Christian schools. Becky is an elementary school teacher, and David and his wife teach on college level. David and his family serve in Puerto Rico.
2.    Do you homeschool? Name your favorite curriculum that you use (whether just one subject, or an all-in-one): I homeschooled 16 years and lived to tell about it! Actually, I loved it about 95% of days. We used Bob Jones University Press materials back when they were heavy books and notebooks, and I made up the tests. There are pros and cons to any curriculum. I felt that their pros were in teaching thinking skills and the link (especially in high school) between history and literature. Brilliant! The cons were in math and science, but thankfully, the texts we used have been revamped, now.
3.    Country of service: Spain, Basque region
4.    How long have you been there? Thirty years.
5.    What do you do there? We are church planters and all that goes with that. My husband and another missionary started our church in 1994. It’s the Iglesia Bautista Bíblica del Puerto in Rentería, Guipúzcoa.
6.    Are you learning a language? How is it going? Are you discouraged? You never quit learning, but thankfully, the hard part is over, and we feel very much at home in Spanish.
7.    Success: Have you had any encouragement in ministry recently? Can you tell me two or three things that have encouraged you? I am encouraged every week by a new believer in our church. I have weekly Bible studies with her one-on-one. Every time, she makes a statement that is so profoundly grateful to God in a specific way. She blesses me!
8.    Challenges: What is your greatest challenge in ministry? What other difficulties wear you down?  Our greatest challenge is the spiritual apathy of the people. Most here in this region do not believe in God. It is hard to start sharing the gospel with people who don’t believe God exists and believe even less that the Bible is God’s Word. Probably the second most difficult thing is the party mentality. People live for pleasure. The third would be that most new believers come with lots of baggage, specifically addictions (smoking, drugs, drinking, porn, immorality, gambling, etc.). We deal with a lot of things like that.
9.    How is your life similar to life in America? Well . . . we have electricity, sleep on comfortable beds, have normal appliances, and there’s a roof over our heads. We speak mostly in English at home. The differences are many more than the similarities. When they call this the “Old World” and the States the “New World,” they’re not kidding!
10. What are some special benefits you or your family experience from where you’re ministering? (or from being missionaries) We feel very strongly that it was a benefit for our children to grow up with a broad worldview. They spoke two languages naturally, and they learned French as well. They got to travel to France—we live close to France—many times and got to be with people from many different nationalities. I believe it was important for them to grow up with a ministry background. They did everything with us, together as a family. Another positive is the beauty of the villages and countryside here. When the sun actually comes out, there’s no place more green or beautiful than the Basque Country. We love the history here, and the feeling of hundreds-of-years-old roots.
11. What are some positives and negatives of your culture (that you’re ministering to)? Positives: The people are friendly and helpful. Even when we were struggling with the language, the people helped us in all kinds of ways. They didn’t mind that we couldn’t talk well. Between sign language, drawings, and our limited language, they struggled to help. You don’t find that everywhere! Another positive is the Basque culture. It is thousands of years old, and it’s preserved. They have their own music, folk dances, food (yummmm!), customs, architecture, language, and sports. It is unique and wonderful. We minister to many different culture groups in our church. We feel it adds a richness to the body. Negatives: sin.
12. What sins might a missionary be especially tempted with that another Christian in the U.S. might not? I think temptations are worldwide. Sin is more open here; that’s all.
13. What books have you been reading? Do you have any book recommendations? I read a huge variety of books. At present, I’m reading Hiking Through: One Man’s Journey to Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail by Paul Stutzman. For book recommendations, please see my blog. I have a tab at the top with many honest book reviews and recommendations. There’s another tab for Bible study reviews.
14. How can we pray for your people or culture in a general way? Pray for open hearts.
15. How can we pray for your family specifically? Godly wisdom and physical strength.



Thursday, June 12, 2014

The Ride of a Lifetime!

(Please enjoy this post, but also... please, please, please remember to pray for the safety of missionaries as they travel. Many of us drive, walk, ride in very dangerous situations.)

*******************************************************

Let's just be blunt.

One of the first things all missionaries on any field has to learn is
how to get around on their field.

If you have ever said, "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it," missionaries have actually found that bridge and cross it frequently.


Yes, going on foot is an option widely used around the world, but for longer distances other methods may be more practical.

Monday, June 9, 2014

Well, Well, Well

DSCN0259

Those who pay monthly water bills will appreciate our monthly water bill over here: $0. When we built a house in the village, we were able to hook up a pipeline to the government well and have reliable water.

Welllll, most of the time.

You get what you pay for. After our third daughter was born, we got a water tank, because by then, the water was only on at night. Then it trickled down to nothing. After speaking with municipal workers "busy" playing solitaire on their computers who laughingly promised to come fix the government's pump in our area, but still having NO water three weeks later, last week we finally purchased a well!

Going without something really increases your gratitude when you get that thing back again! We are so thankful for our new well. It was like having a field trip in our own backyard to see the big trucks come in to drill the well. We had a light school day so the kids could follow the process. Would you like to see?
Carson was a little frightened by the big drill for the well. He's hiding out here in the garage--able to see the action from a safe distance while still enjoying a snack.
Carson was a little frightened by the big drill for the well. He's hiding out here in the garage--able to see the action from a safe distance while still enjoying a snack.
First, the owner of the company walks around holding a V-shaped tree branch in both hands in a particular manner pointing in front of his chest. When there is water underground, the V amazingly points downward of its own accord! Thankfully, they found water right under our driveway so that we didn't have to cut our fence to allow the truck into the corner of our yard.

DSCN0254

This truck has the drill on the back. We barely fit the truck into our driveway and had to remove our beautiful honeysuckle-lined arch (without a new drill my husband had just bought to put up a security door against our neighbor thief, who just stole the drill two days before--isn't that ironic?)

DSCN0236
The hose going over to the right is connected to a second truck, which hosts the compressor (the power source) for the drill.

When the drill begins, the engine of the compressor roars, and black smoke fills the sky.
When the drill begins, the engine of the compressor roars, and black smoke fills the sky.
A shovel near the drill catches some dirt that they measure out onto our driveway in piles representing one meter further down each. The rest of the dirt is scooped into a wall to direct the water down the road for when we hit water. It's neat to note the difference in soil colors for each meter further down.

DSCN0229

I had Caleb draw different kinds of soil for his nature journal. Each pile represents one more meter drilled for our well.
I had Caleb draw different kinds of soil for his nature journal. Each pile represents one more meter drilled for our well.
Water at 21 meters!
Water at 21 meters!
The soil got wetter around 20 meters, and then we hit water! That is excellent! It should have saved us money, since you pay based on how many meters are drilled; but the company owner suggests that all customers go down to at least 60 meters. We went down to 55.
Then they put in the "casing." This doesn't go the full 55 meters down, only about 35. Inside that goes the pipeline and the pump to pump the water up to our tank. From that an electrical line is run into the house, mounted in a box on the wall, and attached to a plug. Whenever we switch on the plug, water fills our tank. We had a manhole cover made to cover the top of the well.
55 piles of dirt show 55 meters down.
55 piles of dirt show 55 meters down.
After they found water, water was constantly running down our yard into the road for the rest of the day. The boys made a dam, as well as "bricks" with the slag and rock unearthed from beneath our driveway.
After they found water, water was constantly running down our yard into the road for the rest of the day. The boys made a dam, as well as "bricks" with the slag and rock unearthed from beneath our driveway.
I was surprised that well water isn't necessarily clean. After getting the well, we've still struggled with water so dirty that I felt I couldn't cook with it and would be embarrassed for people to think that our dishwater or toilets are always that dirty. We're still figuring out why the water is dirty: perhaps the casing wasn't welded properly, or perhaps we will have to pump water for a while before everything settles and becomes clean. Well anyway, we are so grateful to God for our well!
The high drill could be seen far into the village and was the main attraction once the village kids got out of school that day.
The high drill could be seen from afar and was the main attraction once the village kids got out of school.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

I Hated Sundays!

Illustration by: Salvatore Vuono

It all started many years ago. I was a new missionary in Spain. I didn’t speak one word of Spanish, not one. I couldn’t say “hello” or make a simple comment. Zip. Nada. (I learned nada later!)

I’d go to church where not one person besides missionaries spoke English, sit down with an active baby on my lap, and listen. The people filed in and smiled at me, and I smiled back. The Spanish pastor got up and preached. Sometimes, the people would laugh. The pastor was a man who didn’t use much facial expression or hand movements. He was fairly monotone—although maybe I only thought so, since I couldn’t understand anything.

I was having a hard time keeping Baby quiet and keeping myself awake. Such a “blessing” going to church! I’d go in, understand nothing, and go home very tired and uninspired. This happened Sunday after Sunday for about a year.

We were in language school. (When you start from zero, you have a lot to learn!) Once in a while, I’d actually understand a word or two the pastor said. (I’m not exaggerating. I would get one word here, another there.) Wonderful! I got a “the” and “friend” and tried to build a whole message on those two words. I still went home Sunday after Sunday, non-blessed. Two services . . . every Sunday.

I started volunteering for nursery duty. The toddlers taught me more words than I gleaned from the message. “Food.” “Play.” “No.” Valuable words.

Back in the services, something started to happen. I could comprehend a few thoughts and themes. I didn’t get but half of the words, but I was half understanding the message—for about thirty minutes. Then, after trying so hard, intensely watching the pastor’s lips, I was bushed! I slept. Every. Single. Service. After a half hour, in every service, Missionary Wife was out for the count.

Did I tell you I hated Sundays?

Somewhere during that first five-year term, I began understanding up to 90% of the pastor’s words. It was wonderful! I got something from the messages. The Word—well, what I understood—ministered to my heart, and I started to like Sundays. What a relief!

By our second missionary term we were fluent in Spanish and had a ministry with young people. By now, we had two little ones to keep quiet in church. Due to an outside influence, the atmosphere in the church had changed, and I confess I just wanted to get out of there. Yep, I was too human, too affected by others’ cloudy moods, and too not relying on the Holy Spirit for my joy. So, I hated Sundays . . . again.

Thankfully, we were almost ready to start our new church. The building took a lot of preparation, but we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. We even started intimate Wednesday prayer meetings in the new, unfinished building. Those were a blessing. But, I still hated Sundays because of the raincloud and poisonous feelings toward foreigners—us.

I loved Sundays again for a while. The new church was growing. It was nice not to have negativity.

Then, several people began to spar verbally . . . every service. We decided to have breakfasts at church, thinking that, if their mouths were busy chewing, it would help the atmosphere. It worked pretty well, and I started liking Sundays again.

Especially if you have children, you’ll understand the saying, “By the time you get to church, you need to be in church.” Make sure everyone is clean, dressed nicely, in the car on time, with Bibles in hand. (It’s not only the children who don’t quite make it!) So, the family is out of sorts, and maybe Missionary Wife, too. If we ever needed sanctification—you guessed it—it’s on Sundays!

When do you and the kids get sick? Saturday night.

When do you feel the lousiest? Sunday morning.

When would you like to just forget the day and crawl right back under the covers? Sunday!

I hated Sundays.

I have some practical advice for those of you who understand the “Sunday problem.” (If you wake up every Sunday with a smile on your face, a spring in your step, anticipation in your heart, and your children in matching clothes, these are not for you.) If you understood the rest of this post, even partially, you might find something useful here:
  1. Remember why we go to church—to worship (praise and exalt) God. We don’t go to “get” anything. We go to lift up Jesus in corporate worship. Even if we can’t understand the messenger, we can spend our time in church exalting Him in our hearts, alongside other Christians.
  2. Remember not to fixate on people. The Bible tells us to think about: whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8). Instead of letting others affect our joy, we should think about the Lord Himself. He is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and worthy of your praise. It will change your Sunday!
  3. Be aware of the enemy. No one wants you to have a lousy Sunday more than the adversary. Your family will have more spiritual and physical attacks on the weekend than at any other time. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:10-12) Make sure you have your spiritual armor on. Spend time in the Word. Spend time with God.
  4. Decide to have a positive and Christ-like attitude. By Friday, start praying specifically for the Sunday service(s). Ask God to anoint the messenger and to work in hearts. Ask the Lord to do a work in your own heart so that you can have a joyous countenance. If you have physical issues, ask the Lord to help you with pain levels and to give you the strength you need for Sunday. (Get enough sleep. Eat healthy. Exercise.) Ask God for wisdom in dealing with the ladies and children “sheep” God has given to your flock. Purpose to be an encouragement to your husband and to everyone else. It will make a difference! 
Sunday . . . the Lord’s Day.

I was glad when they said unto me,
Let us go into the house of the LORD.
(Psalm 122:1)

Love Sundays!

Illustration by: mapichai

  

Ready for Anything

This post is about something many women struggle with, whether on the mission field or not. I have, however, found that on the field the distractions and interruptions are more frequent than they ever were in the States. I have had to learn to be more flexible than ever. (Even as I wrote this, two unexpected mouths to feed showed up at our table during school time.) It is a daily battle of the flesh, surrendering my will for His. How can we live victoriously with so many unexpected schedule changes, unplanned obligations, and sudden ministry needs? It all starts with being Ready for Anything.





*********************************************************

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Wednesday's Wonderings

Please share tips on adjusting to a new culture that is so foreign to your home country!  I know much of it is learned, but how can we keep from feeling like such a stranger in a strange land?  Does this just come with time?

Monday, June 2, 2014

Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies


Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies



Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose gluten-free flour
  • 2/3 cup organic cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup organic coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup organic raw honey
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 3 tbsp organic butter, melted and cooled
  • 1/2 cup organic extra virgin coconut oil
  • 2 large pasture-raised or organic eggs
  • 2 tsp organic vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cup organic or natural ice cream

Tools & Equipment

  • Parchment paper
  • 3 inch round cookie cutter or a cup with a 3-inch diameter
  • Baking sheets

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients together.
  3. Add remaining ingredients until dough is well mixed.
  4. Divide the dough into 2 portions. Place on parchment paper, and roll into to 1/4 inch thickness. Place in freezer for 10 minutes.
  5. Remove dough from freezer. Cut into large circles using a 3-inch round cookie cutter or cup.
  6. Place cut-outs 1 inch apart on baking sheets.
  7. Bake 8 minutes total. Rotate pans once while baking.
  8. When done, let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  9. When cookies are cooled down, scoop about 1/4 cup ice cream in the middle of a cookie. Flatten ice cream and then top with another cookie. Gently press together. Serve immediately or store in freezer to enjoy anytime.
Makes 10-12 gluten free ice cream cookie sandwiches.