In this day and age where we are SO focused on our own feelings and problems we need God's word to help set us straight. The following devotion is very clear and straightforward about this. " when we focus around us on the world we get distressed, when focus inwards on ourselves we get depressed, when we focus above on God we finf rest"
----Forwarded Message---- From: sperling_equip@yahoo.ca
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In about two weeks I will be traveling to South Africa and then on to the mountain kingdom of Lesotho (Le SOO too). This will actually be my first time to travel within Africa itself other than Rwanda where I have been a couple times. I am really looking forward to it – I really enjoy going to new places – especially seeing the new/different beauty of a new place. I daydream about hiking around the jagged hills with a good camera or riding a bike on the curly mountain roads.
I have been invited to Lesotho as part of a mentorship and training process with Farming God's Way. So not only am I looking forward to going to a new place but looking forward to connecting with a bunch of people who are keen on farming and God's Kingdom and who have a love for the poor. It should be great!
We are going to be camping out under the stars and moving out into surrounding villages during the day to teach our three day workshops on Farming God's Way. As a mentee I will be closely observed as to how I understand the FGW material and how well I can implement it in terms of a setting up a demonstration garden ( what we call a Well Watered Garden in FGW). As mentees we will be responsible for teaching about 75% of the workshops and setting up the Well-Watered Gardens. In the evenings we will go over the days teaching and our failures and successes as well as how we will teach the next days teaching material.
If I am seen to have largely mastered the FGW curriculum as well as displaying a heart for the poor we will become accredited trainers – able to train others in our home countries/regions with the assurance that we are maintaining the heart and standard of FGW.
I have had a series of FGW workshops that I have been conducting lately in our local rural churches from Deliverance Church so the teaching is fresh in my mind. I have also been continuing to work on my own garden and one at church and going over some workbooks and the DVD series to try to stay fresh and deep in my knowledge of all that FGW is.
I feel like I was made for FGW material as it combines agriculture and the King dome of God in such a real and applicable manner – making it an excellent platform for preaching the gospel and for teaching more about the Kingdom of God (which is a poorly understood topic among Christians here in sub-Sahara Africa). I am able to combine my teaching preaching skills (thanks to my dad – a pastor and teacher and also to my Christian education), my knowledge and love for the Kingdom of God (thanks to my history in Salt and Light Churches and the teaching of Brian Watts), and farming (thanks to my Mennonite blood and growing up on and near and working on farms – and also thanks to the way God made me). God is amazing how he uses so many things in our lives to make us who we are and then to use us!
I will try to send a couple updates – at least on Facebook- and hopefully here on the blog too, once I am in Southern Africa. Stay tuned for an update “from the Mountain Kingdom”.
| Want to be a missionary? It's not as hard as you think.You don't have to raise thousands of dollars for support. You don't need a theology Degree.You don't need a big mission organization behind you. You just need to be Christ's light where you are.I have found that I often am focused on my missionary job description here in Uganda and get discouraged if the day-to-day routine does not always fit with what I came to do here in Uganda. I came to teach people about farming and through this make followers of Christ and to minister to the poor alongside the local church. This work is great and very exciting –even very unique. I feel it's what I was made to do! Agriculture missions are not the most common type of missionary work so they are often miss-understood or undervalued. But that's OK (and that's NOT why I'm writing this). I find the challenges for me are not always “at work” but in the day-to-day life and how I respond to those around me. How do I respond to the taxi driver who wants to cheat me? To my Muslim friends who work for me? How do I drive? What do I spend my time thinking about and doing? How do I treat my children and wife? These are the things that many others notice (and Ugandans are VERY observant people). So, this helps me when I feel discouraged that I'm not doing all the farming and agriculture teaching that I would like to. I can relax and realize that I have the opportunity of being a missionary 24 -7. I can take time to talk to my carpenter about polygamy. Or be courteous to a rude taxi driver (that's hard!). Or make sure I treat those who work for me fairly and those who live with me like the father and husband they need me to be. It is in the day-to-day circumstances that hold excitement, disappointment, sorrow and difficulty that we will have an opportunity to display what God has worked in us. It will be of little use in the Kingdom of God if I have large training programs in farming but fail to be an example of how one of our Father's children should behave when the pressure is on. If we are not careful we can “do God's work” but fail to represent Him.So, you can be a missionary anywhere – just as long as you are representing Christ. Our troubles with missions is not always failing to go to the ends of the earth (yes we should do this!) but having difficulty showing the people at the ends of the earth what kind of Father has sent us! By God's grace may we truly represent our Father and His Son as His Spirit guides us to be the fragrance of life to those God is leading to salvation. |
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