34-Hours from home to baggage claim?

photo by ~MVI~

Asia's Hope News Home Page

I just got off the phone with Joyce who is on her journey to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Joyce is another short-term missions partner going into the world to reach the world with the love of God. She is a fully devoted follower of Christ who has developed a passion to help children in Southeast Asia. Her husband, Dave, is the director of Asia's Hope.

Please pray for her and think of her as she starts a 22-hour flight time excursion from Ohio to Thailand. That's right, twenty-two hours flight time. She will log 34-hours from home to baggage claim. Yet she has a passion for helping out--she is yet another one of my heroes.

A Hero in Prague

One of the things I enjoy about being a pastor is facilitating missions experiences for the people in our church. Linda is presently visiting the Swain's who serve God in Prague, Czech Republic. She even made time to connect with the Plaster's who serve in Paris.

Linda serves on our Global Task Force which helps facilitate everyone to be on mission for God in our church. I am so proud of her. She takes a trip to encourage our missionary partners. She is truly a fully devoted follower of Christ.

Her commitment to God extends deep into her life. She just finished the school year teaching Released Time Bible Classes in the public school system in Northwestern Wayne County. She is the main teacher for the North Central-Northwestern Religious Education Program. Now she prepares to teach a seminar on how to share your faith with those who seem antagonistic or feel strongly against your beliefs.

I'll include a couple of lines from her email to me:

I spent a couple hours with the Plasters (our missionaries in Paris) at the airport. That was good. I went with George and Cindy to English class and then Bible study. Once I had a walk back to metro and home I don't feel as tired. Hope I can sleep all night tonight. I'll close for now. Thanks for praying.

Linda is a great example of people striving to live for God as a fully devoted follower. I am challenged by her commitment and love for God's people who serve overseas and heart for helping to reach people wherever they she may go. Way to go, Linda.

Video Games - Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo Expands His Empire - NYTimes.com

Video Games - Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo Expands His Empire - NYTimes.com

This article by Seth Schiesel talks about the creative mind behind the Wii. My boys love their friend's Wii game system. Even my daugther has played the Wii Fit already.

I am intrigued by his games' popularity. According to Schiesel, Mr. Miyamoto designs his games with gameplay systems and mechanics always coming first. Game design precedes the characters. In fact, "That means a focus on the seemingly prosaic basic elements of game design: movement, setting, goals to accomplish and obstacles to overcome," says Miyamoto. He wants people to have fun with the games and to fall in love with the characters as they have fun.

In addition, I am curious about Miyamoto's comment that "consumers crave the ability to shape and become a part of their entertainment." He adds, "you’re becoming more a part of the entertainment experience.”

As I work in my church, I wonder how I can make missions (that's the area of ministry that I am in) more a part of a person's life experience. Now I am not talking about creating a game or a sim, but I am pondering how I can make real a missions experience where one's spirituality is enhanced and forwarded from personal shaping and individual participation and group collaboration.

Maybe I'm just out there. But I wonder how the typical consumer can engage my missions experience and make its outcomes become integrated into a person's lifestyle. I wonder if I can design missions that reflects gaming design.

Movement & Setting--you must leave your comfort zone to another place to serve others; Goals to accomplish--serve others out of love for humankind and out of love for God who loves all humankind; Obstacles to overcome--fear that you can't go outside your comfort zone, sadness that the life situation of others is worse than yours, anger that others don't see or feel like doing anything about it; happiness that you can truly be blessed as you seek to bless others with your time, resources, and physical presence.

I wonder what you think. I'd like to know.

Pastor D

A new way to do missions?

I wonder what missions will look like down the road. I now know what it may look like from an interesting concept discovered by Intelligence Group. In their email update they describe TOMS Tours:

"After popularizing the cause-driven, buy-one-give-one consumer product model, TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie's latest endeavor may just do the same for branded volunteer vacations. What started off as an outreach program to help educate and activate consumers (wherein volunteers were invited to help distribute free shoes to children living in some of the world's poorest neighborhoods) has evolved into a full-fledged travel company called TOMS Tours. Due to instantaneous popularity of the "shoe drops", interested parties must fill out an online application to be considered for one of the 15 volunteer positions. Once selected, participants pay $1800 (plus international airfare) for an otherwise all-inclusive trip, to locations such as Argentina, that combines the village visits (where shoes are distributed) with regional group activities such as hiking, wine tasting, and sightseeing."

As I reflect on this newest trend of helping the poorest of the poor. I must analyze the combination of service, regional/cultural connection activities--hiking, food & beverage tasting, and sightseeing. I wonder how we could package ministry trips in the same manner; E.g. an exploratory trip would include regional experiences whereas a ministry trip would not include the activities component. I wonder how the funding would work. I see that people are going to be willing to pay for airfare plus fees for food etc. up to $1800 per person. The organization does not assist the participants for this exploratory trip. I wonder how that would look.

Harvesters Out of Africa

We commissioned in prayer from our office lobby our team to the Central African Republic. Five men, two women carrying loads of luggage to minister to the orphans, widows, and those with AIDS in the capital city of Bangui.

I am so proud of this team. It is my privilege to facilitate trips like these so that our church can develop fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

Please pray with me that all 17 luggage pieces for the team will be handled properly and arrive safely and in one group in Bangui. Ask God to provide health to the team as they travel to Africa--giving them sleep on the flights from Cleveland to Detroit, Paris, and Bangui.

Social Justice and its Implications

I came across a video regarding a student's journey to Darfur. I am uneducated in the depth of the injustice. I wonder how the student has harnessed his engagement with Sudan as a catalyst for making a greater difference in the world. Check out Nick's video on what he did last summer...in Darfur (please note that I do not condone or approve of everything on YouTube).

Nick went with OxFam America. Oxfam America "is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. Together with individuals and local groups in more than 120 countries, Oxfam saves lives, helps people overcome poverty, and fights for social justice."

What is our role in relieving poverty, hunger, and injustice? I believe we need to answer this question because our young people want direction on how to reconcile poverty's end, see hunger fed, and right all wrongs. I wonder how the Church can disciple believers to consider what to do or not do.

The Stirrings of the Spirit

One of my growing responsibilities is to shepherd, to encourage, and to partner with the missionaries we support worldwide. One area of focus is Europe. I am excited about what is occurring among the team in Europe. Tim Hawkins shared this link to Paul Klawitter's blog. I read with anticipation of what God could do among His people as we embrace unity and seek His face. May God advance His kingdom!

Everyone Needs to be Cross-cultural

In my short years of life I experience cross-cultural things all the time. I am a Navajo from the Navajo Nation so I am a minority in the United States. Yet as one fellow sojourner in ministry, Brad Griffin, the Assistant Director of the Center for Youth and Family Ministry puts it, "cross-cultural is not an option any longer." In fact, Brad says

"In the past, cross-cultural communication was primarily relegated to the realm of interacting with people outside of your own country. But now, given an increasingly multicultural United States and the globalization of nearly every technology, industry and service—not to mention ministry—our ability to bridge language and other divides has become critically important. So important, in fact, that some argue that youth workers must develop new skills for encountering the multicultural realities of ministry today."

Brad summarizes Cultural Intelligence in a terse manner citing David Livermore and his passion for teaching the emerging generation about leading in a multi-cultural world in a contextual and relevant way. The concepts intrigued me so I checked out the intersectcommunity. I saw that the next cohort/gathering is for the New England region so I will need to wait for a closer venue. But I am interested in finding out more.

Short Term Missions Trip Redefined

I subscribe to an email newsletter, TrendCentral. In the October 3, 2007 issue I came across an emerging trend called vagabonding. TrendCentral is created by the The Intelligence Group which is a trend-forecasting and marketing consultancy focused on Gen X, Gen Y and Tweens (people ages 14-34).

VAGABONDING: This growing trend in travel is changing the way people think about using their vacation days. The concept suggests that long-term travel is more meaningful and memorable than the 1-2 week vacation that’s standard in Western culture. Through taking extended (and often times independent) vacations in out of the way locales, vagabonders can recharge by discovering and experiencing the world on their own time. Apparently it’s not as difficult as it sounds to take a couple months off from one’s normal life. There are books, guides and online communities that offer tips on everything from how to manage travel funds to how to find a safe subletter to help with the rent.

TrendCentral describes a growing trend among these young people about travel which I think may be applied to missions. I could see this becoming another way for short-term teams 2-4 people travel around ministering to our missionaries or even starting new works wherever the Holy Spirit causes them to land. It is a risky option but one to possibly consider after much prayer and input from God's people.

I could see these "teams" going for a summer. They would be teams selected by the participants, not gathered by the mission organization. I could see them vagabonding for Christ starting churches. I wonder what this would look like. I need more time to think and to dream.