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17 December 2008
SIMSA "Fusion" Newsletter
Here's the third edition of the "Fusion" Newsletter.
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15 December 2008
31 October 2008
East Africa Praise & Prayer
From Jimmy & Roxanne Cox
WHY OUR AFRICAN & INDIAN MISSIONARIES RAISE THEIR OWN FINANCIAL SUPPORT
There are hundreds of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) working Kenya & Sudan. They pay salaries to their African employees & provide useful relief & development services in Africa. But SIM is not an NGO. We are a mission & therefore committed to partnering with the African church. All of our SIM-SUDAN team members are required to raise their own monthly financial support from their home churches, whether they be from India or Nigeria or Ethiopia. By this their churches show their commitment & responsibility to fulfilling The Great Commission.
HOW AFRICAN MISSIONARIES CAN IMPACT THE CHURCHES HERE IN A WAY THAT MISSIONARIES FROM THE WEST CANNOT - -
Here is just one of many examples of how important our African & Indian missionaries are:
We received a ministry newsletter from an Ethiopian friend who is a missionary in Pakistan. Speaking to a group of Pakistani church leaders, he challenged them, saying, "If my church (in Ethiopia) is able to send me here (to Pakistan) as a missionary, what is the reason for you not sending a single missionary at least within Pakistan?" He continues in his newsletter to say, "In front of westerners their excuse has been poverty... money. They could not say that in front of me. Indeed they were ashamed for not doing anything significant for decades but only relying on western missionaries."
The missionaries from our team who are serving in South Sudan have a credibility in some ways that western missionaries do not. Jimmy, by virtue of the fact that he is seen as a "rich westerner", cannot stand before Sudanese or Kenyan church leaders & challenge them in such a way as our Ethiopian friend could do. And yet western missionaries have credibility before Africans in other ways. HOW WONDERFUL THAT TOGETHER, AS A MULTI-CULTURAL TEAM, WE CAN REPRESENT THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST IN A BROADER SENSE THAN WE WOULD AS A MONO-CULTURAL TEAM.
SIM-Sudan team members from different countries praying together
WHY OUR AFRICAN & INDIAN MISSIONARIES RAISE THEIR OWN FINANCIAL SUPPORT
There are hundreds of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) working Kenya & Sudan. They pay salaries to their African employees & provide useful relief & development services in Africa. But SIM is not an NGO. We are a mission & therefore committed to partnering with the African church. All of our SIM-SUDAN team members are required to raise their own monthly financial support from their home churches, whether they be from India or Nigeria or Ethiopia. By this their churches show their commitment & responsibility to fulfilling The Great Commission.
HOW AFRICAN MISSIONARIES CAN IMPACT THE CHURCHES HERE IN A WAY THAT MISSIONARIES FROM THE WEST CANNOT - -
Here is just one of many examples of how important our African & Indian missionaries are:
We received a ministry newsletter from an Ethiopian friend who is a missionary in Pakistan. Speaking to a group of Pakistani church leaders, he challenged them, saying, "If my church (in Ethiopia) is able to send me here (to Pakistan) as a missionary, what is the reason for you not sending a single missionary at least within Pakistan?" He continues in his newsletter to say, "In front of westerners their excuse has been poverty... money. They could not say that in front of me. Indeed they were ashamed for not doing anything significant for decades but only relying on western missionaries."
The missionaries from our team who are serving in South Sudan have a credibility in some ways that western missionaries do not. Jimmy, by virtue of the fact that he is seen as a "rich westerner", cannot stand before Sudanese or Kenyan church leaders & challenge them in such a way as our Ethiopian friend could do. And yet western missionaries have credibility before Africans in other ways. HOW WONDERFUL THAT TOGETHER, AS A MULTI-CULTURAL TEAM, WE CAN REPRESENT THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST IN A BROADER SENSE THAN WE WOULD AS A MONO-CULTURAL TEAM.
SIM-Sudan team members from different countries praying together
- Pray for Sam, the first Kenyan to join the Rebuilding Southern Sudan team. Pray for Sam as he tries to raise his monthly financial support from Kenyan churches.
- Praise God for the Nigerian, Indian & Ethiopian churches that are financially supporting missionaries from their own countries who are serving at our bases in Sudan.
22 October 2008
Please Pray for Tanzania
From Ian & Meg in Tanzania:
As the developed world reels from the shockwaves of financial crisis, a crisis of a different kind is sweeping Tanzania, probably unreported by the international media. It is albino sacrifice.
Albino people, of which there a many in Tanzania, have a very hard life. They suffer with serious skin disorders, often leaving them permanently disfigured. They must always seek shelter from the intense African sun. Worst of all they are ostracised in a society with neither welfare system nor recognition of the dignity of people. Most albino people develop emotional problems through the stigma they bear; the albino suicide rate is high.
To add to their woes, there has recently been a surge in kidnapping and murder of albino people, whose skin and body parts are considered to have supernatural powers. Albino skins stretched over black bodies are believed to afford protection against evil spirits. Body parts from albino people are valued as good luck charms for miners and people in other businesses, where the parts are concealed under clothing, tied to the workers' bodies, or kept hidden in the mine or business premises. The scary aspect of all this is that people, influenced by witch doctors, frequently testify to the success of these practices in bringing protection and prosperity. So they proliferate.
The govenment is slow to take action on matters of a purely cultural nature (like its failure to seriously address the barbaric practice of female circumcision). Yes, there are the usual laws against kidnapping and murder, but in a society where law enforcement is corrupt and languid, there is little effective action. The major Christian churces, weakened by institutionalism and political bindings, tend not to speak out.
In civilised western societies modelled on Christian ethics, we find such practices repugnant. But in primitive cultures, where spiritism has been practised for generations, Satan takes the opportunity for direct spiritual attack. To this he adds the deception that such things are to be accepted as part of life. His aim is always to cause people to doubt God, through affliction, fear and confusion, which Satan tailors to suit the local culture. See how this is operating very differently in the financial crisis, where people might ask why does God allow this to bring hardship on so many, when it is more insightful to ask how did man allow a system of his own making get so out of control. Are not both the result of man leaving God out and going it alone, only to be trapped by his own obsessive spiritism on the one hand, or selfish consumerism on the other?
Please pray for the one, all-powerful, good, Holy Spirit of God to prevail against the power of evil spirits in Tanzania, as we see Jesus do in the gospels. May his name be proclaimed and release his people from the deception of demonic agents leading them astray. Pray for the safety and salvation of albino people, who being among the poor and oppressed, have a special place in God's eternal Kingdom of righteousness, through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
As the developed world reels from the shockwaves of financial crisis, a crisis of a different kind is sweeping Tanzania, probably unreported by the international media. It is albino sacrifice.
Albino people, of which there a many in Tanzania, have a very hard life. They suffer with serious skin disorders, often leaving them permanently disfigured. They must always seek shelter from the intense African sun. Worst of all they are ostracised in a society with neither welfare system nor recognition of the dignity of people. Most albino people develop emotional problems through the stigma they bear; the albino suicide rate is high.
To add to their woes, there has recently been a surge in kidnapping and murder of albino people, whose skin and body parts are considered to have supernatural powers. Albino skins stretched over black bodies are believed to afford protection against evil spirits. Body parts from albino people are valued as good luck charms for miners and people in other businesses, where the parts are concealed under clothing, tied to the workers' bodies, or kept hidden in the mine or business premises. The scary aspect of all this is that people, influenced by witch doctors, frequently testify to the success of these practices in bringing protection and prosperity. So they proliferate.
The govenment is slow to take action on matters of a purely cultural nature (like its failure to seriously address the barbaric practice of female circumcision). Yes, there are the usual laws against kidnapping and murder, but in a society where law enforcement is corrupt and languid, there is little effective action. The major Christian churces, weakened by institutionalism and political bindings, tend not to speak out.
In civilised western societies modelled on Christian ethics, we find such practices repugnant. But in primitive cultures, where spiritism has been practised for generations, Satan takes the opportunity for direct spiritual attack. To this he adds the deception that such things are to be accepted as part of life. His aim is always to cause people to doubt God, through affliction, fear and confusion, which Satan tailors to suit the local culture. See how this is operating very differently in the financial crisis, where people might ask why does God allow this to bring hardship on so many, when it is more insightful to ask how did man allow a system of his own making get so out of control. Are not both the result of man leaving God out and going it alone, only to be trapped by his own obsessive spiritism on the one hand, or selfish consumerism on the other?
Please pray for the one, all-powerful, good, Holy Spirit of God to prevail against the power of evil spirits in Tanzania, as we see Jesus do in the gospels. May his name be proclaimed and release his people from the deception of demonic agents leading them astray. Pray for the safety and salvation of albino people, who being among the poor and oppressed, have a special place in God's eternal Kingdom of righteousness, through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
09 October 2008
VILLAGE OF HOPE
Here is an update from Jimmy and RoxAnne Cox:
photo credit: Debbie Sardo
Since opening our clinic in Doro, South Sudan, this March, SIM has been able to assist 53 malnourished children! We've set up a "nutrition village" called Village of Hope which provides housing for mothers to stay with their malnourished children for several weeks while their children are treated. During that time, mothers receive teaching on nutrition, cooking & basic health care. The housing is necessary for parents who have to walk many hours (even several days walk) to the clinic.
PRAISE GOD with us for our terrific medical team at Doro & PRAY for the physical, emotional & spiritual stamina they need to continue their crucial ministries.
photo credit: Debbie SardoSince opening our clinic in Doro, South Sudan, this March, SIM has been able to assist 53 malnourished children! We've set up a "nutrition village" called Village of Hope which provides housing for mothers to stay with their malnourished children for several weeks while their children are treated. During that time, mothers receive teaching on nutrition, cooking & basic health care. The housing is necessary for parents who have to walk many hours (even several days walk) to the clinic.
PRAISE GOD with us for our terrific medical team at Doro & PRAY for the physical, emotional & spiritual stamina they need to continue their crucial ministries.
18 September 2008
12 September 2008
Oscar Muriu Lectures
Chinese Missions in Africa – Consultation and Action 2008
Reflections from Howard Brant
Oscar Muriu, Senior Pastor of the Nairobi Chapel, Kenya.
Oscar Muriu dedicated his life to Christ in 1983, and has served as the Senior Pastor of the Nairobi Chapel, since 1991. In that time he has seen the church grow from a mere 20 people, to become a thriving, missions-focused congregation with over 3,000 people. Nairobi Chapel has established 25 church plants. His personal mission is to raise up a legacy of African leaders for the Church of Christ worldwide. He holds a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Delhi in India, and an M. Div. from the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST). Oscar and his wife, Bea, have three daughters.
This year’s meeting of the Chinese Coordination Center of World Evangelism (CCCOWE) was held in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference was titled “A Call from Afar—The Challenging Task of African Evangelization.” The main speaker was Oscar Muriu, senior pastor of Nairobi Chapel. About 100 Chinese church and mission leaders were present.
This interface between an outstanding African leader and representatives of the Chinese Diaspora was most enlightening. In the background is the fact that Africa is the continent where Christianity is growing fastest (from 9m in 1900 to 136m in 2000), and China is fast becoming the world super-power. Pastor Oscar sees the vast potential of missions out of Mainland China. He sees the Chinese Diaspora as having a key role in shaping the thinking and models of missions that come with this new wave. While he did not mention it, this assumption gains credibility when you see the increasing number of Chinese Diaspora mission leaders (from Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, etc.) to do mission training seminars in Mainland China. Add to this, the large number of Mainland Chinese students who come to the Chinese seminaries and training institutions in the Pacific Rim.
Oscar’s deep concern is that the models of mission being taught to the emerging Chinese missions movement reflect the new realities of missions from the “REST” (70% of world Christians) as well as the “WEST.” This arrow was well aimed. As the Chairman of the meetings confessed, large numbers of Chinese Diaspora mission leaders have been trained in the West or by teachers trained in the West. Chinese Diaspora teachers tend to follow their Western mentors as well as their models. Chinese missiologists have had little opportunity to hear about models of mission from non-Western sources. Thus Oscar’s message was on target.
Past centers of mission activity were either in London, Pasadena, or Colorado Springs. New emerging centers of mission will be in Brazil, South Korea, and China. Oscar finds that missions in the Western world are largely focused on the issue of the “unreached” as in the 10/40 Window or “unreached (or least reached) people groups.” The Brazilians, however, are trying how to figure out how to re-evangelize Europe. Africans are already manning the pulpits of the largest churches in Zurich, Kiev, and London. South Korea is trying to figure out how to mobilize China. China is developing brand new models of how to evangelize Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus between China and Jerusalem.
With the globalization of Christianity (which Oscar credits to the West) there is no clear “mission field” today. The Global South is more “evangelized” than the “Global North.” Oscar quoted someone who made the point that when it comes to countries where there are large numbers of non-Christians, the USA ranks third highest in the world! In fact the mission fields today are places like Australia (where only 2% of the population are evangelical).
Missionaries from these new centers (like Africa and Mainland China) cannot operate in the same way as missions from the West. Westerners can easily cross borders—many non-Westerners cannot. Western missions is built upon a financial base of affluence where individual donors have copious amounts of excess income they can give to missions. This not only affects their support structures but also the kinds of projects in which they can engage overseas. Many new emerging missions are trying to follow in their pattern—and go to the West to raise their funds. But these funds are shrinking. Less and less money is being given by the West for foreign missions. So for the new emerging missions movements, models of power dominance and affluence will simply not work.
I. Models of Mission—The Body
The West is presently pursuing a “business model” of missions. He is not referring to “Business as Mission” here but rather that the way the West thinks of missions is in terms of the business paradigm. There is a cost/benefit component where “this many dollars = this many souls.” When the West makes partnerships with non-Western churches or missions, the partnership looks like a business contract that states goals, the desired outcomes, the time limits, and a definite end point. This system is the antithesis of the African model.
Africans tend to think of partnerships—not in a business model, but rather one of marriage or family. In this system, partnerships are for life. They are built on giving of yourself. And even if you don’t like the way the partnership is going, divorce is not an option. No wonder many partnerships end in disappointment.
Oscar points us back to the biblical model of partnership—which is the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12). His contextualized reading of this chapter puts in the names of countries for the weak and the strong. He makes the following points:
1. The goal (mature relationship) is not one of independence but of inter-dependence. “No part of the body can become mature when they are independent.” In the body, when a part of the body disassociates itself from the rest and begins to grow on its own, it is called cancer. Present mission models are trying to bring the church to maturity so they can be independent. But an independent church is a sick church. Maturity means we need each other. “Chinese need America. But now you (Chinese) are asking, ‘Does America need China?’” Right now, Africa needs China, but does China need Africa?
2. Every organ of the body gives to the other, and every organ receives from the other. The heart sends blood to the lungs, but the stomach sends nourishment to the heart—and each provides for the whole body. Any mission model for the future must include the principle of reciprocity.
3. The body in 1 Corinthians 12 shows the need for mutual respect and humility. The pituitary gland is one of the smallest—about the size of a pea. Yet it does some of the most important work—it secretes hormones that govern the growth and development of the whole body. In the same way, some of the smaller and apparently weaker parts of the body of Christ are able to perform duties which affect the whole. We should give “more honor” to the parts that are least. And we may not need to overestimate the value of parts which are large and powerful. The Chinese should be sensitive to this. Their culture is one of the oldest and prides itself in its wisdom. When others do not regard that wisdom and come with only their outside ideas, they know how offended they can be come. They must be careful not to do this to others. Oscar said, “Allow us as Africans to teach you what we have learned about poverty and suffering.”
II. David in Saul’s Armor (1 Samuel 17:32-40)
Saul was impressed with experience and weaponry. He was not impressed with shepherd experience. He saw David as a young sapling with no experience on the battlefield and no armor. Saul offered David the best he had—his own armor and his sword, of which there were only two in all of Israel (see 1 Samuel 13:22). David on the other hand, realized that this armor was nothing but a burden to him. He had the courage to respectfully tell Saul that he could not wear that armor. Instead he went for what was familiar to him—his sling, his smooth stones, and his God.
There have been several eras of mission. Missions in the early church moved under the umbrella of Pax Romana. This provided roads, communication, a single legal system, etc. It promised peace to those who lived under its rule. Even Paul was able to play the “Roman” card when it was to his benefit.
Two hundred years ago came the Pax Britanica. Those who lived under its system were protected by its power and were able to move freely throughout the colonial world. Under this umbrella, Christian missions went all over the world—even to Kenya and to China.
In the last era we have had the Pax Americana. Under its cover, those who came from strong economies with disposable income, those with power and privilege, were able to move freely throughout the world taking the Gospel. Wherever they went, they created a lifestyle not too dissimilar to what they had back home. Their money made them well received or allowed them to push their way as power brokers.
Now the “Rich East” (read Chinese Diaspora) has tended to follow this model of missions. But that model is about to close. In fact, Pax Americana is already showing the signs of decay:
• It is increasingly difficult to find long-term, career missionaries from the Western countries.
• It takes missionaries from the West longer and longer to deputize and raise their necessary funds.
• Since 9/11/2001 when the USA was attacked, funds that used to be sent for foreign missions are being diverted to other causes.
• Among the Catholics we have had sex scandals and among the Anglicans we have had debates over homosexuality.
• The “window of access” for the Western nations is being closed rapidly by the rise of Islam, terrorism, and resistance to Western military aggression.
The largest force for World Missions is no longer the Western missionary force—it is instead coming from the Two-Thirds World, and it is coming with a lot less dependence on the American greenback! The Two Thirds World cannot do missions on the American model. The Mainland Chinese must not be taught this model of missions. As David said to Saul, we have to graciously say, “I cannot wear this armor.” We take off Saul’s armor, and we pick up our five smooth stones. We put our confidence on God.
Parts of the world, such as Africa and Mainland China, have five smooth stones. They are not expensive, but they can be effectively deployed for the Kingdom of God:
1. Young People. In Africa 73% of the continent is under 30 and 50% is under 15. Missions used to go to the young people and start schools, but they are leaving schools. But there you will find the smooth stone of youthful strength and youthful energy. There are huge numbers of unemployed among the youth of Africa and a growing number in the youth in Mainland China. Go to the Youth.
2. Time. In Africa we say to the Westerner, “You have watches and no time. We have time and no watches.” Many of these who are idle (Kenya has 46% unemployment) could be trained.
3. Simple Lifestyle. When an African travels to any other part of the world, he is entering upward mobility. It is all up from here. The cost of sending an African or an Asian is far less than sending someone who must create their Western bubble wherever they go. And we can live with hardship.
4. Hospitality. Have you ever noticed that when a westerner goes to another country they tend to look for hotels? But when an African goes to a distant city, he just looks for some friend or relative with whom they will stay. We are a hospitable people, Muriu says, not unlike those of the New Testament. That is why Paul writes about someone who is coming and says, “Receive them well.”
5. Relationships. Have you noticed how Africans work through relationships? Even in the cities to which we migrate, we get a few people in one place, and we keep adding because we have relationships. That is one of our strengths.
III. Seven Models for Mission from Poverty
1. In the new model for missions we must return to “incarnational models of powerlessness.” Jesus sent out his disciples without extra clothes, shoes, no gold or silver. He told them to look for the man of peace in the village and stay with them. Go as powerless—and become dependant on those you come to save—and you will incarnate with them.
2. Business as Mission. Chinese have a special knack for starting small businesses. They have the “Midas” touch. Everything they touch turns to gold. These businesses need to have “High Human Contact” which means they must expose us to large numbers of people. We need to look at what is needed in a country and then develop the skills we need to be effective in that country.
3. Giving Churches. We need to figure out a way to create sustainable finances for missions. In Africa 95% of Christians give their money to the church, not to missionaries. Mission organizations that send their missionaries looking for money from individuals—and even from the church—will find it tough going in Africa. That is why so many African missionaries are forced to go overseas to look for their support. It is not just because they are opportunist, but rather it is because of the “giving culture” we have developed here in Africa. The solution to this problem may be to start new churches, which from the very beginning are taught to give to missions. Only with a new paradigm will this problem be properly addressed.
4. Hospitality Churches. Another model is to create churches which go out of their way to show hospitality to strangers- foreigners, migrants, visitors.
5. Model of 10. If each family were to give a tithe of their income—would that not support one missionary at the same level?
6. Partnership Models. Could it be that as a body, God may have made one part of the body wealthy—for the very purpose of helping those parts of the body which do not have funds? We need to “get over” dependency theory. The answer here may be not to reduce dependency but to build in reciprocity so that each part of the body sees itself as giving what they are blessed with—and receiving where there is need.
7. Intentional Vow of Poverty. This means taking a vow to be poor for the sake of the Gospel. It is not unlike the Catholic Orders that live in this way. When I go into the slums of Nairobi among the poor, impoverished, disenfranchised, I see some Western missionaries working among them. They are almost always Catholics. Why could not a true evangelical Christian take a vow of poverty—even a temporary one for 5 or 10 years—in order to take the Gospel into some remote area?
Every era of history has a beginning and an end. Just as the Pax Romana ended, just as the Pax Britianica ended, so the Pax Americana will end. What will be the new model of missions that will come forward to bring in the last great harvest?
IV. The Task of Missions in 3-D
Western models of mission tend to focus on the idea of reaching the unreached. Two versions of this theme have become popular in the West.
1. Unreached People Groups. The first of these was suggested by Ralph Winter in Lausanne I. He made the point that the Great Commission commanded us to “make disciples in all nations.” He argued that nations were not geographic borders but rather they were ethno-linguistic units, and we must reach each one of them with the Gospel in order for the “end to come.” Thus the world has been classified into 23,000 unreached people groups of which an estimated 11,000 have yet to be “reached.” Many of these are very small groups in remote parts of the world. This vision of mission has been used to propel many into the dark corners of our world.
2. 10/40 Window. The second way is to see the Great Commission as it relates to the geographic sections of the world with the most unevangelized people. This part of the world has been defined as the part of the world from the 10th degree north latitude to the 40th degree north latitude. In particular it stretches from the Northeastern tip of Africa to the Pacific. It is a part of the world that contains 2.4 billion people, most of whom are either Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu. Only 8% of the world’s harvest force is focused on this part of the world, and there is only one missionary per million in the region.
3. Most Receptive Model. But there is yet a third way to understand the task of mission. This task is suggested by the text of Mark 6:7-11. Here Jesus told his disciples to go to the cities of Israel. Verse 11 says, “And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake off the dust from the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” While the former two models look at the least reached, this model focuses on the most receptive.
V. Ripe Harvest Fields
Oscar suggests three of the most receptive harvest fields of the world:
1. The 4/14 Window. Unlike the geographic model of the 10/40 window, this looks at the youth of the world between the ages of 4 and 14 years old. It describes the youth. In some cultures (like in Africa), the age should probably be extended to 16 or even 18. But here is the age when most people make two very important decisions of life: 1) to follow Jesus and 2) to serve Jesus. Research shows that people who convert to Islam tend to convert in their adult years. But people who convert to Christianity, tend to convert in their youth. The reason may be because Christianity is a hard religion. You are called upon to give up on saving yourself, declare yourself a sinner, allow God to examine your life and your motives. Further, you must be a scholar to study the Word of God. A Muslim, on the other hand, has only to do what he is told. He prays facing Mecca and refrains from eating pork, etc.
But how is this most receptive group of youth treated in modern mission? It used to be that missions concentrated on schools. In fact, most of the African political leaders today were trained in mission schools. One could even say that Africa was “Christianized” by Christian schools. But over time, emphasis shifted to adults. We forgot that 50% of Africa is under 15, and 73% of Africa is under 30. We turned from the most receptive audience to the less receptive audience because we thought that was where the opinion leaders were to be found as well as the money.
The Muslims, however, have understood the power of youth. That is why they are building schools every 25 kilometers along the highways of Africa.
If we are looking for one of the most receptive mission fields of the world, we will find it among the youth.
2. Cities of the World. For the past 100 years, missions have tended to go to the rural areas. A study done in Nairobi some time ago indicated that of the 800 pastors in the city, very few of them enjoyed pastoring an urban church. They simply did not know how to engage the city. Is it any small wonder that in Nairobi only 16% of the people go to church on any given Sunday? The statistics, however tell us that our world is becoming more and more urbanized. It is estimated that in:
• 1950 – 29% of the world’s population lived in cities
• 1995 – 50% lived in cities
• 2025 – 75% will live in cities
The research also shows that people who move to cities are receptive for the first five years. That is the time when they are trying to make new connections, etc. It is the time when they are most open to the Gospel.
3. The Poor and the Destitute are another most receptive mission field.
It is estimated that 46% of all Africans live below the poverty line. There are 19 million refugees in the world, and 30% of them live in Africa. Out of the 31 least-developed nations of the world, 26 of them are in Africa.
Modern missions tend to target the middle class. They do not know how to reach the poor. If you go to the suburbs of any African city, you will find thriving churches, but, if you go to the slums, you will find that hardly any of them thrive. Yet it is well known that the destitute and the migrant poor are some of the most receptive people.
In our modern mission strategy, do we have strategies for the youth, for the urban, and for the poor? If we look at our mission budgets, is the majority of our funding going toward these three areas? Or is it being siphoned off for other less responsive programs?
Oscar closed with a passionate plea for the Chinese to lead us all in these areas of mission.
Oscar Muriu Lectures ~ 4-6 April 2008, Chinese Mission in Africa
Reported by Howard Brant
New Initiatives in Mission
Reflections from Howard Brant
Oscar Muriu, Senior Pastor of the Nairobi Chapel, Kenya.Oscar Muriu dedicated his life to Christ in 1983, and has served as the Senior Pastor of the Nairobi Chapel, since 1991. In that time he has seen the church grow from a mere 20 people, to become a thriving, missions-focused congregation with over 3,000 people. Nairobi Chapel has established 25 church plants. His personal mission is to raise up a legacy of African leaders for the Church of Christ worldwide. He holds a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Delhi in India, and an M. Div. from the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST). Oscar and his wife, Bea, have three daughters.
This year’s meeting of the Chinese Coordination Center of World Evangelism (CCCOWE) was held in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference was titled “A Call from Afar—The Challenging Task of African Evangelization.” The main speaker was Oscar Muriu, senior pastor of Nairobi Chapel. About 100 Chinese church and mission leaders were present.
This interface between an outstanding African leader and representatives of the Chinese Diaspora was most enlightening. In the background is the fact that Africa is the continent where Christianity is growing fastest (from 9m in 1900 to 136m in 2000), and China is fast becoming the world super-power. Pastor Oscar sees the vast potential of missions out of Mainland China. He sees the Chinese Diaspora as having a key role in shaping the thinking and models of missions that come with this new wave. While he did not mention it, this assumption gains credibility when you see the increasing number of Chinese Diaspora mission leaders (from Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, etc.) to do mission training seminars in Mainland China. Add to this, the large number of Mainland Chinese students who come to the Chinese seminaries and training institutions in the Pacific Rim.
Oscar’s deep concern is that the models of mission being taught to the emerging Chinese missions movement reflect the new realities of missions from the “REST” (70% of world Christians) as well as the “WEST.” This arrow was well aimed. As the Chairman of the meetings confessed, large numbers of Chinese Diaspora mission leaders have been trained in the West or by teachers trained in the West. Chinese Diaspora teachers tend to follow their Western mentors as well as their models. Chinese missiologists have had little opportunity to hear about models of mission from non-Western sources. Thus Oscar’s message was on target.
Past centers of mission activity were either in London, Pasadena, or Colorado Springs. New emerging centers of mission will be in Brazil, South Korea, and China. Oscar finds that missions in the Western world are largely focused on the issue of the “unreached” as in the 10/40 Window or “unreached (or least reached) people groups.” The Brazilians, however, are trying how to figure out how to re-evangelize Europe. Africans are already manning the pulpits of the largest churches in Zurich, Kiev, and London. South Korea is trying to figure out how to mobilize China. China is developing brand new models of how to evangelize Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus between China and Jerusalem.
With the globalization of Christianity (which Oscar credits to the West) there is no clear “mission field” today. The Global South is more “evangelized” than the “Global North.” Oscar quoted someone who made the point that when it comes to countries where there are large numbers of non-Christians, the USA ranks third highest in the world! In fact the mission fields today are places like Australia (where only 2% of the population are evangelical).
Missionaries from these new centers (like Africa and Mainland China) cannot operate in the same way as missions from the West. Westerners can easily cross borders—many non-Westerners cannot. Western missions is built upon a financial base of affluence where individual donors have copious amounts of excess income they can give to missions. This not only affects their support structures but also the kinds of projects in which they can engage overseas. Many new emerging missions are trying to follow in their pattern—and go to the West to raise their funds. But these funds are shrinking. Less and less money is being given by the West for foreign missions. So for the new emerging missions movements, models of power dominance and affluence will simply not work.
I. Models of Mission—The Body
The West is presently pursuing a “business model” of missions. He is not referring to “Business as Mission” here but rather that the way the West thinks of missions is in terms of the business paradigm. There is a cost/benefit component where “this many dollars = this many souls.” When the West makes partnerships with non-Western churches or missions, the partnership looks like a business contract that states goals, the desired outcomes, the time limits, and a definite end point. This system is the antithesis of the African model.
Africans tend to think of partnerships—not in a business model, but rather one of marriage or family. In this system, partnerships are for life. They are built on giving of yourself. And even if you don’t like the way the partnership is going, divorce is not an option. No wonder many partnerships end in disappointment.
Oscar points us back to the biblical model of partnership—which is the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12). His contextualized reading of this chapter puts in the names of countries for the weak and the strong. He makes the following points:
1. The goal (mature relationship) is not one of independence but of inter-dependence. “No part of the body can become mature when they are independent.” In the body, when a part of the body disassociates itself from the rest and begins to grow on its own, it is called cancer. Present mission models are trying to bring the church to maturity so they can be independent. But an independent church is a sick church. Maturity means we need each other. “Chinese need America. But now you (Chinese) are asking, ‘Does America need China?’” Right now, Africa needs China, but does China need Africa?
2. Every organ of the body gives to the other, and every organ receives from the other. The heart sends blood to the lungs, but the stomach sends nourishment to the heart—and each provides for the whole body. Any mission model for the future must include the principle of reciprocity.
3. The body in 1 Corinthians 12 shows the need for mutual respect and humility. The pituitary gland is one of the smallest—about the size of a pea. Yet it does some of the most important work—it secretes hormones that govern the growth and development of the whole body. In the same way, some of the smaller and apparently weaker parts of the body of Christ are able to perform duties which affect the whole. We should give “more honor” to the parts that are least. And we may not need to overestimate the value of parts which are large and powerful. The Chinese should be sensitive to this. Their culture is one of the oldest and prides itself in its wisdom. When others do not regard that wisdom and come with only their outside ideas, they know how offended they can be come. They must be careful not to do this to others. Oscar said, “Allow us as Africans to teach you what we have learned about poverty and suffering.”
II. David in Saul’s Armor (1 Samuel 17:32-40)
Saul was impressed with experience and weaponry. He was not impressed with shepherd experience. He saw David as a young sapling with no experience on the battlefield and no armor. Saul offered David the best he had—his own armor and his sword, of which there were only two in all of Israel (see 1 Samuel 13:22). David on the other hand, realized that this armor was nothing but a burden to him. He had the courage to respectfully tell Saul that he could not wear that armor. Instead he went for what was familiar to him—his sling, his smooth stones, and his God.
There have been several eras of mission. Missions in the early church moved under the umbrella of Pax Romana. This provided roads, communication, a single legal system, etc. It promised peace to those who lived under its rule. Even Paul was able to play the “Roman” card when it was to his benefit.
Two hundred years ago came the Pax Britanica. Those who lived under its system were protected by its power and were able to move freely throughout the colonial world. Under this umbrella, Christian missions went all over the world—even to Kenya and to China.
In the last era we have had the Pax Americana. Under its cover, those who came from strong economies with disposable income, those with power and privilege, were able to move freely throughout the world taking the Gospel. Wherever they went, they created a lifestyle not too dissimilar to what they had back home. Their money made them well received or allowed them to push their way as power brokers.
Now the “Rich East” (read Chinese Diaspora) has tended to follow this model of missions. But that model is about to close. In fact, Pax Americana is already showing the signs of decay:
• It is increasingly difficult to find long-term, career missionaries from the Western countries.
• It takes missionaries from the West longer and longer to deputize and raise their necessary funds.
• Since 9/11/2001 when the USA was attacked, funds that used to be sent for foreign missions are being diverted to other causes.
• Among the Catholics we have had sex scandals and among the Anglicans we have had debates over homosexuality.
• The “window of access” for the Western nations is being closed rapidly by the rise of Islam, terrorism, and resistance to Western military aggression.
The largest force for World Missions is no longer the Western missionary force—it is instead coming from the Two-Thirds World, and it is coming with a lot less dependence on the American greenback! The Two Thirds World cannot do missions on the American model. The Mainland Chinese must not be taught this model of missions. As David said to Saul, we have to graciously say, “I cannot wear this armor.” We take off Saul’s armor, and we pick up our five smooth stones. We put our confidence on God.
Parts of the world, such as Africa and Mainland China, have five smooth stones. They are not expensive, but they can be effectively deployed for the Kingdom of God:
1. Young People. In Africa 73% of the continent is under 30 and 50% is under 15. Missions used to go to the young people and start schools, but they are leaving schools. But there you will find the smooth stone of youthful strength and youthful energy. There are huge numbers of unemployed among the youth of Africa and a growing number in the youth in Mainland China. Go to the Youth.
2. Time. In Africa we say to the Westerner, “You have watches and no time. We have time and no watches.” Many of these who are idle (Kenya has 46% unemployment) could be trained.
3. Simple Lifestyle. When an African travels to any other part of the world, he is entering upward mobility. It is all up from here. The cost of sending an African or an Asian is far less than sending someone who must create their Western bubble wherever they go. And we can live with hardship.
4. Hospitality. Have you ever noticed that when a westerner goes to another country they tend to look for hotels? But when an African goes to a distant city, he just looks for some friend or relative with whom they will stay. We are a hospitable people, Muriu says, not unlike those of the New Testament. That is why Paul writes about someone who is coming and says, “Receive them well.”
5. Relationships. Have you noticed how Africans work through relationships? Even in the cities to which we migrate, we get a few people in one place, and we keep adding because we have relationships. That is one of our strengths.
III. Seven Models for Mission from Poverty
1. In the new model for missions we must return to “incarnational models of powerlessness.” Jesus sent out his disciples without extra clothes, shoes, no gold or silver. He told them to look for the man of peace in the village and stay with them. Go as powerless—and become dependant on those you come to save—and you will incarnate with them.
2. Business as Mission. Chinese have a special knack for starting small businesses. They have the “Midas” touch. Everything they touch turns to gold. These businesses need to have “High Human Contact” which means they must expose us to large numbers of people. We need to look at what is needed in a country and then develop the skills we need to be effective in that country.
3. Giving Churches. We need to figure out a way to create sustainable finances for missions. In Africa 95% of Christians give their money to the church, not to missionaries. Mission organizations that send their missionaries looking for money from individuals—and even from the church—will find it tough going in Africa. That is why so many African missionaries are forced to go overseas to look for their support. It is not just because they are opportunist, but rather it is because of the “giving culture” we have developed here in Africa. The solution to this problem may be to start new churches, which from the very beginning are taught to give to missions. Only with a new paradigm will this problem be properly addressed.
4. Hospitality Churches. Another model is to create churches which go out of their way to show hospitality to strangers- foreigners, migrants, visitors.
5. Model of 10. If each family were to give a tithe of their income—would that not support one missionary at the same level?
6. Partnership Models. Could it be that as a body, God may have made one part of the body wealthy—for the very purpose of helping those parts of the body which do not have funds? We need to “get over” dependency theory. The answer here may be not to reduce dependency but to build in reciprocity so that each part of the body sees itself as giving what they are blessed with—and receiving where there is need.
7. Intentional Vow of Poverty. This means taking a vow to be poor for the sake of the Gospel. It is not unlike the Catholic Orders that live in this way. When I go into the slums of Nairobi among the poor, impoverished, disenfranchised, I see some Western missionaries working among them. They are almost always Catholics. Why could not a true evangelical Christian take a vow of poverty—even a temporary one for 5 or 10 years—in order to take the Gospel into some remote area?
Every era of history has a beginning and an end. Just as the Pax Romana ended, just as the Pax Britianica ended, so the Pax Americana will end. What will be the new model of missions that will come forward to bring in the last great harvest?
IV. The Task of Missions in 3-D
Western models of mission tend to focus on the idea of reaching the unreached. Two versions of this theme have become popular in the West.
1. Unreached People Groups. The first of these was suggested by Ralph Winter in Lausanne I. He made the point that the Great Commission commanded us to “make disciples in all nations.” He argued that nations were not geographic borders but rather they were ethno-linguistic units, and we must reach each one of them with the Gospel in order for the “end to come.” Thus the world has been classified into 23,000 unreached people groups of which an estimated 11,000 have yet to be “reached.” Many of these are very small groups in remote parts of the world. This vision of mission has been used to propel many into the dark corners of our world.
2. 10/40 Window. The second way is to see the Great Commission as it relates to the geographic sections of the world with the most unevangelized people. This part of the world has been defined as the part of the world from the 10th degree north latitude to the 40th degree north latitude. In particular it stretches from the Northeastern tip of Africa to the Pacific. It is a part of the world that contains 2.4 billion people, most of whom are either Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu. Only 8% of the world’s harvest force is focused on this part of the world, and there is only one missionary per million in the region.
3. Most Receptive Model. But there is yet a third way to understand the task of mission. This task is suggested by the text of Mark 6:7-11. Here Jesus told his disciples to go to the cities of Israel. Verse 11 says, “And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake off the dust from the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” While the former two models look at the least reached, this model focuses on the most receptive.
V. Ripe Harvest Fields
Oscar suggests three of the most receptive harvest fields of the world:
1. The 4/14 Window. Unlike the geographic model of the 10/40 window, this looks at the youth of the world between the ages of 4 and 14 years old. It describes the youth. In some cultures (like in Africa), the age should probably be extended to 16 or even 18. But here is the age when most people make two very important decisions of life: 1) to follow Jesus and 2) to serve Jesus. Research shows that people who convert to Islam tend to convert in their adult years. But people who convert to Christianity, tend to convert in their youth. The reason may be because Christianity is a hard religion. You are called upon to give up on saving yourself, declare yourself a sinner, allow God to examine your life and your motives. Further, you must be a scholar to study the Word of God. A Muslim, on the other hand, has only to do what he is told. He prays facing Mecca and refrains from eating pork, etc.
But how is this most receptive group of youth treated in modern mission? It used to be that missions concentrated on schools. In fact, most of the African political leaders today were trained in mission schools. One could even say that Africa was “Christianized” by Christian schools. But over time, emphasis shifted to adults. We forgot that 50% of Africa is under 15, and 73% of Africa is under 30. We turned from the most receptive audience to the less receptive audience because we thought that was where the opinion leaders were to be found as well as the money.
The Muslims, however, have understood the power of youth. That is why they are building schools every 25 kilometers along the highways of Africa.
If we are looking for one of the most receptive mission fields of the world, we will find it among the youth.
2. Cities of the World. For the past 100 years, missions have tended to go to the rural areas. A study done in Nairobi some time ago indicated that of the 800 pastors in the city, very few of them enjoyed pastoring an urban church. They simply did not know how to engage the city. Is it any small wonder that in Nairobi only 16% of the people go to church on any given Sunday? The statistics, however tell us that our world is becoming more and more urbanized. It is estimated that in:
• 1950 – 29% of the world’s population lived in cities
• 1995 – 50% lived in cities
• 2025 – 75% will live in cities
The research also shows that people who move to cities are receptive for the first five years. That is the time when they are trying to make new connections, etc. It is the time when they are most open to the Gospel.
3. The Poor and the Destitute are another most receptive mission field.
It is estimated that 46% of all Africans live below the poverty line. There are 19 million refugees in the world, and 30% of them live in Africa. Out of the 31 least-developed nations of the world, 26 of them are in Africa.
Modern missions tend to target the middle class. They do not know how to reach the poor. If you go to the suburbs of any African city, you will find thriving churches, but, if you go to the slums, you will find that hardly any of them thrive. Yet it is well known that the destitute and the migrant poor are some of the most receptive people.
In our modern mission strategy, do we have strategies for the youth, for the urban, and for the poor? If we look at our mission budgets, is the majority of our funding going toward these three areas? Or is it being siphoned off for other less responsive programs?
Oscar closed with a passionate plea for the Chinese to lead us all in these areas of mission.
Oscar Muriu Lectures ~ 4-6 April 2008, Chinese Mission in Africa
Reported by Howard Brant
New Initiatives in Mission
SIMSA "Fusion" Newsletter
Here's the second edition of the "Fusion" Newsletter.
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CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW
26 August 2008
Sudan progress at Doro
A newsletter from Dr. Rob and Nancy Congdon...
Dear Friends!
Little Daud stands by the path every day: Same dirty shirt, same bare bottom and toes curling in the mud, same snotty nose, same bright eyes and blazing smile. We pass his humble little village along our path to the clinic, and he lifts our spirits. Robert’s camera captured Daud in action one morning. The images are priceless. ‘Allow the little children to come to Me… for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ It’s no mistake that these words of Jesus were noted by each of the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark and Luke.
The busy, wet months of June and July came and went like a Sudan-style rainstorm: Tremendous blowing gusts of activity and challenging circumstances, bringing all activity to a sudden stand-still and surrounding our efforts with tenacious mud. Fortunately, the Doro mud dries fairly quickly. Robert and Stephen, who have been to Doro, tell me that driving the 4-wheelers is a lot more fun in the mud! The verdant green of Doro, the thriving fields of corn and millet, the utterly-transformed look of southern Sudan from what those of you who’ve visited us during the brown, barren months of the year might envision – this is the wonderful benefit of the storms over southern Sudan. As I think over the difficult storms we’ve faced this year, I have no doubt God is in the process of using these to bring glory to Himself in Sudan. He’s doing the same in our lives, as well.
Robert’s visit to Doro was one adventure after another. We cared for the sick, nailed a corrugated tin roof in place, squashed the occasional scorpion into oblivion, shared meals and fellowship with our team, and visited the distant Mabaan village of Khortoumbak. Along the way we encouraged fathers and mothers to follow Jesus, to trust Him, to cast their burdens on Him. “He cares for you, and so do we.” It was great to see the Lord raise up desperately-ill children, as we prayed and provided medical treatment. There were sad moments. At dusk one memorable evening we followed a critically-ill child out to the home village where her family had taken her, crying out in desperation as they watched the small, unconscious body struggle against cerebral malaria. All they have known in such situations is the inevitability of death. We found them wailing over her lifeless body there in the gloom. It was a tragic, moving sight. On another day we cleaned bat droppings from one end of the old ruined hospital building and fashioned a crude operating table. We used 50-gallon drums for foot rests, ketamine for anesthesia, and managed to surgically debride an awful infected wound of which I will spare you further description. Robert’s pictures show that behind me, in military graffiti on the rough plaster wall, is an old drawing of an Antonov bomber coming overhead and an SPLA soldier taking aim from the ground with a shoulder-mounted missile launcher!
July’s adventures were closer to home. Timothy completed his high school years in style, graduated from Rift Valley Academy, and begins his college career at Wheaton this month. He will join Robert who is now in his final year. By the way, thank you for your encouragement and support of Robert this summer, as he went on from Sudan to Togo and had a wonderful pre-med and missions experience there as well. (Please ask, if you’d like us to send a copy of his excellent pdf newsletter). We’re excited to see how the Lord will lead and use him as he completes the medical school application process.
Then two storms blew over us, back to back. Nancy became quite ill and we discovered she was ‘thyro-toxic’ with Grave’s disease, a fairly-common malady of the thyroid gland. She received excellent care in the States where she was already headed with Timothy, and we thank the Lord for her steady progress toward recovery to full health. Then tragedy struck a missionary family close to us – dad’s a doctor, Wheaton grad, kids same ages as ours, and so on. Their son had graduated with Thomas two years ago. Returning to RVA for the alumni celebration in July, he scored the winning goal in the alumni soccer game then within days fell ill and to our disbelief died from an overwhelming cardiac infection. The final weeks of July were as painful a time as we can remember. Ben’s home-going was a jolting reminder that Christ Himself is our anchor in life here, and in the Life to come. He felt the pain of human suffering and loss, and His promise to the disciples in John 16 was, “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”
After Nancy’s much-anticipated return to Kenya this weekend, I will return to Doro 8 September. The clinic is busy these days; pray for strength and encouragement for Angelina, Sarah, and doctor Shermeen from Canada helping this month. We have partnered with a Christian group called Medair to help build our nutrition center, and Grace is our nurse heading up the ministry to families of children affected by severe malnutrition. This is a tremendous work, with great rewards as the physical and spiritual ministry to these mothers and children go hand in hand. Grace is a special person, brought to Sudan by the Lord when others her age are relaxing in retirement. She will be returning to the US for two months, come November, and at this point I believe we will have to close the ‘nutrition village’ during that time. Pray the Lord may touch the heart of someone to take her place and continue this wonderful ministry. Required skill? Teachability, and a heart of compassion.
The Community Health Worker training school program is making great progress. We’ll have our first graduation ceremony the last week of November. And the Adult Literacy Program with 30 students is looking to complete the full course of education and discipleship in December. The commitment to evangelistic outreach by Sebsibe and Abebe, our Ethiopian missionary partners, continues to bear fruit. On two village visits last month, 21 men and women heard the Good News and trusted Christ. Pray for Ray and Anne Lee, our team members at Doro who are working with church leaders to encourage spiritual growth and leadership in the Church and development of an effective Sunday School ministry.
I hope you can see that despite the rain in Sudan, there is much cause for excitement in Doro! You can be involved…
Your encouragement and support and prayer make all the difference to Nancy and me, the family, and to our Sudan team. If you feel that the Lord might have you come for 3-4 weeks or even longer, to join a building team or a medical team at Doro, please write and I’ll do my best to make it happen. If you want to be involved in any other way, please let us know.
This final thought. Sudan’s torrential rains and violent thunderstorms are not without their purpose. What of the storms which seem to shake our world with such regularity? What is God doing? In the words of a favorite pastor, speaking from Hebrews 12:26-29: “God is in the process of removing those things which can be shaken, in order that the things that can not be shaken may remain.” No matter the uncertainty in society, in the economy, in the political realm, God is in the process of shaking our world in order that the things which are permanent may remain. What will remain, when He shakes your world?
Be encouraged today, abiding in His faithful, unshakeable Presence.
In Christ’s love, Rob and Nancy
Dr. Rob and Nancy Congdon
SIM Sudan Medical Director
August, 2008
Dear Friends!
Little Daud stands by the path every day: Same dirty shirt, same bare bottom and toes curling in the mud, same snotty nose, same bright eyes and blazing smile. We pass his humble little village along our path to the clinic, and he lifts our spirits. Robert’s camera captured Daud in action one morning. The images are priceless. ‘Allow the little children to come to Me… for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ It’s no mistake that these words of Jesus were noted by each of the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark and Luke.
The busy, wet months of June and July came and went like a Sudan-style rainstorm: Tremendous blowing gusts of activity and challenging circumstances, bringing all activity to a sudden stand-still and surrounding our efforts with tenacious mud. Fortunately, the Doro mud dries fairly quickly. Robert and Stephen, who have been to Doro, tell me that driving the 4-wheelers is a lot more fun in the mud! The verdant green of Doro, the thriving fields of corn and millet, the utterly-transformed look of southern Sudan from what those of you who’ve visited us during the brown, barren months of the year might envision – this is the wonderful benefit of the storms over southern Sudan. As I think over the difficult storms we’ve faced this year, I have no doubt God is in the process of using these to bring glory to Himself in Sudan. He’s doing the same in our lives, as well.
Robert’s visit to Doro was one adventure after another. We cared for the sick, nailed a corrugated tin roof in place, squashed the occasional scorpion into oblivion, shared meals and fellowship with our team, and visited the distant Mabaan village of Khortoumbak. Along the way we encouraged fathers and mothers to follow Jesus, to trust Him, to cast their burdens on Him. “He cares for you, and so do we.” It was great to see the Lord raise up desperately-ill children, as we prayed and provided medical treatment. There were sad moments. At dusk one memorable evening we followed a critically-ill child out to the home village where her family had taken her, crying out in desperation as they watched the small, unconscious body struggle against cerebral malaria. All they have known in such situations is the inevitability of death. We found them wailing over her lifeless body there in the gloom. It was a tragic, moving sight. On another day we cleaned bat droppings from one end of the old ruined hospital building and fashioned a crude operating table. We used 50-gallon drums for foot rests, ketamine for anesthesia, and managed to surgically debride an awful infected wound of which I will spare you further description. Robert’s pictures show that behind me, in military graffiti on the rough plaster wall, is an old drawing of an Antonov bomber coming overhead and an SPLA soldier taking aim from the ground with a shoulder-mounted missile launcher!
July’s adventures were closer to home. Timothy completed his high school years in style, graduated from Rift Valley Academy, and begins his college career at Wheaton this month. He will join Robert who is now in his final year. By the way, thank you for your encouragement and support of Robert this summer, as he went on from Sudan to Togo and had a wonderful pre-med and missions experience there as well. (Please ask, if you’d like us to send a copy of his excellent pdf newsletter). We’re excited to see how the Lord will lead and use him as he completes the medical school application process.
Then two storms blew over us, back to back. Nancy became quite ill and we discovered she was ‘thyro-toxic’ with Grave’s disease, a fairly-common malady of the thyroid gland. She received excellent care in the States where she was already headed with Timothy, and we thank the Lord for her steady progress toward recovery to full health. Then tragedy struck a missionary family close to us – dad’s a doctor, Wheaton grad, kids same ages as ours, and so on. Their son had graduated with Thomas two years ago. Returning to RVA for the alumni celebration in July, he scored the winning goal in the alumni soccer game then within days fell ill and to our disbelief died from an overwhelming cardiac infection. The final weeks of July were as painful a time as we can remember. Ben’s home-going was a jolting reminder that Christ Himself is our anchor in life here, and in the Life to come. He felt the pain of human suffering and loss, and His promise to the disciples in John 16 was, “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”
After Nancy’s much-anticipated return to Kenya this weekend, I will return to Doro 8 September. The clinic is busy these days; pray for strength and encouragement for Angelina, Sarah, and doctor Shermeen from Canada helping this month. We have partnered with a Christian group called Medair to help build our nutrition center, and Grace is our nurse heading up the ministry to families of children affected by severe malnutrition. This is a tremendous work, with great rewards as the physical and spiritual ministry to these mothers and children go hand in hand. Grace is a special person, brought to Sudan by the Lord when others her age are relaxing in retirement. She will be returning to the US for two months, come November, and at this point I believe we will have to close the ‘nutrition village’ during that time. Pray the Lord may touch the heart of someone to take her place and continue this wonderful ministry. Required skill? Teachability, and a heart of compassion.
The Community Health Worker training school program is making great progress. We’ll have our first graduation ceremony the last week of November. And the Adult Literacy Program with 30 students is looking to complete the full course of education and discipleship in December. The commitment to evangelistic outreach by Sebsibe and Abebe, our Ethiopian missionary partners, continues to bear fruit. On two village visits last month, 21 men and women heard the Good News and trusted Christ. Pray for Ray and Anne Lee, our team members at Doro who are working with church leaders to encourage spiritual growth and leadership in the Church and development of an effective Sunday School ministry.
I hope you can see that despite the rain in Sudan, there is much cause for excitement in Doro! You can be involved…
- Pray for health workers. Already, we are critically short of staff to meet the pressing needs. Pray the Lord would mobilize a short-term medical team from your church. A dentist has offered to come for a couple of weeks in November. Pray for me as I travel to the largest medical mission conference in the world, held in Louisville this November. We’re trusting for many contacts with men and women prepared to serve in Sudan.
- Pray for a PARTNER to assist Grace at the Nutrition Village, and to continue the work while she visits with children and grandchildren in Texas at year-end.
- Pray for our Community Health Worker trainees, who will become key health workers throughout the region. Pray for Vicki as she directs their training.
- Also you may remember that Vicki is a TB/leprosy expert who worked with us in Zambia. Her desire is to see this important and very-needed ministry take shape at Doro, despite many administrative hurdles with South Sudan’s Ministry of Health. Pray for her as she seeks the way forward, making the necessary contacts and gaining approval for the medications required to treat tuberculosis and leprosy.
- Pray for peace in Upper Nile State, where we work. Because of our proximity to Northern Sudan and to the Adar Oil Field, we are well aware of the challenges which face South Sudan as the Peace Agreement enters its final two years. Pray for our commissioner, John Ibo, who continues to be a strong encouragement.
- Pray for a BUILDER! Yes, we still need a builder to take up the clinic development project. A Christian engineering firm has agreed to visit mid-2009 and develop plans for development of the site, but we believe the time is now to move forward with our first building: A maternity ward and delivery facility to care for this critical need. Work teams will certainly be a significant part of this effort, and we’re praying for more excellent teams like those who came to Doro last year.
- Speaking of maternity needs: The Lord has sent Vivian Henderson, a nurse midwife, to be with us until May of next year. After the Training School course is completed in November, her primary task will be development of maternity services for the health center. Let’s pray that she has a building to work from!
- Communications. This is an area of great concern not only because of the isolation of Doro, but because it is now apparent that our satellite and cell phone conversations are monitored. We have purchased a VSAT system this week, and I will be in Doro with the technician next month at the installation. We may have a US telephone number!
- Finally, pray for a pastor named John Maya whom I’ve mentioned in the past, and for the thousands of people who live in his area 20 miles from Doro. We are praying about the possibility of supporting a small health clinic in Khortoumbak, placing one of our CHW health workers there, and finding ways to strengthen the churches and Christian leaders in this critical border area. John and four village elders met me at Doro recently, pleading for our help to organize a church leaders’ conference in that place later this year.
Your encouragement and support and prayer make all the difference to Nancy and me, the family, and to our Sudan team. If you feel that the Lord might have you come for 3-4 weeks or even longer, to join a building team or a medical team at Doro, please write and I’ll do my best to make it happen. If you want to be involved in any other way, please let us know.
This final thought. Sudan’s torrential rains and violent thunderstorms are not without their purpose. What of the storms which seem to shake our world with such regularity? What is God doing? In the words of a favorite pastor, speaking from Hebrews 12:26-29: “God is in the process of removing those things which can be shaken, in order that the things that can not be shaken may remain.” No matter the uncertainty in society, in the economy, in the political realm, God is in the process of shaking our world in order that the things which are permanent may remain. What will remain, when He shakes your world?
Be encouraged today, abiding in His faithful, unshakeable Presence.
In Christ’s love, Rob and Nancy
Dr. Rob and Nancy Congdon
SIM Sudan Medical Director
09 July 2008
YOU CAN NEVER RETURN TO THIS COUNTRY!
Write to me if you want to know which country this is.
"Remember those in prison..."
This is a newsletter from Don and Muriel Stilwell...
Dear friends,
Muriel and I were having our prayer time this morning when the phone rang. It was Askale. In a voice full of emotion she reminded us that it was 10 years ago today that she came to live with us. So today is not only the birthday of our country. It is the 10th birthday of Askale becoming our daughter! She thanked us over and over again for opening our hearts and our home to her when she was a woman without a country.
She thought she was leaving her country, where she had lived most of her life, for a short vacation. She expected to return to her husband and two teen-age daughters in a few weeks. She expected to return to manage the private kindergarten she had operated for several years and to her growing church where she and her husband, Gebre, were so active.
But a terrible war had just broken out between her country of residence and her country of birth. Now she and thousands of others suddenly found themselves considered to be enemies of the country that had been her home for 40 years. As she checked through formalities to board her vacation flight to the USA she was told that she could go but that her name was recorded in THE BOOK and she could never come back.
She cried across Africa, Europe and the ocean and arrived here to visit an old friend for a week. But she now had no country to return to. We told her that if she needed a place to stay, she could stay with us. On July 4th, 1998, we drove across Charlotte and picked up Askale. She lived with us while we helped her get asylum and while she worked on getting immigration papers to bring her family more than a year later. Practically speaking, Askale became our daughter while she waited for her family to come.
This morning, when Askale's outpouring of love and appreciation was over, we told her that we have been studying the life of Joseph in Genesis in our devotions. We reminded her of how Joseph was separated from his family and sent to Egypt as a slave. There, "the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph". Again, in the prison, there was blessing in the prison because the Lord was with Joseph. Finally, when he was promoted to a high position, the Lord made him a blessing to the whole country. In that way, the Lord blessed us because of Askale because "the Lord was with her".
This year marks another anniversary for us. It was in 1958 that we first arrived in Africa, in the land of Askale's birth. Our three sons were born there. It still has a big place in our hearts. Soon after we arrived we witnessed the first baptismal service that marked the beginning of the SIM-related church in that land. That church has grown a lot in recent years. Now the government is seeking to stamp out our churches and other evangelical churches there. Some 2,000 believers are in prison for their faith. One of them is one of our most senior pastors. His wife is Askale's cousin. Their son is likewise in prison for his stand for the Lord. So they are in our daily prayers. Would you pray for them, too?
We are getting into our upper 70s. We don't know if we will ever get back to Africa. But hardly a day passes that we are not involved in some way with the people and churches we know in Askale's birth country and also in Sudan. This morning we were on the phone with one of our leading church women from there who is temporarily out of her home country. This enabled us to discuss freely the situation of God's people there. We dare not have conversations like this with people while they are in their country because phone calls are tapped and we don't want to reveal who the Christians are and risk more going to prison.
Tomorrow, when the post office opens, I plan to mail a CD with an encouraging sermon to another "pillar" from our church in that country. He fled to another country when he was released from prison and is now doing Bible teaching with his countrymen in a foreign land. We would not dare send such material to anyone living in his home country. It could bring real danger. Thank God for the freedom we have in our country!
Thank you for staying with us with your support and prayers. Some of you have been with us now for over 50 years! God bless you all!
For the glory of God and for the sake of His people in a country we dare not name!
Don and Muriel
"Remember those in prison..."
This is a newsletter from Don and Muriel Stilwell...
Dear friends,
Muriel and I were having our prayer time this morning when the phone rang. It was Askale. In a voice full of emotion she reminded us that it was 10 years ago today that she came to live with us. So today is not only the birthday of our country. It is the 10th birthday of Askale becoming our daughter! She thanked us over and over again for opening our hearts and our home to her when she was a woman without a country.
She thought she was leaving her country, where she had lived most of her life, for a short vacation. She expected to return to her husband and two teen-age daughters in a few weeks. She expected to return to manage the private kindergarten she had operated for several years and to her growing church where she and her husband, Gebre, were so active.
But a terrible war had just broken out between her country of residence and her country of birth. Now she and thousands of others suddenly found themselves considered to be enemies of the country that had been her home for 40 years. As she checked through formalities to board her vacation flight to the USA she was told that she could go but that her name was recorded in THE BOOK and she could never come back.
She cried across Africa, Europe and the ocean and arrived here to visit an old friend for a week. But she now had no country to return to. We told her that if she needed a place to stay, she could stay with us. On July 4th, 1998, we drove across Charlotte and picked up Askale. She lived with us while we helped her get asylum and while she worked on getting immigration papers to bring her family more than a year later. Practically speaking, Askale became our daughter while she waited for her family to come.
This morning, when Askale's outpouring of love and appreciation was over, we told her that we have been studying the life of Joseph in Genesis in our devotions. We reminded her of how Joseph was separated from his family and sent to Egypt as a slave. There, "the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph". Again, in the prison, there was blessing in the prison because the Lord was with Joseph. Finally, when he was promoted to a high position, the Lord made him a blessing to the whole country. In that way, the Lord blessed us because of Askale because "the Lord was with her".
This year marks another anniversary for us. It was in 1958 that we first arrived in Africa, in the land of Askale's birth. Our three sons were born there. It still has a big place in our hearts. Soon after we arrived we witnessed the first baptismal service that marked the beginning of the SIM-related church in that land. That church has grown a lot in recent years. Now the government is seeking to stamp out our churches and other evangelical churches there. Some 2,000 believers are in prison for their faith. One of them is one of our most senior pastors. His wife is Askale's cousin. Their son is likewise in prison for his stand for the Lord. So they are in our daily prayers. Would you pray for them, too?
We are getting into our upper 70s. We don't know if we will ever get back to Africa. But hardly a day passes that we are not involved in some way with the people and churches we know in Askale's birth country and also in Sudan. This morning we were on the phone with one of our leading church women from there who is temporarily out of her home country. This enabled us to discuss freely the situation of God's people there. We dare not have conversations like this with people while they are in their country because phone calls are tapped and we don't want to reveal who the Christians are and risk more going to prison.
Tomorrow, when the post office opens, I plan to mail a CD with an encouraging sermon to another "pillar" from our church in that country. He fled to another country when he was released from prison and is now doing Bible teaching with his countrymen in a foreign land. We would not dare send such material to anyone living in his home country. It could bring real danger. Thank God for the freedom we have in our country!
Thank you for staying with us with your support and prayers. Some of you have been with us now for over 50 years! God bless you all!
For the glory of God and for the sake of His people in a country we dare not name!
Don and Muriel
26 February 2008
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