Lifting Christ Up--Down Under

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 Jennifer Bauer, the mastermind here at the BMW blog. She blogs about life in Australia at her personal blog Be Thou Exalted. If you haven't gotten enough of our awesome critter stories around here, you would be really interested in the kinds of critters a missionary to Australia has to deal with: The Critters and Creatures in My House.

1. How many children do you have? What ages?

Autumn (11) and Cody (6) 

2. Do you homeschool? Name your favorite curriculum that you use (whether just one subject, or an all-in-one):

We do homeschool.  Currently we use ACE. (Here is why I chose ACE for this school year.) But we have used Abeka, Apologia, Rod and Staff, and a mixture of others. 

3. Country of service:  Australia

4. How long have you been there?  2 years, 8 months

5. What do you do there?

Currently my husband is interim pastor for a small church, but we were called here to work with the Indigenous People.  So when the new pastor arrives in two weeks, we will be going full-on with our new ministry with the Indigenous (Aboriginals). 

6. Are you learning a language? How is it going? Are you discouraged?

We are planning to learn Kriol, which is the Indigenous language spoken in our area.  Most of the Indigenous speak English, but we feel it’s important and respectful to learn their language.

7. Success: Have you had any encouragement in ministry recently? Can you tell me two or three things that have encouraged you?

We have had many open doors to go and have church services in the communities.  One cannot just walk onto a community, you must be invited.  My husband has had many invitations the past few weeks, and we can see the Lord making the way for us.  We’re so excited!  I also have my youngest brother visiting for 3 months.  This has been a huge encouragement for me.

8. Challenges: What is your greatest challenge in ministry? What other difficulties wear you down?

Although we are quite remote, we still have a stocked grocery store, wifi, and even a small Target, so in regards to location we are blessed not to have too many challenges.  I think our greatest challenge in ministry will be reaching the Indigenous men.  Alcohol (grog as they call it here) is a major detriment and a common past time for the men. 

9. How is your life similar to life in America?

There are many similarities to America.  Although we don’t have some of our favourites (Lucky Charms, Captain Crunch, Cracker Barrel, etc.) we do have the modern conveniences (indoor plumbing, wifi, McDonalds, Subway, grocery store 2 minutes away, etc.)

10. What are some special benefits you or your family experience from where you’re ministering? (or from being missionaries)

To be able to share the Gospel with someone who has never heard of Christ is just an amazing privilege.

11. What are some positives and negatives of your culture (that you’re ministering to)?

I’m speaking more of the Australian culture rather than Aboriginal culture here.  The positives is the freedom of religion, a very relaxed, laid back attitude among the people (no one is ever on time!), and the welcoming of Americans (for the most part, there are a few Aussies who prefer the Yanks stay home J ).  Negative – hmmm…it’s hard to think of any, but if I had to say one thing, I guess it would be the amount of alcohol that is consumed here by the Indigenous and the white fellow.

12. What sins might a missionary be especially tempted with that another Christian in the U.S. might not?

Not sure how to answer this one.  The only thing I can think of is that nudity can be shown on tv here after a certain time.  As well as any kind of language.

13. What books have you been reading? Do you have any book recommendations?

I am currently reading Growing Up Duggar.  I definitely recommend!  My favourite missionary books are Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Diebler Rose and Jungle Pilot by Russell Hitt.

14. How can we pray for your people or culture in a general way?

Please pray for us as we begin this new phase in our ministry in working with the Indigenous People.  Please pray that we are sensitive to the Lord’s leading and to the people we are called to witness to. 

15. How can we pray for your family specifically?

That we will continue to grow closer to the Lord, for His safety and protection while travelling to communities, and as a selfish request, that we will be able to take a short furlough home for 6 weeks to be with our family during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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.)

2. 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

3. Country of service: Southern Asia

4. How long have you been there? 19 months

5. 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. 

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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. 

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.

Good Questions to Ask Missionaries

 

"How's Africa??"

No, you did NOT just ask me how a whole continent is doing, did you?

I can almost hear the wheels turning as my fellow patriot from across the ocean scrambles to reach out to me--this person that they think they remember her name--or at least her country of service, actually uh, continent, rather.

So if it is your lot to have the missionary over for dinner, here's a little primer, a (free!) printable full of welcome questions guaranteed to keep conversation goin' for the duration of your visit.

Questions about personal life

1. Lifestyle: How is your life similar to life in America? And conversely, just in case your missionaries are shy: How is it different?
2. Occupation: What do you do each day? (Try not to over-emphasize the word "do.")
3. Language: Are you learning a language? How is it going? Are you discouraged? Rate your discouragement on a scale from 1 to 10. (Just kidding--leave off the scale remark.)
4. Sins: What sins might a missionary be especially tempted with that another Christian in the U.S. might not? This is a great question, but may need to wait until you have established a more open, friendly tenor to the visit. You know, like, don't open with this question, and a response, "Well, if you're not sure, I could help you with that."
5. Devotion: How have you been spiritually? How has Christ become more precious to you? What verses or Scriptural ideas keep you persevering in ministry?
6. Reading: What books have you been reading? Do you have any book recommendations?
7. Friendships: Who are your closest friends? Do you have any close friends among the Africans?

Questions about ministry

1. Success: Have you had any encouragement in ministry recently? Can you tell me two or three things that have encouraged you?
2. Challenges: What is your greatest challenge in ministry? What other difficulties wear you down?
3. Church: What do your church services look like? How are they like ours? How are they different? How is your church managing when you are not there? Will your church ever stand on its own? (Try not to emphasize "ever.")
4. College: (If they have a college) How is the college going? How many students do you have? What is the course like? Have any men graduated? Are they in ministry?

Conclusion

• How can I pray for you?

Question and Answers

This question comes from Jen in Australia

How do you decorate with a low budget and limited resources?

Since we pretty much started with our basic possessions, we have little to decorate with and my walls are bare...it drives me crazy! 

Just Wondering...

For our first Question and Answer post we have a question from Dee Dee in Siberia

Dear Ladies,
I have a question for the question and answer blog posts.

My daughter desperately needs culottes. I have made them years ago but I
can't remember exactly how I made them. :) It was like 12 years ago! I
know you can make the ones with a front pleat for modesty without a
pattern so I was wondering if anyone can help me remember how exactly to
make them. I did find one "pattern" online but it is a bit confusing so
before I try it I thought it would pay to ask all of you.


Thanks!

Dee Dee Sterling
Siberia

Questions and Answers

Hello Ladies! We are planning to start a new feature on our blog... a Question and Answer time! This is how it will work; You will email us a question you have and we will post it on our blog (and link to it here) and then anyone can answer the question in the comments below the blog post. I know many  have asked questions on facebook and received valuable advice, but it's so easy for them to get... "lost" on that page. On the blog we'll keep everything labeled so they'll be easy to find :-)

So, Ask Away! Anything from questions about furlough, to deputation, to food, or child training tips, nutrition questions, etc... you get the point! Also, if you'd prefer to ask a question but want to remain anonymous, just state that in your email to us and we will respect your privacy!

Thanks Ladies! Please send your questions to baptistmissionarywomen@hotmail.com.

 Can't wait to hear from you! :-)