Twice a year CMS publishes 'Global Vision' - an online magazine covering topics concerning mission, partnership with CMS, creative ways to be involved in mission - things like that.
The latest edition even has a review of blogs by CMS missionaries!
Can I suggest it would make worthwhile reading??
www.cms.org.au/globalvision
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
A week in Chile
I've just returned from a great week in Chile. It was a two part trip - each part being quiet different.
I began at a rural conference centre just outside Temuco, about 600km south of Santiago. It was a beautiful spot - a bit like being in rural Tasmania. Green, cold, really nice! I spent the Easter weekend there with the Scarratts and about 35 students studying 'Introduction to the Bible'. Most of the students are doing an Education Degree and this was part of their accreditation so they could formally teach 'religion' in schools (Australian readers - this is the equivalent of School Scripture). It was a great class, lots of questions and discussion and because it was a residential conference there was plenty of time for personal discussion as well (as well as a couple of games of table tennis!)
On Sunday afternoon I returned to Santiago and spent two days visiting various people within the Anglican Diocese in Chile to discuss the ways they are using the Moore College material and learn from them. I stayed with our good friends Michael and Jo Charles - and it was a great time of catching up with them. I also got to feel my first earthquake! It wasn't a very big one, only 4.9 but the epicentre was only 45km away so it was actually pretty strong. Enough to make me put out a hand to rest on the wall and make the glasses clatter.
Of course Santiago suffered a big earthquake a few weeks ago and some of the damage is obvious. In the photo I've included you can see how one bridge shifted. The guide rails you can see used to join up and now are separated by about a metre (horizontally) and about 40cm (vertically).
As always, thanks for your interest and support.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Two worlds in Mexico
Here in Mexico, we live in a country of two worlds. The haves, and the have nots. Depending on which report you read and on which scale they measure, something like 70% of the Mexican population lives in poverty. For example, the between our house and the school the girls are at there is a large 'informal' settlement made of bits of tin and wood where a large number of people live.
But then on the other hand, there is a significant middle, upper middle, and upper class here. Big houses, flashy and frequently washed cars (you can guess who does the washing), pampered children, designer clothes - the whole bit.
Last week I was travelling through Mexico City airport and had a really clear demonstration of the two different levels of living in Mexico.
Like many airports in the world, in Mexico City its hard to tell sometimes whether you are in an airport, or just in a shopping centre with arrival and departure gates. The terminal is wall to wall shops, selling all those travel essentials like large bottles of alcohol, 1.5kg toblerones, designer clothes, sunglasses and watches.
While I waited for my flight I was reading my book (ironically on the topic of money and wealth) and noticed one of the airport cleaning staff emptying the bins. Pretty standard stuff - expect for the fact that she wasn't just emptying the bin, she was sorting it and keeping any scraps that were useful. A half eaten muffin here, a couple of ketchup sachets there. The remnant chips from the bottom of a McDonalds bag and an untouched tortilla. Into her personal bag all these things would go.
Into another bag would be the PET bottles, the cans and any reasonable piece of cardboard - presumably for selling later on.
But what really caught my eye was that as I watched this process, the backdrop was the precisely arranged and brightly lit display window of a top end clothes outlet - full of customers trying on items which if push came to shove, I doubt they actually needed.
It was as if the cleaning lady was a performer who had somehow wandered onto the wrong stage.
Living in Mexico is forcing me to think a lot about questions of wealth, poverty, greed and economics - and scenes like this are certainly adding material to the thinking process.
But then on the other hand, there is a significant middle, upper middle, and upper class here. Big houses, flashy and frequently washed cars (you can guess who does the washing), pampered children, designer clothes - the whole bit.
Last week I was travelling through Mexico City airport and had a really clear demonstration of the two different levels of living in Mexico.
Like many airports in the world, in Mexico City its hard to tell sometimes whether you are in an airport, or just in a shopping centre with arrival and departure gates. The terminal is wall to wall shops, selling all those travel essentials like large bottles of alcohol, 1.5kg toblerones, designer clothes, sunglasses and watches.
While I waited for my flight I was reading my book (ironically on the topic of money and wealth) and noticed one of the airport cleaning staff emptying the bins. Pretty standard stuff - expect for the fact that she wasn't just emptying the bin, she was sorting it and keeping any scraps that were useful. A half eaten muffin here, a couple of ketchup sachets there. The remnant chips from the bottom of a McDonalds bag and an untouched tortilla. Into her personal bag all these things would go.
Into another bag would be the PET bottles, the cans and any reasonable piece of cardboard - presumably for selling later on.
But what really caught my eye was that as I watched this process, the backdrop was the precisely arranged and brightly lit display window of a top end clothes outlet - full of customers trying on items which if push came to shove, I doubt they actually needed.
It was as if the cleaning lady was a performer who had somehow wandered onto the wrong stage.
Living in Mexico is forcing me to think a lot about questions of wealth, poverty, greed and economics - and scenes like this are certainly adding material to the thinking process.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
I've run out of patience!
Language learning is like climbing a mountain that just rises higher and higher into the clouds. You work hard, and you make progress, but the mountain just stretches ahead of you, and you still can't see the top. Sometimes you have times when the path is not so steep... it may even have a gentle down hill and you get to relax and enjoy view. They're the bits when you can see the progress that you've made and you can enjoy the way that you can communicate. But other times it's just hard slog and you can't see the progress at all.
I'm in one of the "hard slog" phases at the moment, so that colours everything that I say.
I'm frustrated and cross that I'm not understanding Spanish as well as I expect to and want to. We've been here for almost a year, and I've run out of patience with not understanding.
Those who know me will know that I'm a firm believer in solving problems. One way to solve the problem is to learn Spanish! Now given that I'm working on that, but the problem remains, I need another solution.
Today I realised something for the first time. My frustration is due to poor communication, but also, due to wrong expectations and unmet wants. If I change those wants and expectations, I can reduce my frustration, and that's got to help.
If I really trust God, I will trust that he is equipping me to do the job that he wants me to do. If I'm not able to converse easily in Spanish at the moment, it's because that's the way God wants me right now. God's ways and God's timing won't always match what we think is best, but they will always be best.
I need to pray that God will give me patience. Patience to trust in His timing. Patience to throw out unrealistic expectations and accept the way has God has equipped me now. Patient when I don't understand people. Patience to trust that he we use me with all my inadequacies in Spanish. Patience to keep working hard at learning and practicing. Patience to keep looking for ways to love and serve people just as I am now.
And courage is needed for all those things too!
By Sarah
I'm in one of the "hard slog" phases at the moment, so that colours everything that I say.
I'm frustrated and cross that I'm not understanding Spanish as well as I expect to and want to. We've been here for almost a year, and I've run out of patience with not understanding.
Those who know me will know that I'm a firm believer in solving problems. One way to solve the problem is to learn Spanish! Now given that I'm working on that, but the problem remains, I need another solution.
Today I realised something for the first time. My frustration is due to poor communication, but also, due to wrong expectations and unmet wants. If I change those wants and expectations, I can reduce my frustration, and that's got to help.
If I really trust God, I will trust that he is equipping me to do the job that he wants me to do. If I'm not able to converse easily in Spanish at the moment, it's because that's the way God wants me right now. God's ways and God's timing won't always match what we think is best, but they will always be best.
I need to pray that God will give me patience. Patience to trust in His timing. Patience to throw out unrealistic expectations and accept the way has God has equipped me now. Patient when I don't understand people. Patience to trust that he we use me with all my inadequacies in Spanish. Patience to keep working hard at learning and practicing. Patience to keep looking for ways to love and serve people just as I am now.
And courage is needed for all those things too!
By Sarah
Monday, February 8, 2010
What do you think about singing at church?
I don't know about you, but I like singing at church. I particularly like singing in Spanish at church. Often words just seem to work better in Spanish and with accents and rrrrrolling our rrrrs it feels more 'musical' than English. Its also good for us as we learn Spanish because song words are usually slower and often repeated, so we can understand whats going on a bit better.
But, you'd be well aware that songs and their words can be a bit of a battleground in church. The 'we want hymns vs the 'we want a drum kit ' discussion will continue for the years to come I expect.
But there is another question that does the rounds from time to time - and thats 'What are we doing when we sing?'. Is the activity we are engaged in 'worship' (as the description of the time of singing and of the person who is leading us in the activity often suggests), is it teaching, is it edification, is it a mix of all? And what about the musicians who are playing. Are they performing, helping us to worship or just making it all sound better and more enjoyable?
I don't want to go into the ins and outs of the debate here - I just want to reflect on a practical example of how what you think you are doing when you are singing comes out in practice.
In most churches these days the song words are projected onto a screen. Song words have evolved from hymn books to overhead projectors to data projectors. My personal favourite was the overhead projector - there's nothing quite like watching the operator get flustered when he can't seem to get the words up the right way - no matter what he does they seem to be upside down or backwards - great stuff!
Anyway - here's the question. What do you do when halfway through a song the projection method fails? The second sheet of words is lost or the bulb blows or the computer dies or whatever. For whatever reason the congregation can't see the words anymore. The musicians and the singers can - their music is in front of them, but the congregation can't join in any longer.
What do you do?
I think your reaction to that situation is a good indication of your theology of singing in church.
There are basically two options. Stop, or keep going.
If you stop then you are saying singing is for the congregation. If they can't sing, then we'll stop until they can.
If you keep going, I think you are saying singing is something we observe and join in if we want to, but its essentially a spectator sport.
For mine, I'm with the first option. I don't think singing is an 'act of worship' any more than washing up the coffee cups is. I don't think singing brings us into the presence of God - the blood of Jesus does that. Singing is about encouraging and teaching one another, expressing our joy in Christ to one another and reflecting on who God is.
So should we stop when the projection fails? Absolutely. Should we break out the hymn books instead? Maybe - or maybe just have a spare bulb handy!
But, you'd be well aware that songs and their words can be a bit of a battleground in church. The 'we want hymns vs the 'we want a drum kit ' discussion will continue for the years to come I expect.
But there is another question that does the rounds from time to time - and thats 'What are we doing when we sing?'. Is the activity we are engaged in 'worship' (as the description of the time of singing and of the person who is leading us in the activity often suggests), is it teaching, is it edification, is it a mix of all? And what about the musicians who are playing. Are they performing, helping us to worship or just making it all sound better and more enjoyable?
I don't want to go into the ins and outs of the debate here - I just want to reflect on a practical example of how what you think you are doing when you are singing comes out in practice.
In most churches these days the song words are projected onto a screen. Song words have evolved from hymn books to overhead projectors to data projectors. My personal favourite was the overhead projector - there's nothing quite like watching the operator get flustered when he can't seem to get the words up the right way - no matter what he does they seem to be upside down or backwards - great stuff!
Anyway - here's the question. What do you do when halfway through a song the projection method fails? The second sheet of words is lost or the bulb blows or the computer dies or whatever. For whatever reason the congregation can't see the words anymore. The musicians and the singers can - their music is in front of them, but the congregation can't join in any longer.
What do you do?
I think your reaction to that situation is a good indication of your theology of singing in church.
There are basically two options. Stop, or keep going.
If you stop then you are saying singing is for the congregation. If they can't sing, then we'll stop until they can.
If you keep going, I think you are saying singing is something we observe and join in if we want to, but its essentially a spectator sport.
For mine, I'm with the first option. I don't think singing is an 'act of worship' any more than washing up the coffee cups is. I don't think singing brings us into the presence of God - the blood of Jesus does that. Singing is about encouraging and teaching one another, expressing our joy in Christ to one another and reflecting on who God is.
So should we stop when the projection fails? Absolutely. Should we break out the hymn books instead? Maybe - or maybe just have a spare bulb handy!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Decisions decisions...
One of the difficult decisions a 'one off' preacher needs to make is 'Which text will I preach from?'
I have such a decision ahead of me in the next couple of days. I've been asked to preach at our new 9:30 service next Sunday, and as usual its the 'your choice' direction from the organisers.
But wait - I also have another choice. Which language?
If I preach in English (I will be translated) its so much more straight forward. Preparing is quicker, speaking is more natural and I can concentrate more on delivery and emphasis, rather than being tied down to my text and wrestling with pronounciation.
But then again, I need to preach I Spanish - because thats what I need to learn to do. It means many more hours preparing and practicing - and even then people might not understand what I'm saying??
So what to do?
Actually I think the decision has a lot to do with what happens tomorrow. Monday afternoon could be a big preparation time for me, or it could be a time when I meet with a guy to start working through of the Moore College courses.
We'll see how it goes.
I have such a decision ahead of me in the next couple of days. I've been asked to preach at our new 9:30 service next Sunday, and as usual its the 'your choice' direction from the organisers.
But wait - I also have another choice. Which language?
If I preach in English (I will be translated) its so much more straight forward. Preparing is quicker, speaking is more natural and I can concentrate more on delivery and emphasis, rather than being tied down to my text and wrestling with pronounciation.
But then again, I need to preach I Spanish - because thats what I need to learn to do. It means many more hours preparing and practicing - and even then people might not understand what I'm saying??
So what to do?
Actually I think the decision has a lot to do with what happens tomorrow. Monday afternoon could be a big preparation time for me, or it could be a time when I meet with a guy to start working through of the Moore College courses.
We'll see how it goes.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Supporting missionaries
Over the past year several people have asked us how they can best support us and other missionaries.
Mark Rogers from the Gospel Coalition (a group of like minded friends in the US) has come up with some helpful guidelines here
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/01/06/10-ways-to-encourage-a-missionary/
(Careful readers might get a laugh at point #10).
Mark Rogers from the Gospel Coalition (a group of like minded friends in the US) has come up with some helpful guidelines here
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/01/06/10-ways-to-encourage-a-missionary/
(Careful readers might get a laugh at point #10).
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