Their Needs On Their Time

 What does mission look like?

Throughout our history as Christians, bringing the gospel to those unfamiliar with it has taken multiple forms - some much more indicative of our founder than others. Usually it has been about an enlightened “us” evangelizing a benighted “them”, leading to multiple shameful types of abuse more concerned with engendering creedal compliance than cultivating compassion or transformation.

With the resourcement, our focus became more about being the good news for the poor spoken of by Jesus (quoting Isaiah). This looks like providing for needs that the community does not have the resources to address, to be sure, but it also happens on their time-not mine!! As someone used to having routines and deadlines, this has been a learning curve and an exercise in patience!!

Preparing clothes for distribution in a town nearby Juticalpa, and food, of course!

-Jacob

Lost In Translation

Spanish is a gorgeous language, it rolls off the tongue in glorious florets of warmth and hospitality. Learning to do one’s job in it, however, that’s something else!! Today I finally got to a point where I could present about learning disabilities, IQ, and intelligence theories for a straight hour!! 

In the “old model” of mission work, people ministered to were forced to learn the missionaries’ language, in the “new model”, we learn theirs!  

-Jacob