Monday, November 20, 2006

The Letter Has Arrived


I am now a member of the Xtreme Team! I will be leaving in February for training in Virginia and then leaving in April for Peru! God is amazing and I have learned so much in this whole application process.

You may be wondering what exactly I'll be doing for the next two years - well, I'll tell you.

Our vision is to evangelize and make disciples of those who live in the nearly inaccessible darkness of the Amazon jungle and high mountain regions of Bolivia and PerĂº. We engage multiple groups, but mostly groups with only a few hundred population, and we focus on groups where there has been little or no previous work. Most have already been contacted, but some still live as nomadic peoples who have no knowledge of God or his Word.

We do not build churches or pay pastors. We don't plant churches as you would see them in the States. We don't translate hymns or our favorite choruses. We do not do social work or relief aid as a general rule.

We do share the Word of God in their language in ways that they can understand and memorize. Our goal is to see a New Testament church planted that relies on the Word for its practices, a church that will reproduce itself and exist long after we have gone back home.

We place emphasis on the Word of God, prayer, reproducible or simple missions methodologies, and obedience-based discipleship.

As a member of the women's team, this is our goal: advanced discipleship and women's evangelism/discipleship. Generally, we will engage a people group after the men's teams have finished their engagement. Many times it is not appropriate for our men to talk with the women in the indigenous communities, so we are there to ensure that we have given all people comprehensible access to the Gospel.

There are many different people groups that the various Xtreme Teams target, but all have certain similarities, such as:

They are all geographically isolated and difficult to access. None are just a couple of days away from "civilization" but a week to two weeks away.

They are also all functionally illiterate. Some groups have no concept of what a book is, much less the Word. Others have national schools nearby, but they still do not function as literates.

In every group, there is no or very limited evangelical presence before we engage them. In some groups there are no believers, in others, five believers out of a thousand population. We may engage a group that is more evangelized, but only if they are lacking in discipleship, the indigenous believers are not reaching others, or the group is geographically divided in several parts, one section with the Gospel and the others without.

Here is a little more about the training I will be receiving in Peru:

Every new arrival to the Xtreme Team goes through four months of training at our Xtreme training camp. No cushy facilities here, we simply rent some acres of jungle alongside a river and pitch our tents. The first month is dedicated to learning Spanish, because our Latin missionaries arrive the second month and all classes are taught in Spanish from that point on. We teach indigenous missions strategies, church-planting, orality, Chronological Bible Storytelling, how to live in an indigenous community, first-aid, and camp-cooking. However, our focus is on prayer and building up the Body of Christ, for how can we teach these things if we don't first learn and practice them for ourselves? After training, each new Xtremer is assigned a team and people group whom they will engage for remainder of their term while working under the guidance of a strategy coordinator. The training is difficult and long, but the Xtremers leave ready to begin an even more difficult work and function as part of the Body of Christ.

I am so excited to begin. Please continue praying as God prepares me for the field.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

by Dr. Bob Moorehead

I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed."
The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made. I am a disciple of
Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down,
back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present
makes sense, and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight walking,
small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams,
chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position,
promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by
presence, lean by faith, love by patience,
lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace
is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my
road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,
my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought,
compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back,
diluted, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander
in the maze of mediocrity.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until
Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know,
and work until He comes. And when He comes to get
His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
My colors will be clear.


I am not ashamed of the gospel . . . Romans 1:16

Monday, October 30, 2006

The Waiting Game

The job match has occurred. Only, I have yet to find out. Yet another period of waiting, in a process that has been ongoing since February. In two weeks the final decision will be known. Nervous? Not really. Anxious? Yes. I just want to know. But, God has been teaching me that I don't have to know everything - right now. I'm excited about the possibilities of where I will spend the next two years. I've been asked if I'll be bummed if I don't get my first choice. The answer: no. I am excited about all 3 of my choices . . . I would be happy serving in any of the positions.

In between big church and team Bible study yesterday, my toes were stepped on. Big church was about forgiveness and Bible study was about healing broken relationships. ZING! Last night I realized something I had overlooked. We were reading Matthew 5:23-24. It says: "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." I had heard it the other way around . . . if you have something against your brother, go and make it right . . . but never this way. Something I guess I skipped over or didn't read thoroughly enough. If you know that someone has something against YOU go and deal with it. Hmmmm. What if they want nothing to do with you? What if there is no means of communication? Right now, I think my offering will be sitting for a while. God is still faithful though. And for that, I'm grateful.