around the world with Jesus

Friends,

Have you ever said, “Just text me, or Facebook me, or DM me or something…”  Or, “I got this email from a friend the other day–well, it was a Facebook–actually a Facebook chat–anyways, he said…”?

We all have. Bummer, isn’t it? It would be much easier to have one method to communicate the various forms of electronic communication. I know you’ve been thinking the same thing.

It’s time for a new way to communicate. Our Convoy of Hope interns, while on a wild road trip through the foothills of Nepal’s Himalayas, invented the solution to this world-wide dilemma.

These aren’t completely random words for which we’ve created a meaning (i.e. Conan inventing “crunk” so many years ago), but instead they’re words that can enter the world’s vocabulary quickly with little tutelage necessary.  I realize we’re not the first to emply “e” usage. However, I know of no one currently using the popular “e” in this fabulous way. Are you ready for the words?  Here they are with their meanings:

Main entry: e-tell

Pronunciation: \’e-tel\

Function: verb

Meaning: To communicate a message via an electronic medium. I will e-tell you when the meeting is over.

Alternatives: May be used in similar fashion with similar tenses as the word “tell.” She e-told me that she broke up with him.

Word dob: March 29, 1010

And the second word:

Main entry: e-talk

Pronunciation: \e-talk\

Function: verb

Meaning: To communicate via electronic means things often spoken. Let’s e-talk about a time to have coffee.

Alternatives: May be used in a similar fashion with similar tenses as the related word, “talk.” While e-talking with a friend, I learned that Johnny Cash’s new CD is beautiful.

Word dob: March 29, 2010

I encourage you to e-tell as many people as possible through your networks and relationships. I also encourage you to e-talk about this approaching phenomenon in communication.

Also, please use the words verbally in casual conversation. If people don’t know what you mean when you say “e-talk” or “e-tell,” please show respect as you inform them. I don’t want anyone to feel hurt in their hearts that they’re left out of the circle of knowledge, but do want them to feel excited when they realize they’re a part of this new day in verbal communication regarding social media.

We watch Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. We love this new show (2 episodes so far) where a famous chef from the U.K. comes to the most obese city in USA with hopes to transform the food culture of the people. He cares about their health and the health of the USA and hopes a revolution is starting there in Huntington, WV.

As someone who leads groups around the world on various types of “missions,” I thought I’d share 10 things I see in the show that can teach us about serving cross-culturally:

1. Be passionate about what you’re doing, or don’t go. It can be way too tough to face whatever you’ll face if your heart isn’t 100% in it.  (The radio station host and some of the lunch ladies aren’t so welcoming.)

2.  Show respect to the culture you’re visiting. You are in fact, an outsider. Listen, observe and keep an open mind about things. Jamie gets flak from people who think he doesn’t respect them. The only ones who listen are the ones who feel respected.

3.  Connect with a local church. As someone who loves Jesus, I like this idea anyway for everyone, everywhere. In the show (episode 1), I love how he connects with a local pastor. Jamie doesn’t speak of his faith, but realizes the church cares about people in the community.  The pastor is a fabulous resource and ally.

4.  Look for local resources. Jamie looks around to see what’s available locally. What people get what he’s doing? Potential partners? Food sources? Especially when doing development work (I guess most types of international work), using local resources is a key!

5.  Don’t assume everyone will automatically agree with this good news you’re sharing. Actually, it looks like Jamie thought he might have more agreement than he’s received the first two episodes. He believes in what he’s sharing and he knows it’s true…shouldn’t everyone immediately jump on board? Whether sharing faith or medical information or the value of good education, perhaps not everyone will get or even care about what feeds your passion.

6.  Be flexible with ways to share your core values. Throughout the show, Jamie doesn’t change what he believes, but he works at finding the most effective way get the point across. If what he’s trying doesn’t work, he’s willing to alter the method (i.e. various school lunch menus and teaching methods.)

7.  It’s not just about the masses, it’s about the individual. He obviously cares deeply about an obese and struggling family with whom he connects. He spends a lot of time with them, studies their diet, speaks truth to them, and shows compassion with their hurts and frustrations.

8. Don’t be afraid to speak truth, even if it’s hard to share. He speaks truth after he’s built relationships and has a window to do so. People don’t always like to hear him, but it’s making an impact.

9.  Have fun with what you’re doing. He finds a way to enjoy the journey and laugh, even when things are tough.

10. Care for the people regardless of whether or not they listen to you. The show is just starting and we don’t know how each of the individuals will react to what he’s sharing. He seems invested in what he’s doing, and I hope he’ll continue caring for the people regardless of how they ultimately decide to apply what he’s telling them. If he’s just showing concern so they’ll believe him and change, it’s manipulation. People are worth more than having to endure manipulation.

There’s my top 10 list. What would you add or change? Are there shows that have taught you cross-cultural lessons?

I’ve been telling stories from our Convoy of Hope interns and our trip to Nepal. Here are a few random things we saw while there…

Here you’ll see:
–The best burger in Nepal. It’s actually one of the best burgers I’ve had anywhere…and it was a nice surprise.
–A nepali “rest stop”. The team didn’t use those straw restrooms often…
–I think it’s the first sermon I’ve preached in just my socks. Great church…
–Fish on a stick
–A cow hoof in the trees. I think there’s a meaning behind that, but not sure what it is. Do you know?
–Beautiful kids
–I guess Leo and Hillary are paid spokespersons for this salon. I’m sure they know their image is being used to promote the place…
–Meat!
–Monkey! Our host has only seen 2 of this type in his almost decade in the country. It’s a langur, and they’re much harder to spot than the monkeys we’d see crossing the road and in many other places. Not a great quality picture, but at least I got one…
–I flew across the country. In a plane with no door on the cockpit. With a pilot who was reading the paper during most of the flight. Aargh.
–Shannon and Sam in a rickshaw.
–A nepali school bus. I loved these.

For centuries the Kamaiya people of Nepal served as slaves to wealthy land owners. Some were treated harshly, others as part of the family. All were given a place to live and food and water. 

A few years ago, after international pressure, slavery—specifically slavery of the Kamaiyas–was outlawed across Nepal. They were freed. Unfortunately, they no longer had their homes or access to the food and water they had for so long. They also had few skills outside of working in fields and helping in homes.

 They needed to learn to live in their new freedom. They need people to walk with them in their new freedom and show them the way to go and live.

Sounds like people who find their freedom in Christ for the first time…always good to have someone to walk with you and show you the way…

There are approximately 200-300,000 ”ex-Kamaiyas” in villages across western Nepal. We visited with some of them from a local church. Special people. 

We played with the kids and laughed with the adults. Tiffany, a registered dietician from our team, learned about their diet. We even drank yak milk tea with them. It was a special evening.

I’m not sure how we’ll help the Kamaiyas in the future. Their situation seems overwhelming and their poverty intense. We’re training people from their area to help with disaster response, and people from their church are helping them, but I know they could use more help than that.

Please pray with our team and others who want to help these ex-Kamaiyas. I know God has a great plan for these beautiful and generous people. If/when we’re able to help them in other ways, I’ll post the stories here.

Tomorrow…some random things we encountered…

I asked the men if they’d ever been the victim of a natural disaster; over 80% raised their hands…the story:

After learning about the people and the common belief systems across Nepal, we drove west (and that was a long & crazy drive) to help the people of this country we love…

Nepal is a very poor country. In fact, approximately 60% of the country’s 28 million people live on less than $1.25 a day. Poverty. Malnutrition. Disaster. For many, despair. 

It’s geographically the highest country in the world with nearly 100 mountain peaks over 23,000 feet in elevation. They’re proud of Mt. Everest which we saw from a flight. The mountainous conditions lead to many things such as homes built on the sides of hills and the highest per capita number of rivers (think melting mountain snow) in the world. Homes on hills + rivers = flooding and mudslides.

We smiled as 24 godly men from 24 churches in 24 villages across the western part of Nepal gathered for the Convoy of Hope/Nepali Red Cross Disaster Preparedness training. One man rode 12 hours to be a part of the week. At least 80% said their villages and homes were affected by at least one recent natural disaster. For most, it was flooding and mudslides. For others, their village was transformed by drought, fires or other calamities.

When I asked what they did to help their community in the midst of past disasters, they said they didn’t know how other than to get animals and food to safety.

 They now know they’re responders, not simply victims. They’re part of the solution. 

During this disaster preparedness training, many things like this were emphasized:

Preparing their family for disasters

Preparing the people of their churches and villages for disaster

Assessing damage and resources when a disasters occur

Serving as resource people for the Red Cross and other organizations when disasters occur

Mobilizing to help across the country and region when disasters occur

Training others with the information they’re receiving

They’re excited about this week of training.

When the training is done, the men will work with our team to distribute food, blankets, clothing and other supplies to a village hit hard by flooding last fall. They’ll put their training to good use…

Please keep these great guys and this beautiful country in prayer.

Tomorrow, the tribe of slaves no more…

In addition to the Buddhist temples referenced yesterday, we visited one of the world’s most famous Hindu temples, Pashupatinath Temple, the most famous temple to lord Shiva.  Thousands of people from around the world pass through these 1500+ years old temple grounds on their pilgrimage to find enlightenment, peace, and answers to prayer. Holy men live in caves up river and seek peace and inner depth.                                        

Of the many Hindu beliefs, people believe that if they die with their feet in a holy river (a river that empties into the Ganges, such as Katmandu’s Bagmati), they’ll go straight to Nirvana. Because of this, there’s a home for the dying a few yards from the river—a hospice of sorts. 

Here’s the Bagmati River.  We sat in silence while watching family members carry deceased loved ones to the banks of the river. We found it hard to process watching the cremation of three precious people. The still burning remains from one such cremation is shown here.                   

Because Hindus fear the afterlife, there are many sacrifices made to appease the 300,000,000 various Hindu gods. We watched priests and followers perform “puja” as people sought things like a good afterlife for deceased loved ones, fertility, finances, etc. We watched men slaughter a goat and offer it as a sacrifice to the god Shiva. I’ll spare a photo of the goat, but here’s where it died moments before this was taken.

 There was a lot of silence the day we visited these temple. It helped us understand Nepal and the people. It helped us understand the history and holidays. It helped us understand the Nepali’s sincere quest for truth and hope, and the fear that accompanies that quest.

I’m so glad that Jesus isn’t the author of fear, but instead of love, power and a sound mind.

We also went to church. We loved church. We sang and worshipped and prayed and felt hope and peace and joy. We really liked church.

So what were we doing there? That comes tomorrow…

I’m in Nepal.

Fascinating. Old worldish. Beautiful. Religious. Smiling. Like nowhere on Earth.

This country is between the world’s two largest: India and China. Still, it’s never been conquered. Nepal is tough, powerful, proud, kind, and when necessary, fierce. I love it here.

Over the next week or so, I’ll share some thoughts, experiences, and insights I’ve gained during my time in this place.

I’ll also share about our Convoy of Hope interns who are in the midst of some incredible and important work.

First I wanted to share a bit about the country’s religious history. It’s an intersection of two of the world’s largest religions—Buddhism and Hinduism (with many Muslims as well). The founder of Buddhism was a Nepali man. The country is next to Tibet and contains numerous Buddhist Stupas (temples). Approximately 10% of the people are Buddhist and about 80% Hindu (about 1% are Christian). I’m learning that the Buddhist faith makes room for other beliefs and so often Buddhism/Hinduism are combined in various ways across Nepal.

With hopes of better understanding the Nepali people, we visited two of their largest Buddhist temples, the Boudhanath Stupa and the Swayambhunath Temple, also known as the Monkey Temple. At the Bouodhanath Stupa we saw thousands of people walking around the large statue of Buddha (and many smaller statues), spinning prayer wheels, burning incense, and offering sacrifices.

While the religion would take much more than a blog entry to explain, one element is their belief that the more prayers they pray the better off they’ll be in this life and their next. Hence, spinning these prayer wheels means (among other things) they’re praying many prayers and will have a better chance at a good life/afterlife.

I can’t help thinking about how many Christians think that “spinning wheels” somehow gets us closer to God. While faith without works is indeed dead, I’m thankful that salvation isn’t something I must earn…because I never could. I’m thankful for His grace and for redemption though Jesus.

We also visited one of the most “holy” Hindu temples in the world. I’ll share about it & one other place of worship tomorrow…it was a day we won’t forget.

(update, wrote this in Nepal, but just made it home)

“It’s not just what you do, it’s what you set in motion.” I don’t remember when I first heard that phrase, but it sure is true.

Teachers teach grammar and spelling, which became key foundations to people like Mark Twain, Mark Batterson and Mark Driscoll.

Tiger’s dad gave him those golf clubs when he was just a toddler. (We’ll keep praying for you, Tiger.)

I worked with a team from the US in the country of Ghana. We worked with Ghanaian friends to distribute Books of Hope. During our two weeks in one city, together we shared about 40,000 copies of His word to students around the capital. We passed through town two months later to see that our friends had shared about 200,000 copies. Since then, they’ve shared with every student in numerous provinces of the country.

I won’t forget being 17-years-old, standing in our church parking lot and hearing a friend share an idea, “Why don’t you go on this missions trip with me to Spain?”

I don’t know what will happen from this, but last week our interns in Bangladsh worked at an orphanage to plant a rooftop garden. They didn’t work alone; many of the 250 orphans helped the process. The orphans learned about gardening and saw (most of them) their first rooftop garden.

Someday, they won’t live at an orphanage and they’ll need to provide for their families. They now have a new interest and skill.

I’d rather teach gardening than give a bag of vegetables. I’m not sure what it’ll set in motion, but maybe someday we’ll see…