Last July Sunday Funday

Our weekly vlog:

and also:

Last Monday was especially eventful, as we had a ribbon party (see video above) for a family we know, and that evening, Caid had his first official choir practice at our home. He has been giving voice lessons and working with different groups on music, but it has long been his dream to build an eclectic choir where they could train and learn and grow and perform for God's glory--but then also each one share all that with their own churches and ministries. 

In middle school, a choir teacher saw potential in Caid and started investing in him, and it was one of the things that helped an ADHD unfocused kid have an (energy) outlet, a joy, and now, a ministry. It is amazing to see what God is doing! 

Reads from the Interwebs:

1. Refusing Silence in the threat of History Repeating Itself: "Why are we safely living in America, free to pursue our dreams and interests while 70 million people were born into countries that they have had to flee? God’s Sovereignty. We don’t get to choose where we are born, we only get to choose what we will do with what we’ve been given."

2. Here, Hold my Bag: " I thought if I just dug around long enough, my life and look would fall into place. Put together. Something that could hold all of me."

3. Expat, with a Drill: "Tools are just one example of things that would be considered gratuitous  luxuries in my new world and base essentials in my old.I have three friends here who own a car.  Three.  That’s it. Where I come from it’s nothing for ONE person to own three cars but unthinkable to have none."

4. An Epidemic of Disbelief: A long secular read, but important. I had no idea. 

5. Why wait until Marriage, what I wished I'd known: Ann Voskamp's reflections on how she had the right general idea, but the wrong motivations and ways to explain it. Really beautiful. 

6. How to fall in Love with Normal again: Love this perspective of coming back to where you are serving as a missionary, which is, weirdly, where NORMAL is for you as a missionary. 

And as every week--I recommend listening to The Holy Post Podcast, which the last couple of episodes had me "amen"ing loudly to. 

Sunday Funday Thursday

I realize that today is Thursday, not Sunday. The idea is that I finish a weekly vlog sometime during the week, and that I read through my uplifting blogs/readings on Sunday. That happens most of the time. But to pull it all together to post...that often takes longer. So there you have it: Sunday Funday on Thursday.

Our weekly vlog:

We meant to take it easy last week, but that didn't really happen. We were so blessed to see our good friends, the Soares family, go with friends to see Toy Story 4 (we have a movie theater in our town now!!! Makes it so much easier!), enjoy family time (read: eat ice cream together), while Caid helped out at a day camp ministry week and I planned for the fall semester. With 16 classes a week at the International school, and 4 weekly classes at Living Stones, it is a lot of planning.

(Yep, Rebekah is taller than me now)

Reads from the Interwebs:

1. About where we are all from: "“Who let a child like this into this country?”

I looked that doctor right back in the eye:
“Love let her in.”
2. Dear American Church: "You want, so sincerely, to be a healing force in the world. And so, I’m sorry. For how I’ve judged. And thank you, for loving me. There is so much wrong with just about everything. And there is so much hope in just about everything."
3. From the other side of the trip: "Sitting on this side of well-thought out and prepared for short-term trips, I am reminded how God’s math is not my math. The extra hours these trips cost you? The foolish questions the participants ask? The food they won’t eat? It is worth it. I have to admit, that I did not expect for Elizabeth, David, and Grace to come away with such tidy lessons for me (for us) related to culture, the life of a missionary, or team. Sounds almost too neat, doesn’t it? But God in his mercy may have the lessons so clear and “simple” as if to highlight that His ways are not my ways, and His thoughts are not my thoughts. This letter is merely to give you a glimpse of the parts of a summer trip you might not see."
4. When Missionaries return broken: "There is a missing piece in that go-send picture, because the one who goes out will eventually come back. How will they be welcomed back? What kind of support systems are in place? Who will be the “receiver” of the returned missionary?"

Sunday Funday July

Our weekly vlog:

We have been resting (just a little) after three weeks of Short Term Mission Trips (STMTs), and Caid putting in 200 hours the last two weeks. Unfortunately, the girls don't understand how to sleep in later than 5:30 (maybe 6), so not really much rest. Last week with Shelbyville community church was incredible, and you will be seeing lots of pictures and video from it over the next while, but here were some of my favorite:

Reads from the Interwebs:
1. Dipping your toes: something I wrote to explain some things between STMT, LTMT, and Missionary life.
2. 10 Lessons learned about rest, work, and myself: "I once heard someone say, “The people who go the distance are the people that can pull themselves from the game and sit on the sidelines-regularly.” I think this is the most profound reminder I received over the past month. My work isn’t really mine. I’m following Jesus wherever He leads and one day He will lead me away from Mercy House. It will go on because it belongs to Him."
3. Facing shame and finding our way: "As our time came to a close, she leaned forward. “Young man, can I ask you what you do to help the poor?”
Her question wasn’t accusative, demanding, or condescending. It was just a question. But to me it felt laced with expectation. If I lied to Mother Teresa, I was surely putting my life in jeopardy. So I told the truth. I glanced away and said, “I’m really not doing anything.”
She could have condemned me, chastised me, or struck me with a lightsaber and I wouldn’t have blamed her. Instead, she smiled and said, “Everyone can do something.”
4. White Evangelicals least likely to say the US has responsibility to accept refugees: This kills me! Because many (read--most) social justice issues I feel that the church has a responsibility to do more than the government--we should be taking care of our communities, our neighbors, and our enemies as well--but this is concerning public policy that is making decisions to not allow us to care for people. Precautions--yes, rules--yes: but this? NO. As someone who has had years of visa problems getting into a country--it is important.
5. Newsletter code words: so true!
"Code: Visa application process
Meaning: We’ve quit our jobs, given away our belongings, raised support, and are ready to go, but if this paperwork is denied all our plans are totally stuffed.
Code: Health issues
Meaning: This mainly means diarrhea."
6. In-flightisms: love it! "Cartnering: This is the act of hovering next to the food cart as it’s making its way down the aisle. Timing a trip to the bathroom with the distribution of meals is truly an art form, and it is best done passive-aggressively (such as by wearing a smile while dancing from one foot to the other)."

Dipping Your Toes

I was talking with a friend about a mutual friend who was currently on a mission's trip to Mexico. "Yeah--she is doing what you do!" my friend said.

NOPE.

Every once in awhile a realize that there is often a huge disconnect between my life and what other people think my life is. Let me explain.

Short Term Mission Trips is to Missionary life what dipping your toes in the pool is to swimming laps.

There is a large discussion in Missiology (study of Missions) about the current (large) role of STMT (short term mission trips) in missions, and Christianity in general. There are those for and against. There are right ways and wrong ways to do STMTs. But to clarify, going to Mexico for a week (or so) is not being a missionary.

In some sense, we are all missionaries. I am a firm believer in STMTs, because it was a STMT that started my journey to becoming a missionary. But a STMT is better called a "vision trip" or a "learning exchange trip." It is a moment in time where you push pause on your life (not STOP), and see another life--and then return to the original life--hopefully a different person, adding in new learnings and experiences.

A SHORT term mission trip is SHORT, generally between a week to a month. A LONG term mission trip would be like an internship, generally at least 3 months to a year. But they are both "trips." They both imply a pause on the rest of your life while you try something different.

As I wrote here, "Officially, I would say when most people think of the word “Missionary,” they mean someone who has moved (become a migrant) somewhere different (than their own culture) for the specific purpose of telling others about Jesus (direct spiritual ministry in some form), mostly being supported (at least partially) by Christians from their original culture/home."

This isn't the only definition of Missionary--nor should it be. I think the ways we do missions should be as different and colorful as the people who do them. But because it is so hard to do things outside of a general definition (see the conversation at the top of this blog for an example), some definition and explanation is needed.

To me, I didn't feel I could call myself a missionary for a long time because (among other reasons) I was in limbo land between long term missions and missionary for so long. I had visa issues, and so could only be in Brazil for 6 months a year. I still had a life in the USA that I returned to. I had a room with clothes in the closet and pictures on the wall--in the USA. In Brazil I had to pack everything up each time a left, and didn't know for sure when/if/where I would return. After about 5 years of this, I realized I needed to make some inward decisions about my life, and where it was headed. From there, I started transitioning into what I consider a missionary...but it took a lot of time and failure (also because in current culture, I think it is harder for single missionaries to do this).

Now that I am married with two Brazilian children in Brazil, I can tell you it feels different. We are renting, but we have a home. We have a home that is our home. That when we leave, our pictures stay on the walls. While other people may use it, it is still our home. In the USA, our clothes and things are in storage. When in the USA, we stay in someone else's home. While God may call us to return to the USA someday, our lives are not on pause in the USA--they have ended, and we are living our lives in Brazil.

This moving, this ending is what I feel really defines a Missionary. We will always be connected (STRONGLY) to the USA by our family and friends, but our lives are here in Brazil.

I do not say any of this to diminish the work and importance of STMTs (or Long Term Mission Trips) I thank each person who gave of their time and money to come to Brazil and serve here with us. Who pushed "pause" on their life and invested and poured into the ministries and people here. But it isn't the same thing as being a missionary, and it is important to know that, as I have personally found out.

Do come and dip your toes into the water: just don't think that in a week or two you will be swimming laps.

July Sunday Funday

Our weekly vlog:

It is Short Term Mission Trip season! We had an amazing group from New Jersey run a great English camp and other ministries, a group from Morning Star in Ohio run some VBS and Basketball clinics, and now our friends from Shelbyville Community church are here, running an English VBS in Cajueiro Claro. My daughters are overjoyed with an abundance of attention, love, and candy.

We are so grateful for the love and encouragement of so many people who are giving their time, effort, and money to share in our lives and love on us and our Brazilian family and ministries. We know for sure there are good ways, bad ways, and so-so ways to do missions trips, and I am so glad to be a part of a team who is working to give their best. If you want to more about that, check out this video:

Reads from the Interwebs:
1. The amount of persecuted Christian refugees allowed into the country has dropped by 70%
2. Discovering your passion and purpose in the midst of pain
3. The Bible's impact on Human rights

Last June Sunday Funday

Our weekly vlog:

Last week, Monday was Sao Joao (see our celebration in the above video), and Tuesday was Sofia's birthday and the start of English camp. It was a wonderful time, and we are so grateful for the American group that came and made it happen! But, we are sad to see our friend, Rachael (yes, in my head I pronounce the extra "a") leave. She was an amazing intern and teacher, and we will not be able to fill her shoes half so gracefully. She left with many words of wisdom, some of which I caught on a video coming soon!
During this amazing week, we got an extra surprise: an unexpected third mission's trip group coming (they planned, bought tickets, and arrived all in the same week)! God opened unbelievable doors, and Caid is working hard as their kombe driver and full-time translator this week (the girls and I join until nap time is evidently needed each day). Please do keep us in your prayers, as it is a lot of organizing and leg work, as well as translating (and losing your voice), and we are super excited about our friends from Shelbyville Community Church arriving Sunday!

Reads from the Interwebs (lots of great stuff this week!!):

1. Staying grounded while single and living abroad: "I have never felt so purpose-filled and aimless at the same time. I have never had as many lasting relationships and yet been so alone. Those three years were some of my best professionally and worst personally. But those days living overseas by myself defined me. I saw who I really was—my best and my worst self—and ultimately those years led me into finding strength and wholeness in my individuality."

2. Because it's time to shout their worth: "Advocacy is not only for those of us born into a privileged space; it is for everyone. Even if you are among those who need others to shout your worth, there is someone sitting behind you who needs you to shout theirs."

3. Detention centers explained, James Dobson gives into fear at the boarder: unfortunately, I don't have answers, but I do know fear isn't one of them. but Don't look away. 

4. This undid me: "The famous trucks are already here and we are waiting for it to begin. I am completely calm. You — my only and dearest one, do not blame yourself for what happened, it was our destiny. We did what we could. Stay healthy and remember my words that time will heal — if not completely — then — at least partially..."

5. The time Rehema loved me anyway: “Look at me and now look at Mama Kennedy (that’s what they call me)… Who do you see in front of you? Do you see two completely different women? Do you see our different color? Do you see our different backgrounds? Look at her education and look at mine? Look at the opportunities she has had being raised in America and look at mine having grown up in the village?  You have two women who came from opposite ends of privilege and poverty, and we both have the same message for you:  In Christ alone is our only hope. You can have everything…and still be searching.  You can have nothing…and still, be searching.  It’s Jesus alone who satisfies.”

6. Too much member care--can there be such a thing? this asks really good questions. 

7. Want Successful kids? Science says do these 5 things every day:  1. Stay on top of them 2. Praise them correctly 3. Take them outside 4. Read to them correctly 5. Make them do chores. 

8. Three ways to improve short term missions trips: 1. Stop calling it a Short Term Mission Trip 2. Put away your wallet 3. Think beyond the short term hit and run