WorldVenture Archives - Page 5 of 17

TRC Magazine: Publishing September 1

TRC Magazine was created over a bowl of salsa and chips in 2012. Since its first edition in June, 2013, TRC Magazine has grown from 200 readers to anywhere from 800 to 2,000 readers a month globally through the heart and passion of its volunteers and interns. When I became an international worker with WorldVenture in 2015, TRC Magazine became a part of a new social media movement.

TRC Magazine doesn’t operate like other magazines. We believe in reaching, not preaching—A combination of sharing Gospel stories, stories that are happening in the world, giving a voice to the voiceless, engaging our readership for deeper conversations, and exploring the arts and literature.

We are seeking to bring soul back to a soulless world, training up our volunteers and interns to understand social media, cross-cultural communication, and the human aspect of social media. We seek to lead the church body in doing social media differently and give non-believers a different viewpoint of Jesus and His people.

In giving a voice to the voiceless, TRC Magazine goes after the stories most commercial ezines don’t publish. We are not interested in big followings, but in quality communication with our readers from all over the world. Our writers represent a biblical diversity that is in the church today. We seek to point the way to the Jesus of the Bible and encourage through discipleship movements holy living through culturally and biblically diverse ways.

On September 1, we publish another edition. I am also excited to announce a new way to serve with TRC Magazine as a church on that edition.

In Phoenix Friday

If you would like to learn more about what I do with WorldVenture, leave a comment and I will email you. I would love to meet up with you in Phoenix. I am at 29% (give or take) support which includes a verbal support. Besides working 40-hours a week to pay the bills, I am also doing active ministry as a worker with WorldVenture.

Someone once said, “I thought all you did was write online devotionals?” When they saw one of my presentations, they said, “My head is spinning.” Another person had a better picture of what I am doing in Social Media after a presentation. Oftentimes, I meet with others to help them strategize or teach them how to share their faith online.

Life Measured in Moments

Across the street from our hotel was a Chinese Cultural Center. In the middle of Phoenix, Arizona, a little bit of China beckoned us to cross the street and explore. We walked through a high metal gate and admired the architecture, snapping pictures, and posting them on Facebook.

“They are going to think we are in China.” I laughed after I said this to my husband. Tony stood next to a hobbit-sized doorway with Chinese writing. The bronze plaque said these doorways were used in Chinese gardens to separate different parts of the garden. The still pond with picturesque water lillies floating on the surface had bright colored koi swimming up to the sign that said, Don’t Feed the Fish.

The Residence Inn had a small kitchenette in our room. To save money, we wandered over to a Chinese market. The aisle signs were in Chinese and English. Most of the food items were unidentifiable. The lettuce was a little wilted. This grocer sold live fish–fresh fish from all over the world, especially carp. We loved experiencing the adventure of our trip by experimenting with an American recipe–Hamburgers. The line for the fish was too long.

1 lb of ground beef.
1 package of seasonings unique to Indonesia.
Wok oil.
Korean BBQ sauce that looked like Tiger Balm (according to my cousin).
Two buns from the Mexican-Chinese bakery.
Dessert was Chinese–a rich combination of lemony custard in a soft and lightly sweet hot dog-type bun.

I mixed only a tablespoon of the spice into the ground meat and created two patties. I used the Wok oil to keep the meat from sticking. The BBQ sauce was shaken and poured into the pan. From a practical perspective, the Korean sauce was too watery to use on the hamburger. The bun would have become waterlogged. Breaking every food rule, we had no idea what this combination would taste like, but the results were good.

The combination of the buttery and flavorful beef patties with the faintly sweet bakery buns made the meal quite satisfying and not too alarming for my sensitive system. The Facebook Live videos we took during the cooking process made my friends laugh. But that’s what Facebook is for–building relationships with friends and family.

In the end, it won’t matter what we owned, but how we invested in each other. Life is made up of memories. Memories are the stuff that keep you from completely going cynical in a world that is ever growing dark. It’s not always easy to invest in those important relationships. Selfishness is easy, because Americans are so busy, but it’s worth the effort.

When I kissed my husband goodbye at the airport, we hugged a week’s worth of hugs on the curb surrounded by people leaving for global adventures. I tuck that moment into my mind to savor, like our day in Phoenix–moments more valuable than anything money can buy.

Lamenting and Wrestling

When I run, all I can hear is the pounding of my feet on the trail nearly in sync with the rhythm of my heart. I feel the heaviness of the sun on my skin and the sweat dripping into my eyes. I do not wear ear buds on the trail for safety reasons so I am aware of every snap of a twig. Running is more than just healthy exercise.

It’s my time with God.

It’s where I wrestle with my emotions; even lament.

Lamenting is a new word learned from a book I finished reading this year called, No More Faking Fine by Esther Fleece.

She says about Lamenting, “Lament is defined as an expression of grief. As I take a look at Scripture, I see that God seeks out those of us who are in need of him. He meets people with his comfort, and with his peace. So for the purposes of this book, and this movement, we’re defining lament as an expression of grief that God meets us in.”

Samuel Gill, a former worker with WorldVenture and now Life Coach in the Prescott area says this on his blog, “Most of us know that each snowflake has its own unique pattern. But do you know why? Each crystal acquires its unique pattern in its flight from the clouds down to earth. It is the result of a battle. As snow flakes pass through the atmosphere in their flight down to earth they encounter particles of dust and dirt. Thus the beauty of each snow flake is the result of conflict and pain.”

Have you ever pined for something? Have you ever pursued that something in spite of “conflict and pain?” God is the King of patience–the long-suffering kind of patience. It’s about the journey.

The journey is one where Seth Godin says in No Way Out, “The best long-term approach might be to learn something, to tough it out, to engage with the challenge. Because once you get through this, you’ll be different. Better. We always have a choice, but often, it’s a good idea to act as if we don’t.”

When I run, I don’t see the curving trail, hugged by scrub oak and trees. I see my support journey, and the distant mountain peak as the end of one journey to begin another–reaching those online who, unlike Esther Fleece, may not share in the comfort of knowing our Lord.

Thank you, friends and supporters. Your gifts and support are, “…a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. (click here to read full verse).”

Join My Zoom Meeting!

Hi there,

Nikki Hahn is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Sharing About What I Do With WorldVenture
Time: Jun 24, 2017 10:00 AM Arizona

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/2235510809

Meet TRC Magazine’s Intern!

TRC Magazine began in 2012 over a bowl of salsa and chips. Originally, it was created to give me a publishing option while I waited for traditional publishing to accept my submissions. Little did I know that God would have better ideas.

The magazine grew thanks to the enthusiasm and passion of our volunteers, but it didn’t happen without encountering obstacles, like issues of pride, lack of responsibility, and a difference of opinion on direction. Our founding editors were a blessing to our magazine. One left because his church was growing and he had to focus on this. When you manage and lead a group of volunteers, you must understand volunteers are always temporary. Life happens and people move forward. They are gifting you with their time. God brings them where He needs them to serve. When that is done, they move on.

Our original founding editor remains today. I am grateful for her guidance and assistance. She is not in an editor position, but now serving as part of the management team, writing when she has the time or jumping in to save the day. It has also been nice to see how WorldVenture has accepted this ezine as one of my responsibilities. The vision of TRC Magazine is changing though, and I am very excited about its future.

It is about:

Mentoring a new generation of writers and leaders.
Partnering with the church through internships via WorldVenture.
Becoming a voice for the voiceless and picking up stories from people who aren’t writers or stories that larger publications won’t publish.
Engaging our readership rather than just preaching. We are training our volunteers and interns to engage. In some ways, publishing articles online are just that–preaching. No different than showing up at church on Sunday and sitting quietly to listen. We want to be different and make a difference.
Working to change church culture. Sharing the Gospel doesn’t just happen in the face-to-face world. It happens in the online community all the time. If the church would embrace this, imagine how much faster we could share the Gospel worldwide?

Because of this, TRC Magazine will become an LLC. The operating agreement will be written up to include the possibility of a board. A new volunteer/intern handbook will be written to make things clearer. In the beginning of the magazine’s publication, we needed better communication. This is what I have learned since publishing in 2012:

Having clearly written guidelines is important. This brings less confusion.
Empowering writers, but not enabling them, keeps the work running smoothly. Occasionally stepping in to assist a writer does happen, but more often than not, I try to encourage independent thinking and work.
Keeping deadlines is important. You can tell a reliable worker from their posts on social media. Prioritizing the work you need to do and meeting deadlines are a constant challenge with writers who work day jobs, serve in ministry, and yet want to make a difference online.
Wording communications in ways that encourage the writer into a leader or the leader into producing great work.
Giving people a voice to share their story is important even if the writing is terrible and needs re-working.
A difference exists between blogging and article writing. This has always been a tricky line to keep.

TRC Magazine introduced internships to partner with churches worldwide to broadcast what God is doing in the world. Our first internship is working out beautifully. Meet Ross Harris here and listen to his Facebook live devotional here. Goals for him will include:

Social media training.
cross-cultural training.

Will you pray for our volunteers and interns?

Different and Better

Appointed by WorldVenture in 2015, I wasn’t actually released to raise funds until March, 2016. Necessary training is what prevented me from sending out those emails and making those phone calls. This probably confused many as people expected to hear from me, but God was wiser. Developing as a worker in the field of social media and technology means I am developing as a person, too, and taking the scenic route to my goals.

In fact, the NIV Stewardship Bible I bought early on has been comforting. Living on the thin ice of faith means I am forcing myself to trust God to deliver on His promises and putting our lives and our finances on His altar. Stewardship principles are misunderstood, maybe even poorly worded when brought up at the pulpit on occasion. People immediately assume you or the organization needs money rather than giving as an act of worship and faith.

Seth Godin wrote “No Way Out” in this blog:

The thing is, though, that the long-term strategy might be the opposite. The best long-term approach might be to learn something, to tough it out, to engage with the challenge. Because once you get through this, you’ll be different. Better.

Engaging with this challenge means spending much more time on my knees in prayer, trusting my finances and my future with the Lord. I have no idea if our future will mean a comfortable retirement, but I do know our future won’t look like our grandparent’s future. This is okay. God will give me a place to lay my head even if it is a stone. At least, He has redeemed me from my past and His relationship is the only thing I need no matter what the future becomes. I know one thing though.

This new career path is the only way I want to go and I never want to retire. Social media and technology will change. But if we, as Christians, do not choose to change, our places of worship will become irrelevant and we will become irrelevant.

What could that look like?

Musicians have taken old hymns and put a new twist on them. The message didn’t change. The music was re-framed.
Remember that we do not have the right to shove our beliefs on someone else or judge them online. Re-frame your online responses to encourage a closer relationship with the Lord. Don’t be the crazy religious nut that screams at the person posting, thereby alienating them from God.
Trust the Holy Spirit more and stop taking steps that rob God of getting the glory. Meaning, we think we have to do something to make something else happen as if God didn’t do the things He said He did; as if God needs our help somehow. Prayer is about trust, stepping back, and waiting.

Once I get through this, I’ll be different, better.

What If Isn’t Wolves, But Cute Doggies?

But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it. Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?… From Here

When people quote the above verse, a picture of some ravenous wolf with teeth bared accompanies it. What if wolves in sheep’s clothing don’t look like wolves at all, but well-intentioned cute doggies that gently mislead?

You’d be surprised to learn how Satan can use good things, pleasant things and people, to lead us away from a relationship with the Lord (2 Cor. 11:14). This is why learning about Jesus in the Bible is so important.

Base your faith on the authoritative Word, not what popular people in culture and religions say. Religions and cultures change. God doesn’t change.

Want to join a Bible Study?

I can help you with that. Bring your doubts. Explore God’s character in its proper context.