Brief Update from the Road

Greetings from Liberia, dear brothers and sisters in Christ!  

I want to thank you for your prayers thus far on this trip, as they have been answered in multiple ways!  The time in Burkina Faso was very full, with the highlight being the women's conference with the Assemblies of God Church.  What a delight to be with so many women, one third of whom were widows, and to take some deep dives into understanding our purpose for creation from Genesis 1 & 2 (beyond having babies!), to learning about Mary the mother of Jesus as a widow, Jesus as first-born son, and many women business leaders and church planters in the Bible.  It was a rich time which enjoyed so much.  If I had better connectivity, I would upload their singing, dancing, and praying which was amazing with so large a group!  But there are pictures below, including the pictures where they prayed in small groups that each person would be healthy in their various gardens (marriage, children, workplace, church, community, etc) and apply the quadruple goals (economic, environmental, social and missional).

I also met with the Christian Missionary Alliance leaders in Ouagadougou learned of how this is working in and through the denomination and did some further strategizing with them for dissemination.  The workshop we held was interesting as it was a mix of trainers, pastors who are doing DML, and those who are new.  And what I loved was when a question was asked by someone new, the answers were often given by those in the crowd who have internalized this message and are now teaching it as their own.

After another 14 hours of travel yesterday to get from Burkina Faso to Liberia (!), I am thankful to be here.  There was an air traffic controllers strike that started in many African countries on Friday evening and flights were cancelled for about 24 hours before they reached an agreement to call off the strike and continue negotiations for ten more days.  Praise the Lord!  There were long lines, delays, and angry people as I worked my way from Burkina Faso to Lomé to Accra to Monrovia but thank God I was able to arrive in time!  

This week I will have two training of trainers with the Harvest Intercontinental Ministries Unlimited denomination - one in Harbel and one in Ganta.  Please continue to pray that a healthy theology of work and a moving away from the prosperity gospel may settle into hearts and minds, and work may be done as an act of worship!

Praise and Prayers

 It's been a busy couple of weeks with my daughter, Hannah, getting married!  It was a beautiful day and I feel so blessed to have both of my children married to amazing spouses!  And both got married in the last four months, which makes this momma's heart so happy (and a little tired!).  I have included some pictures below although we don't have the photographer's photos yet.

Today I leave for West Africa, planning to first be in Burkina Faso and then going to Liberia.  In Burkina Faso, I have the great privilege to be the speaker for 3000 women from the Assemblies of God Church on both Thursday and Friday.  On Saturday, I will spend the day with leaders from the Christian Missionary Alliance (also a partner with DML), and then will fly to Liberia.  In Liberia, I will continue to work with Harvest Intercontinental Ministries Unlimited (HIM-U), as they roll out DML throughout their denomination.

From Liberia, I will fly to Minneapolis Minnesota, to join the Global Alliance for Church Multiplication annual forum, where we will be participating with Marketplace Engagement workshops.

The next few weeks will be busy, so I am asking for your prayers!  We continue to see movement as more and more people and organizations are catching a vision for how the church can be involved in the BAM (Business as Mission) movement.  God is moving among His people, and we are excited to be involved in that process.  

Please pray that we may aid that message and not get in the way of it.  

Please pray that our strategic planning with our partner denominations may grow deep so that every local church is engaged.

Please pray that the women of Burkina Faso, who have had a difficult year politically and economically, may be encouraged, equipped, and empowered to participate in bringing the Kingdom of Heaven on earth in their various spheres of influence.

Labor Day: A Time for Appreciation

For much of my life, Labor Day meant a three-day weekend and a signal for season change.  It didn't usually go much deeper than that.

However, when I read the history of Labor Day, it's purpose is to "reflect our willingness to toil to improve our country through hard work."  Its goal is to honor and recognize the work and contributions of laborers to "the developments and achievements of the United States."  

To be honest, I haven't done much of that in the past during this long weekend.  But several years ago, as Discipling Marketplace Leaders grew in wisdom and knowledge about work as worship, that began to change.  And I realized that in many of our partner countries across Africa, who often celebrate Labor Day in May, they do take time to celebrate work.  It's not just a day off, but a time when people gather to learn, discuss, and pray for jobs.  

So today is an important day for DML because it is a day when we recognize all the work that people do across the globe to make our world function and flourish.  So much of that is unnoticed by us.  Yet each person and business contribute in some way, shape or form.  

One of my favorite videos to illustrate this is the video, I Pencil, which we show in most of our workshops.  It shows how many people are involved in making something that looks so simple.  Yet it takes an amazing number of people around the world to make that pencil.  If that it takes just for a pencil, think about items that contain more than four or five ingredients.  The web of how the economy works global is amazing, and while this video talks about an invisible hand guiding it, we know the owner of this Owner and Creator of that Hand.  

And so we thank God today.  In whatever you are doing this day, whatever you put your hand on or whatever activity you do, pause and reflect on those who created it who are made in His Image, using His good resources, for our flourishing.  When you eat, thank God for those who were involved from the field all the way to our plates.  And whatever you do for work, whether at home, in the workplace, or otherwise, thank God for the ability to join in bringing the Kingdom of Heaven on earth by doing good work.  

Good goods.  Good work.  God wealth.  Below is a great summary of six practical principles for business.  Taken from the "Vocation of the Business Leader:  A Reflection" (Discatery for Promoting Integral Human Development).