Posted by C. Holland on Nov 27, 2008
Today is Thanksgiving in the States, yet I’m not celebrating it here in the mission field. It’s the second round of holidays for me outside of my birth country, so my continued reluctance to participate in uniquely American holidays and their traditions gives me insight into how I perceive these practises.
It’s not that I’m actively refusing to acknowledge things like Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, or even Cinco de Mayo (hilarious that it’s celebrated in the States, but in my original neck of the woods it is a must). Of the secular holidays, Thanksgiving is actually my favorite because of the emphasis on family interaction—and the lack of emphasis on materialism, conspicuous consumption or family drama that those things seem to attract.
And it’s not that I’m ungrateful. As a missionary I have loads to be thankful for today, as do many others around me. Read More…
Posted by C. Holland on Nov 17, 2008
It’s amazing how a couple of years living in another nation can change your definition of just about everything.
We received a care package recently, and it was like Christmas early. But instead of the contents looking like what most Americans would consider a gift, our care package contained items that would have been on our weekly grocery list when we lived in the States.
Now, we can get most typical foods and supplies right here in our small village, sometimes even the same brands (though I have to admit that Oreos and Ritz seem to taste better here, not sure why). Calling this a care package (in a missionary context) almost seems inappropriate since it didn’t contain vital supplies for living in a destitute place. But the familiarity of specific foods, candies and magazines brought such a smile to our faces, and it was then that I realised if I had received this box of supplies three years ago for Christmas or a birthday, I would have been barely amused. Read More…
Posted by C. Holland on Nov 13, 2008
In a previous post, I mentioned what happens when missionaries leave on bad terms. Specific to that post was the negativity that the missionary takes on when leaving their mission field, especially when it’s earlier than expected. Evidently, this post over at Money Missions reflects a similar observation, especially about the accompanying guilt missionaries feel for leaving.
To me, being a missionary is really just about being in ministry, albeit with some different parameters but essentially the same expected result: to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and (hopefully) bring new people into a life-changing relationship with God. Other than the fact that a missionary may be using a foreign language or living in dramatically different circumstances than which they were raised, I don’t see the difference between us and a pastor in the States. Well, except that a much smaller percentage of American pastors would need to raise all of their own funding to serve, but fundraising for native pastors is the case in other parts of the world.
I said it in the previous post, and I’ll state it again: people don’t seem to have the same response to a pastor uprooting his family to move across his native country and serve in or start a new church. Moving to different parts of the States can be just as culturally different, and many church leaders make difficult sacrifices every day; why is the sacrifice of the Missionary any different than any other church leader, or any other self-sacrificing Christian, for that matter? Read More…
Posted by C. Holland on Nov 07, 2008
After being in the mission field a while, one of our mothers came to visit. She had never been to Europe before, so it was a chance to introduce her to the new things here that have become familiar to us. Because she is one of the few family members that are supportive of our ministry work, both when we were in the States and now as missionaries, her take on the experience was pretty positive.
Late in the visit as I made her a cup of tea, she was reflecting on all the lifestyle changes we’ve had to make in such a short time. “I noticed you seem to get along well with the people here,” she said. “You even use the words that they use.”
“Yeah,” I replied, “we’ve really studied their manners and customs, made sure to dress like they do. You know, ‘when in Rome’…”
“Well, that’s great,” she said, taking the cup of tea I offered her. “Just don’t assimilate TOO much.” Read More…
Posted by C. Holland on Nov 04, 2008
For most missionaries, I believe, fundraising/financial support is probably always at the back of their mind. We’ve learned that it is a massive step of faith to have no real idea where your support funding will be at the end of the month. It’s like “Wheel of Fortune,” round and round it goes… And don’t get me started about exchange rates. It’s insane to realise that, even if our support in Dollars were 100% consistent and our expenses in Euro were 100% consistent, the exchange rate trending out of our favour means additional cost on things that we cannot change. Yet, God has absolutely been faithful, and we’ve always had our necessities provided. On paper, I have no idea how that happened, but God does.
But lately our support has consistently plummeted. By 25%. Again, God is providing for us, but we are pointedly aware of what’s happening, both to our support and to the world economy. Traditional wisdom would have us take a furlough of some length back to the States and repeat our Dog and Pony Show to yet another slew of new churches unaware of the desperate need for Christ in our mission field in Western Europe. While that’s not our first choice in normal economic times, we’ve begun to think: is it reasonable to ask for financial support while most regular-types are losing their homes, jobs or both? Read More…
Posted by C. Holland on Nov 02, 2008
We presently live in a culture that is quiet, shy and reserved. Street preaching, impromptu public dramas, or pavement witnessing with tracts do not work and, furthermore, brand you as a pariah. In towns as small as ours can be, this means that word spreads quickly amongst all residents that they should not interact with you in any way. Others in ministry here have had well-meaning short-term mission groups do any or all of the above, and the resident missionaries lost all influence and credibility with the locals, forcing them to start all over in another part of the country.
What has been interesting are the churches with groups who wish to come here on a short-term mission trip. Instead of asking us what is needed for ministry here, or how to convey the Gospel and be culturally sensitive, they tell us what they do on mission trips. Perhaps some of those actions work in other cultures (and I hope they do because, otherwise, what’s the point?), but when we politely explain that ministry needs are different here and shouting doesn’t work, they become disinterested very quickly.
Read More…
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