geita summer internship 2013

The Geita team desires to train others for mission.  We recognize we have a responsibility to disciple others who would be involved in foreign mission work and/or cross cultural ministry.  For this reason, each summer we invite college students to Geita for a missions internship.

During summer 2013 Christie and I will be the only Geita team family here, and so we are hosting the interns on our own.  We have two spots remaining for male interns.  Are you interested in spending your summer in small-town Tanzania?  Or do you know someone who is?

Internship Overview

The Geita internship is an 8-week program in which the college student’s primary roles are observing and learning.  The goal is for the intern to experience and understand cross-cultural ministry and everything it entails.

the key to evangelism: hospitality?

Steve Childers of Reformed Theological Seminary stated recently that the key to evangelism in the 21st century will be hospitality.

I can’t help but think one thing….

Hospitality has always has been the key to evangelism.  But not in the way one might assume.

While talk of hospitality in evangelism brings to mind Christians having non-Christians into our homes, inviting pagans to dinner is not exactly what I read in the New Testament.  Don’t get me wrong; I’m not at all arguing against being kind to strangers.  Inviting the neighborhood over for a barbecue is a great way to build relationships.  So is hosting the little league end-of-the-year party.

But my understanding of hospitality’s primary role in evangelism is exactly the opposite.

missions: appointing and going

After this the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. – Luke 10:1

“…the Lord appointed 72 others…”

I’ve heard this text used to support missionaries choosing those locals with whom they work — or rather to argue against a form of self-selection by local people for service in evangelism. After all, there are a lot of locals out there who see working with a missionary (and evangelism in general) as a means to financial gain and social power.*

work report: feb – may 2012

As is usually the case, I’m not including our full work report here at aliens and strangers because 1) it’s a little long and 2) I’d rather have a little more narrative (or rambling) on the blog.  So the blog work report and the email work report are always just a little bit different, folks.  [If you want to subscribe to the full version of our work report, let me know in the comments; I'll send it to you by email.]

missions: two by two

I wrote a little the other day about short-term missions and mentioned I intended to write more on the subject soon.  I even made an outline.  But then that outline got really long, and I became overwhelmed.  So I’ve decided instead to do something even longer!  I’m going to use some space up on the blog writing about missions in general — and eventually I’ll get back to the specific topic of short-term missions (though I think each of these general missions posts will help to inform our study of short-term missions).  So here goes part one (or two?) of what will surely be a meandering study of missions (that really ought not be numbered).  Let’s look some at how Jesus sent (short-term) missionaries out.

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Jesus sent missionaries out two by two (Mark 6:7; Luke 10:1).  Why was that important?*

missionary predicament: machine gun bribery

A machine gun hung from his neck, resting just above his belly like an incredibly dangerous bib, the kind you’d never want your kid to wear.  He stumbled over to our truck and began to greet me.  His breath wreaked of alcohol.

missionary stress and 95º living rooms

I’m a relatively laid back person.  I don’t generally have high stress levels.  I think I adapt easily and quickly to any number of factors that may change in either my surroundings or my responsibilities.  

But it’s been a rough couple of days.

work report: dec 2011 / jan 2012

I’m writing this morning from a rental home in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  We’re waiting for Harper Mae (due January 26) to be born.  We’ve been back in Tanzania (from our furlough in the U.S.) for about two months, and it’s been an incredibly busy time.  I’m not sure how to sum it all up in short, but I’ll give it a shot: 

scolded by a small woman

Yesterday I was scolded… and by a small woman.

contextualization and paul in athens

Are we under-contextualizing the gospel?  Or are we over-contextualizing it?

The second half of Acts 17 is a beautiful picture of Paul presenting the good news in a meeting of the Areopagus in Athens.  It is contextualization at its best.  But what is contextualization, some might ask?