This month Suzanne brings a report from her trip to the other side of the world.
The same day Dave left for his tour of Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Cambodia this summer, I (Suzanne) boarded an Alitalia flight for a 12-day short-term mission trip to Romania. I went as part of a team of 16 leaders from the young adult ministry at my church to work alongside a group of young adults from our sister church in Arad, Romania. Together we ran a week of evangelistic summer camp for the church’s youth, their friends, and other teens from the community.

This was my first overseas mission trip. In the 3 years I’ve served with WorldVenture here in the Central office I’ve read, researched, written, and talked about short-term missions. When the opportunity arose to go to Romania with my church, I was eager to now be the “sent one” who would have a chance to see how all of that accumulated knowledge would hold up against experience. And so, a few observations and a lesson learned:

• Americans come with baggage. And I’m not talking about my 2 pieces of checked luggage, stuffed within pounds of the weight limit with personal items and supplies for camp. I mean that when our team traveled to Romania to minister in the name of Christ, we were received by the teens as American Christians, as opposed to Christians who happen to be from the U.S. Our nationality—which is inextricably tied to our country’s media, materialism, and politics—preceded us and dominated first impressions.
• They really will know we are Christians by our love. One girl who made a first-time commitment to Christ at camp made the comment, “I have known so many people who call themselves Christians, but they don’t have what you have. You’re happy. You have hope. You really love each other. I want to be a real Christian like all of you.”
• Short-term teams that further the existing efforts of the local church or missionary are able to make a contribution with a promise of long-term impact. Though it was hard to say goodbye to the kids we’d come to know and love in just a week at camp, our team was able to have such joy and hope knowing that all of these kids—those who have attended the church for years and those who had never set foot in it before—would continue to be pursued and discipled and loved on through the church’s youth group and small group ministry.
• Marshmallows do not fare well in extreme temperatures. A suitcase full of marshmallows for making s’mores around the campfire. The worst heat wave in Eastern Europe’s recent history. We didn’t think that one through. Short-term teams must be able to laugh at themselves and remember there are always things to learn for next time!
• In humility count others more significant than yourselves. One of the very first things we did as a team was decide on 8 core values that would govern our behavior toward one another and check the attitude of our hearts over the months of preparation and finally the trip itself. Humility was on that list, and it turned out to be one of the areas in which the Lord grew me most through this experience.

  I learned that humility is the result of a conscious—and repeated, and necessary—choice to humble myself in any given situation or moment, especially when I am tempted to think (to myself) and/or assert (to others) that my way is better, or my contribution is greater, or my idea is cleverer, or my faith is stronger, or my style of ministry is more effective, etc. It is to count others—with their needs, burdens, gifts, struggles, fears, skills, triumphs, and dreams—more significant than myself.

  I had to humble myself when the language I spoke was not sufficient to speak to the students’ hearts. I had to humble myself and place serving others ahead of my physical comfort. I had to humble myself to jump in and be a team player even if it meant looking ridiculous in front of others. I had to humble myself when I was tempted to show favoritism and spend my time with the kids who were easier to love. I had to humble myself when the gifts and skills I had to offer were not a perfect match to the task, as it seemed others’ were. I had to humble myself when criticized by my Romanian co-leader for the way I handled something. I had to humble myself when I realized I’ve experienced nothing of the kind of persecution and hardship these brothers and sisters face.

  Over and over again I was faced with the choice to humble myself or to assert myself. I wish I could say I made the right decision in every situation, or that it wasn’t difficult and often painful to do so. I can’t truthfully say that, but by the grace of God I can say that over the course of this trip I became increasingly aware of my pride and on more occasions chose the way of humility instead.

  The passage I keep coming back to as I continue to process and reflect on my experience in Romania is Philippians 2:1-5. It was a beautiful depiction of the body of Christ to see our team come together with the team of leaders from our Romanian sister church and find ourselves truly like-minded, one in spirit and purpose. And because of our common goal and commitment, we were able to both tell and demonstrate for the kids, with such joy, that there is encouragement in Christ; there is comfort, love, fellowship, tenderness and compassion—and that God invites them to share in all of that when they embrace Jesus Christ by faith. We rejoice that seven students made first time commitments to Christ at camp, and many more rededicated themselves to following Him.

If you’d like to see photos from my trip to Romania, you can view them here.

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"WHAT MISSIONARIES OUGHT TO KNOW"
What challenges do missionaries face on the field? As your church trains and mentors members to serve in cross-cultural ministry, what topics should be covered? As you receive missionaries back from the field, how can you care for them as they navigate the feelings and frustrations of re-entry?

Dr. Ronald Koteskey taught psychology at the university level for over 30 years, mostly at Asbury College. Dr. Koteskey has developed a series of brochures entitled "What Missionaries Ought to Know." The brochures address a breadth of topics such as aging parents, burnout, coping with change, culture stress, leadership, loneliness, and suffering. Together with his wife Bonnie, also an educator, the Koteskeys are member care consultants with New Hope International Ministries.

Though written with missionaries as the intended audience, these brochures (which are available to read online, download individually as a PDF, or download all together in an ebook) are also a great resource for pastors, mission leaders, and mentors as they seek to provide member care.

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Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission
by Andreas Köstenberger and Peter O’Brien, 2001 Intervarsity Press
Reviewed by David Korb

Have you been looking for a book on the Biblical theology of missions? Or, perhaps I should ask, would you like to read a great book on the Biblical theology of missions? If this is the case, then I commend to you this book! In 270 pages the authors examine the place of mission within the extent of biblical history. The volume concludes with 80 pages of appendices, bibliography, and indices. This is book 11 in the series New Studies in Biblical Theology edited by D.A. Carson.

The authors introduce their subject by saying, “Between Eden and the eternal state, between Abraham and Armageddon, between Babel and the beast’s confinement to the lake of fire, few Biblical topics are as important as mission. This is because mission, while purposed by God prior even to sin, is inextricably linked to man’s sinfulness and need for redemption and God’s provision of salvation in the person and work of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. This ‘good news’ of salvation in Jesus, however, must be made known. Thus mission is the ingredient that both precedes Christian existence and constitutes a major motivation for Christian living: the saving mission of Jesus constitutes the foundation of Christian mission, and the Christian gospel is the message of mission, a mission that is not optional but mandatory.”

The authors begin their biblical-theological approach by exploring mission in the Old Testament by focusing on major OT themes such as the Abrahamic promises. This is followed by an exploration of mission in the second-temple period. The authors then deal with mission in various corpora of the NT period: Mark, Matthew, Luke-Acts, mission according to Paul and John, and finally mission in the General Epistles and the book of Revelation.

The authors conclude by writing, “There was no ‘mission’ in the Garden of Eden and there will be no ‘mission’ in the new heavens and the new earth (though the results of ‘mission’ will be evident). From the first glimmer of the gospel in Genesis 3:15 to the end of this age, however, mission is necessitated by humanity’s fall into sin and need for a Saviour, and is made possible only by the saving initiative of God in Christ.” (pg. 251)

I highly recommend this book on the biblical theology of mission. It will inform, stretch, convict, and position you to clearly articulate a Biblical understanding of mission. It is worth the investment of your time. It would also be an excellent text or reference for someone teaching a class on this subject.

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