July 19: "Scars"

In the chapter "Scars", Mack Stiles lists 3 steps that are super important and should be included in the preparation of all short-term mission trips:

Cultivating a Compassionate Heart: In this section, Mack tells a short story of a missionary friend who was so moved by a leper girl that he wanted to give her money but he knew that creating a "lifestyle of begging" was not the right thing to do. We all have experienced situations like this and Mack tells us that we should do what God has put in our hearts! He states a important concept, "acting as if spare change to beggars is going to give rise to some new problem for the poor grossly underestimates the problems of the poor". We should be able to give because God has placed compassion in our hearts and we should not be worried about the way they will use their money.
In our team time in Mancora we can share some of the little things that we experienced or saw or heard that touched our hearts, situations when we felt compassion for the people.

Developing an Understanding of What the Bible Says About Injustice: Mack asks us a question, "What's the good news about injustice?" and the only andswer is that God totally hates it. He lists some verses that say that God is compassionate, He is a just judge and He seeks rescue for victims. He died in the cross for us and he doesn't want us to sufer anymore. Mack gives us an interesting idea, "We believe in one (Jesus) who has so closely identified with us that he shared in our misery and tasted our death". Jesus wants to take all the pain and suffering from our shoulders. And one day God will judge the world and he will save us from our sufferings if we truly believe in Him. Here is one more thought, "One day God will judge the world, and then the justice we long to see in the world and experience only in bits and pieces will be done in full and done perfectly".
In our team times in Mancora we can talk more about injustice and what the Bible tells us about injustice. We could even memorize some verse that can help us when we face injustice.

Take Action: He wants us to be willing to take some action and be involved in the solution. Just as Mack states it, we can't just go in a mission trip, do our thing and totally ignore the problems in the community, "ignorance and denial is unacceptable". We do not have to come up with a resolution to all the problems but we do have to recognize them and know they exist.
In our team times in Mancora we can pray for the people and for their pain and suffering, we can pray for the little situation we shared that touched our hearts and we can pray so that God not only gives us a compassionate heart, but the will to take some action.

Prayer Request!

Here is a list of my prayer request for this trip:

Pray for safety during the bus trips and the flights.

Pray for health so that we will not get sick.

Pray for us a team and that we would be humble, patient and flexible during this trip.

Pray that we would honor our hosts and the people in Mancora with our thoughts, words and actions.

Pray that we would build trust and not break trust with them.

Pray that as a team we would be unified and cooperate with each other. Pray for no major conflicts or arguments within the team but that we would love each other and respect each other.

Pray for our hearts as God is preparing us for this new experience. For the one that are going for the first time, may God talk to them as they go out as missionaries for the first time. And for the ones who have been there before, may God talk to us and show us what he wants from us in the future.

Pray for our solo times with God during the trip so that we will connect more with Him and be able to not only talk to God but also listen to His voice.

Pray for our leaders as they take care of us.

Pray for the congress and the concert so that there will be no technical difficulties., no problems in general.

Pray for the people in the Band, musicians and singers. We want our music to honor God and to attract nonbelievers.

July 5: "Questions of Trust"

The letters PQT stand for "Prior Question of Trust." This questions says, "Is what I'm thinking, saying and doing building or undermining trust?" This question is just a tool that help missionaries determine whether their thoughts, words, and actions are building or destroying trust between them and the people they are visiting. If something is destroying the trust between them then it has to stop because it can distract from the message the missionaries want to give.

In this article, Mack and Leeann listed twelve nonmoral issues that can build or break trust. Three of those issues that will be important for us to work with are:
Time Views: The people in Mancora are like the panamenians or even worst with time. They can tell you lunch will be serve at 12 pm but not until 12:45 - 1 pm will you get your food. And this is totally normal to them. We as a group need to be very patient and very flexible because things can change over there and the schedule we have might not match theirs so we have to respect their culture and their way of living. We have to go with the flow and obviously enjoy te time we are spending with them because in those 45 minutes we will be waiting for our food we will get to know each other a lot better (as a team) and we will get to know the people in Mancora and spend time with them and have fun with them.
Frame of Reference: There is a lot of poverty in Mancora and we will experience that from the first day. That does not mean they are complete ignorants but they do have a smaller frame of reference. They might not know a lot about international news and happenings or about the newest technological advances or about the best clothes brands or designers. They are simple people, humble people but with a big heart. We need to be careful when we talk to them.
Food: Besides having to wait for our food, maybe we might not like the food they serve us, or maybe it isn't like the one we eat at home, or maybe we are not very hungry, etc. When it comes to food we have to do our BEST to eat and eat it all. When we eat the food they prepared for us with so much love and dedication, they will be honored but most important, God will be honored. And the food in Mancora is not so different from what we are used to so it will not be a big problem for us.

I don't think any of these nonmoral issues will be really difficult for me. I have been there twice already and I kind of know what it will be like. But there is one that I have been thinking about lately, Gift Giving. There is one little girl whom I love and I have missed a lot during the past year. Her mom has called me a couple times this year and everytime I talk to her I cry because I desperately want to go back a see her. She has touched my heart in an amazing way so when I go back I want to go up to her and give her gifts, and toys, and clothes and just a lot of things. That was my plan for this year's trip. But I know I can't just do that. As we saw on the videos, we need to give something that is meaningful to me and to her. I am still thinking of what to take with me and what to give her because I want it to be meaningful and also I don't want other kids to see the gifts I've given her and not them, because there are lots of kids with whom I spent a lot of time with and I know they will remember me but I don't want them to feel left out when I give thing to Cesia and not to them.

June 14: Feelings and Thoughts on Risks.

There will be times when we will have to take risks in order to honor God, build trust with the people, and show love to them. There is nothing wrong with taking risks but we still have to take some precautions. We don't want to base our trip on the risk we will take but on the work God will do. But one thing we can have in mind and it is something Mack Stiles said in his article is that Jesus will reward the risks we take for Him, that is a promised he made, and he will also be honored by them. God is in control and we just have to trust in Him.

June 14: "Mack and Leanne's Guide-Risks!"

The point they are trying to make is that mission trips are risky and we can't control it. There are going to be times were we have to decide, either to stay safe or take the risk, and the best decision is to take the risk. Just as Mack Stiles said, "But those who live for safety alone end up living joyless lives". We don't want to live joyless live, we want to live in Christ and Christ is joyfull. We will become the people we want to be in Christ if we take some risks.

Froms the seven points made, I strongly agree with number 3, "All life involves risk, but we don't look for risk either", and number 7, "Don't make the focus of your trip eliminating or managing risk".

June 14: "Dos and Don'ts"

When reading about all the safety and crime dos and don'ts I got kinda scared =) But it is true, we have to be very careful, pay more attention to our surroundings, be in mixed groups, don't give out too much personal information to strangers, etc. We don't want anything bad to happen. In the past 2 trips we have handle this and nothing has happened. If we obey these guidelines, I'm sure everything will go fine.

Some of the things that will be difficult are: journaling, not taking too much pictures (that's why I'm not taking a camera) and not flushing the toilet paper =) (it's just that I'm so used to flushing it). But over all I think that I will be able to flollow these guidelines because I know that they are for our good, our safety, and to honor and glorify God. We are not tourist, we are missionaries!

May 31: "The African Planter"

Some of the ideas that really touched me were the following ones:

"Americas tend to be poorly informed about the world. America generates enough news on its own that its news organizations don't have space for international news. Yet America exports so many movies and so much news that everybody around the world knows about America, whereas America knows about nobody."

"Short-term missions tend to be like that: they come and completely take over the agenda, the programs, the life of the church. But that's not the way you visit a friend."

"In each of these churches (African churches) it's een important to find a bridging relationship-someone who comes in quietly, speaks slowly, is a good listener, and is trying to learn."

The first idea talks especifically about the people form the U.S. but it can still apply to us. Even most of us who live in Latin America don't know much information about the African countries, Asian countries, the Middle East, etc. We know they exist, we know there is poverty, death, persecution, but that is it. We do not show that sincere interest in them, we are more focused in our lives, and our culture, and our problems. We need to change this. We need to start to care more about them.

The other two ideas can be linked together. The first one shows how were are not supposed to be (doing things our way and controlling everything) and the second one shows how we are supposed to behave (listening and willing to learn). We can choose any of the two options and behave whoever we want, but if we choose option 2 and we go with a humble attitude and as a servant, our trip will succeed!