Thoughts on mission...

On Friday morning I was part of a panel of returned mission partners speaking to about fifteen Redcliffe College students who are on a short course called PIM - "Professionals in Mission." So they were a slightly older group than the full time students, some of them GPs and one a teacher, about to go off to work long term in Asia, Africa and two in Britain.

Redcliffe College - where Dan will start working soon!

                                                                (www.redcliffe.org)

We had been asked to talk about our experiences to help prepare the students for the culture shock, changes, and adjustments that await them when they finally, (in the near future now), arrive in their new homes.

Specifically we were asked what was the biggest change we had to come to terms with, what good advice we had been given before going, what were the most difficult challenges in relation to our gender, and for our children.

All three of us on the panel had a fair bit to say...

At one point one of the Dutch students said, "If there are so many difficulties, why do you even bother going?" One of us then explained that we had been asked to talk about what changes had been difficult for us, not what had been easy! And we then all talked about all the positives that there were as well...!

But I did smile ruefully at that question, because I know at some points while in Africa I had wondered "Why do people come?" "Why am I here?" and "Wouldn't it have been better for the first missionaries not to have come at all?" And at some points "I really don't think teams of short-termers should come!" And also, "Why do people far away keep giving money to people and causes here they know nothing about?" It is possible to become disillusioned about mission and about aid work, probably mostly when you are too hot and tired and have been stuck in a traffic jam and been called muzungu for the tenth time that day, and told "You give me my money" by a group of kids... It is possible also to feel defeated by the amount of need all around - not so much on campus (although many students struggled) as driving past the informal settlements and markets to Kampala, the people at the roadsides in mud shacks, so poor, with holey brown-stained clothes and no shoes. (If any of my Ugandan friends are reading this, please don't feel offended - I also get tired and fed up with my husband and children from time to time!)

But even on those days, I still loved all the beauty of Africa, and the quality, love, warmth and Christian character of loads of our students and colleagues. When I felt a bit tired of the whole thing, this is what I held onto, as well as these things I was convinced of: 1. Uganda is developing, and is amazing in so many ways; 2. we were called to be there, helping UCU and having input into people's lives; 3. I believe that Christians ought to help out in many different ways, where help is needed and where one's talents lie: so if you feel burdened about orphans, help orphans; if you feel burdened about maternal health and you have expertise in that area, help with that area. God gives us these passions, these interests and these abilities in order for us to use them for his purposes, and so we should: I felt called to teach in Africa and to help equip students for ministry; 4. Lastly, I believe that educating young Ugandan (or other) Christians so that they can take professional leadership in Uganda (or elsewhere) is one of the best things for missionaries to be doing. That is in line with the interest and the skills God has given me. But it is, actually, one of the very best things missionaries can be doing!

But, sometimes it felt as though mission is all too patronising still, our ideas and insistences too western.
And also, the longer I lived in Africa, the more I realised how deep culture goes and how people, we, will be thinking and acting out of our culture in ways that we may never realise or fathom - me as a Brit, all the other missionaries as Americans, and Ugandans as not only Ugandans but as Batooro, Baganda, Bakiga... That is why training Ugandans to lead and teach in Uganda is a great idea... Seems like a no-brainer.

In spite of my mixture of emotions and reactions to mission and sometimes missionaries, I do still believe in mission. (Good thing!) I know God can use anyone. But my view is that it is all about your motivation, and therefore the attitude you have when you go: you have to go because you feel called; you have to have a testimony, because that is really all you can offer; you have to love people, because that is what the people who receive you notice the most, more than any skill you offer; you have to go as a Learner, and a Helper, because that is the kind of person you would want to show up in your church or community, right?; you have to be flexible, to be willing to do anything that is needed to help, not to come with a set task, or time-frame, in mind.

All that's needed is humility, patience (did I mention that yet?), love, flexibility, grace... No wonder I got a bit discouraged at times!  So OK you don't have to be a saint, because, you can't. You also have to be yourself, and you have to be real. So you need someone you can offload onto, and you need to have breaks, and downtime. And chocolate.

And there you have it: Rosie's theory of missions.