Ode 17

Missional

For a lot of us the word "missional" is a new slant on an old word. As I sit in my final day of a class called "Our Mission from God: Transforming Agent," I want to give a nut shell version of why we (churches) do mission in our communities and all around the world. It mainly comes from one of the texts on mission by Gailyn Van Rheenen.

God is the reason for mission

Jesus Christ is the message of mission

The Holy Spirit is the power of mission

The local congregation is the embodiment of mission

The world is the target of mission

...and that's it in a nutshell, or as Forest Gump said, "And that's all I have to say about that."

Pray for our Teams

Today, while discussing my Nicaragua mission trip with a friend, I was reminded that there is a team of our students in South Africa at this very moment, performing ministry that is touching lives in a very unique way. In just a few days we are sending a team of folks to Pueblo Pintado Reservation in New Mexico. We are actively serving others in the world.
If you will, please keep all of these teams, and the ones to follow, in your prayers.

The Face of Amigos for Christ

Our mission trip returned from Nicaragua early Sunday morning. I got into the bed with my incredible wife about 3 AM, knocked off an awesome three hours sleep (that's all the dog would allow), and went to the church. The rest of the day was spent unpacking and doing a bunch of nothing. It was great to hang out with Joanie again.
As I process the past week I'll be blogging about the trip. There was not much internet access at the house in Chinandega so I was not able to make any entries. However, I could not wait to post this picture. I call it "the face of Amigos for Christ." We were working on the foundation of a six room school house in a village called Chonko.  As we worked with and among the people a little boy came out with his mother and wanted to help. Finally, he just got tired and sat in one of the dirt filled buckets. Everyone thought it was a cute picture, me included, but upon reflection this boy represents the poverty and need of the village. This face is the reason Amigos for Christ is there. It was an honor to be a micro part of their work.

Chinandega, Nicaragua

If you are like me you have heard folks talk about Chinandega around Sugarloaf UMC. If you are really like me you have heard about Chinandega for years because we at Sugarloaf have been involved somewhat heavily with Amigos for Christ for a long time now. When our teams travel to work with Amigos they stay in the town of Chinandega. I thought I would research it a bit for you.
One website called Chinandega possibly the hottest town in Nicaragua, because of the tropical climate. People who have been have been warning me about just how stinkin' hot it can be. While we are there, the forecast for Managua is highs around 90 and lows around 75 with thunder storms likely every day. However, Chinandega, two hours away, is known as "Hot City" (Ciudad Cálida). Other than that, I really didn't know much about the town. Here are some of the facts I have learned:

 Chinandega is a town and the departmental seat of Chinandega department in Nicaragua. It is also...

Amigos For Christ

I'm traveling with a group of people (many from Sugarloaf UMC) in a couple of weeks to Nicaragua. There, we will work with a great organization called Amigos for Christ. Check out their website at by clicking on the logo to the left. Here is what they say about how this organization began:

We are diverse and dedicated group, concerned about our less fortunate brothers and sisters. We cannot change the entire world, but we can help improve the world of some poor Nicaraguan people in need. We became aware of the grave living conditions in northwest Nicaragua during a mission trip to that area in 1997.

Hurricane Mitch struck Central America on October 30, 1998. Almost 3000 people were killed...