TCK Education Today: Options and Factors to Consider
What should we do about our children’s education? What are our options? What would be best for Sue? Ino? Kwaku?… If you’re a missionary and a parent, undoubtedly you’ve asked these or similar questions. Prayer, careful consideration of all available information, experience, and the sage advice of veteran missionaries who’ve walked this trail before, can
Read MoreBalancing Act: Straddling the Demands of the Mission Field and Home
Nineteen eighty four – John Smith, a fictitious missionary to Zaire, receives a letter from his brother with news that their mother has suddenly died. That was three weeks ago – the length of time it took the letter to arrive. The burial and funeral had already taken place. John’s family knew he couldn’t come
Read MoreLanguage Acquisition Guide
Once we get out on the field. many of us realize how important knowing the language is. Too often. however, it seems virtually impossible to find the time for language study.Though we believe strongly that proper language study is a must for everyone. the reality is that many of us may never have that opportunity.
Read MoreManaging Crises and Emergencies
The Boy Scouts motto is “Be Prepared.” Successful work as an expatriate should include knowledgeable preparation for potential areas of difficulty in living and working abroad. While preparing for crises is important, the objective is to be equipped to respond in faith with wisdom, accepting that God’s call sometimes involves inherent risks and that we
Read MoreWhere Are My Roots?
I find myself asking this same question every furlough. When we attended Mission Institute in France, some years ago, we were not the only missionaries looking at real estate brochures and wondering where we would live when we “stopped” being missionaries. So, it is not just us who feel that we want to put down
Read MoreThe Gospel in Non-Western Clothes (Syncretism part II)
In the last blog, I raised the question of how to deal with practices that mix Christian with non-Christian elements. This mixing is called syncretism. Today, I will briefly define syncretism, contrast it with the process of contextualization, discuss some of its root causes, and then introduce you to a five-step process for dealing with
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