A Positive Note

Two things especially caught my eye in the May 1944 issue, each thing being an article about entirely different happenings. Both of them gave me that “Aw, that’s really cool!” feeling. The first article was called ‘The Children and Missions’, and the second was entitled ‘A Happy Surprise’.

‘The Children and Missions’ was about the kids in the Nazarene church and what they did to assist in the effort to support missions. After checking the finances, it was discovered that in the church year of 1943, children raised over $14,000 specifically for missions. I was curious about how much that would be worth in today’s money, and due to inflation, that $14,000 would be worth around $181,818. That’s an insane amount of money to imagine. But it gets better. When added to the children’s day fund for that year, it ended up being nearly $20,000. Again, with inflation, $20,000 dollars in 1944 was worth $259,740 in today’s money. During this period, the church was trying to raise a million dollars for missions. This article, however, was not written to boast about the children’s achievements or guilt the adults into giving more money. Rather, “all we are pleading for is that the children be given an opportunity and that they receive credit for their offerings. Do not try to bypass the children. Give them an opportunity to raise their portion of that million dollars.”

‘A Happy Surprise’ was about a ship that was traveling to British Guiana from England. After  it was shelled and sunk by a German raider, about six hundred people were left stranded on what was presumed to be a cannibal island. However, upon going farther inland, a song was heard; one all of us probably know, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” They found a native (whose parents were cannibals) performing a church service! Those native to the island helped the survivors of the shipwreck and refused pay, saying “We are Christians and we give to you because you have nothing.” It was really awesome to hear something nice about missions that didn’t seem like there was anything behind it.

Do you remember missions radio?

I was surprised when I went to read for this post to find that this edition of The Other Sheep was significantly smaller than the previous editions I had read. However, I was excited to see an article titled “The Radio in Missions.” Having obtained an associate’s degree in mass communications, I have had a special affinity for radio missions and have enjoyed learning about their usefulness in spreading the Gospel.

The article starts off by relating why the radio had begun to be seen as a tool for missions. While missionaries were few in number, a single radio station could broadcast the good news to anyone in a very large area who had a radio receiver with which to listen to it. Furthermore, radios were fairly cheap, being sold in China for forty cents and in South America for under two dollars. While no one would suggest that missions by radio is as good for discipleship as the presence of a missionary, radio can far reach more people every day, including those in hard to reach areas or places where evangelizing is illegal.

The article states the hope that radio may make reaching every person on earth a very real possibility. It then goes on to state the countries that the Nazarene church was planning on building stations at the time, including India and Bolivia. Their hope was that radio station could be built and used every field, which they perceived as a “visionary” but possible plan of action.

After reading this article, I went to the website for Nazarene media missions today, http://broadcast.nazarene.org. I was sad to learn that the Nazarene denomination has not been able to use radio in the whole world, but there is a sizable chunk of the earth to which World Mission Broadcast is sending radio and television signals, including areas in 72 countries. I too share in this hope that these and other new forms of communication will one day soon enable the church to preach the Gospel and share the love of God with every individual alive.

Inculturation

When reading this specific issue of "The Other Sheep" nothing drastically stuck out to me that made me think, "Oh!! I should write about this in my blog post!". However, something that has been brought up in class and is an underlying theme in some of the stories in this magazine is the topic of inculturation. I personally think that it is vital for a missionary to invest themselves into learning and understanding the culture they are trying to reach. They need to live in this culture as the others do, minus any sort of witchcraft, idol worship etc. One story in this issue of the magazine was about having to walk 10 miles to just get water. It made me appreciate that the missionaries in that specific story were willing to walk as far as every other community member and get the water for themselves. They did not see themselves as any better than anyone else, and did what they had to do. As long as the missionaries do not put themselves in a position of ungodliness, I think that it is really important for them to immerse themselves in the culture they are in. Eat the same food, learn the language, wear some of the same clothing, learn the traditional values and ethics. People are much more likely to be open to missionaries if they know that the missionaries are humble are are eagerly trying to learn about the culture. In my mind, learning about and honoring the culture of the people you are trying to reach is an essential part in your ability to be able to connect with them. When Jesus was on earth he walked everywhere like everyone else, he ate the same foods, and cherished and invested Himself in the culture He came to serve, shouldnt missionaries do the same?

Coloring Missions Pink

Women in ministry. It's a topic many people might perceive as over discussed. A topic that talking about is like beating a dead horse. However, it is one that has been following me this year. Everywhere I turn I am hearing and reading conversations regarding this controversial topic. As I read this edition of The Other Sheep, I could not help but notice that this issue that is still being debated today seems to be almost a nonissue in January of 1944. 
This edition begins with a story of three women missionaries setting out for Africa. The magazine continues to tell story after story of women serving as pastors in foreign lands. There is an articles speaking of the Nazarene missions work in Trinidad where a graduate of Eastern Nazarene College, Reverend Carlotta Graham, was pastoring two different churches. There is also an entire section of the magazine devoted to the Young Women's Foreign Missionary Society and the Women's Foreign Missionary Society. These two organizations not only have important roles on the field, but were also highly involved in fundraising for missionary endeavors. Women missionaries also were highly involved in the educating of children in missions. The Boys and Girls page is put together by a woman who signs each page affectionately as, "Your Big Sister." All of this female influence in the 1940s is striking when one looks at the current debates regarding women in ministry. I could not help but wonder what allowed for this acceptance of female participation so early in history. However, as I read I was reminded of the pro-feminine attitude that characterized this World War II culture. This approval, even encouragement, of women was seen as customary in this time period. Women were desperately needed. This perception of female involvement is one that we would be wise to remember in the current debate. Light and Life Magazine, a publication put out by the Free Methodist Church, centered their February issue around the topic of women in ministry. One article is dedicated to the women precedents within Christian history. It is important to remember these women and the attitudes held by the 1941 Nazarene missionaries, realizing that there certainly is a place for women in expanding the Kingdom of God. 

The Things That Stick With You

I really was going to try to write about something other Africa this time.  Really I was.  The Other Sheep even made it easier for me this time.  They had a pretty big update to the layout since 1942 in that they got rid of the region-by-region reports.  The stories themselves changed to be a bit more interest grabbing and a bit less report-ish.  And still, all I really wanted to write about is a story out of Africa.  So here it goes, I guess.

Mary Schmelzenbach writes about a mother and baby coming into the dispensary after an incredibly long journey (especially for two sick people).  Schmelzenbach reports, “Both were suffering from scurvy and malnutrition.  The six months old babe weighed only seven pounds, and the mother was only skin and bones.” Soon after their admittance into the hospital, the baby died.  The mother was unable to go to her child's grave because she was running a fever upwards of 105.  The story was heartbreaking, and, honestly, Mary offered very little consolation.  She made no effort to pull the mood up.  It was obvious that this episode dug into her skin and made her hurt.

1947.  This is what was going on in Swaziland in 1947.  I went in 2012.  I would venture to say that this kind of scenario is one that continues to happen over and over and over again every day in the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital in that very same country.

I guess when I read The Other Sheep I hope that every time I will either come across wonderful, heartwarming stories of missionary success or that I will find stories that I am easily able to reconcile with the thought that things have gotten so much better.  This time I am unable to reconcile.  It makes me so intensely sad I’m honestly having a hard time finding the words I need to express it. 

This is completely unacceptable.  Completely.

What Makes Us Better?

“Fifty years and no advancement? Fifty years and no effort at domestic prosperity? Fifty years and we are no better off. Do you expect us to embrace your Bible and church if it fails to make us any better off? Should not domestic prosperity follow spiritual advancement? We can see. We are not blind. We can hear. We are not deaf. What makes you think your religion is better?”

A Yuma Indian Chief in the United States said this. He was fifty-five years old when this article was written and he was in spectacular health. He was also very intelligent though “he would be judged as uneducated”. He was able to discuss foreign affairs, science, and literature easily. He also was watching his people suffer.

Jose was asked when he was coming to church, and he said (in perfect English), “I’ve decided to stay away all together. But the Nazarene Mission has my support. I believe in its programs and want to see it worked out. I believe the Bible. I do not question the claims of Christ. But the Indians have been made sick by the white man’s religion. It was brought to us fifty years ago. Half a century is test enough. It proves to be no better than out own religion of legends and traditions.”

The article briefly mentions the condition of Jose’s people. They were poor and immoral by Christian standards. But what they fail to mention is what Jose is so bluntly pointing out: white man came here and converted the Native Americans. When that happened fifty years prior, Jose was just a little boy. He grew up watching these people see Christianity leave them in the same condition they had been. Christianity is supposed to be the best religion in these missionary’s eyes, and yet they are doing nothing to improve living conditions or encourage the people to do anything other than attend church.

At the same time, the article says that because the Nazarene Mission in Arizona is the only denomination to attend to the needs of the people and even say they will help as much as possible, Jose had faith in the author. He very briefly stated that he and the people he led were looking to the author to put the plan into action.

"We can see. We are not blind. We can hear. We are not deaf. What makes you think your religion is better?”

Christian Women

In the May 1934 issue of “The Other Sheep”, there was a story concerning Mrs. Lien, a very influential Christian woman in a certain area of China. Mrs. Lien was a young widow who grew up as a “mission girl” who attended the Christian school in Chaocheng, and she was converted at school. Afterward, she lost her faith due to a second marriage. Interestingly enough, the second marriage was to a man who professed to be a Christian, and “like many of the general’s soldiers, he did not have a real experience in his heart, or if he did, soon lost it. Mrs. Lien found God again after her second husband’s death. At the time the article was being written, she was studying the bible and even teaching girls in a Home Study Bible Course. Her large heart for the girls she taught (most of whom have never gone to school) was discussed and she was praised as a wonderful teacher and woman of God. There was also mentioned the time that she was speaking with the author of that particular article and Mrs. Lien began crying. Because she was married off to someone who was not her equal in the Christian faith, she understood how much of a problem this could be in remaining faithful to God. And like her, some of the girls were being put into a similar situation.

               What I found to be the most interesting part of the article was the fact that Mrs. Lien’s second marriage was not to someone who was strong in the faith, yet professed to be a Christian. We have seen this problem over and again in the missionary field, and because of his forced or fake beliefs, Mrs. Lien was led to abandon her beliefs. There we find the idea of forced faith again, and I can’t help wondering if as I read more into missions it will get better or not.

September 1939 "The Other Sheep"

Hello fellow bloggers,

To day I am suppose to write about what the missionary left out of their articles, some hidden gem that they were unable to articulate or that they did not understand. What was their underlying thought, on what was happening that very moment. There was one article on pg. 20, in particular called, "Begging to enter the Bible School." The Reverend, H.A. Wiese, comments on the birth of a Bible School in China, and he describes how sad he feels when he has to turn a potential student away from attending their school. Even though that person who has given all the reasons as to  why they deserve to attend the school. Then we are introduced to a well educated couple who are financially set for life because they own over 200 acres of land in China. To have that much land in China means, "he can retire and live at ease while others do the work" (pg. 20). Rev. Wiese goes on to explain that he had to tell them repeatedly that there was no room for them and that hey could not attend the school. He says, "I could not help crying as they continued to plead with me to see if we could do something for them right away, and yet we had to refuse them" (pg. 20). Well, my immediate thought was the cynical side in me. Was he crying because he couldn't get the couple in the school or was he crying because he saw potential donors of land walk out his door? I think that he was sending a message to the ones who read "The Other Sheep." Hey we need money! Do you see whats going on over here? I have people here who are well educated, have money and land, and I can't accept them into our Bible school because we have no room. I looked at some of the pictures and noticed the land is barren and vacant. Why couldn't they throw a few walls together for the time being? Its not like they don't have the room. Come on people! I know that I am stretching this thought a little here. But, why couldn't they take people and make arrangements to house them until the faculty built some dormitory's for couples? Here we see even if they built the rooms for people to attend the Bible school, we realize that they didn't have the staff to teach them anyway. I think this article was a subtle way of asking for money. The article is trying to tell the reader that look what happens when people don't donate money. I understand their frustration.

Damascus: Paradise on Earth?

Usually when I read The Other Sheep, I find stories about missionaries, reports on missions from local churches and districts, and anecdotes on why missions is important – these are the types of things one expects to find when reading a publication like The Other Sheep. However, every so often one can find an article that seems to be somewhat out of place. This week, my class was asked to write about something we read that forced us to wonder what the background is concerning why it was written and included. One article I read this week almost seemed to be more of an ad for tourism that would be more at home in a travel magazine.

It starts of by talking about the age of the city of Damascus, claiming that it is one of the oldest cities in the world and that its age is far greater than other ancient cities, such as Athens and Rameses. It also claims that some believe the city to be the location of one of Abraham’s conversations with God. Going on, it relates a tale about Mohammed, who is said to have refused to go into the city on the belief that one can only enter paradise once, and that entering in this world might prohibit him from entering paradise in the afterworld.

After introducing the city with these and other descriptions of its beauty, the article list some of the sites a visitor may want to see, such as the many mosques around the city, or the alleged ashes of the head of John the Baptist. One exciting point of interest mentioned is the bazaars and shops that fill some of the city streets, so much so that the roofs hardly let in any sunlight. Another interest the article makes mention of is the silversmiths.

After this, the article begins to explain the culture of the city, but it never explains why these things were written. When I read it, I found myself suddenly wanting to visit the city, but in no way did I feel I had learned more about missions work in the area. The article did speak briefly about Christian Muslim relations, but only to say that Muslims often refused to sell the Koran to the Christian tourists. Nothing was mentioned about any attempts to evangelize the people of the city. It was an interesting article, but I fail to understand why it was sent in to this publication.

Reports from the Field

Some issues of The Other Sheep, honestly, are pretty boring.  Reports from the missionaries, fundraising pleas, and prayer requests don’t always leave me with many things that merit a blog entry.  This issue, on the other hand, is packed full of crazy things that I would absolutely love to write about.  The theme of this week’s entry is “What else is going on here?”  This certainly hasn’t been a topic I had thought much about before this issue, but it turns out there were lots of things not so readily apparent in many articles. 

The article of the week is titled “Overworked Missionaries,” which the editor explains is not the title given by the author, Dora Carpenter, but rather what the magazine had deemed appropriate for the conditions described.  This letter is interesting and rather different in that it does not exclaim at the fantastic work being done in Swaziland as all other letters of this section do (Dr. David Hynd and Bertha Parker also weigh in on mission efforts in Swaziland).  Instead, it details the intense work left to be done in a literary fashion that might be described as, well, mildly outlandish. 

Here’s a sample:

“…we are surrounded by heathen on all sides.  We often hear the beating of the drums at night—some to drive away the “amadholzi” (evil spirits), some at heathen dances; and the past few months we have heard the yelling and weird singing of the great number of boys and girls who attend the Kaffir Schools.  Sometimes these noises go on all night long.”

Really?  Children were yelling and singing weirdly all night long?  I know some children.  I even know some children who sing weird songs when they’re awake late at night for no reason.  But all night long?  I don’t think so, Sister Carpenter. 

Maybe this entry isn’t necessarily the best example of “something else going on” behind the scenes.  I considered talking about another story in which a girl is described as being “sold” to a man for cattle, but decided not to try to justify lobola, because, really, I can’t justify that.  But this story just seemed like such an outlandish accusation that it really couldn’t be true. 

Emotional Honesty

The article begins like a chapter in a Mark Twain novel. Suddenly, a missionary, her child and several Chinese children are traveling down a stream, chasing chickens and allowing two random strangers (who are apparently obviously not Christians) to begin traveling with them. As I read, I could not help but feel as though I had jumped in to the middle of a story. I looked back up at the title, and sure enough this article, Little Americans and Chinese in Distress, was said to be continued from December. I then turned to December and could still not find the beginning. This tale of missionaries and Chinese children escaping from a Chinese village during war, began back in the October edition of The Other Sheep and was just now coming to a close in January. The missionary writing this article, Mrs. FC Sutherland, detailed every little event that happened to her and those traveling with her. It was a gripping story, a page turner that causes the reader to wonder what is going to happen next. However, one needs to remember, this is not a novel. This is a missions magazine presenting actual stories from people who are seeking to recount actual events. Yet, the story-like composition of this particular article, begs the question of how truthful the story is.
There are very little details even at the beginning of the October article to explain to us why these people are becoming refugees. Though we know they are running from the effects of the war, we do not know why these specific children are with her, we do not know what will happen to them once they reach the coast. It is very unfortunate that these details are missing as they provide context for this story. Instead we simply have a group of refugees traveling across China in different modes of transportation. Each time things seem to be going well, something else goes wrong. It is clear that the author has woven her emotions into this story. She speaks of every little noise startling her, thinking that perhaps they were coming to a series of gunshots, when in actuality it was simply firecrackers. It seems that behind this epic story are rushing emotions of fear and anxiety. Coming through such a trip, bringing children with her must have been quite a strenuous ordeal. After surviving that, it is no wonder that she would seek to tell the story in such intense details that seem to embellish what was actually happening. When you add your emotions to the story, small things such as a young boys stomach ache that went away once he had eaten breakfast seem to become a much more dramatic event. This emotion driven story, might not have been telling the tale exactly as it had happened, but it presents a different side of truth to the story. It shows the truth of their emotions. The reader does not have to guess how they were feeling as they journeyed. It is clear as day. So though one truth seems to have been sacrificed another is not, and I feel as though this emotional honesty is almost more valuable than an exact account of the events.

Your Child Married a Non Christian? No Communion for You!

There was a story in this issue of "The Other Sheep" that troubled me. It was not that it was necessarily a bad thing, but I guess the issue rubbed me the wrong way. The story was from a missionary from China, and she was talking about her unusual calling. Her calling was to basically play matchmaker for Christian young people in her community. I know there is a difference in times and values but it bothered me when she wrote, "Whoever marries his child to a heathen will not be permitted to partake in the Lord's Supper". I was extremely offended by that, she was saying it as if that if your child marries a non-Christian, you have committed the impardonable sin. A sin so extreme and vulgar that you are now not allowed to partake in the Lord's Supper? What kind of Christianity is this? If people were not allowed to participate in communion because of sin in their life, not one single person in church would be able to partake in it. God's forgiveness of our sins is what allows us to be able to receive salvation and be able to take communion in remembrance of His sacrifice. I believe that even the vilest sin can be forgiven, but forgiveness does not mean the person forgets it. Paul (formerly Saul) persecuted thousands of Christians before his conversion, Rahab was a prostitute, David was an adulterer, yet they still became or were Christians. So from what I am getting from this article is that people who allow there child to marry a non-Christian are worse than a murderer, adulterer, and prostitute, and never can be forgiven? Forever outcast from the church and can never partake in communion? I think this evidence of a deeper issue in the heart of the church. Taking the Word of God and changing it to fit what they want it to mean, and using their Christianity to overlord others. Okay, I am done with my rant now. I promise I am not insulting Christianity but only expressing my reactions to what I read.

"The Other Sheep"
September 1934

We were told to write about something that we found similar in the book we read called, "Evangelical Christians in the Muslim Sahel," and "The Other Sheep." Although, "The Other Sheep" is different from the book, it had somesimilarity's. On page 11 of "The Other Sheep" there is a little article tucked in the lower left hand corner titled, "The Difference." The story is about a Pastor (Christian) and a Mohammedan (Muslim) and the Mohammedan says to the preacher, " You must admit that we have one thing that you have not and it is better that anything you have."The Pastor is curious and lets him speak again, "When we go to Mecca we find at least a coffin. When you Christians go to Jerusalem, which is your Mecca, you find nothing but an empty grave." The Pastor replied, "That is just the difference. Mohammed is dead. Mohammed is in his coffin." I thought the Pastor was clever in his response. There is a mission group in the book called, S.I.M., (Sudan Interior Mission, later known as SIM International). Muslims lived among the Christians in Africa, and it was SIM's job to convert them, or to at least let them know about Jesus. One could imagine that the same conversation went on with people from SIM and its Muslim neighbors. The Pastor goes on to say that, "the founders of all other religions are in the grave but Jesus Christ is not among the dead." I don't know how a Muslim could counter that argument.
           I noticed on page 5 that there was a small article about translating Bibles, for Native Indian Christians and translating it into languages of India. Similar to what SIM went through in translating the Bible from English to Hausa, an African language in that area.
   

Gender Divide

It seems like the gender divide in missions is something that’s come up rather often in class.  Why are women so much more interested in missions than men?  We’ve tried to come up with some answers to this million dollar question.  Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised by what I found in this issue- especially considered it was published in 1937, but the clues about the gendered perspectives on mission work were really too hard to ignore in this issue.

So, to start I’ve got a nice little blurb under the title “WANTED – PRAYER” which goes on to describe how we don’t need more men in the mission field or more money in the mission field,  we need more prayer in the mission field.  Sure, that’s fine.  But the thing that struck me was the very decisively gendered use of “men.”  While it may have just suited the author’s purpose (the blurb paralleled a help wanted ad), it seemed pretty obvious to me that while women in the mission field are fine, they really only see men as valid mission field workers.

This stands in very sharp contrast to the fact that there is a whole entire page (of this short publication- it is proportionally significant) dedicated to the Young Women’s Foreign Missionary Society, and five pages are given to the Women’s Foreign Missionary Society.  This, really, is a disproportionately large section of the publication, especially when you consider the fact that a large majority of it are short reports from missionaries on the field.  The members of W.F.M.S. did a huge amount of fundraising for missions and were very involved and interested in mission work. 

This was published still before the influx of unmarried female missionaries began in SIM.  I would be interested to see some kind of chart that had numbers of each gender going into the mission field for each year.  It would be a rather interesting case study of comparison between the Nazarene missionaries and SIM missionaries.

Finally, without any transition whatsoever, I present a missionary poem.  We all love missionary poems, right?

Called
Miss Rhoda V. Schurman

He called to her, "Come follow me."
She answered, "Yes, Lord, only Thee."

To China, then, He bade her look;
And every step in faith she took.

She loved and served unselfishly--
Was graced with deep humility.

No sacrifice too great to make,
In doing all for Jesus' sake.

The troubled ones, who sought her side,
Were led in Jesus to confide.

She taught them all so patiently,
That many His dear face will see.

He called to her, "It is enough,
Come where the way is no more rough.

"In heaven I have prepared for thee
A home for all eternity."

She slipped away.  God knoweth best.
 Many will rise to call her "blest."