Posted on February 23, 2010 at 8:45am.
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I’ve posted below a guest blog post from Don Truslow. Don recently traveled with CAC to Ethiopia.
“Hammer” and “sorry-sorry” were the only English words my new friend knew, as far as I could tell. Addal works as a guard at Camp Langano, the SIM camp located four hours outside of Addis that has been bringing the Gospel to young Ethiopians for many years. I was part of the mission team assigned to tackle a few of the myriad of projects at the camp. I met my new friend unexpectedly one evening while I was repairing some window screens for one of the cabins. Addal tentatively approached me, and then reached out to help hold the screening while I trimmed. For the next hour and a half, we were a team, taking turns trimming, sharing the hammer, and uttering “sorry-sorry” when one of us broke a piece of quarter-round molding or missed the intended target with the staple gun. While we did not share a language, we had little problem communicating. It was great fun.
Ever since my youngest daughter traveled to Ethiopia five years ago, taking such a trip has been on my heart. This trip was one of the most impactful, broadening, and fulfilling experiences of my 51 years. As promised, it put me “outside my comfort zone”. My international travels have been mostly business related with stays at some of the world’s top hotels such as the Connaught in London, and the Hotel de Crillon in Paris. The mission trip to Ethiopia was a little different from these past travels. It was far better in so many ways.
As a first-timer, it was difficult for me to emotionally process seeing the widespread poverty and unimaginable living conditions, especially the lack of clean water. Yet, I was even more taken by the beauty of the people, their warm smiles, and their emphasis on personal relationships. The believers we met were incredible. Their testimonies and life stories were rich and inspiring. They seemed to live their faith continually, relying on God’s blessings to meet their most fundamental needs throughout every day.
I was amazed at how much work our team accomplished. It felt good to serve. I gained a better appreciation of why works are important in combination with faith (James 2:14-26). Not surprisingly, our work opened the door for God to work in each of us. I know that I grew spiritually and returned home with a deeper sense of just how big our God is.
During the trip, two themes from the group discussions and devotions kept coming to mind. The first was a formula: Change in place plus change in pace equals change in perspective. The second related to Christ’s second great commandment: Love thy neighbor (Matt 22:37). But who is my neighbor (Luke 10:29)?
My temporal life probably could not be more different than that of my new friend, Addal. But in the eyes of God, both of us are His children. Addal is my neighbor and my brother in Christ. I am pretty sure I would have missed that without a change in place and a change in pace acting to change my perspective.
I look forward to returning. There are plenty of projects left to be done at Camp Langano and plenty for God to work on within me.
Posted on February 18, 2010 at 11:27am.
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Guest blog post from CaC member Ben.
I am a “Processor,” so that is my excuse for taking this long to write about my trip to China. My wife and I have been at CaC for almost three years now, and we are very excited at what we see happening in our church in the area of missions and outreach. It is so encouraging to see so many people here getting a vision for other parts of the world and seeking the Lord for what He might want us to do as a church. I am looking forward to our continued growth in the area of missions.
The trip to China was an incredible experience for me. Actually, looking back, the most rewarding part of the trip is the relationships I have begun to build with other people in our own church- like RJ, Lynn and Alan, Bill, and of course Wayne- AKA “Bunkee”. After spending three years in the Middle East with my family, I began to realize how starved most Americans are for community, and this trip was a great way to build some of that.
It was a privilege to be able to see first hand what God is doing in China. I had heard so much in recent years about the exponential growth rate of the house churches there, and I got to see some of that with my own eyes. We met the first Christians EVER from a people group comprising several million! And we got to spend time with the church planter who actually broke through to them. I was amazed at the passion and the urgency of these relatively new Chinese Christians to take the Gospel to the most difficult parts of their country. They are willing to suffer (and have already suffered) for their faith on a level that I cannot begin to imagine. During the trip, I kept asking myself, “What can I, as an American Christian, possibly offer these people that seem to have so much more faith and joy than I have ever had?”
In many ways, I truly feel that we need to partner with the Chinese church more for our own sakes than for any assistance we can offer them. We have so much to learn from these people who have put EVERYTHING on the line for their faith. May we at CaC do the same, and may we count it an honor and a privilege to continue working with the Chinese house church.
A short video (sorry about the poor quality) of a church service in Ethiopia complete with dancing from Pastor Kallam, Pastor Hoffman, and Steve Heffner.
Posted on February 16, 2010 at 2:51pm.
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Below you can find a great testimony about the work of HOPE Cancer Ministries from a CAC member. HOPE Cancer is a ServeLocal ministry partner.
After my daughter Sarah went through cancer treatment for Leukemia from age 2-5 and again from ages 8-11, my husband and I wanted to be involved with mentoring other families who were going through the same things we had gone through. We were trained to volunteer at the hospital but were told that we couldn’t talk about our faith unless a patient specifically asked us about ours. That was very difficult. Our faith along with the support of family and friends is what helped us through the crisis of our lives. When parents of kids with cancer would ask us, “How did you cope?” The answer was our faith.
When both of my parents, who were cancer survivors, became volunteers with HOPE Cancer, I knew this ministry would be a better fit for us as we tried to support other families dealing with cancer. My parents were some of the first to be trained with Hope Cancer and Sarah (now 17), Kurt and I have all trained to be volunteers. It’s a great way to “give back” for all the help we’ve received and to share the hope we have in Christ.
I’ve also experienced HOPE Cancer Ministries from the other side, as one being ministered to when my Mom was dying from cancer. Volunteers checked on my Dad and I and understood what we were going through. My Mom was ministered to by Hope as she loved to anticipate and talk about heaven, but found it hard to do with family, not wanting to upset anyone. Volunteers at Hope Cancer spent time with her, talking with her about the “hard” questions as she prepared for death and meeting her Lord.
We are honored to be a part of Hope Cancer as they meet the needs of those in crisis from cancer.
Kathy Fruendt
