Comfort

I was sitting here, looking, looking, looking for a really great example of one of Robert’s critiques.  I actually thought that just maybe I had nothing, but while going through Sheep the second time, I saw an article I had missed before.  There it was!  My perfect example of colonialism!  So, here we go.

This week (for the first time ever!) my article hails from the Philippine Islands.  I’m all the way up to 1957 (far removed from formally acceptable colonialism), but the remnants of the thought patterns clearly still exist without a tint of shame. 

The first paragraph is a simple explanation of the stark contrast that exists between the wealthy and the impoverished.  Robert McCroskey, our missionary guide, sums it up with, “Here we saw the modern and the primitive side by side…”  Of course, maybe in the 1950’s, the language hadn’t exactly shifted into what is today politically correct, so we can excuse this loaded phrase for the time being.  It is really the next paragraph that brings the whole mindset into focus.

McCroskey asserts, “Some of the Filipinos are anxious to change for the better while many go on living as their ancestors did centuries ago. …A bit of rice, a little fish, and some vines seem like ample provisions for many.”  What was wrong with the way Filipinos lived centuries ago?  I try to be understanding of the face that this man feels that he has been charged with not only improving the spiritual lives of his field, but the physical wellbeing of those people as well.  I also try to nod when he says that telephones and cars and new tractors are important.  What I do not understand is how he can equate cars and telephones and tractors with the basic need that (as he does claim later) is so vital: food.  

It is difficult to put this entire story in context, but it struck me that this missionary was so concerned that the Filipinos he worked with were comfortable, but comfort for him was defined by material things, not by food or by spiritual matters.  It is a great example of how Western minds are so trained to skip over what we see as obviously ample (food) and go straight to the things we think make people happy (cars). 

Building a Kingdom

There is a critique of missions that says that missions is simply flowing from colonization efforts. Those viewing missions from a secular standpoint draw attention to the early missionary efforts that seemed to be closely linked to the colonization movements of countries such as Europe, France and Spain. Though it may seem as though today we are too far separated from time of colonization to associate missionary endeavors with colonization, this stereotype stands, and is one with which missionaries must wrestle. Today we must analyze missionary work and ask ourselves, does this appear to be linked with colonization? This is a hard question to answer. However, while reading the January 1954 edition of The Other Sheep, I believe I discovered my answer.
In this edition there is an article entitled, "A Bible Training School in the Mountains." This article read much differently than most. The majority of it was regarding the area in which the Bible school was built. The writer opened by saying that finding a good location for a Bible school is key. I thought this statement would lead to a discussion of how it is important to place a Bible school where many people would be able to access it. Instead I found myself reading detailed descriptions of the natural resources found on this mountain in Trinidad. It read very much like a colonization report. There was plenty of fruit for them to grow, so much so that they were able to sell it and make a profit. As I read this, I began to grow disheartened, realizing why many may believe missionary efforts to simply be colonization in disguise. However, the article quickly shifted in tone and topic, revealing that though it may at first glance appear that missions and colonization are synonymous, when one takes a closer look it becomes clear that that is not at all the case. Though the missionary was excited about the resources they had, he was even more enthusiastic about the amount of converts they were winning and the impact the Bible school was having on the community. This was there motivation for being there. They were there to bring people to the Lord, not take advantage of their resources.
I found it interesting how the writer chose to end this article. He did so by saying that they were "busy building the Kingdom of God." These missionaries have no desire to expand the kingdoms of any earthly king, they are there to expand the Kingdom of God.

Heritage

When reading this issue of "The Other Sheep" I found one piece in particular that I thought went along with Robert was saying. It was not necessarily political but was a spiritual issue. The section I chose was written by a missionary from Guatemala, and it was about an experience he had while he was there. A short version of his story was that he encountered a young man bringing his mother (who appeared to be "insane") tied to a chair to a hospital. Sadly, before he can get to the missions hospital she dies. The missionary witnesses seeing the young man carry his now dead mother into the jungle and assumes he buries her in a grave that he made himself. Now, reading this story there does not seem to be anything wrong with it. It is just a sad (probably very common) story. However the problem I had with this is with what he wrote at the end, he said, " My heart was heavy for that boy! I prayed for him. Then I lifted up my heart in gratitude to God for the only difference between that young man and myself was heritage- his was HEATHEN; mine was CHRISTIAN! Yea I have a goodly heritage!" I capitalized those words because that is what he seemed to emphasize in this story, he stated this is such a way as if he was some how superior to this young man based on his religious heritage. I got a sense of elitism in this quotation, almost as if the missionary came into this missions field feeling as if he was superior because he was born and raised Christian. What also bothers me is that quote was that was the ending to his story, with his spiritual superiority!! That is one of the things I believe Robert was hinting at was that some missionaries go into this field with a sense of superiority, whether it is because of their country of origin or because of their already "mature" faith. I did not see a undertone of superiority in all of these entries but I did see it in some. I was really disappointed by this. I know there is always a sense of naivety or uncertainty when it comes to trying to adapt to and learn about a completely new culture, but when a person goes somewhere new they should not go in with a sense of superiority but equality. Having a passion for spreading the Word and helping save souls is not wrong, but going into a country thinking you are automatically superior to them because of your Christianity is a very bad foot to start off on. Humbleness allows a missionary to learn much more than they would if they maintained their elitist attitudes.

A Navajo Indian's Testimony and Song

September 15, 1949

        I read through the news paper and nothing really stood out to me. I then noticed another little article on page 14 called, "A Navajo Indian's Testimony and Song." The article never tells us his name, nor does the Navajo Indian ever tell us his name. We are left to wonder how old he was too. At the very beginning of the article he writes some lyrics to a song that he has written.

The road of sinful way I have trod on.
Now I am coming, now I am coming;
God, I am coming back to You.
By Your mercy bless me. 
Now I am coming back to You.

        He writes how God has delivered him from his, and no longer does he have to indulge in the pleasures of sin. He writes, "Even the things white people would have enjoyed, I enjoyed too" (p.14). He writes about his salvation and when he heard the words of the missionary he wanted to give his life to Christ. After reading this article, it is identical in to today's world, that people are still hearing the word of God and being convicted and accepting God into their lives. He spoke about living in sin and wanting to live with Jesus when he dies. I also found a prayer that I think I will use in my own life, that he uses, he writes, "Please my Father God, wash me from all the sin, even sins I have in my heart which are not seen and do not know of" (p.14).
        Finally, he wrote at the end of the column, "How about you? Why not make up your mind to do this and turn to him and be saved from your sin? Then you shall always be happy. Or else you will die in your sin" (14). In conclusion, I think this Navajo Indian was totally sold for Christ. Here is an Indian who hears this message and immediately excepts Christ as his personal savior. I wonder what ever became of him? maybe he will be in later articles within, "The Other Sheep."

Juxtaposition

You know what a cool word is?  Juxtaposition.  It looks cool, it sounds cool, and when it’s used in context, it usually means something pretty cool.  So imagine my excitement when I was reading through this week’s Sheep and I saw two articles that immediately made me think “juxtaposition!”  It was a good moment. 

Now that I’ve got all that crazy tension built up, you’re wondering what craziness I’ve got in store for this evening.  Well, let me tell you, we are all the way up to 1952 and boy is it obvious!  This is no modern-day vintage; this is no idealization of the early 50’s.  This is the real deal.  And what were people scared about in the 1950s (even more than letting women work outside their homes and Communism)?  Bombs!  Atomic bombs! 

But on the other hand, what do people love more than I Love Lucy and refrigerators in their kitchens?  America!  And who “discovered” America?  Christopher Columbus.  So, by association, they love him too.  But to us?  Or at least to those of us perusing history degrees?  Columbus was kind of a jerk.  He really wasn’t that awesome.  I would be pretty horrified to see his name come up in a missions magazine now. 

That was a really long way of getting around to what I’m actually trying to say.  The first article here, as you might have gathered, begins with the bit of information: “The cost of making the first two atomic bombs was $2,000,000,000.  This amount would have put 10,000 missionaries in the field for a period of a hundred years at the cost of $2,000 a year.”  Well, those numbers may not be totally correct anymore, but the fact that this Evangelical magazine is railing against the waste of building an atomic bomb that “destroys life and property” is certainly an interesting concept.  It seems that most of the religious right today would have very little problem with spending tax dollars on something easily held up as defense spending.

And then when we move on to the clipping titled “Absolute Truth” which quotes Columbus with the idea in mind that his words can be applied to the way scripture works in our lives.  Anyone with a hint of world consciousness, it seems to us today, would absolutely be shocked that a man so destructive to so many people groups (that needed saving!) would be held up in a publication as wise. 

I guess my point here is that some things would never be put in this publication today because they would be considered much too liberal, and other things would never be published because they were much too politically incorrect.  And yet, here we have these two little things, perfectly juxtaposed!

I would give all to Thee

I noticed a recurring theme in many of the entries in this issue of "The Other Sheep", which was the topic of sacrifice. It was really interesting to read the missionaries ideas about what a person had to sacrifice to follow Jesus. Things like money, material comforts, selfishness, and self reliance were all things the missionaries listed that needed to be given up. It made me think about what it really takes to serve Jesus with your whole heart. I think for me, personally. it would be an incredibly hard thing to give up things like warm comforters, microwaves, laptops, and cell phones. Of course, the missionaries were not saying that missionaries could not have any of these comforts, but basically said that one needed to put those on the back burner, so to speak. In today's society, we are taught to continuously buy material thing and continuously gain more and more wealth, and that is what is supposed to make us happy and fulfilled. Yet these writers put it into perspective, that if a person wants to serve God whole-heartedly they need to change their mindset. It is hard for me to grasp what it fully means to completely hand over my life to God when I have the incessant need to have control over things in my life. I was amazed on how much these missionaries gave up to serve God and to bring others to Him. Lastly, on line that made me stop in think in this article was this, "Not just a part, or half of my heart, I would give all to Thee." This statement made me start to think about in the past when I "tried" to give God my whole life, yet I ended up just giving the convenient parts to Him. Am I willing to make a complete sacrifice?

Give Them Jesus

"Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” -Acts 3:6

This verse was stated within one of the articles found in the January 1949 issue of The Other Sheep. There the missionary was speaking of how he may not have the supplies to fill the material needs of the people he was encountering, but he was seeking to fill their spiritual needs. This contrast between a peoples' material needs and their spiritual needs is one that was drawn frequently in this issue causing me to think deeply about the goal of missions. 
The goal of missions is something we have discussed both in this class and many of my other classes. Is it theological? Is it humanitarian? Is it some sort of combination of both of these? Why are we called to missions? The Nazarene missionaries in this article made it clear that, for them, the goal of missions was to convert people to Christianity. There was no other aim in mind. They were not going to these remote places to start humanitarian movements but to introduce these people to Jesus Christ. It was clear that this was their goal by the way in which they wrote, however, to the secular world observing many of their actions, it could seem that their true motive was humanitarian. These missionaries did not dismiss the material and physical needs of the people they were working among. They built hospitals, provided people with jobs and houses, gave people food and built relationships with the outcasts. All of these efforts could be said of non-religious NGOs, making missionary endeavors seem very humanitarian. However, missionaries did not stop there. As they completed these various actions, they spoke the truth of Christ into the lives of the people they met. These humanitarian efforts were not done as the ends to missions, they were the means through which missions happened. It is a picture of Micah 6:8, the goal is to encourage people to walk humbly with God, the means is acting justly and seeking mercy. 

Turns out I write about Swaziland all the time!

Auditing my own work is not my favorite thing to do.  I am barely able to reread what I write for the simple task of editing, much less evaluating what I’ve had to say.  Sometimes I’m not so sure that what I’ve brought to the table is important and I doubt my ability to move the conversation forward.  Looking back over these blogs, I feel like some of them have failed at their purpose, but there are a couple that made me think and pushed me out of my comfort zone.  So let’s take a look!

I most often write about the mission work in Africa.  Until I reread these blogs, I didn’t realize how much I did that, but turns out that all but two (here and here) are about Africa.  The cause behind this bias is obvious- I spent 3 weeks in South Africa/Swaziland last summer.  Of course I think those are the most interesting stories!

As far as how my understanding of missions has changed, I think this is where the majority of my blog entries fail to really provide any insight or prove that I have any insight.  Maybe this is just because they are so limited in length (and therefore in scope), but I’m pretty disappointed in “Gender Divide” especially.  I feel like this is an ongoing conversation occurring in class that I did not really take up on the blog.

The next section we’re supposed to evaluate- “What general lessons would you begin to draw about the work of Nazarene missionaries from your own reading?”- is actually a bit unfair.  Honestly, the conclusions I would begin to draw are that Nazarene missionaries to Africa are racists working in the harshest of heathen conditions.  Of course, that would be a completely unfair assessment of their work.  They have done great things for infrastructure and healthcare in Swaziland.  Their racism is a product of the ideas that surrounded them.  From what I have chosen to write about, I do not think that any conclusions would be fair or balanced.

That, of course, is not to say that examining their work provides us with no lessons or with no greater value.  There is a ton of value in this assignment.  Understanding past mission practices that failed leaves us with less likelihood of repeating those mistakes, whereas reading about mission endeavors that succeeded gives us jumping off points for the future.  Understanding where our church has come from is valuable for even pure human interest reasons.  

This assignment, overall, is a fantastic one.  Sometimes navel-gazing leaves me a bit more cynical than I prefer to be on an average day, but it is interesting to see patterns that have emerged.  I guess this is the end of my self-audit!

Midterm Review

As we at Eastern Nazarene College are now halfway through our spring semester, we will be looking over our past blog posts and seeing what we can learn from them as a collective whole. In doing this, the first thing I noticed is why I write about what I do. Usually, each issue of The Other Sheep tends to have, mixed throughout its other articles, a few pieces that are on the same subject. Whenever I can fit it into the assigned subject of the week, I will write about one of these arching themes of the issue.

One thing I have definitely noticed while reading The Other Sheep is that the publishers are constantly asking for money for missions. I wrote several weeks ago about a financial crisis that the Church of the Nazarene was undergoing, but that is certainly not the only time money has been mentioned. In the last issue I read, they were talking about the need to increase offerings. In many issue, they included a poll about whether the readers wanted the Gospel to be spread further, the same, or less; after each answer, it included instructions on how much money to give to see that answer fulfilled. I never realized just quite how expensive missionaries must be. It is little wonder that they are encouraged to have other jobs as well, in order to be able to support themselves.

I tend to hold missionaries up on a pedestal. I subconsciously think that they are automatically awesome supersaints who can do little wrong. But that is, of course, not necessarily true. Though missionaries certainly worthy of respect for their willingness to sacrifice so much for God and His Kingdom, they are just ordinary people who are just as capable of making mistakes as the rest of us. It has been interesting reading through their stories and seeing the language spoken and actions taken that we today would probably cringe at and wonder why that person would ever say or do such a thing, but at the time, it was not considered unacceptable at all.

Reading this publication has certainly been insightful. It is always important to look to the past to learn what works and what does not, how we got to where we are today, and to remember that we may not always have everything right, especially when we think we do. I look forward to continuing to look through The Other Sheep and learning from what it has to offer.

Mid Term Blog Audit

Mid Term Blog Audit

Well, when I looked at my blogs I noticed that I only wrote three blogs. I want to apologize to my fellow blogger's. I am writing the blog report with apprehension. I was not familiar with blogging until I took this course. Sure, I would notice sites that had blogging or I would sometimes, by chance, read a blog. I still don't get the whole blogging thing! I didn't say I dislike it, I just don't get it! Just like I don't get my son's band that screams all the lyrics. I am a couple of generations away I guess. Hence, I am suppose to write about my exploits of the first half of the class on my blogging. I noticed that I like reading the smaller yet significant articles within, "The Other Sheep." I noticed I was very cynical at the beginning of reading this news paper. For instance, the blog on, Land, money, No room for you., September 1939,  I commented on one particular article on  that describes a missionary turning away a Christian couple that wanted to attend their school. I said, "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 don't know how to get it back to 12' font) I can't imagine thinking this now. I realize that I  noticed in this news paper that the missionaries needed money disparately. That is why they ask the readers, constantly for money. The first year that I was assigned to read was, "The Other Sheep" September 14, 1924, and I titled it, "One Dime for God-nine dimes for self." I couldn't believe that they would ask for that amount of money. I thought that the writer was "guilting" the reader into giving up their dime to give to the missionary. After reading many articles in "The Other Sheep'"I realize that it was the only means at that time to ask for donations. Plus, it was catering to a mostly if not all, Christian audience. Therefore  I was very harsh in judging the news paper and the people who wrote it too.  I have a better appreciation for, "The Other Sheep," and what its mission (no pun intended) was and how they went about raising money. If I have to read more articles in the paper, I will read with, "eyes wide open."

Self Audit!

The first thing that struck me while I reviewed my work was that I tend to write more about the things that I find to be outrageous. I really feel as though my personality comes across in these blog posts because when I speak of something that I am passionate about, I tend to elaborate more on what I want to say. It is not as concise as other blogs, where I frankly just needed something to write about. But something else that I noticed was I’m able to take interest in things that I just started to write about because I needed a topic. I tend to latch on to a key point and talk about that.

I’ve noticed that my opinion of missions has changed dramatically. In the church, all we hear about it good things in missions, never any of the struggles or the history of the area. I’ve found that the history of the people in a particular mission field should be stressed and understood. I think we’re better at doing that now, but earlier in the blogs I saw a lot of things that didn’t have a background story or a solution to a problem. I don’t know why this is, because it would have led to interesting discussion and thought. For example, in my very first post entitled “Working in India”, there was a story about a man who had two wives and  he needed to know how to eliminate the marriage between one of them, as she had remained Muslim and the man had converted to Christianity, along with his other wife. No answer to the man’s inquiry was ever given in the article, and that bothered me because there was no summing up of the story in that way.

The most valuable thing in the work of the Nazarene missionaries I’m reading about is probably their passion. For the most part, it appears that those doing work outside their normal home area are very passionate about the people they are working with. They tend to be very positive in their reports of mission work, and give high numbers of converts. It makes me wonder if these people ever want to leave the assigned area that they live in.

All in all, I have to say that I could use some improvement in certain areas, like staying more consistent in length from post to post. I have pretty good language use and I think it’s clear that I understand what I am writing about. And I still like the project.

Reference:

http://nazarenemissionshistory.blogspot.com/2013/01/working-in-india.html

Midterm Blog Audit

     When re-reading my blog posts, I could help but laugh a few times. In the beginning my posts were strictly from the article and very little personal thought. As the time went on, I could see my blog posts getting more opinionated and I was much more willing to put my 2 cents in (okay maybe more like a 25 cents). I even went on rants a few times about topics in the articles, when looking back on them I think I actually wrote some of my personal beliefs very well! I actually thought to myself, "I wrote this?! Wow!" and basically gave myself a mental high-five.
     When looking through my blog posts I did not find a recurring theme. I thought it was really helpful for me when we were given more freedom of speech (so to speak) in our blog posts. I was afraid at first to speak my mind, but as the time went on I was much more open to sharing my thoughts. Reading "The Other Sheep" magazine has been very interesting for me, and it shows how much the definition of "missions" has changed over the years. I also thought the terminology was interesting, such as the word "heathen", and personally I am glad term is not used as much any more.
     From what I have read in the articles (though I did not agree with some of there tactics/ terminology) God still used these pastors, church members, and missionaries to reach others for Him. The main lesson I have learned is that missionaries and churches are not perfect. Of course we know that nobody is perfect, not even Christians. However, I think subconsciously I had the idea that missionaries would have the supreme capability to choose the right way to preach the gospel in the area they were in. That missionaries would be an unfailing beacon of light in there society, and they would know what to do when difficult situations arose. Missionaries are not superheroes, they are real life people like the rest of us. Much of their work is trial and error, and they are not always going to get it right the first time. Some stories I read made me go "Obviously that was not going to work, why on earth did they think people would respond to that!", but they did not know that. They had to learn from their mistakes, and change and grow along the way. I have learned that doing missions work can be challenging spiritually, emotionally, and mentally, but rewarding in the end.
      "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him." James1:12

If Only it Was That Simple

While looking over my previous blog entries, I was searching for a reoccurring theme. I hoped to find that common denominator within every post that would provide me with a topic for this blog audit. As I read, and re-read my entries, however, I came up with nothing. There was not one point to which I was continuously drawn back. Not one. The only reason these blog entries are related at all is because they are about missions, and more specifically Nazarene missions as recorded by the writers of The Other Sheep. Coming to this realization, I struggled with how to compose this recap blog, wondering how I could possibly tie everything together. I reread them again, with the understanding that I was not going to find a commonality, and it was during this read through, that I discovered a progression of thought. My blogs do not have one common theme, they can't. For the more I read about the history of Nazarene missions, the more my concept of cross-cultural missionary activity changed and developed. What began as a very simplistic perception, grew into a multi-faceted, complicated, wonder of sorts as I dove deeper and deeper into the many issues associated with cross-cultural missions. 

My first blog entry, A Missional Christmas, was characterized by the simplistic, almost fantasized, view of cross-cultural missions. Discussing the Christmas season as a driving force behind missions, I painted a fairytale of missionary theology. However, it did not take long for my view of missions to suddenly become much less idealistic. Within my very next blog entry, I was caught off guard by the sharp cultural misunderstandings that characterized the speech of these Nazarene missionaries. Quoting one writer, I drew attention to the usage of the word "heathens" to describe people from various cultures. However, what really struck me regarding this language, was that it was not used as a criticism. It was said out of pity, out of a great expectation that God desired to save these people. It was this entry, entitled, Great Expectations and Cultural Misconceptions, that began my journey of attempting to understand all the complexities that surround cross-cultural missions. As much as I wanted to completely criticize their usage of the word heathen, I was struck by their seemingly pure motives. This was not the only time I struggled with a facet of cross-cultural missions that at first glance made me fairly upset, but as I took the time to truly look into it, realized that it was an issue that went much deeper than I could truly understand. 

Both my blog regarding denominations, The Necessary Evil of Denominations, and my entry about Emotional Honesty, reveal this conflicted perception I was forming regarding missions. On one hand, I believe that denominations can create pride that only divides people, and on the other, I see them as completely necessary in order to provide organization and can see the wonderful work they are doing, especially in the field of missions. When it comes to the honesty of these missionary reports, I understand the desire to know that what is being written stays as true to the actual events as possible, however, I cannot help but see how important being able to read an account that is strewn with emotion truly is. Within both these entries, I could not truly come to a concrete answer of what I believed to be the best option. 

Cross-cultural missions is complicated. It has been a calling I have felt on my heart since I was a little girl, but I am realizing that it is not as straightforward as I would’ve thought. By reading these accounts of Nazarene missionaries, I have learned that what may seem self explanatory at first glance is actually much more complicated. However, I have also learned that through all of these complex issues and topics, what truly matters is that the control is given to God and to God alone. This answer itself is one that is seemingly simple and yet so very complex, and therefore is the only one that can lead any missionary through the various issues found within cross-cultural missions.