We would all like to believe that as we reach out to share our medical expertise and the love and the compassion of Christ we will be safe, but is there any place in which we can be safe today? Security as we know is it is not the absence of danger, but the presence of the Lord. Being good stewards of the great blessings given to us of volunteers serving the least, the lost and the last is our obligation. We need to be prepared and have trained leaders to know what to do when the unthinkable happens. We will discuss how to approach these situations from the sandpoint of evaluation of risks, minimizing exposure, training for the eventuality of the most common conditions that could be encountered and preparation for the unthinkable. Unfortunately there is evil in the world and if one looks at the statistics: in 2009 there were 278 reported victims of 139 serious security incidents compared with 1999 when there were 65 victims involved in 34 such incidents. This trend continues to go up in all areas from kidnappings, road attacks, mob violence, ambushes, robberies, to suicide bombings. This situation hightens our responsibility and be wise and prepared even as we trust the Lord for our provision and protection. To God be the glory.
Short-term missions offer a unique opportunity for sustained spiritual formation away from the distractions of a busy life in the U.S., in a setting where the traveler is often far removed from their comfort zone and power zone. This workshop presents ideas and guidelines for the trip leader in recruiting, selecting, and preparing trip participants to act as the Body of Christ in their service, and to reduce opportunities for the deceiver to cause division and strife and to cast dispersion on the name of the Lord. It will also offer suggestions for proactive steps to take that may minimize potential disruptions within the team and between team members and nationals.
Most people enter cross-cultural ministry partnerships with the best of intentions. However, often when conflict arises it is because different beliefs and assumptions about how money should be spent or managed have not been properly examined. Financial stewardship and accountability frequently mean different things to people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
The purpose of this workshop is to help people better navigate these types of complexities. It will be an interactive session built upon adult learning principles. It is designed to help mission practitioners grow in cultural intelligence when funding is part of a cross-cultural partnership.
Everyone who has been on a medical mission has some embarrassing and/or hilarious stories of cultural insensitivity or language blunders. Sometimes the events are just funny. Sometimes they can seriously compromise the intended impact of the whole mission, including our Christian witness. This session offers perspective, spiritual grounding and practical tools for building healthy relationships, avoiding, or at least recovering from many of the common mistakes in cross-cultural missions.
Our discussion will include:
• Framing the problem: Why doesn’t everyone see the world my way?
• A spiritual foundation: Humility – be a Learner
• Communication: Language is more than just words. A simple, practical language/culture learning process – even for short-term missions.
• Relationships: Essential Bridges - - build them to last
• Good news is not always Good News: Why context is always important. Looking for systemic roots to disease, poverty and hunger - - and how to work for lasting change.
Ralph Winter said that for every 100 people who made a mission commitment at some point in their lives, only one made it to the mission field. Why? For lack of mobilizers! The same can be said of lack of mentors—and the lack of appreciation of the resources that are available to fan into flame serving in medical mission. What is a mentor? What are the resources available? Come to this session to find what’s available to keep you on track for medical mission. As an extra bonus, meet a young medical missionary (not me, obviously) on home assignment to discover how he found a mentor and what this means to him.
