Missions in Motion

I'm getting really excited for my church's missions conference to start tonight. A guy is coming to give a seminar on the role/importance of missions (especially in a cross cultural context) tonight. Then, in the 3 celebrations (weekly services) Rolando will be talking about missionsy things. I think it's gonna be good. Normally we would invite someone to come, but this has all been sort of last minute since they decided to put off the missions conference until I could help plan it (and the guy we were going to invite got diagnosed with cancer). So, it got a little late to find someone who could come and share with us. Thankfully we already have a speaker lined up for next year-Rolando took advantage of the presence of Steve, the new president of the LAM when he came to visit my church me, and invited him to come next year. Sweet!

I'm also really excited because I GET TO TALK IN FRONT OF PEOPLE!! I love talking in front of people! Rolando asked me to do a presentation about missions in the world-where missionaries come from, where do they go, all about missions Cottton Eye Joe! (Ok sorry, that was weird. I'm in a very bubbly state right now.) Originally Rolando told me to prepare something 5-7 minutes long.

Ok, I started writing this post yesterday and didn't get to finish it. Oops. Well, the workshop last night was really good and there were about 35 people that came for it!! I was thrilled!

Tonight I'll give my presentation for the first time (and I get to give it again tomorrow in both celebrations). Wrapping up the story above-Rolando is letting me have 10 minutes to share! And it is going to be great. The speaker last night touched on a lot of things I'm going to talk about, so that makes me feel good-like I'm on the track with the topics I'm covering. And it will be really good for the people who were at the seminar last night to get some consistency in what their hearing about missions in the world.

I'm praying hard for this conference. And I need a lot of wisdom on how to do follow up. I have people that come to me and say they have a heart for missions. What do they mean? I feel like I'm supposed to do something for them to help them, but what? I can talk with them, listen to them, pray with and for them, but I feel like they expect me to do something amazing for them because I'm the gringa missionary. YEAH RIGHT! I'm just as clueless as they are. I am here to help them. I want to help and motivate and educate and pray for them and get them into action. But I don't know how. I must admit I feel grossly underprepared, unqualified to really help them. I know I do know a lot more than they do about missions. I'm pretty sure they haven't grown up with annual missions conferences with slideshows and people wearing funny clothes and kids singing and waving flags. They weren't in InterVarsity Missions Fellowship at Grove City College for 4 years. So, in my down time I've been trying to read up on stuff. It's just hard. Information dissemination is an issue. People don't look at the announcements or their bulletin. I don't know. Maybe I'm still having expectations of myself that are too high and Groverish. And I guess if people have unrealistic expectations of me that's their problem. I'm from the States, but that doesn't make me a superhero of any kind. And maybe just listening and talking and praying with them is the best I can do for them.

Anyway, I got a generous gift from a friend, so I am planning on using that the pay for the Perspectives on World Missions Class. It actually does exist in Spanish, but I'd like to take it in English first and then be able to refer that people take it. I've only heard amazing things about it and I think it will be really beneficial for me. Funny story about me registering. On the form I have my name (and I'm in Costa Rica), my aunt's mailing address in South Carolina, and my parents' phone number in Arizona. Oh, and it asks for my home church, so I put Grace Anglican (in Pennsylvania). That is my life in a nutshell!!

I feel like I've pretty much bared myself here. Maybe it seems like I'm not doing my job, like I'm a bad missionary or something. Maybe I'm too young and inexperienced. But, in spite of my youth and inexperience I know God has a plan for me. He has brought me here for a reason. Things haven't been quite what I would have hoped or expected, but God is hard at work here-in me and around me. So, stay tuned to see how things pan out. And please, PLEASE don't stop praying!!!