Postscript

We’re three days into our week long volunteer assignments at the Lausanne Congress.  It’s been very busy so far. My day usually goes from 7:30am to 9pm, whereas Jeff has been busy typically from 8am-5pm.

We both spend time down this non-descript hallway.  Hall 4-B is where all the administrative offices for the Congress were set up.  Jeff’s been down here working on computers.  I come down here periodically to bring files to the communications team.  Yes, I have had to carry my electronic files.  The internet connectivity at the Congress has been so bad, it generated a press release. As you can imagine, the lack of connectivity has kept Jeff and the other techs busy.

My other home this week is the Press Room. Reporters from a variety of Christian and secular media outlets as well as our small Lausanne news team are set up in this room.  We have a screen to watch congress events, and tables for our computers.  This room is also used for a daily press conference with a panel that has been selected to answer questions from reporters on subjects covered during Congress sessions that day.

You can read the articles and news releases that our team has been putting out.

Popularity: 10% [?]

The final count of participants for Lausanne is 4200 from 198 countres.  In any of the meetings with Wycliffe that either of us has attended, we’ve never been in the midst of such a diverse group of people.  In addition to the participants, we’re part of the hundreds of volunteers working behind the scenes.

Each day is structured around a central theme:

Monday: Truth
Tuesday: Reconciliation
Wednesday: World Faiths
Friday: Priorities
Saturday: Integrity
Sunday: Partnership

Participants start each day with a Bible study that reflects on the theme of the day, they listen to various speakers address Church issues related to the theme, and then they have an opportunity to respond.

With a group this big, that may seem hard to coordinate.  However, everyone has been put into tables of six to make discussions easier.  Specific questions are presented for the table groups to discuss, and they fill out a form at the conclusion of their discussions to summarize their thoughts.

Photos courtesy of Lausanne.

Popularity: 8% [?]

The third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, Cape Town 2010, will begin this coming Sunday.  The expectation is that more than 4,000 people from about 200 countries will be present to discuss and respond to some of the world’s major issues and how they are affecting the Church.  You can read a good overview on the Congress here.

Several people from Wycliffe have been selected by committees in their countries to attend. With us being located so close to where this event is being held, I’d really been hoping that we could find a way in, too.  Just two weeks ago we were presented with two open volunteer positions–a spot on the Congress IT team for Jeff and a spot on the Congress communications team for me.  Wycliffe gave us the green light to participate.

Today, I attended the orientation for the communications team.  The team has more than 100 people who will serve as photographers, videographers, writers, designers, researchers, and social media and web site contributors.  I’m working on the news team which includes press release writers, media/press relations workers and someone to distribute stories from the Congress.

This is only the third time this Congress has convened since 1974, so it’s exciting to be part of it.  We begin our week of work with the Congress on Sunday.

Learn more about Cape Town 2010.

Popularity: 6% [?]

This package of tortillas has traveled the world.  Really, it has…and, I’m not talking about its journey to the store shelf.  It traveled from North America to Asia and then to Africa to its final destination in our kitchen.  We really enjoy corn tortillas, and in Kenya and now in South Africa they are pretty much impossible to find.  Getting to eat them is a special treat.  They wouldn’t exactly last in a long trip through the mail, so we’ve had some colleagues bring them to us once in a while.  This time some friends brought them from the US to Singapore where I met up with them for the meetings we all attended there.  Then I brought them back home with me.  Tonight we ate some.  Mmmmm. They were very good.

Mail systems in some countries may be unreliable, non-existent, and in some cases theft is a risk.  Shipping expenses can be high.  Fees for customs can be high or may be less flexible on mail than if something is hand carried, and sometimes mail delivery can take a long time between countries.  For these reasons people living oversees often rely on networks of people to hand-carry items back and forth for them. We learned fast to utilize these networks.

Wonder how it works?  Usually we find out the travel schedule of friends, colleagues, even acquaintances that are either coming from someplace where one of us will be, or going somewhere where we want to send something.  We find out if they are willing to carry some things for us and if they have available space in their luggage. If they are coming to us from the US, we might arrange for our US mail or special treats to be sent to them in the US so they can bring it to us.  If they are leaving from where we are, we might arrange for them to take packages to the US to mail when they get there. These hand-carry networks have been very important to us.

Tortillas haven’t been our only globe trotting items.  My sister recently sent two t-shirts to me via a friend that I met up with in Singapore.  We sent some African clothing to my nephews and niece via a friend that we met up with in Johannesburg who was heading back to the US.  I sent back Christmas presents with my sister who saw us in Kenya. I brought a vuvuzela from South Africa with me to Singapore and gave it to a colleague traveling to Japan who will put it in the mail for our nephew who lives Okinawa, Japan.  We’ve also had people take back our US taxes and bring us banking documents and credit cards.

Considering going on a short-term missions trip to help some missionaries from your home country, are you planning a trip to visit a friend or relative who lives outside their home country, or will you be meeting up with some business associates that live abroad?  Find out if they need you to hand-carry anything for them.  Consider leaving some room in your baggage to carry some things to them or take some things back.  Your willingness to do this can be a blessing.  We have been so grateful to those who have been willing to do this for us.

Popularity: 33% [?]

We finally put up the last pictures on the walls in our office.  I think we can now officially say that our office is fully set up.  Our office is located next door to YWAM Muizenberg. If you look at the photo, you can see that our office is located in a house.  The lower level is occupied by a family.  The upper level is where we share office space with two other ministries: YWAM’s AfriComm team (the media team promoting what God is doing through YWAM’s ministries in Africa) and Justice Acts (a ministry focused on eliminating human trafficking).   AfriComm has their office in the living room.  Justice Acts is in a bedroom.  Another bedroom is used as a conference room.  We are in the third bedroom, and a YWAM student is staying in a fourth bedroom in the back.

Our office has three desks–one for each of us and one for another staff member, volunteer or an intern to work with me in the future.  We have a nice set of built in cabinets that easily fit our equipment and office supplies.  We were also able to get a nice unit that houses our printer/fax/scanner/copier unit, our files and our books.  All but one of the pictures we put up around the office was taken by people who’ve worked for the Africa Communications Network.  The other picture taken by someone else is of one of our volunteers.

The office came empty.  We set everything up ourselves in about three weeks.  South Africa has a great online classifieds service called gumtree, so we found all of our furniture for the office on there.  Buying second-hand helped save Wycliffe on the cost of the set-up.

It’s nice to finally be back to a routine of coming into the office to work instead of working on the road.  In about a month another Wycliffe family will be joining us in Muizenberg.  They may also check to see if they can at some point rent office space in this same facility.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Perhaps you have been waiting to hear about what’s happening with us in South Africa…  I am too…  We’ve been so busy, it’s been difficult to catch up even with ourselves!  Since we arrived in Muizenberg on August 24, set up has taken much of our time, but just before I left we completed our office set up and had just starting regularly going into the office. Blogging has fallen behind.  Our internet at home, while more reliable, is no longer unlimited.  I have to use the unlimited connection at the office for blogging.

I need to get into a new groove.  I have no rut yet… expect more later.  I’m longing for some routine.  We’re nearly there.

In the meantime, I’ve been in Singapore since Monday last week involved in meetings with leaders in our organization from around the world. I would guess that participants are coming from at least fifty nations.  The meetings finish soon; it’s been great to catch up with colleagues I haven’t seen in a while and network with everyone while we’re all in one place.

Photo provided by Helma R.

This is the first time I’ve been to meetings like this not as an observer, but as an participant.  The whole group has been processing some organizational changes.  Table groups have been providing input on each proposed change.  My group includes people from New Zealand, Taiwan, Austria, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea (he was taking the photo), the USA, and the Philippines.

I’m generally an early adopter, so these discussions have activated my mind to think of all the possibilities and new opportunities that could come about as a result of what we are discussing. For me, this is an exciting time.

Most of my time has been in hotel meeting rooms, but we have had a little time to do some exploring.  I would describe what I’ve seen in Singapore this way: clean, secure, organized and efficient.  It so secure that there are signs posted around that say, Low crime doesn’t mean no crime.

The security does come with a cost.  The fine city is certainly a place where you want to be sure you are following the rules.  In case you are wondering, gum is not entirely illegal; however, it is a controled substance.

Popularity: 46% [?]

When was the last time you went out for a long walk?  I mean a really long walk… continuous…
…for days …for months

On August 24, 2010 three Aussies set out to walk 2000 kilometers.  They will walk until November 11.  What’s all this for?  They are raising awareness about the more than 2000 languages without a single verse of scripture translated into them.  They’ll be stopping in 35 places (in Australia) along the way.  Since I’m not in Australia, I’ve been enjoying checking out their journey virtually.  You can, too:

Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
You Tube

And, on your next walk, remember the Bibleless peoples.

Popularity: 14% [?]

We left Johannesburg this morning at 5am with intentions of only driving to a town called Beaufort West, and then completing our journey to Cape Town on Wednesday.  We arrived in Beaufort West around 3pm.  Cape Town was just another 5-5.5 hours from there, so we though…why not drive the rest of the way!  Well, we called a guest house in Cape Town to see if they had room for us and if they’d let us in after 8pm.  They said yes; we drove the whole way…er, I should say, Jeff drove the whole way while I kept track of where we were on the journey and supplied music and snacks.  The drive took us about 15.5 hours.  We’re exhausted, but we’re looking forward to beginning our apartment search and getting our office here set up.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Ruth is conducting a children’s program about missions.
Photo courtesy of Wycliffe South Africa.

We’re on the road with Wycliffe South Africa assisting them with one of several events they are doing around South Africa to raise awareness for Bible translation and missions.  Ruth, a volunteer from Germany, is conducting a children’s program for Wycliffe SA that teaches children about missions.  The church we’re visiting now has additionally invited Wycliffe SA to share with their youth, young adults and share in their Sunday morning service.  We’ll be participating in the activities planned with the youth and young adults.

This is a beautiful part of the country with rolling hills, farms, water falls, and quaint shops and restaurants.  In the early 1900s it was home to a Beor concentration camp.  During the Anglo Beor War, Afrikaans (or Afrikaner) women and children were put in these camps by the British.  Even now some people of Afrikaans decent can tell the stories of their relatives that died or were rescued from one of these camps.

This area is also in the South African province that has the highest percentage of reported HIV/AIDS infections.  We’re planning to visit a community near here where the church has a ministry to those affected by this disease.

We’ll be staying with some church members, and along with helping out Wycliffe South Africa, all this is part of our orientation to South Africa.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Yesterday, Kenyans went to the polls to vote for or against a new constitution.  There had been wide spread fear that violence, like during the last presidential election, would erupt on the day of the vote or after the results were announced.  Many people in Kenya and abroad prayed for peace, and so far, there has been no substantial violence.

The new constitution was approved by about two-thirds of the Kenyans who voted.  It will replace the previous constitution from 1963.  Please continue to pray for peace especially as the long process of implementation of the new constitution begins.

Read the articles linked below to learn more about the referendum, voting day and Kenya’s new constitution:
Q&A: Kenya’s constitution referendum
Kenyans vote in referendum on a new constitution
Kenyans back change to constitution in referendum
New Kenyan constitution set to pass despite church opposition

Popularity: 10% [?]