Boxing Day (Trinidad)

     If one looks on the average calendar here in the U.S., they will probably find that December 26 is known as Boxing Day (Canada). In my experience, most people’s knowledge of this holiday stops here. I myself, had no idea what this is about, assuming that it has something to do with the sport. However, in this last assigned issue of The Other Sheep, I learned what Boxing Day is really about.

     After going through her standard description of Christmas in the missions field, Ruth Saxon, who served in Trinidad, mentioned that that country also recognizes the holiday. Apparently, on boxing day, one is supposed to “box up” his or her Christmas leftovers, and proceed to give this food to the needy. Why do we not do that in the United States? This is an amazing idea!

     I think that this is certainly a case where we in the U.S. can learn how to “do” Christianity better from observing the practices of those to whom we are evangelizing. Christmas is all about God choosing to live in solidarity with His creation and showing us how to live as His people, from His Kingdom. I can think of no better way to commemorate this than to serve others and try to restore creation to that perfection it once had.

     One of the main critiques of missions has been its ties to colonialism. Missionaries have been perceived as trying to spread American ideals more than the Gospel. Furthermore, this version of the Gospel has been called a highly Americanized version, not always allowing Christianity to become incculturated and to carry the story of the people who convert to it. However, it is important that we allow cultural customs to have a voice in how Christianity is practiced, both for the people we are evangelizing to, but also that we might learn from them, and grow together with them in our understanding of the Lord.

     And so ends my reports on The Other Sheep. It has been a very interesting read. I think of all the things I learned while reading this publication, one of the main lessons has been to not be too quick to judge others and condemn them for their shortcomings (or what are at least currently viewed as short comings). 

     Throughout the publication, there have been many articles that I thoroughly enjoyed, why others left me wondering how such a story could ever be written, much less published, without severe backlash and public outcry. The answer is, of course, that such things were not viewed as wrong in that day. I am sure that when this generation’s exploits are examined in the future, they will wonder similar things about us. Everyone makes mistakes, and it is far easier to identify those mistakes when looking back on them. Instead of judging, we should learn from the past so as to not repeat those same mistakes and to help us identify where we may be going wrong ourselves.

Do they know it's Christmas time at all?

     In the past few issues or The Other Sheep that I have read, more and more of the stories have concerned Christmas. In this issue, there was one story in particular that really struck me. Though I am not sure it has much to do with observing missions in history, it was an excellent reminder of why we send missionaries in the first place.

     In this issue, Elva Bates wrote about the missions efforts in the KaShewula area of Swaziland. She talked about their services and how she hoped they would have a more permanent missionary stationed there, but then went on to discuss her interactions with the children’s Sunday school class. On Christmas Sunday, she asked the class if any of them knew what Christmas was - none of the children did. I do not consider myself an overly sentimental person. Many times people will say that if something does not make you cry, you are cold hearted – I almost never have visible emotional reactions to such things. However, reading this statement absolutely broke my heart.

     The article goes on to mention that they gave gifts to the people there – balls for the children, aprons and handkerchiefs for the women, and ties for the men. Bates mentions that these may be the only gifts those people got for Christmas, but I believe at least those children received something far greater, the knowledge that God loves us enough to come to the world and live among us. In class, we have talked a lot about missions is and what constitutes success. Though the full answer is not this simple, I believe a good starting place for defining success is if those with whom missionaries come in contact leave that encounter with a greater knowledge of God and His insatiable love for us.

Blog Post 12 April 22 2013 September 1969

"Love Can Be Practical"


         Okay, just so everybody knows, I was ten years old in 1969. I am so old! It was refreshing to read an article in The Other Sheep, that actually had a story of missionary work within the United States. Not sure if I missed other articles in the paper on missions in America, but I think this is the first one I have come across. With that said, it is a story about a young college student form North Western Nazarene College, who finds out that a church called Douglas Mexican Church in Arizona disparately needs an overhaul of their church, as in major construction. They talk about how they are going to paint the outside of the church and put new carpet and wood paneling for the indoor project. I remember the days of "wood paneling'" that was the craze of the 60's and 70's. I still see it in some rooms of older churches built around the 70's. It just reminds me of being a kid. So, the Bisbee church of Arizona, is going to help the Douglas church and although I think its good that the construction is needed, I wonder if it was the best way to spend the money. Granted, it was all college students that helped this project and all the work was for free but I wonder where else the money could have been used. As we read in countless articles in The Other Sheep, throughout the years, the money from The Other Sheep was primarily used for over seas missions. Here we find a group project and I suppose it was well worth it, to fix up the Douglas church because the students became really close and had so much fun doing the construction project. They got to sing Christmas carols and also conducted a service at a church too. The supplies, like paint and the "wood paneling" were donated from a company in Oregon too. Businessmen donated air conditioners and other construction articles. I think this article was trying to show us that missions can be in our own back yard.

         Overall, I liked The Other Sheep, it had a tendency to be corny at times and it was always positive in the stories. We got the news in a most positive way, never knowing if the missionaries got along on missions and that there was no arguing among the other missionaries. We never got to hear of the bad stuff that goes on behind the scenes. I think that is due in part of the times in that it was written, In the early days it was an almost make believe America, that "every thing was swell" and "gee Mr.Wilson," type mentality. I would have liked to read more of the personal struggles that went on with the missionaries, especially those who were married and had children over seas. What was it like for them to sacrifice everything to go and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a people who never heard of him before? Therefore, I think that The Other Sheep was necessary for the church of the Nazarene's mission. The newspaper raised a lot of money for the missionaries to go to safe and dangerous countries around the world and it did give us information on how those missionaries were doing. I noticed towards the 1950's and up, the newspaper was getting smaller and that the request for missionary money also dropped significantly. Color photos were used for the covers of each month which I thought was cool too. I enjoyed reading The Other Sheep. Amen!

Blog Post #9 March 25, 2013 September 1954

"There is a Light in the Valley"


        I really enjoyed this story. The story takes place in the Philippine Valley. There is a tribal group called the Igorots and they live in the Philippine Valley, they are known to the people who live around them as pagans. They practice witchcraft, trial marriages, and blood sacrifices. Some of the tribes still go headhunting. They believe if one of their babies dies, they think that ten people should lose their lives. If an adult dies, then it is decided on how many should lose their life based on the decision of the tribe. It doesn't  say who will lose their life but I know that I would not want to be their next door neighbor. The Nazarene missionaries have been witnessing to them and many are becoming believers. This is a good sign, for the tribe who is living in unhealthy living. The Igorots sacrifice pigs for their ancestors and many other animals are used in the celebration. The story goes on to say that, many would hear the message of Jesus and would come to the altar call and give their lives to Christ. The next night more would come. I particularly liked how the person who wrote this story, Frances Vine, described the Igorots. She says, "Our Nazarene chapel is sending out the gospel in an effort to dispel the dense spiritual darkness. At last we are seeing definite results in the salvation of these precious souls." She didn't call them the derogatory word, "heathens" she called them, "precious souls." To me I think that's how we must as Christians approach people who do not believe in Christ and many who are living in darkness, who still practice witchcraft and sacrifices. She uses metaphors to make her point. One man in the tribe prayed and fasted to ask God to come into his life. He prayed all night seeking Him. She said that, "the light broke through," as to mean the light has finally broken through the darkness of the jungle in a spiritual way. I think this story reflects many stories in Dana Roberts book called, Christian Mission, in that many tribes in Africa never heard of the Gospel. IN chapter 6 of her book she writes about how (my favorite missionary) St. Patrick loved the people who he would try to convert. Also in Chapter 6, she writes about a missionary named Bernard Mizeki, and how he converted many Shona tribal people to Christ.

The Ropes of Salvation

Something that has been weighing on my mind as of late is the question, “What good does a missionary do if there are no conversions in his or her career? If there are no conversions, are they actually a missionary at all?” The article I read for the final blog post seems to sum it all up nicely.

               

A farmer was attempting to free his boat from the ice and pull it up onto the shore, but a floating piece of ice hit the boat and carried it and the farmer down the icy stream. A neighbor saw what had happened and instructed everyone in that town to lower a piece of rope over the bridge that crossed the river at intervals of two to three feet, because they did not know where the farmer would pass. When the farmer and his broken boat drew nearer, he grabbed the nearest piece of rope and was pulled to safety. This is what missionary work is like.

               

There are never any guarantees that a missionary’s work will be directly successful. Sometimes it takes a little while for the message to sink in. Take Mr Asuncion for example.

               

Mr Asuncion and his wife had gotten into a bad accident; he had lost one foot and the other foot was badly damaged. He lay in a hospital bed and waited to get better. During that time, a friend of his from the same town came to pray with him. There was the first rope of salvation.

               

The second rope was let down by the author and several friends. They too prayed with the Asuncions because the first prayer had helped so much. After this, many more ropes were lowered, but none taken. Finally, after a long while, Mr Asuncion and his wife came to know Christ, and were ecstatic in their newfound faith.

               

I’ve learned through this project (and class) that missions work is so much more complicated than what it is made out to be. Generally in church services where we have missionaries as guest speakers we get to hear about the conversion rate and the poverty and how even though these poor people suffer so there is eternal hope for them. But that is all that missionary work is. It’s a complex dynamic of organizations working together, a person being so devoted to their cause that they’re willing to give up life and limb for a God they cannot see. Missionaries are ready to face these threats because they know that even one rope lowered can encourage a soul on, or lead him to Jesus right then.

Medical Missions

To begin, this post is not for the faint of heart. If you’re squeamish, don’t read this.

               

In the Wahgi Valley in New Guinea live a people known as the Kudjip. The Kudjip number about one hundred thousand, and six nurses, two medical assistants and several “doktor-boys” are assigned to help them all with their medical care. The doktor-boys run small aid posts through the valley.

               

The first task of these officials is to educate the people in basic health care. The people of the valley apparently love the white bandages the missionaries provide to them, so they will frequently arrive with small sores so they can decorate themselves with the bandages. However, when a person is really ill, they wait until the patient is nearly deceased and then come to the clinic for help. But if the relatives realize the person they brought is unlikely to recover, they won’t let the ill person stay in the clinic, but take him back home where they sacrifice pigs  to appease the evil spirits that are making the person ill. Because of that practice infectious diseases are spread quickly and easily.

               

One of the other problems among the Kudjip people is the lack of hygiene. They don’t use soap and water (which doesn’t sound too bad) but rather cover themselves with pig fat to keep warm.  But they won’t wash off the old and dirty pig fat before applying new. This can lead to all kinds of serious infection, and scabies are common in that area. WARNING: DO NOT GOOGLE SCABIES.

               

Violence is common, and superstition is a way of life. Pregnant women go into the bush and make little houses for themselves where they stay until the child is born. There’s no sterile environment so infantile and maternal mortality rates are high. The tropical climate is rich with malaria and tropical ulcers, and the banana leaves the people use as bandages only help provide a dark, warm, moist environment for bacteria to grow. Without the medical mission work, many more people would still be dying of things that are quick fixes and lives would go to waste.

Some Stay True

In any country where there are different religions, opinions, and beliefs, there are certain pressures to maintain the expected lifestyle of one’s peer group. Breaking the norms of a social group, especially religiously, can have dangerous effects and cause someone in that group to walk away from their newfound faith. In Christian mission, this pattern is exceedingly well known and recognized, as reflected in the article “Some Stay True”.

               

A little boy arrived at the hospital with a possible broken neck from falling out of a tree. Happily, he only had a tender neck and a bump on the head. However, the doctor recognized the little boy’s mother. Her name was Christina.

              

The doctor was working when Christina was brought into the hospital, just having delivered and with many injuries. She is described as “a heathen woman, dirty, unkempt, with witch doctor cuts crisscrossing her abdomen, red mud all over her, vomiting profusely the black, sickening medicine concocted of roots, crushed beetles, and what not, that the witch doctor had given her…” Her condition declined rapidly and the doctors and nurses didn’t know what to do for her except put her on an IV and pray. Then they began to operate.

I’ll spare you the gruesome details because it gets gross and I don’t know how many of you have tender tummies. But she pulled through the surgery, and after several days of uncertainty, the woman began to recover. A week later she told the doctor, with tears in her eyes, that she had chosen Christ and she knew her sins were forgiven. She then chose her new name; Christina.

               

She had remained a Christian in this place of witch doctors and magic and superstition for eight long years and was still growing strong. Christina appears to be the perfect example of the influence that medical missions can have on individuals, and how some Christians make a true life-long commitment to Christ.