Lenexa, Kansas, United States - ENGAGE-a global mission magazine of the Global Church of the Nazarene for Wednesday, 16 April 2014
RECENT ARTICLES:
Persistence in persecution
Seated at the bedside of a deathly sick neighbor, Babul Roy found himself surrounded by the villagers who had beaten and tortured him shortly before. Earlier, they had forbade him from practicing his new faith in Christ. Now, they begged him to pray to his God to save the life of the sick man.Not long before this, Roy, who lives in South Asia, had been just like the rest of them – worshiping a panoply of gods and goddesses that he found unsatisfying and which filled him with doubt.
“We worshiped imagined gods and goddesses. The worship through … gods and goddesses, there is no religious atmosphere and theme and good result from them,” said Roy.Roy read books and studied about his religion, but found only tales of corruption and death.
He had some Christian friends who often discussed the tenets of the Bible with him. One day they showed the JESUS film, and Roy attended. He was astonished to see a “prophet” dedicate his life to others, and performing miracles like curing the blind and raising a man named Lazarus from the dead. Afterward, he told his Christian friend that he liked Jesus, but was unsure how his family would react if he believed in Jesus. His friends started praying for him.
Roy talked to his wife, and said that he had found the true religion. The couple attended some Nazarene prayer meetings, and at one meeting were amazed to see a child cured from its illness when the pastor prayed.
Roy and his wife accepted Christ, but their village neighbors began to persecute them for their new faith. Former friends refused to talk to them. Roy’s father avoided him. A neighbor told Roy his family could not draw water from the tube well anymore. Roy even found people in the market would not sell items to him, and others would not hire him to work in their fields as a laborer.
Every day Roy prayed to God with his wife. One day, in the morning, his father created a scene in the village, accusing Roy of trying to convert him to a false religion. The village leader came with some people to Roy’s house and beat him seriously. He was admitted to a hospital for several days.
During this time, his neighbor had been suffering a fever for a long time. Doctors were unable to cure him. The villagers expected the man would die. Roy visited the sick man at night and asked for permission from the villagers for him to pray over the man. The villagers agreed. Roy prayed and stayed with the man all night. He discussed with people John 14:9, “He who has seen me has seen the Father." He explained to everyone the plan for salvation.
In the morning, the patient wanted to eat, and Roy brought him food. He prayed every day for the patient. After some days, the patient was fully recovered. Many of the villagers came to Roy to ask his forgiveness for their behavior toward him.
In that time, Roy was invited to work with the Nazarene JESUS Film team. At the same time, he started the course of study to become an ordained pastor, through South Asia Nazarene Bible College, and he learnt many things which he did not know deeply. Now he explains the Bible and is a good motivator for the JESUS Film team. First he organized a church in his village and led 43 men and women to Christ. Now Pastor Roy is a pioneer of evangelism and building the church.
Talk about it:
Read the following scriptures and discuss them in light of this story: Matthew 5:10-12, Matthew 10:22.
How did Babul Roy and his wife respond to the villagers who discriminated against them, beat him and persecuted them?
Why do you think he reached out to one of his sick neighbors after the way the village turned against his family?
What empowered him to give that response?
How did all these experiences seem to affect his faith in Jesus Christ?
What would you have done in his situation?
How can you pray for persecuted believers like Babul Roy and his family?
________________________________________
Missionary profile: Isaac and Karen Oaks
Isaac and Karen Oaks are missionaries serving as field wellbeing coordinators with Extreme Nazarene Ministries in Ecuador, on the South America Region, since August 2013. They are both licensed mental health practitioners and licensed professional counselors with about 20 years of clinical experience—mostly as therapists in a mental health clinic on a Native American reservation in the U.S.In their role, the Oaks are responsible to respond to the mental and psychological needs of Extreme Nazarene Ministries staff on the field in South America. They seek out ways to alleviate stress induced by all the factors of service in the field. In addition to providing confidential counseling, we do consultation and mentoring on a variety of subjects and situations. We provide individual training for Extreme team members and also give training workshops for Extreme’s church planting teams. In addition to serving on the panels that interview individuals and couples that are missionary candidates for Extreme, the couple does one-on-one in-depth interviews with those candidates to get to know them well and to better support them when they come to the field.
They have two married daughters (Ruth and Maria) in their thirties who live in the United States. Each of them has two daughters. Another grandchild is expected in June.
Extreme Nazarene Ministries is an independent, non-profit organization working in partnership with the Church of the Nazarene's international and regional mission leadership to seek and deploy more than 1,000 people into an extreme expansion of God’s Kingdom in Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Colombia and Paraguay.
Engage: How did you first recognize God’s call to be involved in missions?
Isaac: A few years before we met each other, God placed His call on each of our lives. When we met at Olivet Nazarene University in 1967, we both knew that we would be missionaries. We remained open to God’s call, but it turned out that we would need a great deal of life experience, more formal education, and years of clinical experience before we were prepared for the unique missionary roles we would play in Extreme’s church planting ministry in South America.
God called us on October 19, 2012, to remove ourselves from the burden of our possessions—to sell our house, cars and furniture and pay off our bills—so that we were free to move to South America to serve Him in Peru and Ecuador.
We were very surprised when we were told by Extreme Nazarene Ministries that they urgently needed a couple who are experienced licensed counselors with intercultural ministry experience. (We both were just finishing about 20 years as therapists in a mental health clinic on a Native American reservation in Nebraska.) Extreme representatives explained to us that the young single adults (called “40/40 Church Planters”) that serve in South America doing outreach, street evangelism, in-home Bible studies, and leadership training of new believers need ongoing encouragement, support, counseling and training themselves. Extreme’s Wellbeing Team counselors who live in the United States help these young missionaries the best they can over the Internet and by a few days of on-site contact in South America three or four times a year. However, this is not sufficient to meet the needs of the missionaries who are charged with the very big responsibility of planting Nazarene churches in South America that are locally led and self-sustaining within two years.
When Karen and I were invited to travel to Arequipa, Peru, in November 2012 at our own expense to conduct training workshops for the 40/40 missionaries and also for the administrative support staff, we also did voluntary one-on-one counseling sessions with the majority of individuals from both groups. They appreciated and needed someone to talk to. This experience confirmed the call that God had already given us.
Engage: What is your favorite aspect of what you do in your present assignment?
Isaac: One of our favorite aspects of serving in Ecuador is working with our young adult 40/40 church planters. We enjoy being able to support them with training workshops, encouragement and counseling as needed. It’s great to be able to see their spiritual growth, their language development, and their increasing confidence in themselves and in God.Engage: What are some of the challenges that you face in carrying out your work?
Oaks: As licensed professional counselors, the majority of our work is “behind the scenes” with individuals and groups. Much of it is confidential. Our home and headquarters are located in Quito. However, our current 40/40 church planting teams are located in opposite directions, each about a three-hour drive through the Andes mountains. We do training and counseling in person and on Skype. Our on-line interaction with Extreme’s missionaries is sometimes hampered by the problems inherent in long distance communication by computer.
Engage: Please share a story of a significant event or moment that has happened in your current assignment.
Oaks: A few months ago, one of our 40/40 church planters contacted Isaac by private Facebook chat. He needed to know how to best help a man who was very upset and talking about killing himself. This “contact” had recently begun attending our newly-planted church in that town. Isaac spent several hours over the next three days instructing our church planter in how to talk with and help the suicidal man and how to secure additional help.
Engage: How do you maintain a close relationship with God and your family in the midst of the demands of missionary service?
Oaks: We practice regular Bible study, prayer, and church attendance. We also take a day off each week in order to rest and refresh. We stay in regular contact with our family and friends through Facebook, email, and Skype.
Engage: What are the rewards of what you do?
Oaks: We love new experiences and enjoy challenges and a variety of situations in our work and daily life. It is very rewarding to be able to help missionaries who are adjusting to a new life, language and culture. We love being able to “be there” for them as they face various challenges. Several of our missionaries have told us that we have been very helpful to them. Others have recently told us that they appreciate having us on the field because we are available when they need us. (At times, our availability on the field enables missionaries to remain on the field.)
Engage: What are some aspects of the culture where you live that you have come to love or embrace?
Oaks: We enjoy the warmth and friendliness of the Ecuadorian people. Greetings here are personal and focus on speaking with one person at a time, giving/getting a hug, and asking how they are. Individual greetings are given to each person in the room when entering. A personal goodbye is given to each person when one leaves. Family connectedness is very evident here. On the streets or at the mall, boys and young men hold their mother’s arm with no embarrassment as they walk along beside her. Sons and fathers often walk this way, too. Fathers are very often the ones who carry their babies.
Engage: What do you like to do for fun?
Oaks: We like to get together with Ecuadorian friends as well as members of Extreme to visit, play games, walk through the park, or eat together.
Engage: What advice would you have for others exploring a possible call to missions, or embarking on their first missionary assignment?
Oaks: Each person’s call to missions may be a little different. When God calls an individual, He will supply your needs as you put complete faith in Him.
________________________________________
Expansión Local by Caleb Freideman
¿Cómo podemos crear una experiencia misional para nuestra juventud de manera que no sea una carga financiera?Ésta es la pregunta que mi hermano Elijah y yo nos preguntábamos mientras hablábamos por teléfono tres años atrás. Yo estaba en mi último año de universidad, a punto de regresar a mi pueblo natal de Jackson, Mississippi, en los Estados Unidos, para servir como pastor de jóvenes en mi iglesia, DaySpring Community Church. Elijah estaba en su último año de secundaria, y era parte del equipo de liderazgo juvenil de DaySpring. Estábamos ideando oportunidades misioneras para realizar con los adolescentes durante el verano. Dos años antes, los adolescentes de DaySpring habían realizado un viaje misionero a la ciudad de Nueva York. El viaje había sido un éxito, pero los costos fueron prohibitivos. Con un costo de $750 (dólares americanos) por personas, fue necesario llevar a cabo un enorme esfuerzo de recaudación para que nuestra iglesia de 200-250 miembros de clase media pudiera enviar una porción de nuestro grupo de jóvenes. Además de ésto, algunos de nuestros adolescentes se dieron cuenta de que muchas de las necesidades por las cuales habían viajado a Nueva York se encontraban presentes en nuestra propia área metropolitana. Éste descontento santo nos llevó a explorar otras opciones. Algo se consolidó en ese día al momento en que colgamos nuestros teléfonos: el concepto de GOlocal (Expansion Local) había sido concebido.
GOlocal es nuestro viaje misionero juvenil local (o para ser más precisos, se trata de una estadía misionera). En lugar de viajar hacia otra ciudad, hacia otro estado, o inclusive hacia otro país para realizar misiones, nosotros nos quedamos en nuestra iglesia durante una semana y nos dedicamos a ministrar dentro de la comunidad en la cual Dios ya nos ha colocado.En los meses que siguieron luego de aquella conversación inicial, el GOlocal comenzó a tomar forma. Mientras que yo terminaba la universidad, Elijah y los demás miembros del equipo de liderazgo juvenil comenzaron a contactarse con varios ministerios en el área para agendar proyectos de trabajo. GOlocal 2011 se llevó a cabo en julio, con una la participación de unos 20 adolescentes. Durante el día nosotros realizamos varios proyectos ministeriales: cuidado de jardín para individuos ancianos, pintura y mantenimiento en varios centros de ministerio dentro de la ciudad, e incluso ayudamos a limpiar el campus de un seminario local. A la noche, luego de compartir tiempos en grupos pequeños, nos dedicamos a recargar energías y a relajarnos mediante actividades recreativas (juegos, películas, piscina, etc).
El decir que los chicos trabajaron duro durante esa semana sería una una injusticia. No sé si usted alguna vez visitó Mississippi durante el verano, pero la temperatura normalmente ronda por encima de los 30 grados, y la humedad es de 110 por ciento. Luego de una semana de labor manual durante entre seis y ocho horas por día, yo mismo estaba agotado y simplemente deseando que los muchachos me dejaran ir a casa. Su veredicto: "¿Podemos hacer otro GOlocal durante Acción de Gracias?" Me quedé atónito. Por mi propia salud mental los convencí de hacerlo de nuevo el siguiente verano, y desde entonces se ha convertido en un evento anual.
Cada año hemos visto más y más jóvenes unirse a nosotros, y algunos de nuestros adolescentes que se han mudado a otras áreas realizan viajes especialmente para participar. Cuando les preguntamos a Elijah Montes y su hermana Kyra por qué volvieorn para GOlocal 2013 luego de haberse mudado a Louisiana, él dijo, "GOlocal es una oportunidad para desarrollar dos importantes aspectos de nuestra relación con Dios: el compañerismo y el realizar buenas obras en favor de otros. Si bien muchos (aunque no todos) los viajes de jóvenes se enfocan en la diversión, GOlocal combina este aspecto con una ética misionera distintiva. Siento que ésto no es un 'retiro' de jóvenes, sino que más bien se trata de un gran avance dentro de nuestra guerra espiritual."GOlocal 2013 contó con la participación de más de 30 jóvenes, y nos fue posible ministrar en hogares de ancianos, en un centro de rehabilitación para drogadictos y alcohólicos, un seminario local, una escuela primaria, un complejo de viviendas de personas de bajos ingresos, y un centro renovación urbana.
Un punto de clarificación: GOlocal no tiene como intención menospreciar los viajes misioneros normales de corta duración (en el exterior así como domésticos). Nuestra iglesia envía varios equipos a realizar misiones cortas en el exterior todos los años. Sin embargo, las finanzas representan una realidad que no puede ser ignorada. Para una iglesia de nuestro tamaño, la carga de recaudar fondos para enviar a 30 jóvenes al extranjero cada año es algo que va más allá de nuestras capacidades. Incluso si pudiésemos recaudar el dinero necesario, ésto disminuiría nuestros recursos en otras áreas. Nosotros hemos descubierto que podemos crear una experiencia comparable dentro de nuestra propia comunidad, por una fracción del precio: podemos realizar un GOlocal por sólo $50 (dólares americanos) por participante sin ningún inconveniente.
Además de ser accesible, GOlocal tiene varias ventajas más:
Conecta a la juventud con la misión local a largo plazo. GOlocal mantiene a los jóvenes dentro del ministerio semanal de DaySpring dentro de nuestra comunidad local. "Antes de GOlocal yo nunca pensé que el servicio comunitario fuera algo de tanta importancia," dice Ashley Smith, una de nuestras adolescentes. "Yo no estaba involucrada en muchos ministerios y tampoco quería hacerlo. GOlocal me ha enseñado que el servicio comunitario es importante y es a lo que hemos sido llamados." Ashley y su familia actualmente ministran en un hogar de ancianos en forma regular, y ella ejercita su corazón dedicado al servicio como miembro del grupo de liderazgo juvenil.
Comunidad. El bajo costo de GOlocal implica que el grupo de jóvenes completo puede costear la participación. El tener a la mayoría del grupo de jóvenes juntos durante una semana realmente nos une como comunidad de fe.
Diversión de bajo costo. Durante GOlocal, nuestros jóvenes crean un montón de hermosos recuerdos, ya sea cantando "Look Down" de Los Miserables mientras que mantienen el jardín de una escuela primaria, o mirando cómo un compañero de equipo intenta ganarle al reloj en un juego que llamanos "Un Minuto Para Ganar." Debido a que estamos en nuestra propia comunidad, nosotros podemos utilizar recursos de nuestra propia iglesia para nuestras actividades recreativas. Por ejemplo, una de nuestras actividades nocturnas anuales de GOlocal es una fiesta en la piscina de la casa de uno de los miembros de nuestra iglesia.
Quizás le guste el concepto de GOlocal pero se siente abrumado al pensar en cómo organizar un evento. Para conectar los puntos entre una buena idea y una realidad misional, permítame ofrecer algunos consejos basados en nuestra experiencia. Hemos descubierto que existen cinco elementos que son esenciales para un buen evento de GOlocal:(1) Trabajo
(2) Diversión
(3) Comida
(4) Transporte
(5) Patrocinantes
Como pastor de jóvenes, yo delego cada una de estas áreas a un pequeño grupo de encargados compuesto por nuestros adolescentes, líderes adultos, y padres. El grupo de trabajo genera ideas y agenda proyectos diarios, el grupo de diversión planifica las actividades recreativas, etc. Compramos comida para el desayuno y el almuerzo, y una madre asigna a diferentes miembros de la iglesia para que traiga la comida (minimizando nuestros costos). El transporte y los patrocinantes van de la mano, ya que uno necesita adultos para que conduzcan los vehículos, pero si uno cuenta con acceso a una o dos camionetas con capacidad para 15 pasajeros, ésto se vuelve más sencillo. Cada grupo realiza su cuota parte y antes de dase cuenta, uno ya está realizando un evento GOlocal. La mayor parte de mi intervención es simplemente el compartir la visión y luego estar presente durante la semana de GOlocal.
Uno de mis aspectos favoritos de GOlocal es que muchos de nuestros adolescentes lo han adoptado como algo propio. Uno de los mejores ejemplos en cuanto a ésto es Laney Frazier, quien concurrió al primer GOlocal y le gustó tanto que ha contribuido enormemente a la organización de los proyectos GOlocal de los últimos dos años. Laney dice, "el mejor aspecto de GOlocal, en mi opinión, es el sentir de comunidad. Uno vive, trabaja, y se divierte con sus amigos mientras que ayuda a otras personas a reconstruir sus vidas. Ser parte de la comunidad GOlocal cambia tu perspectiva en cuanto a los demás y cómo los pueedes ayudar."
De hecho, si bien GOlocal es un viaje misionero, éste tieme un gran impacto en nosotros también. Reflexionando acerca del efecto que GOlocal ha tenido en la juventud de DaySpring, Dana Phillips (madre y voluntaria) dice, "GOlocal abre los ojos de nuestros jóvenes a las necesidades de nuestra comunidad local, así como a maneras de servir aquí mismo. Les muestra que no tienen que ir a un lugar remoto para poder llevar a cabo la Gran Comisión. Ésto es muy importante ya que la mayoría de nosotros no podemos ir a viajes misioneros en el exterior de manera frecuente, y sin embargo deberíamos estar sirviendo a otros y compartiendo el Evangelio en forma diaria. La participación en GOlocal permite que nuestros jóvenes experimenten de primera mano cómo Dios puede utilizarlos donde quiera que se encuentren."Al planificar las actividades para sus jóvenes este verano, ¿por qué no hacer una Expansión Local? Se alegrará de haberlo hecho. -- Traducido por Ed Brussa; fotos cortesía Laney Frazier.
________________________________________
How to GOLocal by Caleb Freideman
How can we create a missional experience for youth that is not a financial burden?That’s the question my brother Elijah and I were pondering over the phone three years ago. I was a senior in college, about to return to my hometown of Jackson, Mississippi, U.S., to serve as youth pastor at my home church, DaySpring Community Church. Elijah was a senior in high school and a member of DaySpring’s youth leadership team. We were brainstorming summer missions opportunities for the youth group. Two years before, DaySpring’s youth had taken a mission trip to New York City. The trip had been a success, but the cost had been prohibitive. At $750 a person, it had taken a huge fund-raising effort for our primarily middle class church of 200-250 people to send a portion of the youth group. Furthermore, some of the youth had come to the realization that many of the needs they had flown to New York City to meet were present in our church’s own metro area. This holy discontent left us looking for other options. Something clicked that day and when we hung up, GOlocal had been conceived.
GOlocal is our youth group’s local mission trip (to be more precise, a missions stay). Instead of traveling to another city, state or country to do missions, we stay at our church for a week and minister in the community where God has already placed us.In the months following that initial conversation, the first GOlocal began to take shape. While I was finishing college, Elijah and the other youth leadership team members began to contact various ministries in the area to schedule work projects. GOlocal 2011 took place in July, with about 20 youth in attendance. During the day, we did various ministry projects: yard work for elderly individuals, painting and landscaping at several urban ministry centers in the inner city; we even helped clean up the campus of a local seminary. In the evening, after some small group time, we recharged and relaxed with recreational activities: games, movies, a pool party, etc.
To say the kids worked hard that week would be a gross understatement. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Mississippi in the summer, but the temperature is usually in the 90s F (30s C), and the humidity is about 110 percent. After a week of manual labor six to eight hours a day, I was tired, and just hoping that the kids would let me go home. Their verdict: “Can we do another GOlocal at Thanksgiving?” I was floored. For the sake of my own sanity, I bargained them back to the following summer, and it’s been an annual event ever since.
Each year we’ve seen more kids come, and some of our youth that have moved away have made special trips back to participate. When asked why he and his sister Kyra came back for GOlocal 2013 after moving to Louisiana, Elijah Montes said, “GOlocal allows for two very important aspects of growing our relationship with God: fellowship and doing good for others. Whereas many, though not all, youth group trips are focused on fun, GOlocal combines this with a distinct missionary ethic. I feel that this isn't a youth ‘retreat,’ but more like a great forward advance in our spiritual war.”GOlocal 2013 saw over 30 youth in attendance, and we were able to minister at nursing homes, a drug and alcohol rehab center, a local seminary, an elementary school, a low-income housing complex, and an urban renewal center.
A point of clarification: GOlocal is not meant to slight normal short-term missions trips—overseas or otherwise. Our church sends several short-term mission teams overseas every year. However, finances are a reality one cannot afford to ignore. For a church our size, the fund-raising burden of sending 30 youth overseas every year is almost insurmountable. Even if we could raise the necessary money, it would sap our resources in other areas. We have simply found that we can craft a comparable experience in our own community for a fraction of the price: We can put on GOlocal for $50 a kid without even breaking a sweat.
In addition to being affordable, GOlocal has several other advantages:
Connects youth to ongoing local mission. GOlocal plugs youth into DaySpring’s week-in, week-out ministry to our local community. “Before GOlocal I didn't really think outreach was all that important,” says Ashley Smith, one of our youth. “I wasn't involved in a lot of ministries and I didn't really want to be. GOlocal has taught me that outreach is important and it's what we're called to do.” Ashley and her family currently minister in a nursing home on a regular basis, and she exercises her servant’s heart as a member of the youth leadership team.
Community-building. GOlocal’s low cost means that the whole youth group can afford to come. Having the majority of the youth group together for a week really draws us together as a community of faith.
Fun on the cheap. During GOlocal, our kids create a lot of great memories, whether singing “Look Down” from Les Miserables while landscaping an elementary school garden, or watching a teammate try to beat the clock in a game we call “Minute to Win It.” Because we are in our own community, we can also utilize the resources of our church for our recreational activities. For instance, one of our annual GOlocal evening activities is a pool party at the home of one of our church members.
(1) Work
(2) Fun
(3) Food
(4) Transportation
(5) Sponsors
As youth pastor, I delegate each of these areas to a small task force composed of youth, adult leaders and parents. The work group brainstorms and schedules daily projects, the fun group plans evening recreational activities, etc. We buy food for breakfasts and lunches, and a mom will schedule church members to team up in bringing suppers (minimizing our costs). Transportation and sponsors go hand in hand since you need adults to drive vehicles, but if you have access to a 15-passenger van or two, this becomes a lot easier. Each group does their part, and the next thing you know, you’ve got a GOlocal. Most of my input is simply casting vision and then being on site during GOlocal week.
One of my favorite things about GOlocal is that many of our youth have truly taken it on as their own. One of the best examples of this is Laney Frazier, who came to the first GOlocal and loved it so much that she has done the lion’s share of organizing the GOlocal projects for the last two years. Laney says, “The best aspect of GOlocal for me is the community. You live, work and have fun with your friends while helping other people rebuild their lives. Being a part of the GOlocal community changes your perspective of others and how you can help them.”
Indeed, although GOlocal is a mission trip, it has a huge impact on us as well. Reflecting upon the effect GOlocal has had on DaySpring’s youth, parent and volunteer Dana Phillips says, “GOlocal opens the eyes of our youth to needs in our local community and ways to serve right at home. It shows them they don’t need to go a far away place in order to fulfill the Great Commission. This is so important because most of us can’t be on mission trips to foreign countries on a regular basis, and yet we should be serving others and spreading the Gospel on a daily basis. Participating in GOlocal allows our youth to experience first hand how God can use them wherever they are planted.”So, as you plan your summer youth activities, why not GOlocal? You’ll be glad you did.
Photos courtesy Laney Frazier.
________________________________________
Doing mission well: Dedication by Howard Culbertson
Merciless villains. Blood-thirsty pillagers. Violent arsonists. Savage barbarians.When used to describe an entire people group, those words sound awful. Yet, those words are often used to describe the Vikings, that Scandinavian people group which terrorized the rest of Europe for three centuries.
To be a missionary to people like that would take courage. It would take a strong sense of call. And, it would take a lot of dedication, especially if evangelistic results were meager or even non-existent (which was the case). Indeed, dedication is something that certainly characterized Anskar*, a missionary whom many now call The Apostle to the North.
Born in 801 A.D. in what is now France, Anskar became a Benedictine monk. A series of visions or dreams gave him a clear sense of a missionary call. So, three years later, he went north as the pioneer Christian missionary to Scandinavia (the area today we know as Denmark, Norway and Sweden).
Over the next 30 years, the Vikings forced him out of Scandinavia at least twice. However, Anskar saw those events only as temporary detours. Both times dedication to his call had him soon making his way back to Viking territory. One fascinating bit of trivia about Anskar is that his name apparently meant “spear of God.” Was it just a coincidence that he was sent to warrior tribes?
Evangelistic work in Viking territory was not all that fruitful though, and so Anskar tried several avenues of ministry, including education and health care. He ransomed captives taken in Viking raids and campaigned against slavery while working to mitigate the horrors of the slave trade. A contemporary of Anskar who knew him well wrote that Anskar was “accustomed to working with his hands in the fields and in the forests and was able to endure long-continued fatigue and privation.”
Eventually, through Anskar’s preaching ability and holy lifestyle, he did see a few people become interested in the Gospel. A key leader or two leaned toward converting, but no Christ-ward movement developed among the general populace. At Anskar’s death, the Vikings immediately lapsed back into paganism. Even though he had built a church building or two, no viable congregations existed in Viking territory when Anskar passed away. Indeed, there is no record of even any lasting individual conversions. However, Anskar had been called to the inhabitants of Scandinavia and he dedicated his life to fulfilling that call.
More than a hundred years after Anskar’s death, the people in Scandinavia did embrace Christ. One Viking country, Denmark, went on to become one of the first Protestant areas to become heavily involved in world evangelism. There was no hint, however, of that possibly happening when Anskar was toiling away fruitlessly.
Anskar didn’t have success in the way we sometimes measure success today. But he was dedicated. And that’s the type of missionary God can use.
*Anskar’s name has also been spelled as Ansgar, Anschar and Ansgarius.
Talk about it:
What does the word dedication mean to you? What does it mean to be dedicated?
Anskar was a missionary who felt called to the Viking cultures of Scandinavia. Yet, during his life he was driven out twice and only planted one small church. After his death, there was no fruit to show for all his efforts. How do you feel about that?
In many of our modern cultures, our worth is measured by our productivity or achievements. What does Anskar's life say in answer to that?
Have you ever worked hard on something, and then failed to see your expected outcome? How did you feel?
What do you think God valued from Anskar's life?
What does that say to us as we seek to be obedient to God's leading in our lives?
Many times, missionaries can get discouraged when time passes and the results of their work fails to meet their expectations. How can you pray for missionaries in this context?
________________________________________
Missionary profile: Jim and Kathy Radcliffe
Jim and Kathy Radcliffe are missionaries in Papua New Guinea, where they have served since 1985 at the Kudjip Nazarene Hospital.Jim is a doctor and surgeon, while Kathy fills various support roles with children, women, volunteers and hospital staff.
Engage: How did you first recognize God’s call to be involved in missions?
Radcliffes: Jim at senior high youth camp during a missionary presentation and Kathy at her church teen retreat. In addition to this we had both felt called as children while reading missionary books and hearing missionaries speak. As young adults we both went on student mission corp trips to central America with the Nazarene church and later during medical school spent several months in PNG working at the hospital there.
Engage: What is your favorite aspect of what you do in your present assignment?
Radcliffes: Seeing God work miracles of spiritual and physical healing in the hospital and seeing church growth as we go out to the churches. A recent conversion story from the hospital patients is as follows:
B. entered the Nazarene Hospital in severe pain and critically ill. She had a large abscess and a small bowel obstruction from the infection. She was placed on several IV antibiotics and nasogastric decompression for her bowel obstruction. It was obvious that she needed major surgery. We prayed with her, as did our chaplains, for God to meet the deep spiritual needs along with the physical needs that she had. We took her to surgery. It was a major job to take all the infected areas and to correct the bowel obstruction. A volunteer gynecologist (Dr. Scott Pringle who comes each year for several months with his wife, Tyronza) and I worked together in the case. We gave her several units of blood. I left her after getting her to the recovery room.
An hour later we got an emergency call from the operating crew in the recovery area stating that she had suffered a respiratory and cardiac arrest! I went quickly back to the hospital to find them doing CPR. We re-intubated her and breathed for her, giving a number of emergency drugs. It is in moments like these that we pray as we work. We cannot stop to have a prayer meeting. We rely on stored-up prayers from folks like you who intercede with the heavenly Father for us, the patients and the work here. The heart beat returned, and she had a very fast heart rate. Her blood pressure was low and her breath sounds indicated pulmonary edema (fluid accumulation in the lungs) from all the fluids she had received. We gave more medications to correct this and continued to breathe for her. We prayed again and several times went out to talk with her family and to pray with them. During this resuscitation effort we received a call that a mother needed a C-section. I had to excuse the OR crew to go back to the operating room to get ready for that case.
We were shocked and surprised on Sunday morning when we went for rounds that she was not only alive but fully awake and able to respond. God had worked a miracle! She was able to pray with the chaplain that day to confess her sins and to receive Jesus into her heart and life. She was still critically ill that day but had a rapid return to be stable and to begin her recovery. Please continue to pray that she can grow in Christ and be discipled to lead her family to Jesus. We praise the Lord for His saving grace and for His healing power. We are privileged to see what God is doing here. Thanks for your praying and giving to missions that allow B. and many others to find new life in Jesus.
Engage: What are some of the challenges that you face in carrying out your work?
Radcliffes: We work in a culture that for years was Christless and still some of the animism and witchcraft are a negative factor holding our people in spiritual bondage. They fear each other and the evil and ancestral spirits. It takes a radical conversion to overcome this past and the work of the Holy Spirit to be victorious over the forces of darkness.
Engage: How do you maintain a close relationship with God and your family in the midst of the demands of missionary service?
Radcliffes: Early a.m. devotions is one key along with family devotions and nightly prayer times. Also attending the Thursday evening missionary prayer meetings and Sunday worship are meaningful. We pray before each surgery daily as well and have hospital times of devotions and prayer. Reading spiritual books also has been a help. Sharing the message of salvation in our churches and daily at the bedside of the sick has been a blessing, too.
Engage: What are the rewards of what you do?
Radcliffes: The joy of seeing people receive the joy of salvation, the hope of heaven, and the relief of suffering through compassionate medical missions. Grateful patients are a huge reward. Knowing we are doing the Lord’s work and being faithful to His call is a joy.
Engage: What are some aspects of the culture where you live that you have come to love or embrace?
Radcliffes: The way they live and work and interact as a group and look after each other. They are very open and expressive about spiritual things.
Engage: What do you like to do for fun?
Radcliffes: We play lots or sports on our mission station especially with the missionary kids. We have nice mountains to climb and rivers to swim in . We like to walk the dog in the early am. We love fellowshipping in each others homes in the evening. We love to make music together.
Engage: What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
Radcliffes: We do not feel like we are as old as we really are or look! We love to joke and have fun together.Engage: What advice would you have for others exploring a possible call to missions, or embarking on their first missionary assignment?
Radcliffes: Trust God’s plan and call in every aspect of your life. He is trustworthy because He has all wisdom, all power, and has wonderful love for us. Trust His faithfulness to answer prayer and to enable and to protect and to provide for us. Trust His word and claim His covenant promises for you.
Engage: Other comments?
Radcliffes: Thanks so very much for your prayers and support. They are what keep us on the field. We rely on your prayers, especially in emergency situations of trouble or danger or severe illness. God is so faithful to answer these prayers for us, our work, our people, our mission, and our family. We praise Him and thanks you.
________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment