Where is "Home"?

Growing up, I lived in the same house on the same street in the same town for over 20 years. Then it was easy to know where home was. Even when I went away to college, going home had meaning. It meant returning to the familiar, to memory, to family, to mom-cooked meals.

But living as a global worker has begun to redefine what "home" means for me. Is it the culture you were born into? Or the culture you have now adapted to? Is it where your family lives? Or the place where you keep all your stuff?

The answer is yes. It's all those things. There is familiarity in a New England Fall and winter Christmas. I know what to expect from the culture I grew up in. There is welcome and belonging among long-standing friends and family. In many ways, I can just "be myself."

But after living abroad for 5 years, in many other ways, I have adapted to live in the cultural there. I have built new memories and traditions on that side. I have made new friends and community. And there is the apartment where I keep all my stuff.

The dictionary defines 'home' as "the place in which one's domestic affections are centered." While it may not be perfect, one thing this definition gets right is that home is about the affections. It's less about a location, and more about the sense of familiarity and fondness, safety and belonging. So next month, when I return back to Namibia from my 6-month Home Assignment, yes I will be leaving home, but for me, I will also be going home.

The Messy Family who are Youth Workers

I come from a big family. When I go to a family reunion we have well over 100 people, many of whom I don't even know and wouldn't recognize if we were sitting right next to each other. But we're all connected somehow. Sometimes that's what it feels like being a part of the family of God.

This past weekend I went to a training seminar for youth workers across New England. There were hundreds of people who I'd never met before, but we had a connection. Not only were we all Christians, but we all work in the same trenches discipling young people through the messy years of adolescence. It was a great encouragement to hear the war stories of others who are working together toward the same goal.

Being in the youth ministry training field, much of the training material was not new to me, but it was an encouraging affirmation that I'm actually teaching the right stuff. For example, the first morning session was a teaching from Eph 4:11-16, which is the very same passage I teach from in lesson 1 of my youth ministry course! Other topics included dealing with suicide, who is Generation Z, contextualization in youth ministry, and child safety policies and practices.

But outside of the teachings, I met a group of six youth workers who came from a small town church in northern NH. I sat with them over lunch and we ended up in a discussion group together. Since I was there alone, they welcomed me in as part of their group. Then right at the end of the last session, as everyone was leaving, they found me in the auditorium to pray for me and my mission in Namibia. People I'd just met hours before caring for me like one of their own. That's all it takes to make someone feel noticed and cared for and a part of something. That's what it looks like to be part of God's family.

Fall in New England

When it is time to schedule my home assignment, I always strategically plan to be back in the States during the Fall. The changing leaves, antique buildings, and painted mountainsides of New England all combine for a picture perfect season. When people ask what do I enjoy most when I'm back in the States, this is high on the list. 

Hearing God

Life gets loud sometimes. Duties and distractions come calling. In all the noise and speed of life, it's a wonder we hear anything anymore. It seems like an antiquated novelty to stop and listen. I once led a spiritual formation retreat and to practice we spent 15 minutes by ourselves in silence. One exuberant young lady said it was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do!

For me it's very easy to, as my friend put it, "do things for God, without spending time with God." So during my home assignment I set aside 3 days to get away from everything, in a cabin out in the woods, with no agenda but spending time with God and listening to Him. We plan for our fitness and our nutrition and our lifetime learning. Why don't we spend as much time and effort developing and caring for our souls?

I had booked my retreat at a camp/conference center that has a private cabin out in the woods for just that purpose. I arrived excited for a bit of silence and solitude, only to find out they had double booked that cabin and instead had put me in a different cabin...right in the middle of the camp. During that week, they were also hosting a high school retreat with 100 noisy teenagers (some of whom were quite fond of hanging out on the porch of my cabin) and a women's conference. So much for silence and solitude. But despite the disappointment and distractions, I determined that one can meet with God anywhere, so I would try to make the most of it.

To help guide my thoughts on this retreat, I was reading the book Hearing God by Dallas Willard. He attempts to lead the reader toward what he calls a "conversational relationship with God." He wants us to understand that yes, God does still speak to us today. And he helps clarify how one can discern the "still small voice" of God in our own thoughts. It was a timely read with many helpful insights. One point was particularly potent, he emphasized how in seeking God's specific will for a particular situation, we often fail to be practicing God's general will for our lives. One example he used was to "be thankful in all circumstances" (1 Thess 5:18), which quickly reminded me of Phil 2:14, "Do all things without complaining or arguing." This hardly described my attitude about being stuck in the cabin in the middle of camp. So, as He often does, God used a situation I didn't like to remind me how far I have to go in Christlikeness and nudge me gently in that direction.

Overall it turned out to be a nice few days and a great reminder that I need to slow down and listen more often. Time spent in stillness and silence isn't a waste. It's soul care.

A still, quiet morning by the lake

A short hike to a big view

How to listen well to a missionary on home assignment

We all know the drill. Missionaries go out across the world doing amazing work, and then every now and then they show up back at our churches to share about what God's doing in other parts of the world. We all love the idea, and their stories about cultural mishaps are funny, but let's be honest, sometimes the more personal conversations can be a bit difficult and awkward.

There are plenty of valid reasons for this. They've spent years adapting to a new culture that you are clueless about and can't relate to. You don't know any of the places or people involved in their stories. Meanwhile you've carried on your own life at home without them. Maybe we even want to know what's happening, but we just don't know what questions to ask.

So my hope is to give you a few tips and questions to ask that can help you embrace the awkwardness and love your missionaries better.

#1: Remember our common bond in Christ. You may not be able to relate to all their experiences, but one thing we all have in common is a relationship with Jesus. If nothing else, you can connect over that.

#2: Stalk them before they come. That's right, get on their Facebook page. Read their latest newsletter or blogposts. Get informed so you know better what they've been up to and what questions you can ask. There's nothing quite as discouraging as when someone who receives their newsletter asks, "So remind me again, what are you doing there?"

#3: Be curious. Be willing to learn about a culture, a place, and a ministry that you are unfamiliar with. Not only will they be excited to share, but it will help broaden your perspective on God's work around the world.

#4: Chat in small groups. There's safety in numbers. Sometimes somebody else has an interesting question that you hadn't thought of.

#5: Ask specific, open-ended questions. There's nothing worse than the question, "So, how is Namibia?" Seriously?! How do you expect me to answer that. I know you're only asking because you don't really know what to ask, so that's why I'm here to help. First, ask more specific questions so I know what you're interested in. Also, ask open-ended questions that don't have one word answers. Then listen carefully so you can ask a follow up question. Here are some suggestions to get you started...

Questions about the place:
How is the landscape different than here?
What is the weather like?
What is the religious climate of the country?
What are the languages they speak? Have you had to learn any of them?

Questions about the people:
What are the population demographics like in the area where you live?
Tell me about the people you're ministering with?
What students/disciples are you most excited about lately?
Where have you found good community and friendships?

Questions about their experience:
What are the specific ministries you're involved in there?
What are some foods you like/dislike there?
What are your favorite parts about living there?
Regarding cultural differences: Do you have a specific story about that?

Remember, speaking about the place and the culture may be interesting, but their passion and the reason they are there is the people they are ministering among. Get them talking about people and they'll come alive.

Listening well to our missionaries helps them feel loved, cared for, and understood. And that's often what they need most during home assignment. So let's make the effort to learn how to be better listeners.

The Queen City

The first major stop on my Home Assignment tour is Charlotte, North Carolina. I lived here for four years while attending Reformed Theological Seminary. It's by far the largest city that I've ever lived in. The greater Charlotte area has about the same population as the whole country of Namibia! Charlotte has about everything you could want in a city, tons of restaurants, artsy districts, great parks, professional sports, an amusement park, a hopping downtown, but plenty of suburbs for a smaller town family feel. I'll be here about three weeks visiting old friends, reconnecting with my old church, and doing some trainings and debriefing at the SIM head office.

NASCAR headquarters in Charlotte

Charlotte is also the headquarters for SIM USA

4th of July

July 4th is the day Americans celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence and their birthday as a nation. Every town across the country has their own form of celebration. There are huge parades with old cars and floats and bands and military veterans and people throwing out candy to the kids. There a flags everywhere and backyard barbecues. And of course, the day always closes of with huge fireworks displays. I haven't been in the States for a 4th of July in four years so it's nice to celebrate with the hometown crowd again! Here's some pics and video to give you a little taste of the festivities...

Food trucks at the town celebration

The 2nd Regiment Band playing some patriotic tunes and pop hits

Big crowds turn out for the fireworks show

Sparklers to celebrate

And of course, the grand finale...

Cultural Adjustments

Travel back to the States for my Home Assignment was uneventful. I flew from Windhoek, to Johannesburg, to London, to Boston. Layovers provided some welcome hours to sleep stretched-out and lying down, and to use the free airport wifi. Overall my travel lasted about 31 hours bringing me back to the place that I had for so long called 'home'.

However, it didn't take long before I started running into cultural differences where I needed to readjust. Apparently the Red Sox had just played a baseball game in London the night before, so our plane was filled with Boston sports chatter and American accents. As soon as I walked out of the airport I was confronted with the humidity of a temperate summer. After loading my baggage into the trunk, I waited behind the car desperately trying to figure out which side was the passenger side so I wouldn't be embarrassed by going to the wrong door. The friend who picked me up from the airport, his kids had gotten tall and really grown up in the 3 years since I'd seen them last. After picking up my borrowed vehicle, I had to keep reminding myself that there is no clutch to push down and to stay on the right side of the road. Even just drinking a Coke today, I was reminded that they use different recipes for different regions, and I've grown used to the taste of southern African Coke.

It's funny the little things that we become so used to, that become such ingrained habits. Those are some of the things that make up our culture, the things we think and do "unthinkingly," as Dallas Willard says. Even when you are well-prepared and expecting them, some of those difference can still take you by surprise when they happen, like a simple sip of Coke. So that's the stage of reentry that I'm in at the moment.

Photo of the Day

Peaceful mornings on the lake

Home Assignment

Having been in Namibia for five years now, my second year term is finishing up and I'm about to return to the States for a 6-month home assignment (What is "Home Assignment"?). During that time I will be reconnecting with all those Stateside who have been participating in this ministry through prayer and financial support and sharing more about what God's been doing in Namibia. I'll be visiting churches to encourage them to be involved in God's mission in the world. And I'll get to spend some time for rest and spiritual refreshment.

I'll spend about three of those months investing back into my home church in New Hampshire. The rest of the time I'll be traveling around the east coast and northern mid-west area making visits along the way. If you're in any of those areas and would like to connect up or have me visit your church then please let me know!

One Day

This past weekend my church hosted their annual One Day youth camp. We had over 100 youth in attendance, plus many church members and young adults volunteering to help pull it off. I was helping out as part of the worship team. The theme for the day was HE>i (that is, "He is greater than I") and the main sessions looked at how God is greater than everything, greater than us, and greater than our mess ups. During our closing session 17 youth made decisions for Christ for the first time! Then in our worship jam session after that they sang so loud that the band couldn't even hear what we were playing in the monitors. 😂Check it out...

Along the River

Rundu is the second largest city in Namibia located along the Kavango River which makes up our northern border with Angola. This area of Namibia is one of the most diverse in terms of languages and people groups. One of those is the Hambukushu people living in villages spread along the river about 160km past Rundu. In one of these villages, SIM had a historic mission station that has since been handed over to the church. It was leaders of that church who invited me to come lead a weekend training seminar with their youth leaders.

It took the whole day to drive from Windhoek to Mbukushu, so that Friday evening we only had time for brief introductions. Since I arrived after dark, it was only the next morning when I could actually see where I was. The church plot is located right along the river, the rising sun glistening off the rippling water. It's a place where everything is green and the trees grow tall and the dry desert sinks into distant memory. There are a few old missionary houses on the plot. I was staying in one with another missionary, and the 20 or so youth leaders were all bunking in another. The church building is small but sufficient for the few from the surrounding village who attend.

Mornings were quite cool by the river, so we held our sessions outside where we could catch some warmth from the sun. We spent most of our time talking about why we do ministry with the youth, and how we need to be taking the gospel to the next generation. We also thought about their own circles of influence and who in their lives they need to be intentional about discipling.

The church building in Mbukushu

The youth workers of Mbukushu

Small group work at the training in Rundu

On Sunday afternoon I drove back to Rundu where I led some similar sessions on Monday and Tuesday evenings. We also had about 20 youth workers for these sessions, but they came from many different churches. It was a great display of unity as they are all working together to help the young people of that community grow up in Christ. We observed how our strategy is often inviting people to "come to church," yet Christ commissioned us to "go and tell." One of the cooler suggestions on how they can be "going to make disciples" was starting a ministry amongst juveniles in the local prison. I hope that, growing out of our time together, many ministries like that would be started amongst the youth in and around Rundu.

The Kehemu EBC church in Rundu

Sunset over the Kavango River

Synergy Conference

"Synergy" means to combine efforts to accomplish something greater. Anybody who is in the field of youth work knows that this is exactly what we need. Thus, the inspiration behind the name of a youth workers conference I attended in Okahandja. It was organized and hosted by two local youth pastors from Windhoek who are growing in their passion for training youth workers. Other speakers included an Afrikaans rap group from South Africa who are doing great ministry amongst artists in their community, and a representative from the Office of the First Lady.

One of the coolest parts of the conference for me was having one of my current NETS students leading the worship, another in attendance, and one of my former students leading us through some team-building activities. He joked that now he was the one giving out grades! Though at the end of the day I gave him an A+. It really is a great encouragement to see some of the results of such a long-term investment.

But perhaps the greatest benefit and encouragement for me was networking with other youth workers. It was great to hear stories from them about how God is using them in ministry across Namibia. I hope this idea of synergy doesn't stop at the conference, but that we continue to combine our efforts and work together to reach the next generations with the gospel.

The whole conference crew

Ministry to Children and Youth

This week kicks off final exams for our students at Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary (NETS). The semester is almost over and then students will have about a 5-week break before returning for second semester in mid-July.

This semester I've been teaching two courses, OT Survey and Ministry to Children & Youth. In our youth ministry class, one section looks at a number of different contextual realities and issues that youth in Namibia are facing today. These issues are like landmines and as youth traverse the minefield of adolescence they are not coming through unharmed. We as youth workers can't heal them ourselves, but we're more like medics who drag them out of the battlefield to the One who can.

We also spend some time talking about facilitating experiential learning. All of us experience tension, anxiety and frustration in our lives. Often our responses are not as Christlike as we would prefer. If we know how to evaluate our responses well and seek biblical conclusions, then we can learn and grow through our experiences. My students learn how to help young people work through this learning process. Here [in the photo] they are experiencing a little tension of their own regarding 'personal space' and teamwork, which I was then able to use to model this kind of facilitating.

Other highlights of the course include visiting and evaluating an existing youth or children's ministry, four mentoring sessions with a teen of their choice over the course of the term, and writing a lesson plan regarding one of those landmine issues.

As students are now turning in their final assignments, it's a great encouragement to see how far they've come since the beginning of the semester. I'll close off with this introductory paragraph one of my students wrote in her final paper...

"I am one of the people who thought youth ministry is not a big deal because they do not have much to do besides keeping the kids away from the streets, in particular, bars and dance clubs. How wrong have I been! Upon visiting youth programs, mentoring and actually just making conversation with teens, I have really changed my perspective and the youth workers have my utmost respect."

Graduation

This is graduation season in Namibia! This time of year all the universities hold ceremonies to celebrate those who finished their studies in December of last year. Some highlights from our NETS Graduation included heartfelt testimonies from three graduates, a speech from a representative of the Ministry of Higher Education, an impromptu speech from the mayor of Windhoek (including a call for Christians to put pressure on the government to reintroduce prayer and Bible study to schools, and a suggestion that he may enroll in courses at NETS for himself!), and the emcee announcing the Bachelor's degree students like they were professional wrestlers. Check out the photos below!

Academic Procession

Keynote Address from a representative of the Ministry of Higher Education

Last year's Student Body President receiving an award recognizing her servant leadership

A Bachelor's graduate, excited to be finally finished, receiving his hood from our Academic Dean

Dedicatory Prayer for all the graduates

They saw this in a movie once

Introducing the NETS class of 2019! Students in the green robes received either a Certificate in Christian Ministry or a Certificate in Theology. Of the students in the black robes and purple hoods, three received a Diploma in Ministry or Theology, and six graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Theology. Faculty and Board members are around the sides and the back.

Living in Exile

This semester in NETS Community Devotions we've been preaching through the book of Jeremiah. We've followed him through his call & commissioning, delivering harsh messages from God promising punishment for Judah's sin and idolatry, experiencing persecution for those messages, confronting false prophets, and more. This past week I preached on the beloved chapter 29, a letter from Jerusalem to the group already in exile in Babylon. In this letter, Jeremiah reminds them that God's plans for them look a bit different then their own plans for themselves, but He hasn't given up on them. Are we willing to have patience and trust in God's plans and God's timing, even when we don't like it? You can listen to the message here if you'd like.

Student Life

As a teacher I often feel like I'm constantly pouring out, so it's nice when I have an opportunity to get filled back up. Technically, I'm allowed one week per year for continuing professional development, so for the first time in five years I decided to take advantage of that! So last week I rescheduled my classes, hopped on a tiny little plane with only about 20 other people for the short flight to Cape Town, and stepped back into the classroom myself.

GWC is the yellow building in the background.

George Whitefield College is a reformed Anglican Bible school in Muizenberg, South Africa, a small suburb located on the southern coast of Cape Town. They had invited Dr. Don Carson to come as a visiting lecturer to teach a post-graduate course on the epistle to the Hebrews. Dr. Carson has been a pastor, professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago, prolific author and editor of many books and articles, and co-founder of The Gospel Coalition (among other things!). I heard that somebody once said they have three rules in life: 1) Tell your wife you love her; 2) Brush your teeth twice a day; and 3) If you ever, ever, ever have a chance to hear Don Carson teach, then always take it!

So six years after my last seminary class, I found myself a student again. It was actually really nice to be back in the academic sphere where I was surrounded by other people who were asking the same kinds of questions I find myself asking. It was great to dive deeply into texts of Scripture, to pick apart the logical flow of argument, and figure out how the NT author was appropriately quoting and re-applying passages from the Old Testament. But perhaps my biggest takeaway from the course was seeing how Dr. Carson seamlessly wove together his knowledge from many different disciplines. It's amazing how his systematic theology and his language study and his pastoral experience inform his Biblical exegesis and vice versa. It's easy to separate each of those into different categories, but he helpfully brought them all together. It reminded me how I need to be reading much more broadly across the scope of different disciplines within theological studies.

Overall it was helpful, and encouraging, and challenging to help me become a better teacher. And it didn't hurt that after class I could walk across the street for a little stroll along the beach!

Muizenberg beach on a warm sunny day