Rainy Sunday

Wow, it rained so much today. And still is. Lena is feeling some better but still wrestling with the flu. I went to Otter Creek this morning and sat with Steve and Magda Sherman, long-time missionaries to Central America. There is just an odd bond that exists between missionaries. Though we live in very different places, we know what it is like. And few people really know what it is like. I heard someone once call themselves a missionary because they go on short-term trips, often less than a week at a time. And that's true, we are all to be on mission. But to throw around the word "missionary" lightly is something to think twice about. There is an enormous difference between going on short-term mission trips and throwing your life on the anvil of long-term missions. There are innumerable difficulties, uncertainties, and struggles that a short-termer simply can't face because time is what brings these challenges to us. I am not trying to complain here and tooting my horn. I am just interested in shoring up long-term support for long-term missionaries. I was at another church in the evening and listened to the report of a couple moving to Tanzania in March. What courage. What devotion. A long-term commitment to church planting and community development. Bringing the kingdom in its fullness, joining God in the work he is already doing in this very poor nation of 37 million.

As the tide of short-term missions continues to rise, I pray that church leaders, elders, and mission committees realize the importance of long-term workers and fully supporting them. Then, as there are resources, let the short-term missions take their place.

I enjoyed barbecue tonight thanks to the Prills!!

Tonight I have been writing a very long email to Sergiy about some changes for the UEC's next newsletter. Hopefully, it will be sent out before I get back to Kyiv.