NTM

We are currently taking a class here at the Missionary Training Center called Effective Parenting.  When you hear a name like that it seems as though they give us a formula on how to raise our kids, but that isn’t the case.  In reality, the class makes us as parents aware of the issues that arise from raising kids overseas from people who have been done that road.  The preparation for this course was fairly intense with having to read two books before starting the course.  The books are Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Ted Tripp, and Third Culture Kids by David Pollock.  That’s a decent amount of reading, but Jamen is worth the investment.

One of the main things discussed in Shepherding a Child’s Heart was the biblical concept that everything we do is from the outflow of our hearts.  It is no different with our kids.  Maybe they just threw their peas on the floor.  This is a general accepted thing that kids "just do".  But is there a deeper heart issue going on?  The author of the book would say yes, and I believe there is some truth to that.  The book encouraged relationship with our kids so not only can we ascertain what is going on in their hearts, but a relationship so we can steer their hearts toward Christ.

The other book had more to do with raising kids in what is called a Third Culture.  We as parents will still have our American Culture when we move overseas because we grew up in the United States.  But we will be raising Jamen in a Paraguayan Culture that is totally different.  What normally happens with Missionary Kids is they develope this "third culture", or in other words, a mixture of the parents culture and the culture they are growing up in.  The problem that is experienced in this situation is the kids grow up not feeling like they belong in either culture.  They don’t quite act like typical United States teenagers or young adults, and they don’t quite act like typical Paraguayan teenagers or young adults.  Fortunately there are some things that we as parents can be doing for our kids, but this third culture situation left unaddressed can lead to depression and a sense of rootlessness in our kids.  And that is something we want to avoid.

When you start reading and researching problems like these, you second guess if the mission field is a place you want to take your kids.  But let me leave you with this thought.  My responsibility of training my kids how to live and interact with people and with Jesus Christ is no less my responsibility whether I raise them here in America, or overseas somewhere.  Raising kids in America has its own set of challenges that would need to be addressed if we stayed here.  When I think of raising kids like that, I realize that God will enable me to raise kids overseas.

No matter the location, work is involved.  It is hard to know our kids.  It is hard to see their hearts.  It is hard to give them priority in a ministry that is so demanding.  But God has given us 1 child for now, maybe more in the future, and He has promised in His word to be with us…and that is good enough for me.

Ravi Zacharias, a well known Christian speaker and apologist, once said that "what you win them with is what you win them to."  Me quoting this here in the opening paragraph may not hold a lot of meaning, but it will make sense as the article progresses.  I wanted to write this article on one of our current training courses in the book of Romans chapters 6-8.  (It may be helpful to read these chapters before reading on)

I try not to make our news articles feel like a devotional, but if I was going to write on this past week’s events I would have to write on what we are studying in Romans.  Romans is the clearest picture in the Bible of who we are as people (chapters 1-3) who we are after Christ saves us (3-5) and how we continue to grow in our relationship with Christ (6-8).  It is important to have a clear understanding of this book, not just for teaching purposes, but also for living purposes.

As I have studied intensely this week, along with various other places in the New Testament, it has forced me to take a close-up honest look at myself, and my walk with the Lord.  Is my life a good example of the Christian life model?  Is my life clearly illustrating the life the God outlined in the epistles?  I’m not talking abotu a simple list of do’s and don’t’s.  I am talking about my relationship with Jesus.  Is it being lived out every minute of every day as it should.

An example:  How do I view reaching out to unsaved people?  To reach out to unsaved people, am I waiting for a group of people and I to come up with a strategy on how to do it?  Am I planning big outreach events?  Am I looking for some developed programs that would work well in this lake community I find myself living in right now?  Am I searching Amazon for a book that can give me some good pointers?  Or…when I walk into Walmart and go to the cash register and the lady scanning my items says hello…is my heart gripped with compassion for her just as Jesus’ heart is gripped with compassion for her?  "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." -Matthew 9:36

What I win them with is what I win them to.  There are many programs in the church today.  There are many outreach events in the church today.  There is alot of organization, groups, plans, strategy, and presentations in the church today.  But what there aren’t alot of in the church today is people who are followers of Jesus wherever they are and with whoever they are with.  Does my light so shine just when I schedule it to shine?  Or does my light so shine because of the light of Christ within me.

If I take to a new church, a modeled lifestyle filled with Christ’s life in certain settings but not filled with Christ’s life when I’m doing "other stuff", I shouldn’t expect the people I’m ministering to to be any different. 

I have been challenged in this class to make my relatioship with Christ the basis for which I live life.  This hasn’t been a class or mere acadamia.  This has not just changed the way I think, it is forcing me to change the way I live.

In the jungle, the mighty jungle…there is no electrician. There is no power company. There is no gasoline. There is no Sear’s made refrigerator that comes with a Sear’s warranty so you can call the guy to come fix it when lightning strikes and fries it. There is no grocery store or restaurant that you can buy food at while your fridge is out. There is no city filtrated water. There is no walmart to buy a light bulb socket when the solder joints on your old one break. There are none of these people. There is just you Mr Missionary.

Enter our Missionary Technology Tips class. Why do I say it is uncomfortable for me? Many things in life I have a basic knowledge of. While I may not be an expert in certain things, I at least know enough to get started. Not electricity. It is funny for me to listen to two electricians talk. Nothing sounds further from English. I think I can pick up more of what is being said in Greenlandic than I understand electrician. All that to say I am so thankful that God has given New Tribes Mission a man who all he has done his entire life is look for ways to solve missionary technology problems. That same man is teaching our class right now.

What have I learned? A lot to be honest. You should see the pictures of Jen and I soldering a halogen light bulb to a wire to be able to run off of DC power. Check the pictures out by clicking here. We also spent a great deal of time talking about and designing water filtration systems. How about an outhouse? Did you know that they can be designed to be odorless? And what about refrigerators? Do you think that you have an energy efficient refrigerator? I know what to do to get one that is 11 times more energy efficient than the leading US brands. Oh yeah, and it runs on DC power. Those are two helpful things to have in a fridge that is running on solar panels :)

Coming up in our class we are going to learn how to design and assemble a solar electric system by ourselves. Missionaries 50 years ago did not have the technology we have today, and they got along fine. But I bet you ask any retired missionary if he would have liked to be able to use a computer for language and culture files instead of paper that is going to mold after a couple of weeks in the rainforest, and any missionary would say we have some great tools available to us today.

When all is said and done, we have to remember that Missionary Technology is only a tool to help reach unreached people groups. Technology is not the answer. Only the power of God can change lives. Only the Word of God can penetrate the heart. But we must take them the message. From solar panels to computers, these things can all play a part in expanding the reach of the gospel