Amy just got back from a trip to Uvira. The sad thing is that she didn’t just bring her lovely self back, but some kind of parasite that decided to make its way into her body. After 3 days of dealing with it, it got to be too much and we decided that it wasn’t just a normal bug and that we should get some tests done. She wasn’t up to going to the hospital and waiting in the less than desirable conditions, so we took some ‘samples’ on our own at home, Amy drawing her own blood and other things. It became my job to transport them. The ironic thing is that this just happened to follow the two wettest days we’ve had down here so far.

I was going to catch a motorcycle, but I stopped one and asked, he told me no way too muddy. Must be serious I thought, I’ll take our car. The road to the hospital is about 20 mins on a good day and rough on its own given the crazy traffic at the roundabout called Essence, but on this day it was the craziest, muddiest thing I had ever seen. 4 wheel drive all the way.

I slipped and slid my way through Essence, where I saw a motorcycle get hit by a car right in front of me. The car was working to get unstuck out of the ditch when he finally got traction and bumped into the back of the bike causing him to crash into a semi-stuck oncoming car climbing the slowly sloping hill. The guy on the back with the machine gun seemed none too happy. But after a few minutes of yelling everyone was on the move again, including me. I was heading to Panzi Hospital, but for the best hospital in town with a ton of international staff, the turn off the main road towards the hospital is obscured by roadside sellers and has no signage at all. I’ve only been there once, so the combination of mud, which feels like snow to drive on, peoples roadside shops, and my directional ineptitude, caused me to miss the turn. I ended up going the back way, a far worse road which had 2 options, straight down the hill which was blocked by a giant truck stuck in the ditch sticking across the road. I found this out only after I got there and made a slippery turn around and climbed back to opI’ll admit, the car has been cleaner.

As they say ‘matope mingi’ lots of mud!tion 2. As small turn down an equally slippery road. I got around one Lowry stuck in the ditch, only to find a second that was trying to dig himself out, that completely blocked the road. The only option double back look for the main turnoff that I missed.

Climbing the slope the car fishtailed at 5km per hour, but I managed to keep calm. When asking for directions I met two medical students on the way to the hospital and asked them if they wanted a ride, but what I really wanted was directions. On the way to the main road, I put the drivers side tires in a small ditch to guide us passed another truck in the ditch, to get by without sliding into him. Eventually with no more major setbacks we made it to the hospital. I dropped of the tests and could wait for the results back at home.

The way home was faster, but none less eventful. First I watched a motorcycle and his passenger slip in the mud beside me and do a faceplant in the muck at about 20km/hr. They were fine, but everyone around was laughing. To think I was hoping to take one. When I got back to Essence traffic was at a standstill. After a few seconds I figured out it was because there was a guy herding his cows through the busiest road in Bukavu. The cattle weren’t moving because they were surrounded by cars and spooked. Eventually one of them hit my car with his horn, but not before I snapped a few pictuThis guys is a split second away from ramming his horn into the front fender. He didn’t do any damage though…res on my phone. Cars jockeyed and eventually the cattle got through. The rest of the trip home was uneventful, minus the two police who stopped me to ask for money.

All said and done, Amy’s test came back and she has some type of African parasite, but clear for anything major. She is just taking some antibiotics and recovering slowly, but well. As for me, I had the adventure of a lifetime. 4x4ing in the mud, cow attacks, motorcycles crashing, samples delivered. Mission accomplished!

Asante sana, (Thank you very much)

- Mike and Amy Boomer -

Bukavu DRC

I am always amazed when I sit down to write emails, how much time has passed. It seems that here, although we don’t have the cell phones, TV and all the distractions that so fill our lives in North America, time still manages to fly just as fast.

Days here take on a kind of rythm that can be exhausting but is also very satisfying. The cold season has passed and it is getting hotter daily so Segunda and I (Segunda is the Angolan man I am working with and discipling) and sometimes other helpers go out to start work at the horse corals at 7am and quit at lunch. I try to hide from the afternoon heat indoors studying Portuguese, teaching English lessons and fighting to keep up with cooking and cleaning and only emerge in the late afternoon to wander through the village at visiting time. I am trying to make sure that in the busy-ness of responsabilities and projects I remain more people oriented than task oriented. I feel that it is very important to spend those hours sitting in the shade of a tree chatting with the villagers or playing with the kids. In this culture even more than at home relationship is the vehicle of the gospel.

At the agricultural fair last month we were able to sell all three of the horses I trained and brought to the auction. One was bought by a millionaire from the capitol city and another by the governor of our province so that was very good publicity. Since then I have been approached by the directors of an agricultural college campus near the city. They want to start a horse program where they will give riding lessons and help to develope an authentically “Angolan” breed of horses and have asked for my help. While my committment is to Tchincombe Farm and the people here it is exciting to see God opening other doors as well and exciting to pray about how best it should all fit together. These  are exactly the kind of contacts that we need to make as many opportunities may come through these connections in the future. And of course, I dont need to tell you that when I speak of opportunities I am thinking less of the horses and work to be done and more of the people we can reach while doing it!

I covet your prayers. I have only one month left before I must leave Angola and go to the next country down to renew my visa again. I will likely be away for a month and when I return to Angola I will be promptly leaving the farm again for ANOTHER month of intensive immersion language study. Because of that I am very away of wanting to make the most of the next few weeks both in my work with the horses and in my friendships and relationships here. Please pray for Segunda as he is Christian in name but Im not sure he really understands what being a Christian really means. Sadly, in some areas here, there has been such an emphasis, first from the missionaries and later from the established Angolan church who is following the pattern set out, on church attendance, proper clothes and singing songs that some people think that is the definition of Christian life. You can ask someone here, “Are you a believer?” and he will answer, “O yes! I go to church and in my home village I sang in the choir.” Maybe this is a worldwide problem, that the gospel of Christ has no power to transform lives and situations until it moves from the head and habits to the heart. Please pray for me as I try to make clear to Segunda in our discussions and model for him with my life, that there is a wonderful mystery and depth of relationship that is possible with Christ if we are just willing to open our hearts to him and start following him.

I thank God for all of you. I think of you so often. Even though I was with you so briefly before coming your love, acceptance and support made a permanent imprint on me. Please don’t stop praying for me or for the others that you know in missions and in ministry (and for eachother!!). The enemy opposes the Lord’s work and sometimes life seems to be more battle than victory. But there is wonderful power in prayer and scripture. Specifically I have lately been clinging to that one treasured phrase, “My God shall supply all of my Needs.” Needs for companionship, needs for finances, needs for transportation and a visa…there is no need to big that He can’t meet it or so small that He doesnt care about it.
In fact, God is continuing to meet my needs even now through you! Knowing you are at home supporting and praying for me gives me strength and your generous financial support has several times been the difference between my having money for groceries or not!

Keep well! Don’t get tired of pushing forward in this adventure God has you on! Let’s keep going together where God calls us!
It will be %100 worth it!!!

With love,
Aimee “

Three weeks have gone by since I arrived in Malawi. Apologies in advance for not sparing many words! Hopefully this will give you a sense of the experience of daily life for me here.

The sun rises at about 5:30 a.m., a red ball on the hazy, smoky horizon. I have used a blanket once in the two and a half weeks I’ve been here. I crawl out from under the mosquito net and even me, Miss cold feet, is pleased to feel the cool of the tile floor underneath me. I’m sharing a small house with Kathryn, a teacher from the UK who also works at the Children of Blessing centre. She tends to get up later, so I’m greeted by my other two roommates, namely, Darcy the cat and Kiara the dog – both great company. ( Amazingly, my allergy to cats has never flared up in my whole time here, even after giving in to Darcy’s near continual pleas for scratches behind his ears.) As I sit outside in the garden in the cool of the morning, I notice that even the birds speak a different language here! I’m enjoying hearing the new songs. The water has never been off in my time here in this apartment., which has been awesome – it is not a given that every tap or every toilet that I will come across in the course of my day will be working! I have also learned to appreciate the hum of the refrigerator – it means there’s power! This is not always the case, and power cuts are random and scattered throughout town on any given day. No power means the candles get lit and the propane stove comes out – feels like camping!

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning I get to visit with Mary, Kat’s housekeeper, and her little 9 month old, Overtone. He gets packed around on her back in a titenje, the multipurpose fabric that can be baby sling, apron, skirt, blanket, or even a diaper in a pinch. I’ve noticed that some women wear at least a couple – you never know when you may need an extra!

Edwin the daytime guard opens the gate for us (most houses are surrounded by walls) and we start the bumpy ride down the dirt road to the “tarred” road. (I’m getting used to referring to things by their British name, a by-product of the former British colonial influence, plus the fact that I’m living with a Brit!). Most roads that aren’t paved are BUMPY – close cousins to any deactivated logging road I’ve driven in BC! Apparently the roads have improved a ton under the current president, with lots of paving and widening having been done.

It takes about 20 minutes to drive from our neighbourhood in Area 47 to the far northwestern end of town, Area 25, where the centre is located. It borders the “peri-urban” slum area of Ngona, where about 50 000 people live in an area about 2.5 km by 0.5 km. The Children of Blessing ministry had its start there before it outgrew its location moved a couple of kilometres to its present digs.

Lilongwe is built on a grid system, kind of, and is pretty darn spread out. I’m having to adjust to city life after living out in the country! Public transit consists of minibuses, or a variation of a minivan that has three rows of bench seats. The stops aren’t marked, you just have to know where they are. The drivers and their partners work together to hustle passengers, honking and calling out from the window or the open sliding door to people on the side of the road. The time it takes you to get where you’re going depends on how many stops are made and how long the driver stays put at a given stop rustling up more passengers. I’ve gotten to ride in the minibuses a few times now. They’re often a little beat up, well-worn, and they work.

The folks who aren’t getting to work in a car or a minibus may be riding in the back of a truck, the back of a bike, or on foot. People walk significant distances here – many of the moms are walking for an hour or two with their kids on their backs to get to the centre, some more. The concept of going to the gym for exercise is kind of ridiculous in this context.Also visible on the side of the road – the mico-economy of individual entrepreneurs holding up their wares, be it whatever fruit’s in season, cell-phone top-up cards, kittens, whatever. Some things take a lot longer here – lining up at the gas station, lining up at the bank machine, etc.. but the drive-by shopping opportunities are a pleasant exception. Bargaining is often necessary. I have also been introduced to the concept of bicycle as pick-up truck here, with working men carrying hefty loads of firewood or cases filled with bottles stacked precariously high.

Once we arrive at the centre we most often find it in full swing, with seven or more kids and caregivers in the main room on mats working on lying on their stomachs, reaching while on their backs, rolling and sitting. In a side room the level two kids (anywhere from two to five of them) are working on kneeling, sitting, and standing. In these two therapy rooms, moms and sisters carry out the exercises, therapist, rehab technician, and aides assisting. I’m parked mainly with the level two kids, trading places with the caregivers and making my way around the room spending hands-on time with each kid. Therapy when you don’t know much of the local language is interesting. I know how to say good job, stand up, sit down, you’re tired, you’re mad… and other than that I just burble on in English and use a lot of body language. My co-worker Victor, a rehab technician, is most often there to translate when I want to talk about positioning or exercises with the caregiver. Preschool and school activities happen down the hallway, with staff challenged by the task of meeting the needs of a huge range of ability levels within the group of kids present on any given day. The decibel levels can get up pretty high if there are multiple kids unhappy at the same time. Lots of wet bums and nursing going on. You know, kid central. I was a little overwhelmed at first but I’m good with it now.

The kids get a meal-break midmorning, which has also given me the opportunity to sample some local staples like pala la soya (a porridge made of soya maize), pala la mpunga (rice porridge – with sugar and ground peanuts – yum!) and nsima (maize porridge) with usipa – little salty fish. For my tastebuds, that one needs a little ketchup or mango chutney or something.

After break, a group heads to an outdoor area at the back of the house to work on walking in the parallel bars or with the homemade wooden or metal walkers, and to work on ADL’s (washing and dressing).

The morning closes for the larger group with games, announcements, songs and prayer. Those on the feeding program stay behind to get their allotment of pala, and kids needing any extra attention for equipment or exercises are seen. Folks on the vocational program settle their earnings for the day.

Tuesdays and Thursday mornings are a scaled down version of the rest of the week, with a smaller group of kids at the outreach clinic at African Bible College Clinic children’s ward. Afternoons have been a mixed bag – helping out with the remedial schooling activities going on back at the centre, running errands with Kat, the odd nap, and hanging out with the babes at the nearby Crisis Nursery. Have you ever been on a mat with 10 babies at once?! It’s a pretty interesting dynamic, I must say! We’ve helped with feeding times (picture chicks in a nest!) and a little physio. I basically sat and hung out and watched for the babies who were moving the least, and concentrated on them! This afternoon I got to meet with the Canadian couple running the Village of Hope orphanage here, get a tour, meet the kids and assess a couple of the babies they were a little concerned about. Playing with kids, you know. Hard to take, but someone’s gotta do it.

I was blown away by people’s generosity in donating items for the kids of COBT, and it’s been fun seeing these items going to good use. Diaper covers are keeping things driers for moms. Games, educational books, coloured pencils, stamps, puzzles and colouring sheets went to the school room.

The puppets, Lego, tool set, animals, musical shakers and Twister game went to the preschool room and an assortment of toys went to the ABC outreach clinic. The Christian kids music CD’S will be used at the Wednesday afternoon bible club. Any shoes and diaper covers not yet distributed will go to Christmas gift packages.

I’ve been so blessed by being connected right away to an awesome Christian community in the form of Flood church. It’s a young and dynamic group and I’ve felt really welcomed. We have small group meeting on Mondays, prayer on Tuesdays, and other get togethers. I’m starting to get to know these folks better and have had some really interesting conversations with some of Kat’s friends from Malawi.

My co-workers are a good group that care about these kids. I’m slowly getting to know them a better and they are graciously helping me to add to my Chichewa vocabulary. It can be really isolating being in a room where you aren’t following the conversation around you at all. Thankfully I’m starting to recognize more words.

Lilongwe is a city but the traffic isn’t that bad and the drivers are pretty reasonable. Daytime is pretty safe – I walked on my own the half hour to ABC clinic with no issues this morning. Fuel (petrol) is about $1.70 a litre and groceries are about the same prices as in Canada, some things being more expensive, like cheese and yogurt (ouch!). Not cheap to live here! There is a central game park in the city that I want to check out and some little oases with beautiful gardens where you can get a greenery fix. The blossoms here are fantastic – purple, fuscia, yellow… I’ve had the chance to get away to Lake Malawi near Mangochi with my roomie and her friends and that was be-yooo-tiful. Swaying palms, water lapping up on the beach, moon rises, sunrises, and fish eagles soaring. On the way there, villages and termite mounds and baobab trees (which are the most fantastical cartoon trees you’ve ever seen). And mountains! Well, big blue hills in the distance, anyway.

So there you have it – a big long update. Congratulations to those who read this far! I so appreciate your prayers and words of encouragement. I feel looked after – healthy, safe, and blessed. I love to hear from you so keep those emails coming!

Blessings from Shawndele:)

Rounding out the top ten…

Here, to round out our top ten list, are seven more reasons or excuses I’ve heard for why people won’t get more involved in missions. Some I think are valid, some not!

4. I’m afraid of people who are different from me.
5. I only feel safe in good old Muncie, Indiana (or wherever).
6. I’m already up to my ears in mission activity.
7. God has not called me to be involved.
8. Aren’t we all really missionaries in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools?
9. Isn’t everything the church does really missions?
10. I really have no idea what God is trying to do or how I might fit into it.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these issues and any others that come to mind.

Excuse #3 – It’s no use: “The world’s dying anyway, so why bother?”

God has promised that he’ll be followed by some from every people on the planet. He told Abraham this in Genesis 12 and he showed it to John in Revelation 7:9. From beginning to end we see the relentless work of the Father to gather his wayward kids back home.

If you find in your view of the future the notion that the people of God grow weaker and fewer as history marches on, I contend that the source of your view is a modern and misinformed understanding of where we’re headed, and decidedly unbiblical. If we really think things end up with a faithful (very) few finally getting rescued from the onslaught of godless peoples and cultures, it’s no wonder we don’t rally to global vision and engagement. Huddling and holding on is far smarter.

But that is not the future ahead of us. God told Abraham in Genesis 15:5 his children would be like the stars of the sky and in Revelation 7:9, John said the multitude he saw could not be counted. God’s gathering a great harvest. He is not losing. He is not waiting for things to get bad enough to come and get us. He is keeping promises and gathering followers on a grand scale.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have a sophisticated grasp on various views of “end times.” But it is logical that missions vision is squashed by a bleak outlook for the (terrestrial) future of the Church. When we feel as if the Muslims, Maoists, or modernists are taking over, we might naturally be inclined to contract and settle in for a siege, not engage other cultures with boldness and joy.

What do you think? Have you heard this excuse? How would you respond? To what resources would you point me (and others) in order to bolster our understanding of the Church’s future?

Excuse #2 – Limited resources: “We can’t afford it.”

If ever this was a valid argument, it is today. I’m writing amid news of what may seem the scariest global economic situation since the Great Depression. I wonder how our church will meet its missions budget, and what to budget for next year. As a worker supported by donations, I’m also wondering about my personal funding base.

But even now, this excuse simply does not hold water.

I think this argument usually refers to money. “We don’t have money to give to cross cultural efforts.” It could also refer to people. “We don’t have sufficient leaders to send some far away.” David’s opening line in Psalm 24 seems to torpedo both: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” All the people. All the stuff. It’s God’s. He’s not worried about running out of either.

Because tossing out Psalm 24, wiping my hands, and walking away feels a little smug and trite, let me add: It is my belief and experience that sharp people and generous financing rally to great vision. If the potential of the thing is huge and fascinating and important enough to us, then yes, we can afford it.

Is this an accurate use of scripture? What are passages would you bring to bear on this excuse? Have you experienced situations in which you would say this excuse was actually a valid reason?

There’s a Grand Canyon leap of value judgment between labeling something a “reason” and calling it an “excuse.” You know, one man’s “reason” is another man’s “excuse,” and who am I to say which is which? (Unless of course we’re talking about me, then it’s nothing but rock solid reasons, brother!)

It’s important for us as mobilizers to realize that, while some people might just be making excuses, most are articulating honest thoughts. Let’s honor them by listening carefully and responding with insight and grace.

Now, with that safety net in place, can I carefully step out onto the tightrope of this question: How valid are the common excuses people give for not being more involved in God’s Kingdom among other cultures? Let me float out three that seem to be prevalent and consider each of them briefly from a biblical viewpoint.

Excuse #1 – Local needs: “Why go far away when so much needs done here?”

Do you ever hear people say this? I wonder if we’ll hear it more as we work through the implications of the current global economic situation.

Here’s how I’d respond.

Are there needs in your community? Are there hurting, poor, lost people in your neighborhood? Certainly. Even in you live in the buckle of the Bible belt, you live among lost and lonely people. Is that a good reason to spend our resources only in our neighborhood and cities, and not direct efforts and funds to people living far away from us?

It simply is not. Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” I don’t think this verse can be made to say that we’re to be witnesses in this order, and even less, “Do not proceed to Judea and Samaria until all witnessing has been done in Jerusalem.” God uses all of his people all over the place all the time.

There were still many needs in Jerusalem when believers began to fan out to Judea and Samaria in Acts 8:1. Paul, after he began to follow Jesus, could have busied himself with all sorts of good, profitable, and worthwhile work in Jerusalem, or even in the surrounding areas. He didn’t set his heart on Spain (Romans 15:24) because the needs were met all around him, but because his work was in Spain.

Some of us need to work within a stone’s throw of our homes because Jesus is there at work. Some of us need to go where none of us have gone before, because Jesus is there as well.

Does my response make sense to you? Does it hold water? How would you respond to this reason/excuse?

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s excuse!

“Many pre-candidates choose where to serve long-term by first going on one or a series of short-term trips to a country. They fall in love with the place and the people. We must work together to change this trend, however, because the primary result seems to be that most new missionaries continue to go where the majority of missionaries are already serving – that is, in the reached parts of the world.”

This cycle must either be broken or at least greatly redirected. We must begin to explore both creative and very tangible ways to see the spinning-out-of-control short-term missions movement make a radical shift toward short-term mission trips to Unreached People Groups. How else will we see a new wave of missionaries who feel “called” to go to these people groups?

This will not be easy, though. The first obvious major barrier to seeing short-term vision and pre-search trips to Unreached People Groups is the reality that so few long-term workers are already serving among Unreached People Groups. Thus, few are there to arrange short-term trips. Also, if we are talking about the Unengaged Unreached People Groups, then workers serving among them and information about them is scarce, and short-term trips there are almost unheard of. Thus, as it is today, and has been for many decades, there is almost no way for aspiring missionaries to feel “called” or “led” to an Unreached People Group in the normal pattern of going on a short-term trip there first.

In one sense, it would almost be better for future missionaries not to talk with long-term field missionaries if one of the primary results is more new workers serving in the well-evangelized parts of the world. Ironically, however, many of the same long-term field missionaries who help organize short-term trips often (but not always) have the latest and best information on nearby Unengaged Unreached People Groups.

How wonderful it would be if the short-term mission movement took a major paradigm shift in purpose toward being used specifically (or could we hope and dream . . . even exclusively?) as a tool to get new workers into people groups that currently have few or no missionaries serving among them. Perhaps we need to further challenge, encourage, and train field missionaries on how to organize and host vision and pre-search trips primarily to Unreached People Groups.

We do indeed highly recommend that new missionaries sit at the feet of and learn from experienced missionaries. Churches sending missionaries directly without leaning on the decades of wisdom, experience, and knowledge that both long-term field missionaries and their agencies have has been a mistake. Traditionally, new missionaries may serve their first and even second term under the wing of a senior field missionary. Those senior missionaries know well how to work strategically in that area, region, and country.

If we assume that passing the baton of knowledge and experience can only occur when younger and older missionaries actually work together (on location) in the same field, however, then we have raised yet another barrier to getting new missionaries into Unreached People Groups. The only way for new missionaries to actually reach Unengaged Unreached People Groups is to go beyond where other missionaries are already working.

We must find a better way to pass on this crucial knowledge and experience. Many agencies today use email, telephone, and visits by traveling regional supervisors to wherever new missionaries are working. The real root problem, however, is that many new missionaries actually prefer having a live person around all the time who can help them at a moment’s notice. This is another strong factor enticing new missionaries to choose to serve in the already reached parts of the world.

Short-term mission trips, invitations to serve with missionaries working in evangelized areas, lack of vision trips to Unreached People Groups, and a pattern of serving directly under the constant personal supervision and guidance of veteran missionaries are all reasons why most new missionaries end up going to the “reached” parts of the world. Perhaps an even larger factor is the reality that it is often just much easier to serve in reached areas. That ease is a big attraction for many missionaries.

Matt: So does Mexico really need another STM team? How are we going to redirect ourselves to begin reaching Morocco instead of Malawi with our future STM teams?