AN OUT O' THE PARK H.O.M.E.R!
The Dar Team attended our first H.O.M.E. training this spring. You can meet the team by clicking the link below.
As I write this article, they are landing in Tanzania! As for how they felt about the H.O.M.E. training....here are their comments (emphasis theirs):
"I LOVED every minute of our time at H.O.M.E. and came away SO refreshed and rejuvenated!!"
"Our team has done several types of training and preparation exercises, but our time at H.O.M.E. has been the most beneficial and impacting of them all."
We are completely pleased with our first H.O.M.E. training and look forward to more in 2015. We hope you'll forward this opportunity to teams you know or sponsor. We feel there is no better way to help them avoid the five most common reasons that mission works fail.
As I write this article, they are landing in Tanzania! As for how they felt about the H.O.M.E. training....here are their comments (emphasis theirs):
"I LOVED every minute of our time at H.O.M.E. and came away SO refreshed and rejuvenated!!"
"Our team has done several types of training and preparation exercises, but our time at H.O.M.E. has been the most beneficial and impacting of them all."
We are completely pleased with our first H.O.M.E. training and look forward to more in 2015. We hope you'll forward this opportunity to teams you know or sponsor. We feel there is no better way to help them avoid the five most common reasons that mission works fail.
Bring Your Team H.O.M.E. in 2015!
From "The Bush" to "The Jungle" !!
The Bush Family at GoodSoil
Adam was one of those cute little guys that ran around and played at our missionary meetings. That was almost 30 years ago! We lived in Kenya and his parents were also serving in East Africa. Adam is the youngest of three children in their family, but well......he's grown up.
When the now 6' 3" (I'm guessing) bearded husband and father hugged me this weekend, it was ---like family. The Bush's spent their weekend at our home making final rounds before a move to Asia.
Of course, much of our many hours of visiting centered around missions. We reminiced recalling memories from Adam's childhood in Kenya. We discussed parenting and marriage here and on the field. We talked of culture-stress (shock), re-entry stress, prayer team support, communication with the sending church, and more. Donna prepared a constant and delicious stream of meals to include Indian, Greek, and Texas cuisine! (Yes. There is such a thing as "Texas Food". Just ask a Texan about bar-b-que for example.)
Among the long list of topics we covered one especially caught me off-guard. Years ago, we travelled to East Africa fully aware that malaria, typhoid, cholera, and other diseases would confront us....and our children. It was a tough decision to enter their arena...especially to take our children into them. I think most every American gets at least a little 'unnerved' when thinking of having malaria. So, I was unprepared when the dangers of living in a super-huge metropolitain city were discussed. I had not considered the physical dangers of living in a large and enviriomentally unregulated city of millions and millions. "Oh yea. We've been told we can expect all our children to develop asthma and that we'll all probably develop emphasema when we are older," NIcole said. A chill shot through me. She continued, "But we trust the LORD and we feel called to be there."
This is the faith of the missionary and the strength of one's 'calling'. Even today, with modern medicine and technology changing the landscape from the old 'bush missionary days' when the Livingston's dissappeared into 'the bush' to face great peril in the dark unknown belly of Africa, there are dangers to life and limb, and every missionary family wresteles with the decision to expose themselves or not. Our discussions over the weekend went on to cover the dangers of crowding in densely populated centers (not to mention the stresses of constant noise and the difficulty of privacy). Evidently there are some youtube vids in which surveilence cameras have captured near-death experiences involving people getting on and off subways!
There is then, a way in which Adam has gone from a that little missionary kid romping at play in 'the tropical bush' of Africa to a son of the Great King at work 'the concrete jungles' of Asia. Keep them in your prayers.
When the now 6' 3" (I'm guessing) bearded husband and father hugged me this weekend, it was ---like family. The Bush's spent their weekend at our home making final rounds before a move to Asia.
Of course, much of our many hours of visiting centered around missions. We reminiced recalling memories from Adam's childhood in Kenya. We discussed parenting and marriage here and on the field. We talked of culture-stress (shock), re-entry stress, prayer team support, communication with the sending church, and more. Donna prepared a constant and delicious stream of meals to include Indian, Greek, and Texas cuisine! (Yes. There is such a thing as "Texas Food". Just ask a Texan about bar-b-que for example.)
Among the long list of topics we covered one especially caught me off-guard. Years ago, we travelled to East Africa fully aware that malaria, typhoid, cholera, and other diseases would confront us....and our children. It was a tough decision to enter their arena...especially to take our children into them. I think most every American gets at least a little 'unnerved' when thinking of having malaria. So, I was unprepared when the dangers of living in a super-huge metropolitain city were discussed. I had not considered the physical dangers of living in a large and enviriomentally unregulated city of millions and millions. "Oh yea. We've been told we can expect all our children to develop asthma and that we'll all probably develop emphasema when we are older," NIcole said. A chill shot through me. She continued, "But we trust the LORD and we feel called to be there."
This is the faith of the missionary and the strength of one's 'calling'. Even today, with modern medicine and technology changing the landscape from the old 'bush missionary days' when the Livingston's dissappeared into 'the bush' to face great peril in the dark unknown belly of Africa, there are dangers to life and limb, and every missionary family wresteles with the decision to expose themselves or not. Our discussions over the weekend went on to cover the dangers of crowding in densely populated centers (not to mention the stresses of constant noise and the difficulty of privacy). Evidently there are some youtube vids in which surveilence cameras have captured near-death experiences involving people getting on and off subways!
There is then, a way in which Adam has gone from a that little missionary kid romping at play in 'the tropical bush' of Africa to a son of the Great King at work 'the concrete jungles' of Asia. Keep them in your prayers.