Out of Africa

I arrived home Saturday evening after over 36 hours on a plane. First leg was from Jo-burg to Dakkar (had to look that one up on my airmap) where we refueled and had a thorough search by French authorities. Next came the Senegal to US leg where I saw the sunrise over DC. After clearing customs, rechecking my luggage, and scrambling for some caffeine I boarded what I thought would be my final leg. Not so fast, African adventurer! Count on turbulent Texas weather to detour us from DFW to Austin. My original landing time of noon-ish ended up being closer to 7:00 PM, but I got to have a Mexican food fix in the capital and view the sunset over Big-D when I finally arrived. Home at last and welcomed by an adoring husband who didn't mind waiting around the airport all afternoon. Now to soak in my own tub and rest horizontally in my own bed ...

Homeward Bound

In about three hours I leave Living Waters Campsite to head to the Jo-burg airport. I'll be flying nearly 18 hours the first leg, then another couple hours to arrive at home Saturday afternoon. Talk about jet-lag! It's an eight hour time zone difference between home and South Africa. That means it should take me at least eight days to recover (1 day per hour). Basically, I'll be worthless next week. It's been a truly incredible and humbling experience being in South Africa among believers from all over the world. I hope that I can find words to describe this experience in a way that is understandable to everyone. The body of Christ has been so evident. The southern shift of Christianity is indeed a reality.

Thanks for reading my blog. I'll be emailable next week.

Fat Cake

During dinner tonight I discovered my favorite South African food. The delicacy is called "vet koek" in Afrikaans, which translates as "fat cake". You guessed it. It's fried. Vet koek is donut like in texture, but not sweet--unless you load it with peanut butter and syrup like I did on the second one. My first vet koek was served like a sloppy joe. The filling was beef, corn, green beans, carrots in a savory sauce. Mmm mmm good!

Helping non native-English speakers learn

We said “good morning” in nearly 10 languages in our group of 20. English is not anyone’s FIRST language. For some in the group, English is their third or even fourth language. And I’m supposed to speak/teach in a way that these folks can learn!? Talk about needing prayer!

South Africans are accustomed to hearing British English, but American English is a different story altogether—except maybe in the movies. Texan English is really foreign.

Our trio of trainers is not merely dumping information. We have used numerous group activities and exercises moving folks around. The dissemination of information via a lecture or a PowerPoint presentation is not what is needed, though our training trio has implementing some of that. I keep hearing what John, our training guru, stressed last week as we prepared curriculum: “Other people’s knowledge is just information. It only becomes your knowledge when you do something with it.”

Living Waters

The Christian “campsite” where the partnership training is occurring this week is appropriately named “Living Waters.” It’s much more of what I expected Africa to be—thatched roof buildings in lush green surroundings. There’s even a peacock strutting around the property. The room I’m sharing with a lady from Canada is quite basic. There are three steel bunk beds, so we’ve spread out a bit. The room reminds me of Girl Scout Camp or places I’ve taken groups GA’s. We’re managing just fine. No screens on the windows, and only one large fluorescent light to illuminate both the bedroom and the bathroom, but we’ve got a soft bed, clean sheets, hot and cold water, and electricity. No complaints.

Breaking Dividing Walls

We began our training sessions today. There are 10 of us trainers representing 8 countries and around 60 trainees from Africa and beyond. The majority of trainees are South Africans, but there is a good representation from elsewhere—over 20 countries. It is always an exhilarating and humbling experience worshiping with believers from various cultures. One of the songs we’ve been singing contains the lyrics, “We will break dividing walls.” Pray that is truly so. What Martin Luther King stated about American churches (“The most segregated places in America are in our churches on Sunday mornings”) is a gross understatement for Africa. Racial divides run deep within this culture. We conducted an exercise last night where participants were required to work in groups to reach a consensus. Right in front of my face, I saw black South Africans ignored by the Afrikaaners. Our training team is asking the Lord to begin chipping away at the dividing walls this week.

Pilanesberg National Park

Spectacular outing today! Thirteen of us loaded into a mini-bus at 6AM for the two hour drive to Pilanesberg National Park. As we ate our breakfast of grilled cheese sandwiches, sausage links, and pears, we dreamed of the wildlife we’d come upon in the reserve. The circular layout of the Pilanesberg can be traced to prehistoric times when a volcano erupted and the mounds of cooled lava evolved into little hills. We spotted fish eagle, waterbuck, zebras with babies, impalas. blue wildebeest, an ostrich, a warthog, several hippopotamus heads (couldn't get them to come up out of the water), giraffes with babies, endangered steenbok, white rhinoceros, a black backed jackal, and tsessebes (but not on a bun!) It was an awesome four hours.

I'm a Ligament!

One of the great things about being here this week with other partnership facilitators is that they “get it.” We don’t have to explain to each other what kind of work we’re in, because we’re all basically doing the same type of thing, but in different countries and regions of the world.

Recently I described my job to a friend of mine. She looked at me and said, “You’re a missions broker. You serve as a middle man between churches and personnel on the field.” You make recommendations based on what is good for both of them. I guess she was correct. At least that’s one way to look at it.

I’ve decided that I’d much rather be called a ligament. I love the image in the Bible that describes the body of Christ. Each body part has a part to play, and yet the parts are dependent upon each other. I like to think of myself as the part of the body that holds those diverse pieces together to better do their job. Now the ligament doesn’t get much credit, but it’s there nonetheless.

Most of my Baptist buddies in ministry understand the role of DOMs (Directors of Missions) within an association. One of the things that a DOM does is to pastor the pastors within their geographic region. That’s also one of the jobs of a partnership facilitator—plus mediate conflict, shape vision, map strategy, etcetera. It’s definitely more than just managing or facilitating a meeting when the “partners” come together.

I heard a new term this week—facipulation. At first it sounds rather negative. A facilitator is supposed to be objective. Manipulation should be avoided. The personal agenda of the facilitator must not sway the entire group. A consensus must be reached. However, some manipulation skills are needed at times to get things moving in the right direction. For example, one of the guys here said that he refused to ask someone to serve on a panel discussion because the person didn’t know when to say “amen.” Perhaps you know some folks like that! “Amen.” That’s when a skilled facilitator uses facipulation to achieve something that is best for the group. However, it is the agenda of the group—not the agenda of the facilitator— that is put first.

Member Health versus Member Care

The terminology about missionary well-being has shifted from member care to member health. It is sort of like my husband who encourages preventative medicine. The focus is on keeping a person healthy rather than treating him once he is ill. With missionaries, there are many aspects of health: spiritual, emotional, physical, relational, and ministry-related.

We spent quite a bit of time today discussing member health and offering suggestions for accountability. A number of us travel extensively often to the detriment of their families, so this was a needed area of discussion. We worked in small groups by first reading an article which appeared in Christianity Today (March 2005, Volume 49, Number 3) entitled “Imperfect Instrument” about Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse. Sad story. The slant of the story was that God could use broken instruments. True enough. I’m testimony to that. However, the focus should have been on how damaging this man was to those around him, despite founding two incredibly successful ministries. I pray that today’s emphasis was a wake-up call to anyone needing one.

Another surprisingly sad thing was to hear a man disclose the lack of member care that his sending church fails to provides. He is one of 100 missionaries supported by his home church of over 10,000. “They just don’t get it,” he laments. “No one cares to understand the type of ministry we’re in.”

Another individual talked about how he began to be perceived as “holy” when he became a missionary. He was put up on a pedestal. When they moved from a relatively safe country to a more dangerous area, they were placed even higher. Serving in Afghanistan is the upper echelon today.

Prayer needed

Some of the folks I’m with this week are leaders of organizations that have personnel deployed in countries currently experience strife. This morning we prayed for the civil unrest in Chad and Kenya, plus the upcoming elections in Pakistan. Super Bowl or Super Tuesday news hasn’t made much impression here.

South African Wildlife

We had a great time yesterday at the game park. It was a cross between a zoo and a reserve. Some of the animals were caged, like the cheetahs we petted. Others like the bosboc were roaming freely.

Fleeting Moments

R, an Argentinian who serves as Executive Director of a Bible Forum, led this morning’s devotion. He joked that he was baptized in a REAL southern Baptist Church (South America—in case you didn’t get that one). He is a lawyer and his wife is a pathologist. They are an impressive couple on many counts and I’ve really enjoyed spending some time with them and hearing their stories. Plus, people from Argentina with Latin blood are just plain fun! No stuffiness there.

My new friend shared what God taught him this past year. He described the starting point as a day last April that will forever be etched in his mind. His son was a freshman engineering student at Virginia Tech. I imagine you know where I’m going with this one. His son was on campus in the engineering building the day the massacre occurred on the Virginia Tech campus. My friend’s son was spared, but friends of his were killed.

R mentioned some of the lessons that this experience taught him:
(1) There is value in community. How could the shooter kill so many and then himself? Wasn’t there anyone who could have noticed or tried to influence this killer? Isolation can be detrimental.
(2) Christ lives in us. R mentioned the professor who served as a human shield offered his life to save the students.
(3) God is sovereign. We might think we have control over our life, but we really don’t. Life is fleeting. Each breath is a gift from God.

R’s wife shared with me at dinner tonight about her ministry to international students. She told me that they open their home to students in the 50 nearby colleges. They host an annual welcome party that often has over 100 students in their backyard. As the students enter, she directs them to a map and asks them to place a push pin in their country of origin. At the end of the evening after the students are gone, R and his wife gather around the map and use it as a prayer focus. Way cool—students from all over the world that return to their home countries, experiencing Christ’s love through this one family.

Can you name this animal?

In preparation for the animal park that we're visiting tomorrow, I was asked how much I knew about African animals. The big five in South Africa are: lion, rhino, elephant, water buffalo & something else I can't remember right now. (I wish that I could blame my failed memory on jet lag, but alas it's a senior moment). I was asked what you get when you cross an elephant with a rhino? .... Elliphino!

Lorna

Lorna was the first person to greet me when I arrived into the Jo-burg Airport. As it turned out, we were on the same flight. She was standing next to the travel agent holding an "IPA" sign identifying herself. Lorna is a mother of three and lives in Vancouver, BC. She is the director of mobilization for Outreach Canada—part of OCI (Overseas Crusade or One Challenge). She also coordinates the Perspectives courses in Canada. Lorna and her husband Phil took Perspectives in 1999 and immediately decided, according to her words, "we're in" even though they didn't know exactly what that looked like. After their church went through a process of adopting an unreached people group, she felt called to work in partnership with other churches, mission agencies, and field personnel working in the same region. She and her husband have been involved since 2002 with Interdev, an agency which no longer exists, but whose principles live on in all of us partnership people. Week after next Lorna will be assisting in the training for those taking the "Forming Partnership" course.

Lorna is a lab technician by trade and her husband is a mechanic. Ordinary people doing extraordinary work! The weird thing about Lorna is that she and I not only met prior to this training, but shared a room together in Colorado Springs about 6 years ago. It's weird because I have no recollection of her at all. This is very unusal for me, a person who can remember a name and a face of every person I've ever met! Pretty odd considering that I roomed with her for a week. The week was obviously memorable to her because she immediately told me about it. I felt pretty stupid.

Braai

The South African barbecue is definitely more than a meal cooked over an open fire. It's a cherished social event. Our South African hostess Karina informed me that the braii (roll the "r") would be similar to our Texas barbecues. Right... Her only venture to Texas was to Ennis (yeehaw). The typical braii consists of lamb chops, steak, chicken, sosaties (kebabs marinated in a curry sauce) and Boerewors (farmer's sausage). The basting of the boerewors is done with a mixture of apricot jam, white wine and fruit chutney. The sausages were surprisingly tasty, as well as the livers. The weirdest looking food that I've eaten has been green mashed potatoes-which were actually some type of sweet potatoes or yams. Pretty yummy if you didn't look at them.

John

John hails from London, though originally from Cornwall. 20 years ago, he helped form a partnership in Pakistan around a radio program which is still on air today. I met John in 1997 when we lived in UK. John and I worked together on the steering committee of the Central Asia Consultation (CAC) during the late 1990's and early 2000's. He was the training director for Interdev from 1991-2003. Since then, he's been working with an international organization which fosters leadership development focused on servant leadership and integrity. John is now working with several Christian Universities in Africa and India developing a 3-year part-time nonresidential master’s degree. John and his wife live in Ashford which holds a special place in mine and Warren's heart. It's the place where we received our British Driving License! If you've not driven in the UK, you can't imagine how big of a deal that was.

Greetings

I could not possibly provide a concise explanation of the racial divides in this country. At the beginning of our IPA Summit, one of the white South Africans attempted to provide an orientation. One of the ways that Africans express greetings is by using their hands. They will put their palm up similar to an American “hi”, but there are some variations. Two hands quickly raised are an expression of trust, symbolic of showing the person you are greeting that you are not hiding anything in your open hands. In the rural areas, Africans employ a gesture similar to what Americans use to shake hands. However, the second hand is placed under the elbow of the other as it is extended. This too symbolizes openness with nothing to hide.

Parable of the Talents

Jesus tells a great parable (earthly story with a heavenly meaning) that is recorded in Matthew 25: 14-30. It’s the parable of the talents. Differing amounts were given to different people, and differing results occurred. Our IPA leader Russ had us focus on two aspects related to our partnering efforts: ABILITY and ACCOUNTABILITY. Here’s what I’m mulling over.

My responsibility may not be to impact huge numbers, but to those closest to me.

Jesus told the servants who doubled their money that they were to share in his happiness. What makes Jesus happy? Making him famous was what someone shared.

Jesus also commended the servants for their faithfulness, not their successfulness. I’ll be measured on my faithfulness, though results may not always be seen. What does success look like? Our human measurements are not the same as Jesus’.

Technology hinders relationships

One the key elements involved in working together in partnerships is the importance of building relationships. Generally speaking, Westerners are more focused on accomplishing tasks rather than on building relationships.

All of us partnership gurus found it very funny the other afternoon when it was the Asians that were glued to their laptops instead of sharing in fellowship and drinking tea. At the beginning of our IPA summit this week, one of our brothers from Brazil wisely requested that we fold up our laptops and spend more time getting to know one another than surfing the web. It was a good reminder to us “tasky” Americans.

Shared Sufferings (not really)

I certainly understand why many Americans can be perceived as “Ugly Americans” with all the whining and general complaining of which many of us are guilty. Several men from the States (not to be confused with North America which includes our Canadian friends) desired their own rooms because they felt that the snoring they did would keep others awake. We women felt pretty smug that we didn’t mind rooming together, but that the men did.

When we arrived into our second place of lodging where we’ll spend more than a week, I was sweating like a fat pig (one of my mother’s sayings). I began to inwardly doubt that I could manage, much less sleep in such an environment when someone in the smoldering room discovered a ceiling fan, and then an air conditioner somewhat hidden from our view. I nearly danced on the bed. I got so excited. I had already digressed into visions of India where I spent 6 weeks summer before last. “Sweat” is an understatement.

It was then that God brought to mind how prideful we women had felt about not complaining. It’s always easier to compare our sins to someone else’s, when there really is no degree of sin. And then it was in Philippians, Chapter 2, that I was reading this morning I became convicted of my suffering being so minimal compared to that endured by Christ on the cross. I really have no idea of suffering. Sure, I’ve been through difficult times, but nothing compared to Jesus’ death. This week I’m expecting my African brothers and sisters to teach me more about suffering.

Instant Coffee

My South African breakfast partner this morning was shocked that I was drinking coffee. She obviously didn’t know how desperate I was for caffeine. When I asked her why she was surprised, she said that most Americans won’t drink instant coffee. News to me. I would chunk the freeze-dried stuff into my mouth and crunch away if I were desperate enough, and probably lick the jar if needed.

Later I got to thinking about it and realized how much I preferred my brewed coffee over Sanka or Nescafe or even Maxwell House. Ricoffo seems to be the Nescafe version in South Africa. I don’t necessarily need Starbucks, but I do like coffee. More than missing my morning filtered coffee steaming out of my Cuisinart carafe (dutifully delivered by my adoring husband as soon as I rise from bed), I miss the devotional guide my friend Lorraine gave me at Christmas. One of the ways that we have stayed connected though living in different places is using the same guide. (BTW, after 20 years apart, we’ll be living in the same town soon!) This year, Lorraine and I are using a devotional designed to be drunk with the first or second cuppa each morning. Though Lorraine doesn’t drink coffee, her morning coke is a ritual. The devotional is called Daily Grind and written by a young lady as addicted to coffee as I am. One of the points made with the devotional is to yearn for God as much as yearning for the first cup of coffee in the morning.

May I be as needy for God as I am for my caffeine.

IPA Summit Participants

There are almost 30 of us gathered for this week called the IPA Summit. IPA stands for Interdev Partnership Associates. All of us have previously received training in partnership formation and operation, and are currently working in partnership of some type. Most of you know what unreached people group and/or country Warren and I have focused our efforts toward for the 10 years. That’s one of the hats that I wear while I’m here. The other is getting to know key individuals involved in partnerships internationally. Building relationships with partnership facilitators will assist me in my role at WorldconneX is making key connections internationally.

Over the next few days I plan to tell you a little about each of the participants, but for now let me give you a big picture of the folks that are part of this forum.

This morning we introduced ourselves to each other by briefly stating our name, country of residence, native country, and partnership focus. None of us knew all of us, but many of us knew some of us. Make sense?! Most people probably think that a person’s country of residence, his native country, and his partnership focus would be the same. Not so. That’s where it gets complicated in this flat world in which we live.

For example, one fellow resides in America, hails from Argentina, and facilitates a forum of several dozen Bible Agencies spread out across the globe. Another participant is from Great Britain (half English & half Welsh), but lives in the US, and is the international director for a partnership of ministries related to the country of Azerbaijan. Attendees include Filipinos, Pakistanis, Indians, Indonesians, Canadians (whom should NEVER be confused with Americans), Brits, plus Africans from Senegal, Coite dIvoire, and South Africa. Mother tongue languages are Tagalog, English, French, Spanish, Urdu, Hindi, Hasa Indonesian, Afrikaans, Portuguese, Arabic, Maltese, and English.

IPAers have come from their homes in Manila (Philippines), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kabul( Afghanistan), Bangalore (India), San Jose (Costa Rica), Senegal, and even Texas (gettin’ ribbed ‘bout that ‘un). Specific mission agencies or organizations don’t receive as much emphasis as some might prefer, but the focus of this gathering is not about promoting our individual mission agencies such as COMIBAM, Pioneers, Frontiers, MUP, PI, World Ventures, SAAWE, IMB, etcetera. The focus is about how we can work together doing something better because we’re in partnership. We believe that God wants us united. We’ll be discovering exactly what that looks like by spending time together this week in learning forums, prayer, and fellowship. Stay tuned for a great week. I appreciate your prayers and comments on this blog.

Lord, Reign in Me

The song we sang this morning during our devotion included the lyrics “Over all the earth, you reign on High. Lord, reign in me. . . Over every thought, over every word…’Cause you mean more to me than any earthly thing.” That last line was certainly a zinger and led to some quick confession from this worldly gal.

As I looked around the room of worshipers, I realized how wonderful it was to be singing praise to God with people from over all the earth. Being around other Baptists is okay (most of the time!), and being around other Christians for fellowship is usually pretty good, but only when I’m with believers from other tribes and tongues do I really get a foretaste of what heaven will be.

Weird Holidays

Being in a rather jet-lagged state of mind (8 hours time difference), I’ve been a little confused on which date it is. On February 2nd I asked a few folks what day it was. One of my fellow Americans piped up and said, “Groundhog Day.” One of the Brits in the group looked somewhat perplexed then cautiously asked about the tradition. He appeared openly intrigued yet underneath I could tell he thought it was pretty silly. When I reminded him of Guy Fawkes Day celebrated in England on November 5th, he grew rather quiet. I never have understood burning the Guy dolls. All cultures have holidays that seem weird to others.

DRC Moreleta Park, Woodlands Pretoria

I never know what to expect when I visit another church, especially one in a different country. However, even by Texas Baptist standards, this was a HUGE place. It is a Dutch Reformed Church (DRC). Seating capacity is 7000, but probably only 5000 were present this morning. (Perhaps they knew an American was preaching!) Even though the building reminded me more of a concert hall than a place of worship, the congregation has outgrown its capacity for housing the 1000 children which regularly attend Sunday morning, so tents have been erected around the building.

Several of our Interdev Partnership Associates (IPAers) were introduced and said a few words about how important it is for the global church to work together (definition of partnership!) Russ brought greetings from the Philippines, and Rene brought greetings from Senegal.

Headsets were used for translation of the announcements from Afrikaans to English. I joked that I could do the translation of the American sermon to English for my IPA seatmates--an Indonesian and a Brit.

My last night at the OPiKOPi

Opikopi is the Afrikaans words for top of the little hill. That's the location of the guest house where I've been staying the past few nights. Tomorrow our group moves to the conference center where we will begin the Interdev Partnership Associates (IPA) Summit on Monday. As you can tell from these pictures, Opikopi has been a nice respite while I get my clock set straight.

The going rate for a double room like mine (breakfast included) is less than $30.

P.S. No shots inside the room because I've nested way too much! I have DISH satellite and a huge walk-in shower. One of the problems I had this morning was scalding myself while turning off the cold water prior to the hot. I got my knobs mixed up. Cold on left. Hot on right.

A girl MUST go to the mall on Saturday!

What's a girl to do with her free afternoon but go to the mall!? Calm down, hubby, no big items purchased. Just a few postcards and money withdrawn from the ATM. (Looks like funny money to me. ) However, that dazzling tanzanite ring I saw in one jeweler's window sure would have looked beautiful on my hand!

Five of us were driven up to the nearby mall which looked much like something transported from either Dubai or Frankfurt. A SUPER supermarket is where Sara and I found ourselves after wandering through Woolworths (memories of UK and UAE swirled in my head). There were 40 check-out counters at the Hypermart! Sara purchased a traditional South Africa tea (rooibos) and dried ostrich meat (aka beef jerky). Pretty weird, but I'm assured that her kids will love it.

No insects allowed

Three precautions have been taken to keep the mosquitoes off our tea time snacks: a strainer like utensil placed over a dish, a curtain-like fabric covering the food, and a leather fly-swatter.

Big Bird

Hadeda! That's the name of this really big bird that landed on the lawn this morning. Hadeda sounds like "la-dee-dah."

Breakfast foods

Invariably I'm asked about what kinds of foods that I eat when I travel abroad. At the guest house where I'm spending the night, we've been served pretty much a traditional British/Continental breakfast. Baked beans, broiled tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, sausage, and so on. And don't forget the infamous Marmite. Ick.

How do YOU learn? Curriculum Development

Think about this question. How do you learn? Be ready with your response and don't cheat by looking ahead! How do you learn? If it helps for me to use my best "teacher voice", then imagine that.

Lead trainer John posed this question to our group of trainers this morning. Many of my generation might respond, "Well...the teacher stood at the front of the room by a blackboard and lectured." My son's generation would more likely say, "The professor projected his notes via PowerPoint then emailed them to the class."

BUZZ! Wrong answer. The question is not how are you taught, but how do you learn? There is a difference. What John wanted to emphasize is that the way we are taught is not necessarily the way we learn. He then asked us a series of questions such as: "How did you become good at something? (e.g. driving or cooking)"; "How do you know you can do something well?"; "What went wrong in your learning when it failed?"; "When learning failed, whose fault was it?"; "What kept you going?"

To facilitate LEARNING with the participants of our training classes week after next, we have been encouraged to consider 5 foundations that underpin effective learning (Philip Race's book Making Learning Happen). These must be present for learning to occur.

1. Wanting to learn
2. Needing to learn
3. Learning by doing
4. Making sense of what we've learned
5. Feedback

For our training of participants coming from different cultural backgrounds with different expectations and reasons for attending "Operating Partnerships", we as trainers were encouraged to keep this in the forefront. We are not to merely dump information because we might be perceived as the authorities. We are to facilitate learning. Therefore it will be important early on in the training to ask them "why are you here?" so that it can be determined whether or not they WANT to learn and whether or not they NEED to learn.

Okay. Enough said about training notes for today. Several of us spent an entire day attempting to develop curriculum around these principles. More work tomorrow then church on Sunday. I'm really excited about attending an Afrikaans service, but not about the visiting preacher from Ohio. I've come all the way to South Africa to hear an American preach?! Stay posted. More to follow...