Colombian Christian Mission

COLOMBIAN CHRISTIAN MISSION
Dale and Jeanie Meade
San José del Guaviare in Colombia, South America
Volume 3, Issue 12 December, 1975

(PHOTO)

Colombian Christians prepare to celebrate the Lord's Supper in the home of a believer.

MISSION EMPATHY WEEK

Each year, churches and Bible colleges regularly schedule their mission emphasis weeks. They always have the admirable goal of increasing interest. Yet, during one such week at the seminary, a speaker proposed a "mission empathy week." I think that the proposal was made half in jest, but the idea wasn't too bad. Often people do not understand just what life is like on a mission field. They may feel that life is glamorous or exciting. Or they may feel a measure of sympathy for those who have left the homeland. Both ideas are correct, but only to a limited degree. To help you understand what our lives are like, let me propose a mission empathy week for your home church. Here are a few suggestions that will help.
Start by walking to church, rain or shine. A good average distance might be two miles. But be careful! If you use sidewalks you spoil it all. Cross the fields, the muddier the better.
Don't use the church building though. Use an old run down barn or shed. Instead of pews, use a plank and a stump or two to make a bench.
No service would be complete without the animals. Round up plenty of pigs that like to fight, roosters that can crow at least 20 times during the service, and a few dogs, turkey, parrots, cats, ducks, etc., to complete the menagerie. Don't forget to name one of the deacons as official pig kicker and rooster chaser to keep order in the service.
That ought to make your church service interesting, to say the least. But the week won't really mean much if you don't keep up the spirit while at home, too. To make your week rich and full, let me make a few suggestions for the home, too.
First of all, turn off your electricity from midnight to 5 or 6 p.m. the next day. Turn off the water main or pump from about 2 p.m. to 6 a.m. During the short time you have water, you need to collect and boil enough to last the rest of the day. Forget about air conditioners or electric stoves, too. When you have electricity, you are limited to about 2000 watts. Remember, no hot showers this week either.
"What about cooking?" You ask. Never fear, there is a trusty old Coleman stove. There is even a folding camp oven to set on top. If you don't like Coleman stoves, there is always an alternative fuel. Here in the jungle, namely firewood. Don't forget to boil your dishwater too. Hepatitis is a real danger. There is no doctor, or telephone to call him, if there would be sickness.
Now, on to the food. You need to head downtown before 6:30 a.m. every morning if you want to get meat. Even then, you will be able to buy it only once or twice a week. Next buy a pound of beans. Dump out about 1/4 of the beans. Replace them with small rocks. Now you are ready to start making baked beans.
Finally, what about transportation during this most unusual of weeks? Simple, any distance less than 15 miles should be walked. It is permissible to ride a horse once in a while. Any long trips should be made in the public busses. Don't take a Greyhound Scenic Cruiser though. A worn out school bus is more like it. Fill all of the seats then put about 20 more people in the aisle. Be sure to have at least one watch or billfold stolen during the week. If you are going to fly, look for a World War II DC 3. Many will still have parachute release cables on the ceiling and patches riveted over the bullet holes.
Things are not always this bad, but then quite often others are worse. Enjoy you mission empathy week. Let us know how it came out.