BuzZ Online 02 Nov 2008

Click here to listen to the audio.

After far too long a pause, the EFCCM’s podcast returns!

In Canada, the term Mennonite is most often used to describe clearly Christian denominations. But for those in the secluded colonies of Bolivia, the connection between “Mennonite” and “Christian” is tenuous at best. The colonies’ repressed existence has birthed many significant problems. Strict leadership holds people in superstitious fear, glued to tradition. And the extremely narrow view of morality confines people to such narrow choices that rebellion is inevitable.

For some, a belief in Christ is their rebellion of choice — and it’s sad to hear of the pain that awaits those who choose faith. For others it’s shocking behaviour, including sexual immorality and substance abuse. These are the specific areas that Rudy and Erna want to address.

I caught them toward the end of their Home Assignment (they’re set to return to Bolivia in January), and was fortunate to share this share a few moments over the phone. (And now that I’ve figured out how, I can record a podcast with anyone who has a phone!) Radio ministry has caught the ears of the Mennonites, and many of them listen in secret. They are hearing of a better way to live, and have experienced the first tastes of what faith in Christ means. They’re eager for more. But radio can only take them so far. Rudy and Erna are working to provide a place that welcomes Mennonites, and which will provide both fellowship and discipleship.

If you would like to support Rudy and Erna in their ministry, you can drop them a line here, and look for their project in this year’s A World of Hope project list.

A New Gallery to Look At

I’ve provided links to Danny’s pictures before. And I’m sure I will again. It’s great to have such a capable photographer able to keep new pictures coming in to me from abroad. I’d love to put out a book with his images. Would there be interest in that amongst you in the blogosphere?

Take a look at his work, and tell me what you think.

MEMO in the Media

Hey, we’re in the news! Check out this clip (try Internet Explorer, couldn’t get it to go in Firefox) to see some of our reps caught on camera in Thunder Bay. We’re celebrating the 30th container load to be shipped to hospitals in Cuba!

Kudos, MEMO!

Continuing the Quest for Relief

A friend of mine returned from a country in South America that was recovering from a hurricane. He said that in the news we’ll often hear that “x number of houses lost their rooves”. From a distance that doesn’t sound so bad — I mean, how hard is it to replace a roof? But the reality is that if the roof is ripped off of a building, then pretty much all of the personal belongings inside are either blown out, or destroyed. That is bad!

This update from our Latin America Area Director illuminates what the needs are and what we’re involved with in Cuba.

Immediate help with the necessities of life has been provided in the hurricane’s hardest hit areas. Now the challenge is to get through the months of shortages in food and building materials. The crops have been wiped out! Eggs are hard to find as so many of the hens were blown away in the winds leaving the egg production facilities empty! Even stricter rationing has been implemented.

The EFCCM will continue focusing on helping to rebuild house-churches and some homes in the most damaged areas. We have already provided funding to begin the process of sourcing building materials so that good-quality, hurricane-resistant roofs can be built to replace the weaker models that were ripped off. Your gift can join in this ministry as you designate to Cuba #2-5050 Hurricane Rebuild.

Collide Magazine for $12/yr!

Collide is a magazine all about the connection of media and faith. While the publication is not specifically about missions — the subject of this blog — it ties in well with what I personally do with the EFCC and EFCCM in a media/communications role. I’m of the opinion that every church should have at least one subscription.

Their regular annual subscription cost is $20 (for six issues), so their current promotion of $12/yr is quite a price cut! But it goes back to the regular price tomorrow, so hurry if you want the special price. Of course, I think even $20/yr is a steal for this, but that’s just me…

Get a better taste of what Collide’s all about by clicking here.

Autumn’s Arrival

I would write up something poetic about that, but someone already did it — better than I could. Darlene is serving with the EFCCM in Lithuania, and she keeps a regular blog about her experiences there. Her most recent post about fall is particularly heartwarming:

Click here to read it.

Happy autumn everyone!

How Many Drums, How Many Drummers?

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I know I did. I met a lot of new people over the weekend. And you know how when you’re first meeting someone, there’s an inevitable question that comes up? “What do you do?” I’ve got a pat answer worked out (as I’m sure most do), but the person I was talking to was genuinely interested in what I had to say about not only my job, but the EFCCM and where we’re all heading. I had the opportunity to give her a snapshot of many of our ministries around the world.

Jake and Marg are installed in the deep jungle of Bolivia. They are training locals in more advanced technologies in agriculture that are both more productive, and use the land far better.

In Japan, Dale and Ann are committed to church planting, evangelism and training new church leaders. That’s a tough go, because Japan is mostly secular, and the dominant religion is Buddhism.

Eddie and Bonita are working on a project in Rwanda called Beyond Genocide. It’s going to be a ministry centre with a variety of strategies to help people overcome the pain they’ve been living with for over a decade.

That’s just a couple drum taps to the percussion symphony of all that our missionaries are doing around the world. And it got me thinking about who’s leading this. Of course, the EFCCM has a number of leadership roles. We have board members, directors, country leaders, managers, pastors and the missionaries themselves. Multiple rhythms abound: loud, quiet, fast, slow, syncopated and steady. But ultimately we’re all marching to the beat of a much larger Drummer. If I didn’t have the assurance that it was God who was keeping us all together, I don’t think I could keep this up! But we have that assurance. He is! And that’s something that’s very worthy of Thanksgiving!

A Closer Look at Well-Drilling

Danny has provided a closer look into the process of drilling wells. Rather than cutting and pasting all of his links into this blog, I think I’ll just link to his blog.

See the videos and updates here: aguayaku.blogspot.com

I like the rugged ‘handcraftedness’ of the solutions he’s putting forward. It’s such a lo-tech approach to achieving some pretty remarkable, life-changing results!

A World of Hope 2008

We are starting to assemble the new programme for A World of Hope ’08! This is a large-scale effort. It will be including more projects than ever from our missionaries around the world, giving you and your church greater options for getting involved.

We will have projects for every budget, from microscopic to cosmic. Okay not quite that extreme — let’s just say comprehensive. It will be available in most local EFCC congregations, and I will also have it available for download on both the EFCC website and this blog.

This is going to be a great time of getting involved with what God is doing around the world — we are excited to have you join us! So be on the lookout for A World of Hope 2008.