March 9, 2010 by Reed Hoppe
Chris and Dora Barbee recently relocated to Thailand to begin their ministry there. They are currently in language school in Bangkok, learning the Thai language so they can communicate effectively with the people they seek to serve. They have been appointed to teach English as a second language in local village schools, as well as build relationships to love and serve the people of the Isaan region of Thailand. The Isaan region is Thailand’s poorest region, and Chris and Dora will be residing in Roi Et, the poorest province within that region. They are also interested in eventually engaging in campus ministry and would like to help form alcohol recovery ministries in Roi Et.
Along the way they became friends with a young Thai man named Pure. Pure is a Christian, which places him with .7% of the population of Thailand. Nearly 95% of the Thai population, which totals nearly 66 million, is Buddhist, and 4.6% are Muslim.
Pure is a singer and was a finalist in the 2010 KPN Awards, which is the Thai version of American Idol. Chris and Dora attended the finale, during which Pure sang “Land of Love,” a Thai Christian song, and “How Great Thou Art” in English. In front of millions of Buddhists, Pure boldly sang:
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin
Pure won the competition.
He was awarded a record deal and $1,000,000 baht, which totals around $30,000. He was also voted by his peers in the competition to win the “Friendship Award,” for which he was given a motorcycle. Although Pure was awarded many earthly gifts for his talent, how much more will he be rewarded by Jesus for his witness among his people as he seeks to bring glory to the God he loves.
Tags: KPN Awards, Pure, Thailand, worship
Posted in Be a missionary, Giving, Go, Learn | No Comments »
March 4, 2010 by Richard Coleman
Have you ever made a commitment to accomplish some sort of goal, and then you got discouraged along the way? Perhaps your goal was to lose weight. However, after starting well, all of a sudden you hit a wall. Perhaps your goal was to spend one hour in prayer every day. But, your days got away from you, and you didn’t find time to pray. Or perhaps your goal was to pay off your debt. Instead, several unexpected expenses came up and diverted you from your plan.
Discouragement can be a paralyzing emotion. It can cause us to doubt our ability—or worse yet, God’s ability—to accomplish goals. It can cause us to throw up our hands in defeat and say, “I tried, but I just can’t do it.” Discouragement can also cause us to do the opposite of what we were attempting to accomplish in the first place. Just recently I made a commitment to do a better job at avoiding unhealthy snacks while at work. However, a few days later while feeling discouraged, I finished a bag of potato chips and a bag of peanut M&Ms. What was I thinking?! My guess is that you can relate…at least to the part about being discouraged.
When I am discouraged, one of the things that brings me out of the miry pit is praise and worship. It is very difficult to focus on our amazing God and His awe-inspiring glory while remaining discouraged at the same time. If you are in a place of discouragement, put on your favorite praise and worship CD or even sing a cappella and see what happens! Gotta go. Time for me to sing!
Tags: discouragement, praise, singing
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March 2, 2010 by Jim Ramsay
We know that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, but what is it that separates us from living out the love of one another that He commands us to demonstrate?
I was recently attending a consultation of people representing organizations who have an interest in a particular unreached people group. My reason for attending was to learn more about the needs for ministry in the area and seek others who we might collaborate with. Sorry about the vagueness of where this is, but it’s a pretty sensitive area and publicity is not helpful.
One person mentioned that she was recruiting a team to work in the area. When I mentioned that we might be able to find personnel to become part of a team, her first response was that they need to be people who held to a premillennial return of Christ, believed in eternal security, and did not engage in speaking in tongues. I was a bit taken aback. What took me aback was not so much her position on these particular issues, but that from the starting gate, these became the key determiners of who could make part of her team. It hit me, where was the Kingdom in all this? How can we hope to demonstrate the Kingdom of God to unreached peoples, when issues that are probably not even on their radar prevent us from working together?
Especially as we engage in the work of God’s Mission, we have to find ways to deal with the very real differences in our interpretations of His Word in ways that allow us to work side by side in unity. As my colleague Frank Decker often asks, “Jesus plus what equals the gospel?” Jesus plus eternal security? Jesus plus a belief in premillennial return? Jesus plus infant baptism? I have observed that when missionaries go with rigid understandings in these areas of differing interpretations, the result often is that the church they plant will lift up these distinctives to the same level as belief in Jesus Himself. In such a way division is implanted in the DNA of a new church. But when we go with a recognition of differences, but a firm commitment to unity in the foundation of the gospel – Jesus Christ and Him crucified – it provides a much stronger witness. It gives the new church the tools to deal with the differences that are bound to develop as their church grows and interprets the Scriptures for themselves.
Do I have strong feelings on the issues she mentioned – you bet I do and I can speak to my interpretations with passion. But will I allow them to separate me from others who have a faith in Jesus Christ and are seeking the Kingdom of God? I pray to God that I never will.
Tags: division, separation, theology
Posted in Be a missionary, Go, Learn | 1 Comment »
February 23, 2010 by The Mission Society
The most recent issue of Unfinished is now online! Read about The Mission Society’s ministries in Asia, including China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Russian Far East, and Thailand.
To read the latest articles by Mission Society missionaries and staff, go to our web site. http://www.themissionsociety.org/magazines/unfinished/2010-46
Tags: articles, magazine, Unfinished
Posted in Learn, Media, News & Events, Unfinished | No Comments »
February 22, 2010 by Reed Hoppe
My husband and I recently took away my daughter’s pacifier. She is two years old and we decided it was time for the paci to go. After consulting some friends, I decided the best method would be to go to the toy store and pick out a new toy to replace the paci. We toured Toys R Us for awhile and finally settled on a gigantic stuffed lion.
She was excited about the lion, named him “Nemo,” and showed him to family and friends proudly. Then bedtime came. She asked for her paci and I explained that she had outgrown them and now Nemo was going to sleep with her instead. Her response was, “Take it back and give me my paci.”
I thought of how often I do the same thing. I want something, pray about it, and am excited when my “wish” is granted. But often I don’t count the cost and later regret my decision. Or I wished for something that wasn’t God’s best for me. When I think back on the relationships or jobs or moves that I prayed over, sometimes begging God to see things my way and, basically, give me what I want, I can now see how His plan was better than mine. But it took some years and tears to come to that point. I try to keep that in mind as I pray now – wanting His will and not my own so I don’t turn around and beg Him to “take it back” later.
Tags: God's will, regret, trust
Posted in Learn, Pray | No Comments »
February 16, 2010 by Steve Wilson
Meet Maribel Acuña from Monterrey, Mexico. She is a photographer and graphic designer on the road to becoming a missionary, and those titles aren’t mutually exclusive. Travel with me quickly through time. My wife and I met Maribel in 2005 at the church we were attending in Monterrey. We went on a mission trip the Mexican church was leading. We went to discover what God was doing among the Xiuy people. Through the work of other friends, this people group is now considered reached, but there are still over 10 unreached people groups in Mexico. Our friendship grew with Maribel and occasionally we worked together there in Monterrey, or spent time celebrating birthdays (something that’s a blast in the Mexican culture). We would also meet regularly to pray together for missionaries to be sent out into Mexico and beyond.
Well, in 2008 Maribel attended our International Mission Mobilization Conference in Mexico. She was part of a younger generation of Mexicans at this conference who long to see the church rise up to be part of what God is doing in the world, whether that be locally or globally. As one of these young people, she later attended The Mission Society’s Orientation Training in Brazil, being further equipped in this calling to serve in a cross-cultural context. Today she’s attending John Wesley seminary in Monterrey and taking courses like the “Missionary Program of the Church,” the “Theology of Mission,” “Communication,” etc. Actually other Mission Society missionaries are professors at Juan Wesley. It’s amazing, whenever each of us stops to consider the work of God in our lives, how He’s led us. Maribel’s story is not unlike our own.
Maribel is praying about where to GO serve as a missionary. There are many who want to GO, like our friend Maribel. Please pray that, like Maribel, many others would receive the call to GO and that the Mexican church would continue to catch the vision to SEND this next generation of Jesus followers.
Tags: Go, Juan Wesley seminary, Mexico, Missionaries
Posted in Be a missionary, Go | No Comments »
February 10, 2010 by Richard Coleman
I have heard it said by parents that parenting has taught them a great deal about God and the love He has for His children. As a new parent myself, I had an experience a few nights ago that helped me to understand God in a new way. My wife and I were sleeping in bed when all of a sudden a loud cry came through the baby monitor. I jumped out of bed and walked hurriedly to my daughter’s room. As I was walking, I thought to myself, “My daughter doesn’t even know that I heard her cry and that I’m on my way; but that doesn’t change the fact that I am on my way.”
The experience reminded me of the many times that I pray and cry out to God. “God fix this situation.” Or, “God come to my rescue.” Time passes, and I don’t see God moving. Where is He? Doesn’t He know I’m crying? I’m sure the children of Israel felt the same way when they were in bondage in Egypt. Exodus 2:23b-24 says: “The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning…” And, might I add, God was on His way. It took another 40 years, but it didn’t change the fact that God was on His way.
God DOES hear our calls to Him. And, YES, God is on His way. Although we can’t always see or hear or even feel Him coming, know that He hears and that He is on His way. Have you been praying for the salvation of a loved one? A financial breakthrough? Direction? Be encouraged today. God is on His way.
Tags: children, on the way, prayer
Posted in Be a missionary, Learn, Pray | No Comments »
February 8, 2010 by Reed Hoppe
Good-byes are hard. I guess they are designed that way because you have to deal with what you are leaving and what you are gaining at the same time. They are usually filled with a lot of emotion and, for many of us, a great many tears. I’ve had to say good-bye a lot in recent years. In this journey called marriage that I’ve been on the past 4.5 years, I’ve moved four times to three states. Although I’m generally a clean person who hates clutter and takes a load of stuff to Goodwill every other week, I hoard moving boxes like a bear stores food for the winter. My husband is convinced that we have created a fire hazard in our attic.
I guess I’m always waiting for the next move, never really feeling like I can settle down and “be” somewhere. But Jesus wants me to find my home in Him. My identity in Him. Not in this job or my role as “Mama,” or any of the other positions that I fill. To “be” anywhere He places me that moment. It’s a tough thing to do. Some of us have personalities that handle transition better than others. (“Others” being me.)
I always have to remind myself that life with Jesus is a journey and an adventure. I wasn’t called to sit on the sidelines. I was called to be an active participant in His world – a world that moves and changes with rapid speed and I better learn to keep up. Sometimes keeping up means saying good-bye. But Jesus is there to wipe away every tear and stand beside me in the next adventure He’s planned.
Tags: adventure, good-bye, transition
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February 2, 2010 by Jim Ramsay
I’m attending a missions week up at Toccoa Falls College in the mountains of NE Georgia. Today I decided to go for a jog. I looked at Google Maps to chart the course. And off I went. It didn’t take me long to realize I should have checked out the topographical version. The first mile went up, up, up. Then I came to a fork that was not on Google Maps. I went one way, up, up, up for about 10 minutes – dead end. So I came back and went the other way – another dead end. Oh well, I finally returned – so much for my nice, clean five-mile loop!
Being the somewhat neurotic sort, I got back to my computer and turned on satellite view. Aha! There were more roads than the map showed, so I should have made a turn somewhere that just did not show being a crossroads. I also could see now that this was a mountainous trek, so I should have anticipated some hefty hills.
This reminded me of what I learned way back in Missions 101 about worldview. Our worldview contains all the assumptions we make about how the world works, how we relate to one another, how we do the basic routines of life. My prof called it our “mental map.” When we go to another culture, it is a different “mental map,” which can cause disorientation.
Well, I knew I needed a different map here, but I didn’t take the time to look at all the dimensions of the new map. So I ended up with unexpected difficulty and I made wrong turns. If we head to cross-cultural ministry, however well intended, without doing the hard work of learning the various facets of the new culture – the new mental map – we are apt to run into all sorts of surprises and difficulties that just didn’t show up on the initial rendering. And we very well may end up getting lost in the process and create problems not only for ourselves, but for others. Most importantly, the very gospel we came to share can get distorted or even just lost in the process.
That’s why good preparation for missionary work, whether for a two-week trip or for a lifetime of cross-cultural ministry, is of vital importance. I get very concerned when I hear of a church group going to another country to “do ministry” with only an hour orientation before heading to the airport! They are going with a surface version of the new mental map at best. We need to show our love for the Lord and respect for the new culture by doing the work required to get a decent handle on the new mental map we’ll be using to negotiate the culture!
Tomorrow I’ll try my run again, this time armed with satellite imagery that should help me find the elusive loop!
Tags: cross-cultural ministry, jogging, mental map, worldview
Posted in Be a missionary, Go, Learn, Short-term missions | No Comments »
January 26, 2010 by The Mission Society
Dr. Edgar Nelson, one of the original 37 founders of The Mission Society, passed away on January 23, 2010. Dr. Nelson was a United Methodist pastor and served Yuba City UMC in Yuba City, California for many years. Please pray for his family, especially his wife Marian, during the time.
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