How to enjoy Relay Homestart...

This time last year I was getting ready to go on my next adventure by doing Relay Homestart in Peru. I know all the feelings of being excited, nervous, unsure, insecure, scared, happy, sad to leave friends etc... with a million emotions all in one I knew I would be boarding that plane soon with no language skills and no real understanding of what it means to live in a different culture and really no idea of what I was really doing. So as I am guessing that some of you will be feeling these things at some point, I want to write a quick guide on how to enjoy and make the most of Relay Homestart - whether that's in Europe or China or South America...

1. Pray and continue praying - this may sound like a given. But we are sinful creatures that like to draw upon Gods help at the start and then when we get use to the culture and the language, suddenly God can be out the picture. Don't be complacent, continue praying and bring everything to God  
2. Don't expect it to be like Relay - On Relay you had amazing support every week, you had theology to read, students to meet up with and conferences to build fellowship. But its all different on homestart, don't expect it to be like Relay at all - you may not get weekly support and it will take you a while before you can speak the language enough to be able to meet up with students one to one. This wont be like fitting on a glove. You are not the star relay worker in your university spouting Grace and Grudem. Your the foreigner that cant speak the language. But there are lots of advantages for it not being like Relay and you will find them out.
3. Jump into the culture - The Culture your going into is different and can seem scary and you may get culture shock. The only way I dealt with this is by not shutting myself away but being apart of the lives of others in the culture. I was living with a family and so I joined in on everything the family was doing - watching TV with them, going to church events, going shopping with them etc...although I couldn't speak Spanish, my actions and my time shared with them proved to be shouting louder then words. So join a youth group or prayer group, join in with a family, be with different people and don't just hang out with English speaking people. Also try and eat everything or at least a bite - it shows your willing to try things. 
4. Don't live on Facebook - Its very tempting to hide yourself away on facebook everyday. My suggestion is to not touch facebook for the first month - your friends will understand. Its more important that you get to know people where you are living then keep updated on the facebook feed. Your relationships where you are will be better off. 
5. Enjoy the Differences - everything will be different - smells, food, people, clothes... but don't be cynical - its easy to believe that the English culture is always right, but you will see that its not and there is so much to learn in the differences. At times it will be frustrating, but as much as you can enjoy the differences - don't complain about them to other people, but let your words be encouraging and pure. 
6. Your Identity is in Jesus - This is a huge lesson I learned. It is very easy to place your worth and Identity in everything but Jesus. You will want to place it in your language skills or how many one to ones you have or what you are doing compared to everyone else. But quickly you will see that when you place your worth in those things you will fall apart because they will not stand up - your language will fail, you will find yourself at times doing nothing or not knowing what to do! But Jesus will always remain and if your identity is in Him you will not fall and he will never fail you. Ever. 
7. Don't expect to stay in touch with everyone - Some people are good at keeping in touch, some are not. Some will be annoyed that you are not emailing them everyday. The truth is, is that you wont have time to be keeping in touch with everyone and that's a reality that you will have to not feel guilty about. 
8. Read your bible - Keep yourself in the word even if you don't have a routine. You will find that church wont be a place where you can get either teaching you understand or teaching that's going to feed you. But the Word of God will feed you. Keep in his word, enjoy His word, Delight in his Word, Weep over His Word and Rejoice that you have the Word of God in your hands. 
9. Be prepared for crazy emotions - At times you will find yourself so happy your skipping down the road and then the next moment you are crying. You will feel alone and then very loved. This is normal, so don't worry. But remember your emotions are not reliable - but God is. Your emotions go up and down but God stays the same. God is still God. That is a good truth to hold on to. Don't be subject to your emotions, but know that God uses you in your weakness and when you are alone, you are actually very close to Jesus. 
10. Love - Love the people, love the fruit lady, love your team mates, love other missionaries, love the crazy drunk man on the street, love the unlovable, love Jesus and do everything in Love. And enjoy every moment.

There is no glamor in mission, only Jesus.

There is something about being in a different country that can make you seem like a real missionary. A christian taking the steps of faith from one culture to the unknown culture. Sacrifice is melted into the experience. People at home feel like their money is going to a real missionary and you email back stories and conversions and what God is doing and people praise you. Missionary work abroad can look glamorous but its not. People put you on a peddle stall when you would rather hide. Half the time you are wondering if you are making a difference - is Jesus really using me or is this a waste of time?

There are many times when you feel like you have lost faith or you feel numb and useless. A darkness wraps itself around you and blinds you into comparing yourself to every other missionary with thoughts of "Surely I should be converting the town... I should be doing this...or being like the other missionaries..."

This isn't just about being abroad or being a missionary but being a Christian wherever you are. Its about seeing your sin and for some reason when your placed in a situation that highlights your weaknesses and takes away your comforts, you then see your sin illuminating. There were many times I was on my knees struggling with the selfishness within me and asking God to make my ministry seem worthy to other people and that there would be spectacular results. But I realized that it wasn't about other people and it was in these hard times that Jesus showed me how faithful He is. Through those tears He was the one that held on to me and was faithful above all. He showed me that He worked in my weakness and that his Grace was sufficient.

There is no glamor in mission, only Jesus. And that's enough.You dont need glamour or praise or recognition. It doesnt matter how well you do or dont do or how many hours you work. Compared with eternity it doesnt matter. Above all, Jesus is who you need to sustain you through everything.
And although you can come away feeling broken and having a case of return culture shock, the truth still remains that the savior of the world is still enough for you in your small town in England. He is enough and He has to be enough or we will be lost and everything will be pointless. The love of God shines through those hard times and its the times when your most hurting that God is most showing you Jesus and how beautiful He is. We can feel like this wherever we are and that's the point - you don't have to go a thousand miles away to do great things for Jesus or be a missionary. Sometimes we go abroad because we want the status or glamor, but that will all be stripped away and you will be given just Jesus - which you will either resent or joyfully accept.

Ministering Cross Culturally

Recently I have been reading a book about Cross Culture mission while being in Peru. It has struck me that mission is much more then just giving an explanation of the Gospel, but there is a a huge part of sharing the Gospel which requires us sharing our time and lives. This can be hard if we are from a culture that demands the use of our time to be for certain use and pressures, such as work, or meetings or other things. But I have been challenged by the Peruvian culture that time to be with each other is a good use of time and a great oppertunity to share the Gospel, not just only with words but with our use of time and relationships.

What I think tends to happen is that we and myself included is share a British culture Gospel to the mission field, be that Peru, France or Asia... the problem is, is that British culture is by no means the standard at which the world should live and the cultural things that we have and do can restrict us and imprison us. So when we share the Gospel there can be an emphasis on British time keeping or way of doing church or CU or anything like that which fits well in our culture but not in a different culture. There isn´t much we can do about some of them, but in some ways we need to be ready to integrate and change in order to be flexable. Because the Gospel can reach all cultures and its the Gospel we have as our standard and how to live as a body of Christ and how to love one another.

There is a brilliant quote in this book that I want to share:
"We must understand that transforming a society does not mean moving people from their prison (culture) into ours but rather helping them to know Christ and be transformed personally and communally into people and communities of the Spirit. If we are to minister successfully to the members of a different society, therefore, we must learn about and participate in their culture" - Ministering Cross Cultrally, pg 120

I wonder how that would not only translate in different countries but in Britian when trying to reach internationals. How can we reach the Gospel to them when sometimes it may fall on deaf ears because we have not shown respect and interest in their culture first and we have not learnt ways to communicate to them that will build relationships with them?
Or we have tried to impose our culture on them rather then sharing Jesus with them?

It makes me think a lot about how barriers can be put up straight away just because we dont understand the culture and where they are coming from as they enter our churches or CUs.

So the question is, how can we as Christians reach international people as they enter our churches with an understanding of their culture that will enable us to reach them with our lives and the Gospel rather then a British way of doing things?

Relay in Peru - The next step

Two years ago this summer I was sitting on the porch of a farm house in the Andes, Peru. I was talking to God and realising that the month in Peru was coming to an end. I asked Him "Will you call me back here?" and He replied, "Yes, but you have to wait"

Lets fast forward a year and I am now in a crowded room full of students and new Relay workers. John Piper is speaking and he asks all those that believe that God is calling them to mission to stand. I was on my feet. Standing in a room full of students that felt that God was calling them to mission abroad. The room buzzed with excitement and fear. What was God going to do now that we were willing to go?

Now today here I am, with Relay over and a summer packed full of visits, outreach, rest and reading coming to an end.

As I look forward I see that two weeks today I leave this country and follow Jesus into Peru to do the next part of Relay. I will be learning Spanish for 3 months and then for the remaining months I will be working alongside the Student movement and help them encourage and equip Peruvian students to reach their non Christian friends on campus. There is also the task of building up a CU there with the help of the student movement.

I am aware of my weaknesses right now and very much aware of how much I need Jesus. I cannot do this without Him, it is not possible. I believe that this time in Peru is such a gift and I want to treasure it and enjoy it and serve God in every opportunity that comes my way.

Please pray for me.

Also, because I wont have as much internet access as I have had, my blog will not be updated as regularly. However, the posts that may be put up will hopefully be an insight into what I am doing and what its like being a Relay Worker in Peru :O)

A good deal of Ecclesiastical Machinery!

I am reading "Paul the Missionary" ~ Schnabel for my elective. And a quote that caught my eye and made me think was this:

"We imagine that nothing of consequence can be accomplished in the Lord's work without a good deal of ecclesiastical machinery - committees, conferences, workshops, seminars; whereas the early Christians depended less on human wisdom and expertise, more on divine initiative and guidence. It is obvious that they didn't do too badly." ~ Kane