Five ways to support your missionary

People generally do not sign up to be missionaries because they love to ask for help.

I think it's fair to say that missionaries are (because they often have to be) generally pretty self-sufficient people. While almost no missionaries can go to their assigned place of service without relying on the generous financial giving and prayers of churches and friends, I have never met a missionary who says they love fundraising or asking people to support them.

Yet, I expect that every missionary will admit there are times when it's hard to continue being self-sufficient. There are times when they run out of their own personal resources, and we're not always talking finances, here.

Imagine that each missionary has a fuel tank from which they spend emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual energy in serving and giving of themselves to others. Not only this, they need to spend some of that same energy just to survive and thrive in another culture.

There are times when the missionary has spent more of the fuel than is being put back in. That fuel tank gets low. Sometimes, it gets very low. That's when, more than ever, missionaries need support from friends, loved ones and their sending church.

No one is truly self-sufficient. There are, of course, certain things missionaries can and must do to refill their own fuel tanks (times of personal prayer, solitude, disciplines of self-care, exercise, diet, sleep, rest, family time, hobbies, etc.). Yet, just like every other believer, missionaries are part of one Body, the Body of Christ. They are not just sent out by God, they are sent out by their church. The church must also care for them.

So, what are some things you can do to care for your missionary? Here are five ideas.

1. Ask what the missionary needs.

Asking a missionary what he or she needs does not obligate you to personally meet that need. It is a simple act that demonstrates you care and are interested in what the missionary needs. Giving of your care, your empathy, your listening ear and your time are some of the greatest gifts you can give a missionary.

Missionaries are accustomed to the constant, every day posture of meeting others' needs. It's a wonderful moment when someone asks the missionary what he needs, too. It can be a relief to simply share about an area of their life in which they sense a need.

2. Now, ask that question again.

The missionary may be unused to hearing the question and may not have been prepared to answer. The missionary may also not be certain how much she is being invited to share. So, she might tell you about a need, but not a deep one. Not a serious one.

For instance, the missionary may have a worrying prayer need, but only tell you about a general financial need. Or, the reverse might be true: she will tell you about a simple prayer need when the thing she's worrying about most is something financial.

Or, not wanting to appear selfish, he might tell you about a ministry need on the field, but not a personal need for his family.

So, ask again. This communicates your true desire to listen and support the missionary personally. Ultimately, understand and accept that the missionary will share what he or she is comfortable sharing. Empathy and listening from you will go a long way to making the missionary feel supported.

3. Give what you can

It may be that some are afraid to ask missionaries about their needs because they assume the need will be financial, and they are not in a life position to help financially.

There are so many ways you can support a missionary that do not include giving financial gifts.

For one thing, if the need is financial, you can commit to praying with the missionary that God will find a way to meet the need. As you pray together regularly, check in with the missionary to ask if the prayer has been answered yet. If not, keep praying.

Does the missionary have aging parents at home, and no other close family nearby? Could you look in on them every once in a while, offer to drive them to doctor's appointments or take them out to lunch?

Our family has been HUGELY blessed by friends who have stored many of our boxes and some furniture in their basement for the past eight years that we have served in Eurasia. Not only has this saved us a great deal of money on storage costs, but given us peace of mind about the contents' security that a storage unit would not. They have stored our items all this time without complaint and without any strings attached. As far as we know, storing our things has cost them nothing, but it has been a powerful blessing and cost savings to us that has given us more financial freedom over the past eight years.

I've also had a family invite me to stay with them for a week, and also loaned me their truck, so I could save costs on a hotel and rental for part of the time I was in the States speaking and fundraising.

Like storing things for us or sharing a home or car, there are many ways people can give and support that are "in kind" or not financial, but care for the missionary through solving a problem, meeting a need or making their lives easier and a little less stressful.

Occasionally we are asked if we would like a care package. These days, care packages sent from the missionary's home country can by highly impractical due to the sharply increased costs of international shipping and the exorbitant fees missionaries might have to pay in their own country to release the package from customs. But there are ways around this. Perhaps, you can suggest the missionary set up a public wish list on Amazon in their country (if they have it), and every once in a while you or some friends could surprise the missionary by purchasing an inexpensive item from the list, such as an ebook, or a box of their favorite food from home, and having it sent to them. Or ask them for a list of items they would like to receive, and search for online stores in their country of service from which you can order. Occasional online gift cards, or even online website memberships, might also be welcome.

Little gifts don't have to cost much, but remind the missionary that someone is thinking of them.

4. Advocate

You may not have the ability to meet the missionary's financial needs, but you can advocate for them.

Most missionaries are expected to raise all their financial support alone. They travel from church to church, or go from meeting to meeting, humbling themselves to ask for financial partnership in the mission God is calling them to. It can be exhausting and, at times, discouraging.

What if others joined them as fundraising advocates? Taking on part of the burden of fundraising from the missionary would bless the missionary in multiple ways, not just financially. In a very powerful way, your advocacy would tell the missionary that you affirm God's calling on their lives; you share their vision; and that is why you are willing to commit your time and energy to advocate for the missionary's financial needs so he and his family can answer God's call on their lives. That could be a huge emotional, psychological and spiritual blessing to the missionary and his family.

Be creative with your advocacy.

For instance, suppose the missionary has a child heading off to college and the child needs a car so she can go to a job after class. You could hold a fundraiser, such as a car wash or a bake sale, or you could run in a 5K, dedicating the proceeds toward the student's car.

Get the kids involved! It not only teaches them about helping others, kids can be very dedicated and creative, and people love to help a child with a fundraiser.

Maybe a missionary is still paying off debt for their theological education, which prepared them to be a missionary. Challenge yourself and 9 of your friends to sacrifice a week's worth of expensive lattes each month and contribute that instead to the missionary's monthly debt payments. When it comes to paying down debt, every little bit helps.

When a missionary comes to the area to share about what God is doing, ask your pastor or local mission president if they would be willing to invite the missionary to speak in a service. If a service isn't possible, ask if they would allow you to organize an evening gathering, a coffee or weekend barbecue for those from the congregation who might be interested in hearing from the missionary.

5. Stay in touch

One of the most important ways you can support a missionary is to initiate contact every so often, while at the same time being understanding and accepting when the missionary might be too busy to respond in detail or immediately.

For the missionary's friends, family and church back home, it's easy to gradually lose touch with the missionary. Life goes on as normal without them. The challenge for missionaries, who have left everyone behind, is that it can be overwhelming after a while to try and maintain all of those relationships from a distance. As distance starts to weaken relationships or put more time between conversations or contact, a missionary may begin to feel lonely or isolated.

Another challenge missionaries face is that friends back home might feel their lives are too ordinary or mundane to share about, in comparison to the seemingly exotic life of the missionary.

This couldn't be further from the truth! Missionaries want to know what is happening in the daily lives of their loved ones at home. Hearing about the details your life keeps alive their connection to home, and to important relationships. The missionary cares about you and what is going on in your job, your family and your life just as much as the missionary wants to share his life with you.

Every so often, my husband and I receive a typed or handwritten letter, or a card, from a friend, a family member or a church back home. We LOVE to get real mail. Sometimes we have never met the person, but we love the newsy, friendly letters nonetheless.

Reaching out to the missionary doesn't need to take a lot of your time. Send a short greeting or family update via email, Facebook messenger, or even WhatsApp. Send a quick picture from your phone of what you're doing, or what your kids or pets are doing. Record a voice message on your phone while you're walking the dog. Have the kids record a voice message.

Have your kids draw or make a card and send it to the missionary. We have some of those still hanging on our refrigerator.

General Facebook updates are great, but a direct, personal contact speaks volumes.

There are many more ways to support your missionary. Never underestimate the most obvious one, which is always needed the most: Prayer. And don't just pray. Take the time to tell your missionary that you have prayed for her. Sometimes, hearing that she is remembered, and cared about enough to be prayed for, is as encouraging as anything else.

Do you want to support Eurasia Communications ministry? Read more!

At the moment, all our previous communications volunteers have completed their assignments and returned home from the region. I am now fully reliant on a network of Eurasian volunteers as well as a very short list of freelancers to keep Eurasia Communications ministry moving forward.

That means that other than myself, there is no one else on the Eurasia Region who is FULL-TIME dedicated to maintaining the ministry, let alone helping it to grow and expand. The network of volunteers are wonderful and we could not do without them in any scenario. Yet, they are limited by full-time jobs, family, education and other ministry commitments in the amount of time they can give to work full-time on the vast number of video projects and promotions, storytelling and publications, or requests for more support at the grassroots.

Here in Eurasia, we have churches and ministries in nearly 40 countries, representing almost 130 languages. Our churches are found across Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India and South Asia.

It is not possible to support all the communications needs and tell all the stories of Nazarenes throughout such a large and diverse area with just one full-time person and our handful of volunteers.

Our team needs your help. Here's how you can partner with us:

1. Rebecca Moisio, who served with us for one year as a video producer and filmmaker, is in Ohio  raising funds to return in 2019 for another year. Rebecca testifies to a long-term calling from the Lord into communications missions. She strongly believes that God has called her to Eurasia, specifically (Yay!). We need Rebecca back, as soon as possible. I can't say enough positive things about her -- about her positive attitude, her clear sense of calling, her servant's heart, her flexibility and adaptability, her skills and passion for this ministry.

Rebecca needs to raise about $20,000 to return.

Currently she is looking for people who will partner with her by pledging a monthly gift to her living and ministry expenses. One-time gifts are also welcome.

Is God speaking to you about helping us in Eurasia Communications? Perhaps you feel drawn to helping Rebecca, specifically? If you want to know more, please write to me at gpottenger at eurasiaregion.org (symbol removed here to reduce spam emails). Or visit:
http://web.nazarene.org/goto/moisio

Watch her video testimony here: https://vimeo.com/249789157

2. Do you have skills, experience and expertise in video editing, graphic design or social media? We really need extra help in these areas.

You don't have to relocate to Eurasia to help us (although we are certainly looking for full-time volunteers who can give a year or more here with us). We can partner with you on projects from wherever you are. We are looking for reliable people who will meet deadlines, follow through on commitments, work well in a team, communicate regularly and consistently, and who have quality skills in these areas. You could pitch in on a one-time project, or in an ongoing way. Please contact me to learn more.

Perhaps you feel drawn toward serving cross-culturally with us for 3 months up to a year. We need that, too! Write to me to learn more about what opportunities are available, and where.

Thank you, most of all, for your prayers that God will continue to lead more of his mature, passionate, dependable and skilled/experienced people into communications ministry and mission in Eurasia (and globally), and provide us the resources to get the work done and support Nazarenes in their communications needs, training and storytelling!

Another use for salt

There are miles of blackberry brambles sprawling across England as weeds. They reach out their thorny branches into sidewalks, hiking trails, beside train tracks, in the back of uncultivated lots and properties.

As a fruit and berry lover, discovering thickets of blackberries all around where I live and stroll has become a huge delight. Late summer last year and this year I've been discovering the branches loaded with dark, juicy blackberries just growing wild! Having seen the prices for blackberries in the store, I have become all about picking them for FREE at the park or behind the college where I live.

Last year, when I first discovered there were blackberries everywhere for the picking, I picked cups and cups of them.

Having never picked wild blackberries before, I didn't know about the worms.

I had this plan to make blackberry curd, a type of creamy jam, with my precious, ripe -- and FREE -- blackberries. I ordered cheesecloth so I could strain out the little seeds, and while I waited for it to be delivered, I froze the blackberries.

After the cheesecloth arrived, I pulled the clear plastic container from the freezer to defrost my berries.

The interior of the plastic box was covered with tiny, frozen worms!

I was horrified! There had been worms in my blackberries?!? They looked fine when I had rinsed them off.

I threw them away.

I approached the blackberry harvest this year with sad caution, but when they started to be ripe, I went ahead and picked a container full. Then I came home and examined them carefully and up close under a bright light. They seemed fine. They were beautiful, dark, and juicy. Perfect on the outside! I rinsed them and did not see any insects or worms. So I put them in the refrigerator to enjoy with my yogurt the next morning.

This morning, I took the lid off the blackberries -- to discover two of those tiny worms crawling on the lid.

I went to the Internet to find out where these little worms are coming from and what they are. It turns out that these almost microscopic worms are actually fruit fly larvae. The eggs are laid inside the ripening berries --inside the tiny, juicy little globes. Once the eggs hatch, the little larvae begin to crawl out.

The way to get rid of them, the article said, is to soak the blackberries in saltwater. The saltwater forces the larvae out from the berries where they die in the salty solution, freeing the blackberries from the (harmless) infestation.

So I mixed up a solution of saltwater and poured it over the berries.

Almost instantly, I could see tiny white heads emerging from the berries, squirming and pushing their way out. Once out of the berries, they writhed on the bottom of the container, drowning in the toxic saltwater. I'm not sure if this video will play here, but I tried to record the tiny white larvae emerging from the fruit. If you look very closely you can see the movement of the worm coming out.

This scene brought to mind the scripture in Matthew 5:13-16, when Jesus tells his followers: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."

There have been a variety of devotionals and commentaries to interpret and explain the application of this verse based on the contemporary uses of salt during Jesus' time.

The website, gotquestions.org, says, "Salt had two purposes in the Middle East of the first century. Because of the lack of refrigeration, salt was used to preserve food, especially meat which would quickly spoil in the desert environment. Believers in Christ are preservatives to the world, preserving it from the evil inherent in the society of ungodly men whose unredeemed natures are corrupted by sin."

It goes on to add, "Second, salt was used then, as now, as a flavor enhancer. In the same way that salt enhances the flavor of the food it seasons, the followers of Christ stand out as those who 'enhance' the flavor of life in this world. Christians, living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to Christ, will inevitably influence the world for good, as salt has a positive influence on the flavor of the food it seasons. Where there is strife, we are to be peacemakers; where there is sorrow, we are to be the ministers of Christ, binding up wounds, and where there is hatred, we are to exemplify the love of God in Christ, returning good for evil."

(https://www.gotquestions.org/salt-and-light.html)

Today, I found a third application for salt: To force to the surface hidden infestations and to kill them, purifying a contaminated product.

In other words, like the berries, some of us might look good on the outside: we say the right things, display the appropriate attitudes, know the approved actions to take in any given situation. But on the inside, we may suffer from a hidden infestation of sin and corruption that even we are unaware of.

The salt of the scripture, the Holy Spirit, and of the community of Christ can help us to push those hidden sins and corruptions to the surface of our awareness so that the Holy Spirit can then help us to purify ourselves from them as we allow God to remove them from our lives.

Understanding and grace for our own cultures

There is a great deal written and discussed in the missionary community about cross-cultural conflict, and about the effort needed to more deeply understand people in other cultures, and to extend grace and be humble where understanding is still lacking.

I only wish we had the same compassion, grace and commitment to understand each other in our own cultures.

After 8 years of living in cultural contexts other than the one where I grew up, I've noticed that I am much more prepared and consciously intentional about trying to give grace, have patience and strive to better understand the people of the culture I live in than I am with people from my own country and culture. I've seen the same in others from my country, as well.

Why do we offer less grace and compassion to people from our own cultures than we do to people of other cultures? Why do we have so little desire to understand the peoples from our own nations who think and live differently than we do?

I've started reading the book Cross-Cultural Conflict, by Duane Elmer, and almost everything I have read so far pertains no differently to my interactions with people of my own culture than to my interactions with people of a different culture.

When I think about the polarized political climate at home, in which many people from each political camp suspect the worst of those they disagree with, treating them with contempt and derision rather than a humble desire to understand why they believe what they believe, I find that the passages of this book have direct application. I feel convicted in myself.

In a way, we could imagine that people with different political beliefs are actually people from different cultures -- because in a lot of ways, they are. When we take that approach, we can more easily develop the mindset of realizing that we simply may not understand why the other thinks or lives the way they do, and that making an effort to understand them will bring greater peace, reconciliation and the ability to work together -- rather than against one another -- to find solutions and implement them effectively.

Here are some great passages from Elmer's book that I read through a lens of applying to my own culture, particularly the political climate and disagreements:

"I learned it is unwise to make quick judgments about people's motives and character. It takes time, conversations, questions, listening and the whole range of learning skills to form accurate perceptions about people who are different from me. I must suspend judgment, maintain an open mind and seek more information (especially from those people I am prone to judge) before drawing conclusions. If I am too quick to judge or draw a conclusion, my mind closes, learning stops, and the potential for building a relationship is lost. My assessment of others must be a conscious, intentional process, or I am likely to slip into my old habits and to do an injustice to people whom Christ loves and for whom he died." (17)

"To celebrate creation is to celebrate diversity, including diversities of people (including diversity of viewpoints -- my comment). And we cannot celebrate out of ignorance. Genuine celebration comes from genuine appreciation. This requires learning and understanding, and these are incompatible with egocentrism and superiority." (13)

"We are called to love all people. But can I truly love someone I do not, at least in some measure, understand? Love requires some understanding of its object...." (13)

"A measure of security comes when I know which 'box' a person fits into, because then I know how to treat him or her. I do not need to get acquainted with the person before I judge him or her. At that point I have begun to treat people like objects and no longer see each one as a unique, esteemed human being designed by God and worthy of my individualized and respectful attention." (19)

"The interpretation we provide virtually always attributes a negative characteristic and motivation to the other person. We rarely give people the benefit of the doubt when they do something we don't understand.... Westerners are especially quick to attach some deficiency to the other person whenever confusion arises. You can easily see how this creates conflict when there was none, or aggravates minor conflicts into major ones." (20)

How much conflict, hostility and gridlock would be brought to peace and reconciliation if we all would internalize the ideas presented here, and begin to intentionally approach with more grace, humility and understanding those people in our own nations and cultures who are different from us in political viewpoints, economic statuses (I'm including the rich or successful people who are often treated with contempt, suspicion or objectification), or regional areas of our own nations. What if we worked harder to give grace and seek to more deeply understand our co-laborers in ministry, our neighbors, family members and friends?

"Avoid the cycle altogether. Learn to put on that other set of lenses. It takes patience, but it's not hard to do." (17)

The trolley: A story of cultural ignorance

This is my "shopping trolley."

It's one of my best friends. That is because we do not have a car here in Manchester, so when I buy groceries, I need to do so on foot. I also need to haul them a 10-minute walk back to our apartment and up two sets of stairs.

Having this trolley with wheels means I can carry a bit more in weight without hurting my arms or shoulders. Without it, the walk back home would be pretty miserable.

I noticed these trolleys for sale at various household supply shops when we arrived, and I saw a few people coming and going from grocery stores with them. It seemed like a genius idea. So immediately I went out and got one for myself.

For months, I was running back and forth to the store with my lovely little wheeled shopping bag, usually with an additional lighter bag on one shoulder.

One day, as I approached the college with my haul of groceries, one of the faculty passed me on his bicycle on his way home. He grinned, slowed down and said, "How cute! You remind me of my grandmother with your little shopping trolley."

I wasn't sure why it was his grandmother he specifically thought of. But we both laughed and went on our way.

A week or two later, the scene repeated itself, but this time with another faculty member -- an American -- who was coming toward me on foot. His grin was mischievous when he said, "You know that only old ladies use those shopping carts, right?" As an American who had lived here for years, he already knew something I didn't know, and took great pleasure in teasing me about it.

I didn't quite believe him, though. It seemed ridiculous that people of all ages who walk to the store wouldn't use these convenient and inexpensive devices to make transporting groceries much easier.

Later, I spent some time with a friend who had once lived in the UK for five years. I wanted her to take my side, to bolster my belief from her own experience as a foreigner that she and plenty of other young adults use shopping trolleys. So I broached the subject with her one day.

"Hey, you know those rolling shopping carts you can get, so you don't have to carry groceries home from the store?" I asked her.

"Oh yeah, the ones old ladies use?"

*Face-palm.*

I thought back to the people I'd seen using them, and couldn't remember who they were. But now that I was paying attention, I didn't exactly remember seeing a lot of healthy, robust young people rolling them around.

But, why? I wondered. They're so convenient and make shopping so much easier!

No one can give me an answer. It seems to be one of those cultural things that as an outsider I failed to anticipate or notice, and which has no logical explanation when one stops to think or ask about it. I wondered how many other people were smiling or smirking at me all those times I jauntily rolled the cart to and from the grocery store, being decidedly NOT an "old lady."

Since it seems that my mistake is only a little personally humiliating, and not a serious cultural taboo, I've decided I don't care if I do look like a little old lady. No way am I going to haul liters of milk and water and heavy cans of vegetables from bags on both shoulders all the way home every time I stock up on food.

And I still have a suspicion that somewhere, there must be clever younger people who refuse to conform to societal taboos and are making use of shopping trolleys when they don't have a car.

Developing communications in India

While visiting the north Indian slums of Patiala one day, to minister to the impoverished garbage pickers who live there, Mrs. Sulochana Singh saw something that broke her heart: a small baby girl lying on a cot with thousands of bees swarming over her nearly lifeless, skeletal body.

That baby was malnourished to the point of near death, infected by many oozing bedsores. Sulochana watched as the child struggled to take her last breaths.

Sulochana had compassion on the child and wanted to do something for her. At the same time, she also recognized that it wasn't her business, and worried about whether to interfere. But at that moment, Sulochana says, "I heard a soft voice inside me saying, ‘What would you have done if she was your own baby?’ That voice touched me and I told my husband about the voice and got his consent to help the child."

Sulochana and her husband, Pastor Akash Singh, found the baby’s parents and talked with them to find out why was the baby left out on the cot like this. They learned that the baby was weak, and the doctors had given up hope for her, telling the parents that she would die. So the parents, not knowing what else they could do, had left the baby on the cot to die and had prepared a grave for her.

But Sulochana was persistent and asked if she and her husband could try to treat the baby in a government hospital. The father agreed. He went with Sulochana and Akash to take the baby to the children’s ward of the government hospital. There they met with more disappointment. A doctor told them that because the baby was about to die, they couldn’t admit her for any treatment.

Sulochana told the doctor that she and Akash run a charitable organization called Grace Seva Smitee (Grace Service Committee) and it was through that organization they had come on behalf of the child. They pled with him to admit her to the hospital.

The doctor’s attitude changed. He decided to take a chance on the little girl. He called his team and started treatment. With some oxygen, she immediately began to improve.

Then, the baby suddenly stopped breathing. The staff said she had probably died. Unwilling to give up, Sulochana and Akash went outside, knelt down and interceded to the Lord for the baby’s life. Even before they finished their prayer with “Amen,” someone came out and told them the baby had begun breathing again. They rushed back into the hospital room where doctors said they were going to run some tests and that they were optimistic for the baby’s life.

After all the tests, the baby was treated there for 25 days. Sulochana and Akash were at her side day and night, doing everything they could, along with praying continually for her. During the day, Akash stayed with the baby, and Sulochana stayed overnight.

"On the third day of the treatment the baby opened her eyes and looked at me and smiled,” Sulochana recalled. “I went close to her, and in spite of having no strength in her hands, she still hugged me very tight and I told her, ‘Jesus loves you.’ The baby was almost a skeleton, and when she hugged me I could feel her bones. All her body pus got stuck to my dress. At that moment I felt that the Lord has given this baby to me. I praised God for a new life to the baby."

After the little girl’s recovery, Sulochana talked with her husband and also with the father about the child’s future. If he was unable to care for her, would he be willing for Sulochana and Akash to raise her?

"We had already dug a grave for her in front of our house and had left the baby on the cot to die,” the father replied. “She was not eating anything and there was no hope for her. But you came in that time and the Lord has saved the baby through you. If we take the baby back, she would not survive. We have already decided to give the baby to you. You keep her."

Sulochana and Akash were overjoyed with this blessing. Doctors and the medical team instructed them how to take good care of the girl.

Slowly, the child’s health improved. She ate and digested well. Very soon, the girl became very healthy, put on weight.

Over the next four years, she started learning words, and began calling the pastor and his wife “Mom” and “Dad.” She attended church with them where she learned about God, and singing small songs.

Sulochana says, “We had two sons (Enosh, 18 and Phillip, 17) and now the Lord had blessed us with a daughter."

Now that baby is four years old. Sulochana and Akash say, "We love the baby very much. We have named her Angel. We want to see this baby becoming very educated and do great work for the Lord."

She will be attending school this coming November.

*******

The story you just read is a sneak peek at one of the many stories I am now receiving from our new communications team in India.

Some of you will know that last fall, I sent a Dutch volunteer to India for 3 months, to provide training and help organize a communications team there. It has been a long-time dream; we have been talking about it or working on it off and on for years.

At the same time, our church leader in India was able to find someone to take the role of India communications coordinator -- Rev. Rajiv Yangad.

I first met Pastor Rajiv back in 2013, when I visited to provide two storytelling trainings in the country. Pastor Rajiv specifically wanted us to give one of these trainings to people on his district in Central Maharashtra, because he intuitively recognized its importance.

Pastor Rajiv is passionate about photography, storytelling, video, writing and even creating websites. He has been developing his skills in these areas for years as a personal interest, next to his leadership for our churches in Central Maharashtra.

Since he took responsibility for communication ministry in India, and since Frank, the volunteer from the Netherlands, gave three months of his time to travel around with Pastor Rajiv and carry out four trainings in four different parts of the country, there has been a sudden flood of amazing stories from our churches in India!

I have been thrilled to see the beautiful, powerful and well-developed stories that trainees are writing.

Last week, Pastor Rajiv forwarded to me the first video filmed and edited by someone who was at the training. Pastor Rajiv is also working hard on creating a professional and modern Nazarene website for our church in India. And he is helping to develop a strategy for helping our churches in India communicate more effectively with one another.

You can read a couple more of them here:

http://www.eurasiaregion.org/today-you-are-a-new-creation-a-redemption-story/

http://www.eurasiaregion.org/the-last-shall-be-first-sudhirs-story/

An Unexpected Journey

As I sat on the unfamiliar bus, in an unfamiliar part of Manchester, and realized the bus was carrying me the opposite direction I wished to go (home) and I really had no idea where it would end up, I reflected on how there are just those days when nothing goes according to plan.

I was in this part of the city because my doctor had ordered some annual health checkup tests that had to be done at a hospital over here. However, the hospital is not in an area that I ever visit otherwise. The day before, I explored Google maps to figure out which bus I should take to get there. Yesterday morning, I left the house at 7:20 to walk to the bus stop where I caught said bus at 7:45.

The tests, but most of all the waiting in between, took longer than I expected. I ended up being at the hospital until 12:10. During one of the long periods of waiting, I had used my phone to look up the bus schedule going back. It seemed that the bus route I'd used to get here was incredibly infrequent. The next bus was at 12:15. Then there were many hours before it would come by again. There were other buses I could take, but I'd purchased a day pass on the bus that morning and it would be wasted if I just had to buy a ticket on another bus company.

So the second they gave me the all clear I tore out of the building and ran down the road. As I got closer and saw it was 12:13 on my watch (I was unsure whether that was the same time the bus driver would have), I saw the bus parked at the stand. I forced myself to keep going although I could already hardly breathe (a total of 7 weeks of sickness between Christmas and to the end of February has wrecked my stamina). Thankfully the bus sat there for a few more minutes. I stumbled on board, breathing raggedly and desperately, and showed him my ticket. I felt a flood of relief when I took my seat.

About 20 minutes later, I didn't recognize where we were. I used the google map on my phone to look at the little moving dot that represented me, and watched as it drifted further and further in the opposite direction from my neighborhood. Hmm. That wasn't supposed to happen. I did some more searching online and realized that the bus I'd boarded was completing the loop I started when I first got on that morning, as it headed to the far western outskirts of Manchester.

As a girl raised driving a car in the suburbs, until we moved to Manchester I didn't have much big city experience. While I ride the bus often, I tend to ride familiar buses to the same locations, and don't venture in different directions that will require getting off one bus and perhaps waiting 30 minutes to an hour for the next bus I need. So, it's not too surprising that I got confused and found myself in this situation.

Aside: When we moved to England, we opted not to buy a car, primarily because the costs seemed to be outside our budget anyway, but also to avoid the stress of having to learn to drive on the left in the second largest city in the UK. I've never liked city driving, even when I could drive on the right in my own country. But I've increasingly had moments when I've begun to wish we had our own car. Sitting there, watching unfamiliar neighborhoods float by outside the grimy bus windows, was one of those times.

Back to my present predicament.

Thankfully a little searching on my phone revealed that this bus would eventually turn inward again and come to its final destination at city hall (photo left) in downtown Manchester, an area I know very well.

There was nothing I could do but go with it. So I looked out the window and got a peek at many areas of Manchester I've heard about but never seen myself, such as Sale, Hulme, Old Trafford. Oh look, there's the Emirates Old Trafford cricket field.

I tried to see the adventure in my situation and enjoy seeing parts of the city that were new to me.

About an hour later we entered familiar territory as we approached the busy city center. The bus stopped at town hall and I found my bearings. By now it was about 1:30 and I was hungry. So I cut through Chinatown on my way to the street where I could pick up a bus that would take me directly back home. I stopped in my favorite Chinese restaurant for a bowl of soup while I caught up on my work email via my phone.

My stomach dropped when I got an email from a colleague with whom I had scheduled a video meeting for 1 p.m., She was wondering where I was. I frantically tapped out an apology email and explained the situation and we agreed to reschedule.

Part of Chinatown.

From there I managed to get the correct bus back, and when I reached our neighborhood, I was quite tired, but I stopped in at a rental agency to ask some questions concerning renting an apartment to my two new volunteers who arrive in a few weeks. That errand finally being accomplished, I walked the rest of the way home.

At home, I wanted to catch up on the work I'd missed in the morning, due to my longer than expected appointment and then my unexpected journey.

Unfortunately, the Internet was down! So, I decided I needed a hot cup of coffee to warm up from all that walking in the March temperatures. I'd been fantasizing about coffee the whole afternoon, but hated to spend money to buy one when I knew we had perfectly good coffee at home.

I unscrewed the Italian coffee pot that a friend gave me, intending to fill it with coffee grounds and heat it up on the stove. That's when I was confronted with a horrible truth: I'd forgotten to clean it out the last time I used it ... before Christmas. The entire thing was coated with mold inside all the compartments. I boiled some water, added soap and filled a large mixing bowl where I put all the pieces of the coffee pot to soak. Then I made some coffee in the French press.

I tried to do some email on my phone while I waited for the coffee to steep in the French press. Finally I poured it into a mug and took a sip -- and nearly spit it out. It was lukewarm. I'd thought that I'd boiled the water before I poured it in, but I guess I just filled the kettle, let it sit there, and then poured it into the French press.

I was cold, I was tired, I couldn't get much work done because I was tired and the Internet was down. And I knew I was going to be networking and getting stories at the district assembly in another town on Saturday, so I decided to just view it as a swap and I called a halt to my day. I was too tired even to cook or eat dinner. Thankfully Andrew wasn't hungry either.

About an hour later, a neighbor knocked on our door with homemade oatmeal cookies. She couldn't have known what kind of day I'd had, a day I'd managed to see the humor in as it unfolded, but was still frustrating and exhausting.  It was such an appreciated gesture and the cookies were delicious!

Ultimately, I am thankful that all the scans and tests came back good and clean, and I am glad to know I am healthy, a gift from God I do not take for granted.

And while I was able to enjoy parts of my unexpected journey, I really miss having our own car. :-)