Next Stop is Vietnam?

As some of you know, I went on my first and only mission’s trip last summer. With a team of 13, I went to a rural village in Cambodia and helped build a simple church. I never planned on being a missionary; in fact, I never wanted to do so. But one of my daughters, who had participated in long-term missions in Thailand and China, talked me into it.

I went, feeling totally incompetent, but willing to use whatever strength, knowledge, and skills to help build this village church. What a joy it was to participate, interact with the village people, and help them reach a goal. The icing on the cake was learning, that by providing the village people an additional $1200 per year, the building would serve double duty as a school for the village children, and that amount would pay for materials and a teacher.

And so that was Jimmy’s big adventure, and I felt, “There, I’ve done it.” Little did I know that I would be invited to participate yet again, on a trip to Vietnam. This time, I am not being asked to go as a builder, but to capitalize on 30 years of teaching experience, and work with eager locals who want to learn English.

So why send a group of twelve from the US all the way to Vietnam for this short-term mission effort? Can’t they just find people to teach English there? They can and do. Then what is the point?

As I learned in Cambodia, the value of the outreach has very little to do with the actual labor. After all, there’s nothing magic about US workers helping build the church the people there already know how to build. True, they needed financial support to make it happen, but the Khmer people could have completed all the labor, in time, by themselves. The power of the outreach was in building relationship and being encouraged by brothers and sisters in Christ coming from the other side of the world to help. The village people were overwhelmed by the generosity. And we, the helpers, were overwhelmed by the love of the village people.

Watching the news, we get inundated with the message that America is the object of hate and wrath from abroad. In Cambodia, I did not experience that at all. In fact, the opposite was true; the rural people adored Americans. Why? Because the Americans they had met or encountered had come to help them build a simple church – which served as a place of worship, a school, and a central meeting place. I couldn’t help but wonder of the benefits of this simple act, and relatively low cost, versus government entourages meeting in austere buildings and seeking diplomacy.

In Vietnam, the “building” to take place will be in relationship and education. There is an unnamed restaurant in an unnamed city that serves as an attraction to locals coming to learn English from Americans. They also come hungering for the gospel. Despite the dangers, there is no denying the Truth. People want to know more about it, talk about their life, and are refreshed by the prayer brought by American friends who traveled a great distance to encourage them.

As I learned in preparation for my only other mission’s trip, there are “goers” and “senders.” Not everyone can, wants, or is called to go. They may believe in the value of the outreach, and desire to support it; they are the senders. Goers can, want, and are called to go. Some can pay out of pocket, and others don’t have the means to do so. I am saving, but to participate, I will need help. It is a humbling thing to ask others for support, and I don’t do so lightly.

If you believe there is value in such an outreach and would like to be a sender, I would be honored to go. I do know how to teach English, and I do know how to share the love of Jesus. I am willing, desirous, and have been called.

There is a Donate button that is run through PayPal. If you decide to help, would you please leave me a message in the PayPal process? I’d love to thank you, AND… if I don’t obtain sufficient support, I need to return your money!

Thanks for reading. In God’s Grace, Jim

The Value of a Good Argument with a 17 year-old

My 17 year-old has not learned to simply let others spout off and let assertions come to rest where they may. No, at least in a family that watches the news, arguments occur.

Our 17 year-old son made the mistake of saying, “I wouldn’t marry a conservative or a liberal – because…”

As a verbal family, we were not quick to say, “Oh, that’s fine, honey. Whatever you’ve been indoctrinated with at the public school is perfectly fine.” No, we launched into explanations of how we arrived at our current opinions. While some people would say that we were trying to pass our prejudices onto our son, we would counter that we were trying to share our life-learnings – aka – wisdom.

Example: When the AIDS epidemic was spreading throughout the US, the CDC identified the primary target groups as being homosexuals, prostitutes, and IV drug users.  The logical question might be, “Shouldn’t those population groups show some restraint?” However, that was considered to be narrow-minded. So, that question was dismissed and considered homophobic and even hateful. The epidemic spread to the point of dictating educational policy, and inevitably silenced. By today’s standards, a person questioning the practice of the above mentioned social behaviors would be labeled as a hate monger and worthy of being silenced of, what, their 1^st Amendment rights?

And gee, when the heyday of unbridled drug use took place, those who questioned the impact of such were shouted down with statistics and headlines that the war on drugs was a stupid waste of money, incarceration, and litigation. While we tried to slow the onslaught with public education informing of the dangers of drugs, the public pressure was to acquiesce and allow. With the cost of the war on drugs and associated litigation, advocates of legalizing drugs argued that the US should “Let it Be.” (Courtesy of John Lennon.) Who picks up the tab for drug rehab, food stamps, unemployment, welfare, unpaid co-payments and emergency room treatment for drug-related maladies? Umm, that would appear to be the taxpayers who hold a job. And of the 50% divorce rate, did illegal drug use factor in as any part of the equation? Shhh! That’s none of your business!

We ended our verbal battle by discussing the schism that has developed in our American society between those who believe in God,( or at least intelligent design,) and those who do not. For the life of me, I don’t understand how those who don’t believe in a God can ascribe to any sense of “right.” Our Declaration of Independence states “…Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, …endowed by their Creator…” Okay, so if God is reduced from the equation, from where do rights come? Some would argue, natural law. What the hell is that?

If we evolved from slime mold, why should I give credence to any sense of public decency? In the animal world, might is right. One animal does not question morality in taking from another. That being the case, all sense of fairness evaporates. If not, what is the basis of morality? Evolution? If so, then should I claim to be less evolved than you, which inevitably explains why I murdered you on animalistic impulse and adrenaline? How then, shall we determine what is just in society?

The real reason for the right of free speech had nothing to do with pornography nor lyrics of rap music. It had everything to do with the free exchange of ideas which inevitably led to public policy vis-à-vis governmental legislation. At some point, freedom to exchange ideas and concerns was hijacked by those who would silence the opposition to controversial thought, and inevitably, public policy. Thank, GOD, that the “thought police” have not yet silenced the discussions within my own home.

I dread, not what faces me in my lifetime. But rather, what faces my children and grandchildren. On what foundation will the mores of my posterity be based?