February 2, 2012
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getting ready

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I am making the final preparations for a trip to the Middle East in a few days, and am predictably worried about forgetting something I might need, or not being studied up on the current events of the region.

As I joke about nightmares of forgetting my laptop or some other key piece of equipment, I realize this is a great metaphor for the return of Christ. Unless I live as Christ, eat, drink and breathe Scripture and use every moment to live the hope that is in Him, I will probably find that the time I had here on earth was frittered away.

What it boils down to is living purposefully, so as to not be caught unprepared. My brain immediately went to the parable of the 10 Virgins, in Matthew 25. While I realize this is more about salvation issues, I wound up reflecting on it in a little different context.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins
1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

This is what is meant to keep vigil. If I’m doing what I should be doing, there won’t be that ‘caught out’ feeling. So, I’ll finish my scramble to get the cords, bits and pieces and batteries together with extra clean socks and deodorant, but keep in my head Paul’s encouragement “to live is Christ, to die is gain.”

August 30, 2011
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testing our sanctification

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There are some people in our lives who test our sanctification.  They hide barbs in their conversations, they open their mouths and pour out contempt on you.  Most of the time, smart people will back away from toxic relationships like this, but sometimes you can’t cut off all connections…sometimes you are related by blood.

I have one such person in my life, and every time there is interaction, I wonder what it will cost me later on…I voiced this thought to a friend of mine and she suggested I take a look at Job.

I was wondering what Job had to do with irritating people, but then Alistair Begg connected the dots for me.  He was talking about suffering and the fact that God is Sovereign–which means that He allows suffering but He is not the author of evil.

There’s an interesting distinction there:  He created the world and it was good….but sin entered and it became imperfect.   He gave us choice to love Him freely—and that’s what this whole story is about.  Do good because you love to do good, not just follow the rules.  It’s a choice to obey.  It’s a choice to disobey.  Obedience has great rewards, and disobedience carries natural consequence…but God is not the author of evil.

When we choose to love God in the midst of suffering (especially when it’s at someone else’s hands), we experience love that is more like Christ’s love–it’s richer, deeper and much more fulfilling…it fills your countenance…there are people I know who have born the consequences of someone else’s sin…and they do it wearing the sweet aroma of Christ…it makes a HUGE impact on everyone around them.  You know who I’m talking about, right?  They’re the people who are so sweet, you could never imagine them any other way.  When they share their testimony, you hear about alot of things that would break most people, shatter most families, and yet, here they are, praising God for His hand in their lives….thanking Him for the sorrow.

I’ll admit I was filled with skepticism when I first met a woman like this.  I was unwilling to believe that she was so content with all the stuff that she had experienced.  The longer I knew her, the more I wanted to reflect Christ like she did…and the more I talked with her, the more of Christ she shared with me.   Before she died, she told me ‘Nothing comes easily in this life.  But the struggle is part of the blessing.  It’s the real test of the light of Christ.  The more you succumb to bitterness, the more your heart closes off to the hope that is in Christ.’

Her words came back to me over and over again when I began walking a difficult path seven years ago.  Grace is never cheap.  Suffering gives us the opportunity to experience intimacy with Him, that transformative power of His sufficiency and His presence that can only come when we love Him and trust Him in all circumstances.

It doesn’t mean it won’t hurt.  Pain is like black paint in a Vermeer painting.  It’s dark, but it highlights the Light–these are opportunities He uses to draw us into Christ-likeness.   These people who test your sanctification?  Let them.  Let God.  Bring it!

August 26, 2011
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Senseless Desensitivity

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I think this is probably a fitting first post for me, as it’s an issue that crops up often in the bustling news world, and provides an even more difficult challenge for Christian journalists, I think. Desensitizing.

In one sense, I’m glad that I’ve developed the ability to “shut off” my emotions when it comes to news. I’m naturally a decently emotional person, but it’s really not reasonable to be a journalist who cries every time she does an interview. And so I’ve learned to turn that side of me off as I listen to stories about famine killing hundreds of thousands, entire nations in uproar, Christians being hunted for their faith, so that I can focus on asking good questions to get the news across effectively. But there’s a point when shutting off that emotional valve can be devastating–not so much to me as to God. As a Christian, I’m called to love everyone, to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions…praying for all the saints.” But when you hear bad news every day, it’s easy to be numb. It’s easy to shout across the office, “Ruth, another bombing in Iraq. 15 Christians dead. Who should we talk to about it?” rather than to simply stop and pray. It’s not just easy, it’s easier. Easier than taking a minute to think about the life lost for the sake of the Gospel, the importance of the Gospel message, the purpose I write this news at all.

I’ve been working at Mission Network News for nearly three years, first as an intern, now as a full time staff member, and have yet to master the fine art of “stopping” in the news room. Lately, I’ve taken to writing down the names of countries, leaders, and even friends on small note cards that I might be reminded to pray for them throughout the day. Funny how we have to make so much effort to remember to pray when these things are before our eyes daily.

And in an effort to place the blame elsewhere and feel slightly better about the fact that I’m so far from perfect, I recognize that we all do this. We all hear news even in our own towns that we say is terrible, but how often do we stop to intercede? I’m reminded of cameraman Jack’s thoughts about the 1990’s genocide in Rwanda in the film Hotel Rwanda, “I think that when people turn on their TVs and see this footage, they’ll say, ‘Oh my [gosh], that’s horrible,’ and then they’ll go back to eating their dinners.” That line haunts me. What can I be doing to get involved? I can’t give to every organization, but surely I can pray for many of them. How can I become more sensitive even to what’s just “news” to me–someone else’s “reality”–today? How can you?

 

August 19, 2011
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Feeling ‘used’ in a good way

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Orphanage 40 child

Aleena at Orphanage 40.

There are days when you feel inadequate. Then there are days you KNOW you made a difference, even if it was a subtle difference. Today was that day for many of my teammate on the Orphan Outreach trip to Russia this week.

Everyone got up, ate breakfast and checked out of the hotel by 9:00. Actually, for the first time all week. I was late. I thought I heard, be down with your luggage at 8:00am, breakfast at 8:30 (which were both correct), but here’s where I got side-tracked — I heard, but down by 9:00am, but we won’t leave probably until 9:30. So, to me that meant be down by 9:30, right? Well, not so much. Long story short, I was late — the VERY last person on the bus.

The reason for my delay was uploading video from the previous day.

Excited little boy

Excited little boy at Orphanage 40.

However, today, we were heading to our final stop at Orphanage #40. This orphanage is for children with eye issues — at least ‘officially’. However, there are MANY other issues, too. Cleft lip and pallet, down’s syndrome, severe fetal alcohol issues and the like.

We arrived at the camp along the Gulf of Finland at around 10am. We walked into the woods to a secluded camp setting. There was on newer building that looked like a long motel that you’d see in the U-S. However, the other buildings were wooden structures far enough apart that it takes a little time to walk from building to building.

Team member Olga with Oxana

Team member Olga with Oxana

I started off with the most functional kids. These 12 or so children were those who had eye issues, but we high functioning. Almost all of them were 6 years old. These children listened so well. They did crafts, putting fish stickers on a fish tank looking piece of blue foam. They shared the creation story and they all listened.

The second group of kids, the largest group, of about two dozen kids were those younger and a little less functioning. They were kids with down’s syndrome and fetal alcohol issues. However, most of them could communicate, but they couldn’t control themselves. This group was able to do the craft, but that’s about it. This was the ‘super charged’ play group.

Then, the final group of kids were those low functioning — Down’s syndrome children, fetal alcohol, and other disabilities that require hands on attention.

I visited each group this year. The first group, there was a little boy with my name Gregori, or Gresha. I got a chance to talk to him. He seemed proud that we had the same name. I was able to watch them do their craft and tell a Bible story. It was great to see the happiness on their faces.

We finished with them at around noon, boarded the bus and headed back to St. Petersburg for lunch.

Our next to the last night devotions were really sweet. Ellie shared from the Word, but many more people talked about what God is doing in their lives because of being on the trip. It was a great time of sharing.

Our night ended at McDonald’s. Most got ice cream and just hung out laughing. We’ve done a lot of that on this trip.

August 18, 2011
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Open hearts, closed hearts – mission team unwavered

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What a dramatic difference between Wednesday and Thursday.

First, let me apologize for not posting anything on this blog yesterday. I got everything done — pictures uploaded, video made and scripts written — only to realize the time on my internet card had run out. Unfortunately, no free wifi in Russia. At least not at the hotels we’ve been staying in this week. So, this will be two updates in one.

Orphanage 2

Sergey is a wonderful little boy. We met him last year.

Yesterday, we got up at the same time, ate breakfast and headed in teams to Orphanage Camp #2. This is the camp where we had so much fun last year. We really connected with a lot of the kids. And, it was great to see so many of them again this year. It wasn’t good they were there, but it was fun seeing them grow and seeing them laugh.

 

When I arrived, we walked back to the field where we would be holding our vacation Bible school program. We basically did the same activities we did at the previous day. However, when we made the circle to begin the day, my little friend Sveta walks up and hands me a piece of watermelon. I’m not sure, but I think it was a part of her breakfast. What a thoughtful, loving little girl. I made her eat it. I told her I had already eaten breakfast and she needed to eat it.

After singing a few songs (in English), we broke up into groups. Craft, recreation and memory verse. I went to recreation. Why? Not sure. Knees my age aren’t supposed to be there any more. I may have to start volunteering for crafts in the years ahead. 🙁

Two girls at orphanage 2

Two girls at orphanage 2

It started raining in the afternoon, but despite the rain, we went ahead and did “The Everything” for the teenagers. If you haven’t seen it, click here.

Following the skit, Melissa Blough gave her testimony and I presented the Gospel. Following the skit, there were a few who had questions about it. One girl who will leave the orphanage was challenged by Masha, one of our interpreters, about what she’ll be doing with her life. Many of the boys in the group got very quiet, reflecting on what they had seen and heard. While no one made professions of faith, we were seed planters.

As we got ready to leave the camp, I got the shock of my life. A teen girl who befriended one of our team members last year, pulled me aside. Through an interpreter asked some questions about adoption. I’d like to ask you to pray for this girl we’ll call Ella. She came to Christ last year during camp. She just needs a chance. Pray God will give her one either through adoption or a Christian mentor program.

Today, was a different day altogether.

The camp was cold in every way — emotionally and spiritually. Kids in this camp were actually displaced by a fire. It was in their living area. So,

Teen girl in Orphanage 14.

Teen girl in Orphanage 14.

they were in strange surroundings. When we arrived there wasn’t the typically running beside the bus yelling and screaming. Children weren’t playing happily. There was just a dark cloud.

This was the camp last year where the director has taken our gifts to the kids and took them for himself. The man run his orphanage like a boot camp. There’s much anger and little love. When we walked in the kids hardly even noticed we were there. We organized some duct tape crafts and dream boxes. One boy took his box, threw it out the window and said he was making believe that it was a bomb and he was a terrorist.

While, discouraging, we were able to present the skit. I was able to talk about the fact that they’re either a slave to sin or Christ and that in reality, we have NO freedom. I told them that Christ died for unlovely sinners. He gave His life for people that are actually His enemy. I said it didn’t matter the sin, it was paid for at the cross.

There wasn’t much, if any, response. But, they DID listen. Again, we’re not called to save people. We’re just called to preach the Word and be faithful. God will provide the increase. I’m praying God will protect these kids for angry caregivers and that he’ll replace this unfriendly, unkind director with someone who actually loves the kids.

Pray for the kids as they return to the orphanages next week.

August 17, 2011 Russia Video

Click here to view photos

Laughs in Russia Video

August 11, 2011
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my bricks

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This will be a bit of a ramble. I’m flexing my ‘stream of consciousness’ fingers starting…now.

In the daily hustle and bustle of a newsroom, it’s easy to overlook the non-emergency things until they become emergencies.

Some of you might even be thinking ‘been there, done that’…and I find myself taking shortcuts to speed up the things that I have to get done in order to get other things finished.

There are some days I go home and fall into bed exhausted and while drifting off to sleep I find myself thinking “Can’t call it a day yet! I’m not unconscious!  I still have to…..ZZZZzzzzzzzz.”  We joke about this in my family…we’ve even given it a nickname: ‘dooobee’—as in ‘do a lot’ and  ‘busy as a bee’.  In the story of Mary and Martha, I totally ‘get’ Martha.  As a kid, I was always mad at Mary. ‘C’mon! Come help get this meal together! It’s not fixing itself!’ And when she didn’t move, calling in the reinforcements and asking Jesus to get her off her hiney…only to have Him side with her??   I was bafffled. (We’ll get back to this later)

The reality of it is that there are too many times I fall into the Israelite’s way of thinking: I am the sum of the bricks I made today.  You do that too many times, and you start to believe it.  There are a lot of bits in the Bible about rest…it even starts early in Genesis with God setting aside some critical time to REST.  Yet much of His creation is frenetic with the doing, and lost in the ‘being’…which is what happens when you rest.

In the quiet of rest, you can actually hear things.  You can hear our Heavenly Father telling you what a beautiful child you are…or maybe He might be whispering that answer to the question you keep asking (like a toddler: ‘now? now? now? how about now?’).

How do rest and bricks travel down the same road of thought?  I’m not really sure they do.   The bricks can create a false sense of worth, which leads somebody like me into thinking I have to keep producing in order to be valued.  Rest helps me re-new…and I can understand worth far better when I’m being spoken to by our Father through the Word.   Ah…Mary and Martha.   Mary understood knowing Christ.  If she knew His voice and understood what He was saying, it was much easier to obey.  Martha understood the doing end with her servant gifting.  As those gifted this way know, it’s very easy to take on too much and then stress over the details, even if it was originally meant to serve Christ…not being able to BE with Christ prevented her (and us) from the depth of relationship we sought in the first place.

This has to have a conclusion…so I’ll wind up by saying take the REST seriously.   We are not the bricks we make because our worth was summed up in the death and resurrection of our Savior.  Just sayin’.

 

 

 

 

July 24, 2011
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Norway terror may hurt Christians

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Police have arrested 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik of Oslo, Norway on the island of Utoya in connection with the deadly bombing and shooting that killed 92. Investigators allege Mr. Breivik detonated the car bomb and then drove to Utoya and opened fire on teenagers attending a camp there organized by the ruling Norwegian Labor party.

There’s more tragedy to this story. On his Facebook page he calls himself a ‘Christian’. That has led to news reports calling him a ‘radical Christian’. Does that sound familiar?

What will this mean for Christian work in Norway? It’s still unfolding. According to news reports churches across the country were open all weekend to help Norwegians deal with the tragedy. In a pluralistic society that doesn’t tolerate intolerance, who knows what this monicker ‘fundamentalist Christian’ will reveal.

The other question I have is how will the rest of the world treat Christians in response to this tragedy? In the United States, Christians have already been marginalized because of what they call ‘extreme views’.

What extreme views? There is only one way to heaven, through Jesus Christ alone. There are moral absolutes. I could go on about our views, but those are the ones that bother non-Christians the most.

This tragedy could further marginalize Christians. As left winged political pundits begin focusing on Mr. Breivik’s Christianity, my fear is that all Christians will be painted with the same brush.

However, we know that killing 92 people isn’t what Christ would have us do. Jesus said to “love one another.” How many times did He tell us that?

Unfortunately, when we’re attacked, it’s hard to do that. That’s why we need the help of our brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer every day for being a Christian. They simply keep loving, in spite of the trauma they face.

My prayer today is that God will allow REAL Christians to come forward in Norway. That REAL Christians will show the world what Christianity is all about and that His name would be glorified through the pain.

June 11, 2011
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MNN 20th anniversary & Challenge For Change

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20 years is a long time. When a ministry celebrates milestones, typically they do it to highlight they’re ministry. They hold dinners, concerts, or other events to help promote their work.

Mission Network News is celebrating 20 years of ministry. I wish Cornerstone University could take credit for the idea of starting MNN, but the idea for MNN came from a couple of organizations — World Concern and the Raymond Group. After God used these two organizations to developing the program, they graciously gave it to Cornerstone University to be the next steward of this broadcast that’s calling Christians to action.

To celebrate 20 years of service to the Lord, Mission Network News is challenging YOU to do something for God during the month of July. We’re calling it, Challenge For Change.

Challenge For Change is a month long initiative that will provide you ideas and resources that will help you do something for God. For example:

COLOMBIA PARACHUTES
We are partnering with a group in Colombia that is dropping Christian materials (Bibles, Christian literature and pre-tuned, solar-powered radios that are pre-tuned to a Christian station) into areas of the country controlled by the Marxist FARC guerillas, areas where churches are closed and pastors are often targeted for assassination. We now offer a kit that has all the materials needed to make 10 parachutes for $10. The people cut the material into circles, glue or sew on the ribbon, and tie on the zip-lock bag which is used to hold the Bibles or other materials. They then send the parachutes back to us, along with $5 to get them to Colombia and provide fuel for the plane that drops them into the FARC areas. We also have the pattern for the parachutes posted online if people want to get their own materials and just follow the pattern.

Each day you can go to our website. When you do, there will be suggestions that you can do to share your faith, or reach out in love to your neighbor across the street or around the world. We’ll have simple suggestions like, praying for Jesus film teams trying to reach an unreached people group. Or, getting a group together and holding a vacation Bible school in the former Soviet Union.

Why are we doing this? Because we know ALL Christians should do something for God, but sometimes we just don’t know WHAT to do. So, in July — every day — you’ll know WHAT to do.

As part of the Challenge for Change initiative, we’re also giving you an opportunity to shoot some video of YOU and your family and friends in action. You can go here https://mnnonline.org/challenge/ to do that.

Check back with Mission Network News as we get closer to the Challenge for Change initiative.

February 7, 2011
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MNN criticized, let me explain

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Over the last couple of weeks Mission Network News has been criticized for our coverage of the Egypt riots. It’s been kind of interesting to hear their complains. While I understand their criticism, I’m not sure it’s founded.

The first critique came from someone who didn’t like the characterization of our report. He wrote:

“I was listening to the radio yesterday (Feb 3) and heard the report on Egypt. I was struck by the curious wording that< “the situation is becoming dire for churches and Christians.” While I am aware that there is tension between the religious groups, my impression is that not only the Christians are experiencing the things that were then mentioned in the report. However, as I heard it, the report left the impression that the challenges in daily life that were mentioned were unique to the Christian population. I found this to be unhelpful in nurturing compassion for ALL people of the region who are in a difficult situation.”

This story was a story we aired after already reporting on rioting and why the thousands of protesters were (are) in the streets. Because we had already reported on the issues facing the average person, we thought it would be good to focus on Christians and the local church. So, we did that. Unfortunately this person took issue with that report. Again, I agree that EVERYONE is affected, but every OTHER network (including ours) had already talked about everyone else — so we wanted to focus on the story behind the story. For MNN, that story was about the church. Which also fits our mission.

The second criticism came today:

“I feel you need to retract or correct your paragraph from E3 Partners today. You wrote, “Assist News reports that 11 Christians were
killed by radical Muslims”. This portrays that the crisis in Egypt is Muslims vs. Christians, and this is NOT the case at all! I’m hearing
from several sources that Christians and Muslims are unified in their push to oust Mubarak, and there is no religious sectarianism involved.
In this case, casualties were random, and Christians are 10% of the population. I urge you to guard against fanning the flames that this is an extremist revolution like Iran had 30 years ago. Focus your readers/listeners to love and reach out to Muslims, not to hate and fear them.”

While I understand his comments, I’m not sure I can do that. First of all, the story we aired was about a coordinated effort to attack and kill Christians. They were Muslims. And, they were radicals. In order to do something like this, I think you’ll agree that would have to be the case.

For many of you who read or hear our news every day, you know we talk about loving Muslims and sharing the Gospel with them. We know this is important. In fact, we have encouraged people to show them love, hospitality and point them to the Injil (New Testament) to help them understand the person of Jesus.

Are we perfect? NO. Do we make mistakes? Yes. Are we painting the picture that Muslims are bad? That’s something only you can answer. We do tell stories about Christians who are attacked by not only Muslims, but also Hindus, Buddhists, Communists and any other organized groups. Unfortunately, the Islamic faith has jihad as part of their core beliefs. Does the mean we’re ‘hate mongers’? It just means we’re telling the truth. Sometimes the truth is painful.

Sometimes I find it interesting that Christians want us to ‘dumb down’ our news to make it more friendly. Unfortunately, many of the Christians who face persecution around the world just want to know that other Christians are standing beside them. They want people to know the suffering they’re experience. They want Christians to pray. So, we honor that by providing as much information we can, without causing safety issues for the individuals and/or ministries.

Why am I talking about this? Providing news and information can be polarizing. Even though we’re talking mostly to a Christian audience, Satan can use it to divide us. We can’t let that happen. We need to use this information to circle the proverbial wagons to pray, reach out with the Gospel and/or gather funding to help these ministries.

Each week we write dozens of stories about what God is doing around the world. Much of the news focuses on persecution of Christians, disasters, outreach/evangelism, politics and other popular news topics. Why? So, we can tell you how it affects Christians around the world and how God is using it to bring people to Himself.

The bottom line (as one of my friends likes to say) is that MNN has the privilege of being able to talk about God’s work around the world every day. My prayer is that MNN will glorify God in each story we air, encourage Christians to get off their ‘duff’ and do something for Him, and provide news and information that will encourage the body of Christ.

December 16, 2010
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Christmas, a time for THE story

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I am humbled by the fact that believers, especially in creative access nations, are using Christmas as a time to share their faith. They believe (as we in the west should) that people are dying without Christ and time is running out. I’ve been so convicted this Christmas. What am I doing for Him this Christmas?  Am I really acting as though it is urgent?

The past few days I have been very proactive in talking about the Christ of Christmas. It’s kind of easy in West Michigan. There are more churches in West Michigan than any other place in the United States. So, I don’t face the persecution my brothers and sisters face in Asia and the Middle East. So, why is it that I don’t talk about it more often?

I’m making a concerted effort to look for openings to share Christ. Let me encourage you to do the same.