Tag: worldventure

Navajo Art

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An overlook gave us the opportunity to take a break from driving for a while. Some Navajos had set up some booths there, too.

We admired the artistry of the Navajo gifts. One woman in particular created Christmas ornaments from pottery, paint, and horse hair. The price was reasonable–$25.

I mentally marked this spot. Positioned high above the canyons and several hours from our home town, I knew this is where I wanted to return. It’s a long ways to drive just to buy some Navajo gifts.

The Navajos, like the Hondurans, hold a special place in my heart. The Navajos captured my heart since the first short term missions trip I instigated on my own. I traveled to Kayenta, Arizona twice; once to discover my missionary heart, and the second time, because I fell in love with the people.

Have you ever heard a church service in Navajo? 

I was blessed to hear their native language, and I encourage you to do your own soul searching and visit these people. This small congregation drives up to fifty miles every Sunday to hear the Word of God. The pastor of that church spends a lot of time in his car driving to spend time with his congregation and serve them. You could say they are committed to their church congregation.

I still recall how that pastor urged me to get a degree. At the time, I wasn’t seriously considering a degree. Now it is something I am seriously considering. I want to really understand the Bible so I can lose my fear of misusing it. Because of my past, I take Biblical accuracy and truth very seriously. Often, before I use a verse, I will look up the commentaries and writings around it to understand the context. I rely heavily upon different books and commentaries to make sure I get the meaning right.

That’s where my mind drifted as I stood so close to the blue sky overlooking the canyons that were etched into the earth.

We reluctantly returned to the car empty-handed. Even though it is a long way to drive to buy gifts for others, their work is one-of-a-kind.

Some photos from today:

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Glen Canyon Dam
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Cameron, Arizona

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A Response: What Makes a Good Missionary?

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When I read this article, I drank it down like cold water on a parched day. I wanted to know the answer the same as this author to the question, “What makes a good missionary?” 
 
The article goes into the differences of persecution between Islam and other countries and governments. As I read this, I, too, felt kicked in the gut. The missionary needed the people he served. I would never have thought of that as love, but the persecuted believers saw the western man as loving because he borrowed from them instead of his western friends. Re-translate this to evangelism in your local communities: “What makes a good evangelist?” 
 
“Rarely did the apostle Paul create dependency upon himself. Often in his letters, Paul expressed how desperately he needed his brothers and sisters in Christ. He called those friends by name years later. He never forgot them. When possible, he returned to be with them. When he could not go, he sent them someone else. And he faithfully wrote to them, expressing his love, encouragement, and correction. In a word, he needed them,” the author says. 
 
Social media is about creating community, expressing that need, being the church online, and challenging us to need and be needed. The people you speak to on the field also have a purpose and are not lesser people as sometimes we may come off as looking. As a missionary wet-behind-the-ears, I want to, 
 
“…bury my pride and unpack some humility…become a brother (sister), a friend, and a peer. I would care more about the names of my brothers and sisters on the “mission field” and less about the numbers of baptisms, people discipled, churches planted, and orphanages built. I would take to heart the lesson of John the Baptist, saying about a local believer what John said about Jesus: I must decrease so that he can increase (John 3:30). I would invite local believers to lead in the light while I served in the shadows. I would have pressed into what it meant to really need them.” 
 
I am too independent. Raising support is teaching me to depend on people, to love better, to put God first above my politics, and daily it stretches and humbles me. I am learning to disciple people and wish for their success over mine. In the past two years, I have learned more, been stretched often, and know that God is taking the “ugly” out of me. His Word (the Bible) is challenging me. I am also learning that I don’t know as much as I think I know, and this attitude is important to maintain all of my life no matter how old I grow. 
 

Coffee and Desserts

Can’t help me out financially? 

Consider holding a dessert and coffee at your home or business. I ask that you invite your friends to it. I can provide the dessert, even the coffee. I will do a presentation to your friends, show videos, and talk to them, even answer their questions. If you think you would like to do this, please email me. Let’s work out the details.

Live Prayer Update: Psalm 5

Live Prayer is ongoing as we speak. You can view the live version or the recorded version on my social networks. Today’s verse is Psalm 5:

Psalm 5

For the music leader. For the flutes. A psalm of David.

5 Hear my words, Lord!
    Consider my groans!
2     Pay attention to the sound of my cries, my king and my God,
        because I am praying to you!
3 Lord, in the morning you hear my voice.
    In the morning I lay it all out before you.
    Then I wait expectantly.
4 Because you aren’t a God
    who enjoys wickedness;
    evil doesn’t live with you.
5 Arrogant people won’t last long
in your sight;
    you hate all evildoers;
6     you destroy liars.
    The Lord despises people who are violent and dishonest.

7 But me? I will enter your house
    because of your abundant, faithful love;
    I will bow down at your holy temple,
        honoring you.
8 Lord, because of many enemies,
    please lead me in your righteousness.
    Make your way clear,
        right in front of me.
9 Because there’s no truth in my enemies’ mouths,
    all they have inside them is destruction.
    Their throats are open graves;
    their tongues slick with talk.
10 Condemn them, God!
    Let them fail by their own plans.
Throw them out for their many sins
    because they’ve rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you celebrate.
    Let them sing out loud forever!
Protect them
    so that all who love your name
    can rejoice in you.
12 Because you, Lord, bless the righteous.
    You cover them with favor like a shield.

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When I Handed Her My Resume

When I handed my resume to the woman in the power suit, she took it from me, and bent her head to read it. The marble floors, glass partitions, and rich woods made me more conscious of the black permanent marker I used on my Kmart special black heels to hide a worn spot near the toe or the clear nail polish I used in the parking garage on a run on my panty hose.

A few minutes passed, and she looked up from the paper at me and said: “It sounds like you are applying to be a writer, not a receptionist?”

This was several years ago as a young woman applying to work at a magazine located in downtown Phoenix. There’s value in starting from the bottom. Whether you are a receptionist answering phone calls or a brand new missionary appointee learning cross-cultural communication and the complex issues regarding the peoples on the move, nothing is ever wasted. In fact, coming from a position of a learner and working your way up is better.

  • You get to know the organization.
  • People mentor you and you learn from this.
  • God grows you through the experiences, mistakes, and successes.
  • And no action is “beneath you” to do no matter where you go in life.

Today, I thought about that moment in the magazine office, and when I did, I felt a twinge of worry.

“Lord, how do I do this ministry? There is so much information to absorb and learn!”

Matthew 4:19 in the CEB returned to me:

“Come, follow me,” he said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.”

This time it held new meaning for me. Everyone begins somewhere in a new career. They learn new things, new habits, disciplines, and it can be challenging. God will show me how, not just in technology, but in cross-cultural communication, too. Already, I feel like I am changing as I wrestle with my own prejudices and political beliefs against what the Bible says. That wrestling though didn’t start with my appointment with WorldVenture.

A certain Latino pastor came into my life who started changing my worldview. WorldVenture simply clarified my direction.

Now my daunting task isn’t riding an elevator up a skyscraper and crossing marble floors as quietly as possible in uncomfortable black heels; instead, it is learning about the Peoples on the Move and reaching them through technology. I am not alone. Many wonderful people with WorldVenture and others around the world are taking up that call. I am praying for 100% funding by March, 2017.

When I see that deadline, I feel like that girl again in black heels reaching my resume across the desk to a woman in a power suit.

God says, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.” He calls the unqualified.

Incidentally, I did not get the job at the magazine as a receptionist or a writer. As you can see, God had other plans for me.

Refresh: A Women’s Ministry

When a friend started sharing with me an idea about a women’s ministry that is impulsive and creative, I jumped in. Of course, I volunteered to help with communications. We set up a Slack account because it is secure. When I sat down with other women in the group, I was encouraged by their response to having an online community.

Slack is different than texting. When you send a group text, and a person responds, every person on that text gets continual notification for hours or as long as the conversation endures. It takes more time to open a new text and rewrite a response or to share the activity you shared with others on a new text. Slack cuts out all the work.

You can have it on your phone and treat it like a text, or you can use it on your desktop and get notifications there. This kind of community is what every busy woman needs so they can experience good fellowship even if they can’t make every activity.

So if you live in the quad-city area, email me. If you have questions with how this works, I would be happy to explain it (if your intentions were to start a similar kind of group in your town). It’s ideal as a para-church ministry.

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So What Does ‘Financially Partnering’ With You Mean?

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A friend had a question about how to give and what each button means. I’ve been making some assumptions that people understand how and why missionaries raise monthly support. This is the accidental assumption one makes after 10 years of being a church secretary and dealing directly with a Missions Commission. If you have other questions, feel free to email me. All questions will be kept confidential.

Q: Do I give now or when you quit SRCF and go into full time ministry? 
A: To go into full time ministry, I need to raise 100% support now. This means all giving must go through the “start/modify” button after you press “give.” For Direct Debit or Credit Card/Debit Card, it only allows monthly giving. “Mail a Check” allows for annual giving.

Q: Does a Special Donation go towards your monthly need? 
A: No. Special (tax deductible) Donations go towards my ministry account. This does not get counted towards what I need to raise per month. It does help keep down expenses in the Ministry Account as an appointee. To give towards my monthly support, please use start/modify a commitment.

Q: What is a Personal Gift?
A: A Personal Gift is non-tax deductible and gets deposited right into my checking account. I would prefer no personal gifts until I am at 100% support.

Q: I don’t want to do an automatic debit (i.e. Direct Debit or Credit Card/Debit Card), but I do Want to have my yearly donation go towards your support. How can I do this?
A: Go to “Start/Modify” and choose “Mail a Check” instead. Choose how often to give and how much, and mail a check out.

Q:I want to give annually using credit, debit, or direct debit. How can I do this? 
A: You cannot give annually using credit, debit cards, or direct debit. To get around this, you can set up online banking to issue a check. Just make sure the memo states my name and account number. The bank will mail a check for you. It can even be scheduled to send at a much later time. Meanwhile, you’ll need to set up an online commitment so, when the check arrives, it is credited towards my support account, not my ministry account.

Q: What do the numbers reflect each month on the first of the month? 
A: I am so thankful for the number of verbal commitments I have received, but the numbers only reflect those who have registered those commitments online (even if the check is sent annually at the end of the year). I encourage you to register your verbal commitment so we can together pray to 100% support.

Q: How do I set up an online commitment? 
A: Let’s talk. I am happy to walk you through the process. Send me an email to set up an appointment to either call you or come over to your house and walk you through it. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are always open. We can meet and walk you through the process provided no other appointments exist that day.

 

Q: Why do you need to live on support?
A: The Bible contains numerous examples of both Jesus, His disciples and the Apostles depending on the financial support of others during their ministry. Luke 8:1-3 says,“Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.” These women, among others, were paying the expenses for Jesus to travel through the cities “bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.” Jesus depended on others for support. READ MORE

Walking the Walk

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It’s been quite a week. I go home from one job to start another (my favorite one).

This morning I have a list of things to accomplish before Monday. I look forward to the day when I only have to work one job (this one). Meanwhile, I am happy to report the new numbers for May. Many thanks for your financial partnerships. Together we can make a difference in the world with God working through us.

For those not understanding why missionaries raise funding, here is an article that goes into a little bit of scripture. As a friend reminded me, there is no such thing as part time ministry. Help me help you serve people online.

Keep praying me to 100%!

The Bible contains numerous examples of both Jesus, His disciples and the Apostles depending on the financial support of others during their ministry. Luke 8:1-3 says,“Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.” These women, among others, were paying the expenses for Jesus to travel through the cities “bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.” Jesus depended on others for support. READ MORE

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