Donna and I are serving this week and next in downtown Toronto helping prepare missionary candidates for the mission field. In a program run by MissionPrep called COPE, "Cultural Orientation for Personal Endurance and Enjoyment" , the missionaries are given intensive training in living "the paradox of the enjoyment/endurance challenge of cross-cultural experience". With a combination of experiential and formal instruction, the missionaries are taught the spiritual, personal, inter-personal, and cultural aspects of the mission experience.
It has been great to interact with these talented and gifted missionaries, sharing with them some of our experiences in Spain, and listening to their hopes and goals. While listening to the facilitators cover many important aspects of life on the mission field, we were reminded of the many cultural experiences we had during our years in Spain. It is great to know that the mission organizations of these missionaries hold these courses in high enough regard to require their attendance. It has been proven that missionary attrition rates-- drop out rates-- are significantly reduced when missionaries are properly trained about the stresses they will face when they reach the mission field. When you consider all the effort and preparation that goes into heeding Christ's call to reach the nations, it is a shame when missionaries leave the field before their time is complete.
With programs like MissionPrep's COPE, missionaries can more rapidly adapt to their new surroundings, withstand the pressures of culture, and endure much longer on the mission field. Agencies are realizing that the cost of such programs are well worth the investment and missionary supporters-- like you-- have been generous in understanding the importance of such expenses in the missionaries' support packages.
Donna is in charge of meal preparation and Gregg helps her occasionally or facilitates some of the sessions. We had an opportunity to share our testimony last Tuesday. Gregg shared a devotional "Thought for the Day" from 2Corinthians12 also on Tuesday. Donna will share a devotional thought this coming Thursday. Thanks for upholding these families and singles in your prayers as they prepare to enter the field phase of their missionary service.
By the way, another great missionary support organization that has had a big impact on our personal lives and on our ministry is Caring For Others based in the Mid-West USA. John and Janet are great leaders and wonderful listeners!
Do you have a favorite organization that serves missionaries and helps them be successful in their calling?
A few weeks ago, during a visit with a friend we were talking about ministry in Ontario, Canada. As we described the volunteer ministry, my friend John was struck by something I said and paused for a moment. When I asked what he was thinking, he reflected back to a summer in his youth. He remembered spending time at a camp in Port Sydney, Ontario during his teen years. He asked me, "does InterVarsity Christian Fellowship still run a camp there?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact," I replied. "They are still going strong. They are called Ontario Pioneer Camp and several of our volunteers are there!"
"Oh, Yes!," John replied. "That's wonderful!"
Then over the next several minutes he shared with us the wonderful experience he had there as a youth and the impact his time there had on his Christian development.
That is no small impact.
John is a retired missionary who, along with his wife Margaret, have given their lives to serving others. He was brought up by strict, loving parents who immigrated to the USA from Germany, loved Jesus and took their faith seriously. Exposing John and his brothers to a Christian-based wilderness experience was a part of helping them develop in their faith. John recalls fondly the time spent at Pioneer camp many years ago. The survival skills he learned there served him later during his years in the Pacific island of Micronesia as a missionary with Liebenzell. He still remembers the positive, Christian influence his counselors had on his life as a young man.
As we spoke that afternoon together in his small living room, filled with missionary momentos, it was obvious that fond memories were being stirred up and spilling over into words. We were being blessed by him and the blessings were coming straight from God. The blessings came in the form of encouragement knowing that two volunteers we have placed this year at Ontario Pioneer Camp are having an influence for Christ on the young people that they see on a weekly basis. How many future missionaries are among those campers? Only God knows.
This is what ministry is all about. Building relationships, sharing the gospel through our words and actions, applying Biblical principles to everything that our hands find to do. You play a part in it too. In every small way that you read about this work, pray for its needs, give what you can, and encourage us through email and Facebook, you are expanding the influence of Christ into a needy world. Keep up the good work!
Thank you, John Thompson and Margaret, for your devotion to Christ in all your diverse ways, for your consistent words of encouragement to us and to our children, and for your unceasing prayer for everything that benefits God's Kingdom!
Have a blessed day!
Gregg
I, too, stutter. There are not too many things in life that I can say that I share with royalty. Now I have one. King George VI of England had a speech impediment and so do I. That is no surprise to anyone that has met me personally. But, as it is not an attribute that one proclaims in an online profile, I suppose it is surprising to many. The recently-released movie starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush has brought attention to the condition of speech impediments. The King’s Speech went to the top of my “Must See” list at the moment I heard a review on the day of its release in December. Normally that means I wait several months until its release on DVD or Netflix. This time Donna and I decided to see it in the theatre. It was well worth the cost, but that is not why you should see the movie. You should see the film because it is a moving story of determination in facing personal challenges.
The Internal Struggle
Clip: If we were equals, I wouldn't be here. I would be home with my wife and no one would give a damn."
How do you face struggles? Prince Albert (soon-to-be King George VI) fought with all his royal might to avoid dealing with his problem. Yet it was his sense of duty, his personal calling, and a loving wife that forced him out of his royal shell and into the office of a commoner to face his struggle and seek a solution. His cry, “If we were equals, I wouldn’t be here. I would be home with my wife and no one would give a damn,” points to a familiar bunker for those of us with public struggles. We seek a cave to hide in, an easy way out. We establish enough of an ordinary life-- a wife, a family, a job and a lifestyle that protects our secret—so we don’t have to face the issue. The comfortable life becomes our bunker, and there inside we try live our lives. Nobody gives a damn and we like that.
For many, life in the protective bunker works. But what happens when life beckons? Some call it fate; some, a calling. For others, it is a duty. It was Prince Albert’s sense of duty—to his family, to his country, to royalty itself—that caused him to face his struggle head on. In the film, the contrast with the way his brother faced his princely duty was striking. Older brother David – Prince of Wales and later King Edward VIII—chose personal comfort over duty and abdicated the throne. Albert on the other hand, sought a solution to his struggle well before he knew that he would someday be king. That makes the storyline of The King’s Speech inspirational.
My bunker was an engineering job. I was comfortably successful and happy at home with my wife and children. Then, the call came. What was I to do about it? The call came from none other than God Himself and that is not an easy call to ignore. I imagine I could have hidden my call a lot easier than a Crown Prince of England could hide his, but still, it was a call. Does knowledge of the struggles we face cause us to ignore a call on our life? Sadly, I’m afraid that too often it does. Too many opportunities in life are lost because we choose to stay in our bunker and refuse to leave.
My calling was to enter into full-time missionary service. That meant public speaking, knocking on doors, learning a new language, meeting lots of new people. There were plenty of good reasons—excuses—to decline. No one would have blamed me for staying home with my wife. No one would have given a damn. Yet because I stepped out of my bunker and went through the open door laid before me, my life is richer in experiences I never would have otherwise enjoyed. And I have God, and my wife, to thank for moving me out.
If only overcoming the internal struggle would make the rest easy. One of the film’s many strong points is revealing the harsh reality of carrying out the difficult task of change. When the king is just hours away from his coronation, his frustration reaches a breaking point. “Listen to me!”, he shouts. His tutor’s response, “Listen to you? By what right?” touches the fundamental question for which many of those who struggle with stammering seek an answer. In other words, “Why should I waste my time listening to you?”
Why is it that those who are not fluent in their mannerisms-- not among the “beautiful people”-- need to give evidence of their right to be heard? There is a clear bias in our culture to promote those who can clearly articulate their ideas in public. Without exception, in my professional experience, there came a point when every one of my employers asked me about my stuttering. Most wanted to understand it and help me be successful. There were a few notable exceptions, however. Christians ministries are far from exempt at pre-judging their own. By the time I had reached the mission field, I had already learned to ignore judgmental pastors and mission leaders, learn from the mature ones and follow the path God had laid out for me. A key to success for those who struggle with speech impediments centers on the correct answer to the question “Why should I listen to you.” In the words of the King George character in “The King’s Speech,” the answer was poignant: “Because I have a voice!”.
It is time for the world to hear your voice. You have something important to say. King George VI knew his voice would cause a nation to succeed or fail in its ability to confidently face a foreign adversary. For those of us with less-than-kingly responsibilities, our voices, too, have something important to say. God has given each of us a uniqueness that deserves attention. No one else has your perspective nor your gifts. Take time out to watch “The King’s Speech” then let your voice be heard.
-Gregg Hanchett worked 10 years in the US paper industry and later served 12 years in Spain as a missionary. He currently lives in South Carolina, once again serving the paper industry. You can reach him at hanch6@gmail.com .
Here's a clever way to find room in your budget to support a missionary:
Here's the recipe to make your favorite iced coffee drink at home.
You avoid buying it at your local shop and save yourself at least $2.67.
Did you know $2.67 saved 4 times a week is $45.92 per month?
So here's my idea: Enjoy your iced coffee all month AND support a missionary for $40/month.
You get to support a great cause, AND for the $5.92 you just saved, go out to your local BuckStars coffee shop and celebrate with a cold coffee drink.
Ingredients (From: http://www.mahalo.com)
You'll need the following ingredients to make one 16 oz. Frappudrink.
Double or halve the recipe as needed:
1-2 cups ice
½ cup double-strength coffee (dark roast is recommended)
½ cup lowfat milk or half-and-half
1-2 tablespoons sugar, depending on your sweet tooth
1-2 tablespoons chocolate or other flavored syrup, or caramel
Optional: whipped cream for garnishing; extra chocolate syrup to drizzle over garnish
Brew a pot of fresh, double-strength dark roast coffee. (You can make your coffee double-strength by using twice the recommended amount of coffee per pot, or 2 tablespoons of ground coffee per cup.)
Chill your coffee before mixing up the frappudrink. (Or, mix a third of your ice into the coffee before adding it to your blender.)
Break out the blender and Blend all ingredients except ice on high speed for 20+ seconds, until the sugar has dissolved.
Add ice and blend another 20+ seconds, until the mixture is smooth, or "just slushy" in its consistency.
If desired, top with whipped cream and drizzled syrup.
Posts
