Friendly, Flexible and Full of Grace?
April/27/09 16:18 Filed in: Europe
Ever locked your keys in the car?
Ever locked your keys in the car while it’s running?
Ever locked your keys in the car while it’s running and illegally parked, in a foreign country?
Ever locked your keys in the car while it’s running and illegally parked, in a foreign country, in front of a hospital because you’re picking up 5 day old newborn TWINS taking their inaugural trip from hospital to home?
I stood with my hand on the back door of Kristen and Johnny’s Hatchback CRV Honda, immobilized by the sound I had just heard. The doors had locked. I was parked on the street outside the hospital. The car was running and Johnny and Kristen were walking down the walkway from the hospital with two twin boys in their arms. I had hopped out just to get the baby seats in position and help them fasten them in, but for some crazy reason, the car had betrayed us.
What a sickening feeling! Thankfully, Kristen and Johnny kept their cool. Kristen and I returned to the lobby of the hospital while John kept watch over the illegally “parked” running car while he waited for ADAC to come and rescue us an hour and a half later.
We all have moments when things seem to take on a life of their own to create testing events. Living with the unexpected is a necessity for life, and a double necessity if you want to live life cross-culturally.
How well do you do? Are you friendly, flexible and full of grace?
Ever locked your keys in the car while it’s running?
Ever locked your keys in the car while it’s running and illegally parked, in a foreign country?
Ever locked your keys in the car while it’s running and illegally parked, in a foreign country, in front of a hospital because you’re picking up 5 day old newborn TWINS taking their inaugural trip from hospital to home?
I stood with my hand on the back door of Kristen and Johnny’s Hatchback CRV Honda, immobilized by the sound I had just heard. The doors had locked. I was parked on the street outside the hospital. The car was running and Johnny and Kristen were walking down the walkway from the hospital with two twin boys in their arms. I had hopped out just to get the baby seats in position and help them fasten them in, but for some crazy reason, the car had betrayed us.
What a sickening feeling! Thankfully, Kristen and Johnny kept their cool. Kristen and I returned to the lobby of the hospital while John kept watch over the illegally “parked” running car while he waited for ADAC to come and rescue us an hour and a half later.
We all have moments when things seem to take on a life of their own to create testing events. Living with the unexpected is a necessity for life, and a double necessity if you want to live life cross-culturally.
How well do you do? Are you friendly, flexible and full of grace?
Post WMS2 Disciplines
March/25/09 06:44 Filed in: WMS
The Art of Community Living
Almost everything we are taught in our culture is rooted in the myth “I can do it myself”…from tying your shoes, to riding your bike, to taking exams on the university without, well, let’s call it “input from others”. The Individual is central.
Take the following quiz to find out how “independent” you are: Use the scale in the middle of the chart to rate your Independence. Choose "1" if Column A describes you best. Choose "5" if Column B fits you best. Or Choose 2, 3 or 4 if you're stuck in the middle.
| A | B | |
When I marry I will choose my own mate although I value my family’s advice--it is my life. | 1……2……3……4……5. | My parents will choose my partner as they consider the needs of the family._____ |
| My parents encouraged me to “do it myself”: to learn to play by myself, tie my own shoes and sleep in my own little bed | 1……2……3……4……5. | As a child I was never left alone—not even to sleep alone at night |
| I rarely know who owns the store where I shop | 1……2……3……4……5. | When I purchase something I only go to a friend’s store where we chat about family and friends before I do my business |
| My parents plan to spend the last years of their life in a retirement center or assisted living home if necessary | 1……2……3……4……5. | It is my duty to care for my elderly parents in my home—I would not consider anything else. |
| I find it important to let my yes’s mean yes and my no’s mean no. People should be sincere and honest | 1……2……3……4……5. | It would be considered very rude if I said “no” to someone—its better to say yes or find a polite way to avoid the request |
| Total divided by 5 | ||
Do you realize that 75% of the world has a community mentality (a score of 4 or 5 on the quiz): where you don’t have your own bedroom, or even bed, until you are a teenager; your parents choose your marriage partner for you, on the basis of what is good for the family; and you don’t get to choose your own profession or what you will study in college. The needs and wishes of the community are more important than the preferences of the individual.
While both Individualist and Group cultures have their evil sides, we can learn from each other. The next time you are deciding whether or not to go to Chi Alpha or small group or a weekend retreat, instead of asking “what will this do for me? Do I have time?”, ask yourself, what will my presence do to help the others? If I don’t prepare for the Bible Study, am I robbing others of what God wants to do through me?
When several of your friends are making decisions about what to do or where to go, try to feel the desire of the others, and yield to their wishes.
If you want to incarnate the love of Christ, whether in the 25% of the world that values Independence or the 75% of the world that values community, learn the art of community living. Strike a balance of interdepence. Living for the sake of the others will grow us in Christlike interdependence.
Everybody wants to be Celtic
When I first starting bringing mission teams to Scotland I began to notice a reoccurring theme that came up in conversation among the American students I was working with. The phrase went something like this: “My great-great Aunt on my Mother’s side twice removed was Scottish. Our family has a castle in Scotland and I was wondering if we could look for it while we’re there?” In a country whose population is no bigger than Miami it started to make me wonder, “Are all our students decedents of William Wallace and his band of scary face-painted rebel rousers?” The simple answer, no. But there did seem to be this overwhelming fascination with all things Celtic. Outside ministry we visited castles and the students struck warrior poses for the camera. We walked on ancient battle grounds and picked thistles. We drank tea with the locals and talked for hours about how different our English was. It seemed like everybody wanted to be Scottish. Was it the romance of their warrior ways? The way they said ‘aye’ instead of ‘yes’? Tea with milk? Castles and fields of sheep? I still haven’t figured it out but I know one thing for sure: there is a large population of Americans that truly believe, deep deep down in their hearts, that their great-uncle was roommates with Robert the Bruce when they were both at Uni. So who’s to say….I know I’ve fallen in love with Scotland and it’s people and maybe if you were here you’d do the same. Because after you get over the romance of the Celts and stop pretending that you’re just ‘slipping into the Scottish accent’ you’ll learn that the Scots of today need God just as much as when they went into battle painted blue and wielding swords over their heads. Celtic fascination? Maybe at first. Heart of a missionary to reach the modern Scots even if life isn’t quite as romantic as you would have first believed? Most definitely. *Disclaimer: Sarah has lived in Scotland for 5 years and is married to a Scot named Rob. They are experiencing their first baby in March. Although she talks about the pitfalls of romanticizing a country she herself seems to have fallen pry to it…a least a little bit.
The Czech Repulic
February/26/09 18:20 Filed in: Europe
So this week we are speaking at a student retreat in the Czech Republic. To arrive at the retreat we traveled on 5 different forms of transportation for 9 hours over two days ending with a 2 kilometers (1 ½ mile) hike from the last train station to the hotel.While slogging through the snow with our luggage I began wondering why I had packed 5 pair of pants for an 11-day trip and would have gladly settled for a fresh change of underwear each day. Especially once I realized that our cabin was another 500 meters further on – uphill - in the snow.
When we arrived on Saturday there was about a meter (3 ft.) of snow and Monday it snowed all night and day leaving another 30 cm or so. Our cabin is next to a tennis court and the snow is so deep it has covered the net. The snow is beautiful but if you step into a drift it can take some time to extricate yourself.
Each night we join with a group of Czech students to play games, worship and talk about God, the Bible and truth. These young people are the first generation of their country to grow up free of communist rule. As we get to know each other and laugh together at our attempts learn even a few words of the Czech language we have discovered that they have the same hopes, fears and challenges as students in every country. They even play some of the same games that we play at our retreats in Belgium.
This Saturday we will reverse our travel steps to make our way back to Brussels, but we pray that we can leave these students with a concrete and tangible guide for their lives. That would make it more than worth the trip!
Munich 1980
February/22/09 16:36 Filed in: Europe
Hi! I remember when we landed in Munich January 31, 1980 with the assignment to learn German and then find a way to tell students about God's love....in German! That was enough to keep my wife, Anita awake all night flying from Chicago to Amsterdam on the second leg of our flight. Our first impression as we left the airport in Munich was a line of over 100 cream colored taxis, all Mercedes-Benz! That was the first of thousands of lessons in learning to live in a new culture. Where I came from in Wisconsin, one rarely ever saw such a car that was considered the status symbol of a physician or attorney, surely not purchased as a taxi! The years have gone by and countless lessons were learned and experience upon experience was stacked up like a tall skyscraper under construction. Yes, we eventually learned German mixed with many humorous and sometimes embarrasing attempts. So now I guess you could call us cross cultural people blessed with an amazing wealth of friends and many shared experiences. Some of those people have discovered God's love through His Son, Jesus.....while others have not.
The years have gone by so quickly, our four children have grown up and moved on to other parts of the world but the universities are still of full of fresh, young, hopeful faces. Most of them need to feel their first ever touch of God and others need to find you at their university and discover community. We would be happy if you would 'come over' and join us
Reach Berlin
February/12/09 11:47 Filed in: WMS
Last night was our last large group SfC meeting for the semester. I can’t believe I’m saying that, the LAST! Wow, these last 4 months have flown. The students are in the middle of taking and studying for their final exams, so we just had a low-key evening of food and games. We invited the students to come to our apartment to give the evening a more homey and relaxing feeling.
We won’t have any formal meetings over the semester break (which is about 2 months long), because a lot of the students leave town in search of vacation, a job, a practicum, or just being home with family. We will keep meeting individually with the students who are around Berlin still, and would like to meet. Plus, we will use this time to plan for the next semester, seeing as our lives will be very busy once our little ones come! :D
It's Up To Us!
February/02/09 11:58 Filed in: WMS
Its up to us! What do we do now? Confronted by the needs in the world and the urgent necessity of bringing the news of God’s love to the world at WMS, you may feel tempted to drop everything and just GO! Isn’t that more important than Economics 205 (or whatever class you are supposed to be writing a paper for)?
STOP! Finish your degree! This is a very important step in the process of your preparation for a lifetime of ministry—yes, even if you happen to be studying English literature or biomedics or sociology, or communications technology. My Bachelors degree is in Pharmacy and it has served me well… as a foundation for a Masters degree and PhD in Intercultural Studies and a point of “extra-curricular ministry” (health care missions trips). Just as importantly, your studies brings to you an area of expertise that opens up conversations, points of understanding and a basis for respect and self confidence in most of the world. It is even truthful for me to write on my visa applications for many countries that I am a pharmacist—for I still carry a license!
However, don’t just finish your degree. No matter what you are studying, creatively add extra classes that enhance your biblical or “cross-cultural” expertise:
Find electives on cross-cultural communications, languages, history and economics
Learn Biblical Greek or Hebrew, take Global biblical classes, be a part of diligent bible studies
Be an involved member of your Chi Alpha group, learning the skills of leadership, evangelism, planning retreats, discipleship.
No time or effort is wasted in God’s economy. Become all that God wants you to be!
What do I do now?
January/19/09 20:35 Filed in: WMS
If its up to me, then what do I do????After incredible conferences with God and tons of excited people, I find myself going through several stages: euphoria, followed by feelings of exhaustion (who wouldn’t be after travel, all night catching up with friends and non-stop sensory and spiritual input!), finally settling back into mundane life of school and work again. In many ways, the decisions that I make at conferences are like New Year’s Resolutions, and after the fervor of the moment, I find that to make the resolution come true, I have to work at it day by day.
Actually, it makes little difference if you signed a card to give a year, or if you are just saying, “God what do you want from me?” The reality is, we are all called to a life-long discipline of participating in Kingdom communities with missional intention. However, you may be asking: what should I be doing TODAY to make His will come true in my life.
Over the next few weeks, I am going to post some blogs that talk about post WMS2 Disciplines. These are not just for you, but are the kinds of things that we have had to put into place in our lives, day after day, year after year.
The result: incredible, joyous, significant life. Life with Jesus is an adventure—believe me, I speak from experience! So stay posted…Discipline 1 will be on line soon.
Its up to Jesus and me? No, Jesus and you? No! Its really up to Jesus and us!
Anita Koeshall
Kees Sinclair Kramer!
January/17/09 12:49 Filed in: A New Baby!
We are excited to the announce the birth of our first child, Kees Sinclair Kramer! He came today (January 16th) in a way that will we never forget. The saga started this morning when Julie took me to the train station here in Groningen at 8:30 am. I was going down to meet my parents who were flying in from the States for the grand occasion. The due date wasn't until 2 days later and up until this point, Julie had been still been riding her bike to the grocery store...so we thought...hey, no problem. A couple hours later at 11 am, Julie called to tell me that she was having pretty heavy contractions and that she had called the midwife. Considering we had recently heard several stories of 30 hour labors, we were not too concerned. Still I knew I needed to get back to her with my parents as soon as possible. I arrived at the Amsterdam airport train station at 11:39 and told my parents that I would buy the tickets for the return trip to Groningen. I walked up to the ticket counter and was in the process of buying our train tickets, when the phone rang, it was Julie. So I picked up the phone and pretty much all I could hear was the loud crying of a newborn! I pretty much went into shock right there and started walking away to where my parents were...and the lady at the ticket counter said, "Sir, Sir...you forgot your train tickets!" I said,"I am sorry my wife just had our first baby on our couch in our living room!" The look on her face was priceless ( and I am sure mine was too)!Julie told me that her labor was only 30 minutes long. In fact, before the midwife could get to our house (we were planning to have the baby in the hospital), the baby's head was showing! So all Julie could do is open the front door (in freezing weather) go on the couch and start yelling for HELP! Fortunately, the midwife came soon after and after 2 pushes, our son was born! I can tell you as I write this we are in a state of shock and euphoria, but most of all, thankful for a Father who looks out for us even when we aren't planning on it...
Krystal Harrison on the World Missions Summit
January/12/09 14:08 Filed in: WMS
The Summit is over; I am recovering from the exhaustion of extreme extroversion for 3 days. I’ve been studying stress and realize that one of my red flags of exhaustion is the overwhelming desire for the Rapture to occur immediately (a recurring thought all last week).
It was a great conference, I only wish they had scheduled in bathroom breaks, or at least provided invisibility cloaks so that one could occasionally slip away to the WC. I think I had significant conversations every 5 steps. Great for the Kingdom. Not so great for my bladder.
I’m in the process of packing and saying goodbyes as my “holiday” in the States draws to a close and I prepare for my return to the riot-ridden city of Athens, Greece.
Goodbye dill pickles. Goodbye Cadbury Eggs. Goodbye Pop Tarts.
Goodbye High Fructose Corn Syrup.
Goodbye instant hot showers any time of day.
Goodbye wretched cell phone service (come on America, there is better service in the mountains of Albania than the suburbs of Chicago.)
Goodbye my fellow English-speaking patrons of the grocery store.
Goodbye gigantic portions of food.
Goodbye customer service with a smile.
Goodbye system of hospitals and doctors and emergency workers that I would trust with my life.
Goodbye greenish American currency and all your one-dollar bills.
Goodbye prosperous American churches on every corner.
Goodbye friends and family that I love so dearly.
Hello Greece, spiritually needy land that stole my heart.
Students for Christ Missionary Blog
January/11/09 19:42 Filed in: Europe
Check this space for current blogs from Students for Christ missionaries across Europe.