One of the perks of my work is that I am able to accumulate air miles. Michael had a two week trip scheduled around the UK for his work, with all his expenses covered. We looked at my air miles and figured that if I used them all, I could accompany him. So for two weeks, I'm tagging along with him as he visits the major universities and colleges in London, Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Edinburgh, and Durham. We are taking the train around, which is great, and really gives us a lay of the land. I realize again on such a trip that I am not a tourist by nature, nor do I like big cities or places swamped by tourists. The best place so far has been St. Andrews, a town of about 60,000 (35,000 are students at the University of St. Andrews!) right on the North Sea - absolutely beautiful. After all the hustle and bustle of the other places (especially London), my soul immediately found a connection at St. Andrews.
An enjoyable bike tour around Oxford
The actual lamp that inspired C.S. Lewis to write about Narnia.
Michael and his colleague, James, in stocks, as they deserved.
The streets in Oxford. Oxford was used a lot for the Harry Potter films, so many Harry Potter tourists and places to visit from the movies.
One of the beautiful buildings in Oxford.
The streets in Cambridge.
This AMAZING cathedral was built under the rule of Henry VI, Henry VII and Henry VIII. Bob was fascinated by Henry VIII and it was so cool to see that part of the organ covering was Henry VIII's gift to Anne Boleyn.
This cathedral in St. Andrews was destroyed in 1549, having been built in the 1200s. The story is that in 1549, John Knox preached a sermon and told the people to take the cathedral down.
The beautiful North Sea and relatively untouched beach with many fisherman still working.
Taken in St. Andrews, by the North Sea.
Four mile hike along the sea in Scotland; so very beautiful.
Fields of wheat everywhere in Scotland...along with many free range cows and sheep. Very peaceful and beautiful.
Tomorrow we will take the train to Edinburgh, then to Durham, then back to London, and then home on Friday. I have been able to get some writing in while Michael is in meetings. Our two main tourism days were the two Sundays that he was mostly off. Thanks to technology I still was able to attend the International Council meetings that were being held in Bakersfield, CA with ICM. They went from about 5 pm to 1 am, but I was thankful for the ability to connect. Here is a picture of the International Council, with my Skype picture there as well!
I'm back on my feet again, taking another step, thanks to the prayers and encouragement of many of you. I'm not 100% yet but continuing to move in that direction. I am in Bakersfield CA as I write this, prepared to go into another week full of meetings with International Christian Ministries (ICM).
Last Monday evening, after I sent out the "Flesh Eating Bacteria" blog, we had a guest over who happened to get sick. She apologized profusely for having thrown up in our bathroom. I reassured her that there was no need for apology - I was sorry that she had gotten sick! But the next day I thought about that exchange and I realized that I too feel like I "threw up" last week on this blog. And I too want to apologize for that. I know that there was some real sickness that legitimized the entry, but I still feel bad about it, just as our guest did. However, I also acknowledge that this is a "Reeds In The Wind" web-log - not an ICM or work blog. This blog has been like a journal for me, capturing my life on a weekly basis for the past ten years. It allows me to not feel so alone on this journey, and I am privileged to have company in the likes of you reading it and commenting on it. I keep the topics to work, family, and faith, and if I need to get personal, I can. I try to keep it as positive as I can, but sometimes, thankfully rarely, I "throw up."
But so many of you responded with such graciousness and kind words. And so many prayers were lifted on my behalf. I truly felt the darkness lifting by the end of that day. And my face has fully healed.
So thank you. And sorry. I'll try not to do that too often.
A number of you wrote and said that you identified with those dark thoughts and dark places. For those who did, let me pass on some of the wise words I heard in this past week:
From my boss, Dr. Phil Walker, in response to these words of mine: "See how many
people are looking to ICM and to you - good, serious people with serious
medical issues - and you can't do anything."
"Ah, the great lie. Of course you cannot do anything. It is not
yours to do. While we can “feel” responsible, we have to remind ourselves
over and over that God has chosen the weak things of this world to confound the
strong. I know in my mind that only God can handle these things (this is
what Grace really means). But my emotions cry out that “I” should be able
to do something. It is in our helplessness that we grow in Grace (2 Peter
3:18). I came to the end of myself in 1982 after doing some amazing
things in Southern Lebanon preparing to launch a ministry among Muslims only to
have my family life collapse around me. I went to my knees by my bed and
cried out to God, “what do you want from me? I have given you my life, my
wife and my children. I live through constant danger, bombings and little
to no benefits (life salary etc). God’s answer changed my life, “I want
you.” Suddenly I realized that I could never do anything in my flesh that
would “fix it” for others. If God does not do it, I cannot and should not
try to make it happen. It is in this place of helplessness that I find
rest."
From my pastor, Rev. David Beelen: "One line in your blog struck me...you quoted an easy line that people throw out too easily (and you used it that way)..."God does not give us more than we can bear" In fact, God often gives us more than we can bear....most days this feels like more than I can bear. Which then leads me to dependence and some prayers of desperation."
From a dear friend in Iowa, Ron Rynders: I have had the privilege of reading the Bible for each of my
grandkids. I have 11, and I am in the middle of #9. Having just finished
Jeremiah yesterday, I was sort of in the mood for getting this. Here’s a guy
who got laughed out of town every time he opened his mouth. Sometimes he got
dumped into a well, all alone, up to his armpits in mud. Hungry. In jail.
Ridiculed. And much of his rejection came from people in his own profession. But above all, he had to learn that it was not a matter of getting approval or support from anyone on this Earth. It was all him and the
Lord. When God spoke to him, he transliterated it to the people, no matter how
important the people were and no matter how objectionable the message was to
the hearers. He dictated his book, and the king burned it one page at a time.
So he just wrote it again… and then, for all his work, he was led off with the
captives to another land.
Thing is, what Jeremiah said, came true. The test of a good
prophet is if her words are true. It’s not about support—God owns the cattle on
a thousand hills; he only has to sell one cow, and you’re all set. It’s not
about printing a book; there are many publishers.
So here I am, rambling about what you wrote, and countering some
of your problems with a nice, safe distance between us. I’m really sorry. I
just want to give you that hug again, and tell you what I think about the woman
I have come to respect deeply. God has confirmed over and over that he supports
you, relates to you, meets your needs, answers your prayers. He loves you with
an everlasting love, and that’s all that matters. When perspective comes, your body heals, and time has passed to heal your
troubled soul, you’ll look back on this and see how much muscle you obtained
from the late-July turmoil in 2015. You lost a husband and learned to smile
again. You have spoken the Words
of Truth into many lives. God has poured you out, and though this dry spell is
difficult, you will arise to show his glory, with or without money from supporters."
From Karl Westerhof, on staff with the CRCNA, a friend of Bob's who has become an encourager to me through the blog: "You wouldn't think God would let it happen. You
wouldn't think the old self still has so much toxicity to release. You
wouldn't think it would hit you when you are at home. But, bam!
And on top of all that, your feelings and memories take you
right back to the grief and mystery of Bob's death. Yes, all that is
right inside your brain, ready at any moment to be triggered again. And then you get to telling yourself a bunch of
junk.... what if my whole ministry is a delusion? I'm accomplishing
nothing, doing harm, creating dependence, blowing smoke, pretending to be
significant, yadda yadda. This is a litany from hell. God never promised to
get me out of trouble, but he does promise to get me through it. So, Renita, it's a deep pit, and it's dark, and you can't
even imagine how so many things can go so wrong at the same time. I'm not
going to remind you of the good things; I'm not going to quote a sunny
scripture; I'm not going to tell you to buck up and pray more and all that good
stuff. It don't work. I think we can look squarely at the
darkness, stare deep into it, feel the feelings, and grit our teeth and repeat
"I trust you God". And there in the depths we find a wrecked
but risen Jesus, who totally gets it, who knows how really terrible it can get,
and who is with us in every breath with his own new breath, his divine wind,
his Spirit, and he will not let us go. Period. Oh, whoops, there I went with some good words that might
sound useless. Sorry. Not. Renita, I'm praying for you. Karl"
And this is only a very small percentage of the wonderful and wise words I received. How blessed I am! The body of Christ is truly a wonderful thing. Thank you, dear friends, for being with me on this journey.
This is not a feel-good blog but may be more of a rough read...so don't read on if you are looking for something positive and upbeat this Monday morning. I don't think I write a lot of, "Somebody call the waaaaaaaambulance" blogs....but this is definitely one.
Last week was a rough week for me - physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Flesh eating bacteria literally entered my body, but also seemed to enter figuratively, into my soul, my emotions, and my mind.
The week started with the opportunity to meet with old and dear friends, long-time supporters who have "had my back" since 1997. Toward the end of our meeting, they informed me that they would no longer be able to support me as much, as I was becoming "too evangelical" because I am working with the church. That hit me hard. When I examine the word, evangelical, it means "pertaining to or keeping to the gospel and its teachings." Doesn't seem like such a bad thing to me. Just last week I met with a pastor from the Reformed Church of Zambia who shared with me that the Church in Zambia is telling their business people terrible things about the nature of their work and how unholy it is. That is not "keeping to the gospel and its teachings" so I am happy to be "evangelical" in that way. My fear, and where the flesh eating bacteria begin to enter into my mind and emotions, is that "evangelical" is lumped with "fundamentalism" and because I am adamant that the church needs to be the change agent as it relates to business, I could be cast as a fundamentalist, which is definitely an insult in this day and age.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, I began to feel ill with fever, body aches, etc. By Thursday morning, I woke up with a completely swollen ear and surrounding tissues, hot to the touch. When I went to the doctor, I was told it was a serious type of cellulitis and because it was on the face, it needed to be monitored closely, as it can quickly become life-threatening. It is caused by a flesh eating bacteria that can go both deep and wide - causing permanent damage to the eyes, nerves, brain, and other precious parts. If it was to spread at all, I was to go directly to the emergency room. Hannah took Thursday afternoon off to monitor me; Michael took Friday off. They marked my face with permanent marker to be able to observe any spreading or other symptoms.
Also on Thursday, I received a number of bad news emails from ICM, ranging from partners in a number of countries very sick and in need of resources, to significant budget and fundraising alarms, to program demands that are increasing beyond supplies. The flesh eating bacteria went after my mind, "See you can't do this job." "See, you can't raise money - people are leaving you, not joining you." "See how many people are looking to ICM and to you - good, serious people with serious medical issues - and you can't do anything."
On Friday morning, I had to return to the doctor who didn't like what he saw in terms of lack of progress, and decided to give me a shot to try to keep me out of the hospital. Later that afternoon, I received an email from the publisher with whom I had been talking for some time - the one I was hoping would take my book; they reported that they decided to pass on my book. I immediately felt the spread of the flesh eating bacteria in my soul, with whispers of "see, you can't write" and "see, no one wants your book - no-one sees the value except you, therefore it must not have value."
On Friday evening, we had a serious blow up at our house. Not uncommon in a small home with two merging families of many young adults, not to mention tremendously complex extenuating circumstances that are mostly outside of our control, making us often feel like victims.
But that was enough to pretty much shut me down. The straw that broke the camel's back. Let the flesh eating bacteria have their way.
Saturday found me searching the want ads, looking for a different line of work, despite the fact that my face was beginning to heal. My thoughts were, "Let me find a job where I do my work, get a paycheck, and go home. Let me find a job where there aren't so many people depending on me. Let me find a job where I don't have to constantly think of how to fund the work, on top of doing the work, which is actually difficult to do." An overreaction? Absolutely. But an indication of flesh eating bacteria having found their way into my system? Yup.
As I cried out to God on Saturday night, peace didn't come like a river attending to my soul. I didn't wake up Sunday morning saying, "It is well." I was reminded that we will have earthly troubles; that we are to endure hardship for His sake; that suffering is often not meaningless; that "my will" needs to become "Thy will;" and that God will "never give us more than we can bear." All of these words felt cerebral; none seemed to address the flesh wounds.
And so it's Sunday morning as I write this. And I am choosing to stay in bed, write this blog, and lick my wounds. I am praying that tomorrow will show a ray of light in some way to give me the energy to put one foot in front of the other again, and rekindle my energy for the work to which God has called me. If you got this far in reading this blog, I would appreciate prayers, as I believe that much of this is spiritual warfare. I also know, in my head, that I am immensely blessed, beyond words. But beyond privilege and blessings, all humans can be knocked down for a count; I know that what matters is that we don't stay down.
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Postscript - I didn't see my regular doctor on Thursday but actually had a doctor who grew up in Nigeria as an missionary kid. We got to talking, and she is the first person who told me that it IS possible for sepsis to not produce a fever (as in the case with Bob). As I read about flesh-eating bacteria, and remembering the number of sores that Bob has on his head the night before he died, and having just returned from Nigeria, I am now thinking that we might have a possible cause of death: necrotizing fasciitis that got into the bloodstream, causing sepsis. Five years later and I continue to look for the cause of death. This one seems to get a lot of it right. http://www.sepsisalliance.org/sepsis_and/necrotizing_fasciitis/. I still wonder about the shot of heparin that they gave him just twenty minutes before he died when they "thought" they heard a pulmonary embolism. I wonder if that shot expedited something in relation to the septic shock that his body must have been in (based on autopsy results). My reading does show that heparin can react poorly with antibiotics, which is what they had put him on when he entered the hospital. I wonder, I wonder, I wonder....I will probably wonder until I die.
A picture from the place called "Sodom and Gomorrah"
There is a place in Ghana called Sodom and Gomorrah. It is a location where approximately 40,000 people live in dire conditions. Bob first wrote about this place in a blogpost in 2009 when the Ghanaian government threatened to plow it down (great piece if you want to read it - "This may sting a bit."). They are threatening again because of the recent deaths in Ghana, which is blamed on the flooding caused by trash from this location.
I have often wondered about the name given to this depressed area. Ezekiel 16:49 seems to make it very clear what the sin of Sodom was: "'Now
this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were
arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy." Doesn't sound like a place impoverished by poverty, disease, and no sanitation to me. Sounds to me like...well...like other places in the world that are quite developed. June 26, 2015 was a day of terror in many parts of the world. Syria lost 120 lives due to IS. Kuwait had a bomb go off with IS claiming responsibility. Tunisia lost lives, believed to be linked to IS. Somalia lost lives due to al-Shabab. France lost lives due to terrorism. IS spokesmen have called for an intensification of attacks during Ramadan and to spread beyond Syria and Iraq. So many people in so many countries living lives of inescapable hardship, oppression, fear, and anxiety. And yet it is summer vacation in many parts of the world. A time for family and cottages and vacations and play and fun and food. And while I love a good vacation as much as the next person, I am struck by the lack of opportunity for any vacation by the majority world. Ever. Ever ever. Ever ever ever.
I just returned from a trip to Ghana, Kenya, and Egypt. Ghana which was touted as a great place for development but has been struggling so in the past few years with a currency that is crashing and electricity that is off more than on. Kenya has seen the Kenyan shilling falling significantly against the dollar - lower than it has been in many years; al-Shabab continues to threaten; tax rates are oppressively high; and significant poverty continues to be a problem for so many. And Egypt, where being a Christian is met with outright hostility; where the pressures and stresses of life are palpable and dark. So it's no wonder that on the day that I re-enter a world that is "on vacation," it feels heavy and I can't sleep. Ezekiel 16 plays in my mind, "arrogant, overfed and unconcerned." How I don't want that to be the label for the era in which I live. There is serious work to be done by the Church. Our battle is so far from over. Yes, we must pace ourselves and enjoy the "tithe of feasts" with family and friends (Deuteronomy 12). But let us not label depressed places with dark names, like Sodom and Gomorrah; let us not forget that the majority world never gets a vacation and being able to take one is an absolute privilege; let us be stewardly with the blessings that we enjoy, and be wise with how we justify how much of our resources we keep and how much we give away; and let us not forget that many of our brothers and sisters around the world are in a battle for survival, for their faith, and for their family in a way that the majority of North Americans will never truly know or understand.
Of the three countries where Discipling Marketplace Leaders is working, Ghana is the safest as it relates to terrorist attacks. Ghana rates at 56 out of 162 countries on the Global Peace Index (Canada is 5, the US is 95, Egypt is 123, and Kenya is 140).
On the Ease of Doing Business (World Bank, 2014), Ghana ranks at 67 out of 189 countries measured (the US is 4, Canada is 19, Egypt is 128, Kenya is 129). On the human development index, Ghana ranks at 138 out of 187 countries measured (the US is 4, Canada is 8, Egypt is 110, and Kenya is 147).
As it relates to religion, Ghana is 71% Christian, 22% Muslim, and 7% other (Egypt is 90% Muslim and 10% Christian; Kenya is 82% Christian, 11% Muslim, and 7% other; US is 71% Christian, 23% no religion, Judaism 3%, Islam 1%, 2% other; Canada is 67% Christian, 24% no religion, 3% Islam and 6% other).
That is a lot of numbers that tell a portion of the story - but of course, not the whole story.
The beautiful mountains on our way to Abetefi, Ghana.
Part of the story is that in the last three years (since we left in 2012), Ghana has undergone significant challenges. It has been quite startling to see, to be honest. Electricity, which was bad when we lived here, has now gone to being on for twelve hours, and then off for twenty-four hours. This is incredibly debilitating for businesses. So everyone is switching to generators. However, the Ghana cedi has also done very poorly against the US dollar. When we moved to Ghana in 2009, it was $1: 1.5 GH. Today it is $1: 4.3 GH. That means that all prices have increased at least three times. When we lived here, we could fill our car for 50 GH. Today, the same car, the same amount of gas, it will take 150 GH. Yet, incomes have not increased. Purchasing power has only decreased. So running a generator is a huge expense for businesses; one small business told me that they are paying 1000 GH per week in gasoline for the generator. And generators are not safe. We passed by one which caught fire, threatening all the businesses in the area.
Ramseyer Training Center, Presbyterian Church, Abetifi
And so the economy is struggling. And when the economy struggles significantly, poverty increases and peace decreases.
When I shared about the work of Discipling Marketplace Leaders with business people, pastors, church leaders, and Bible colleges, the response was a unanimous "Amen" and "When can we start?" I heard comments like, "We have been praying for something like this," and "This could transform our nation."
I can only sense again that God had been working in this area prior to our arrival and directed us to the right people. We will most likely start in September with the Ramseyer Training Center in Abetifi (central Ghana), where 4000+ Presbyterian pastors are trained for ministry, as well as in Accra at the ICM Ghana office for multiple denominations. (Egypt will now be in November due to additional time to translate materials into Arabic.)
Pastors, Administrators, and Pastors-in-training
I continue to be humbled and thankful at the response that we continue to see to this work. Keeping up with demand will be a challenge and we will continue to work toward building a team of Master trainers who can go out to help deliver this opportunity to different countries, through many denominations. I am so thankful for our partners, ICM Ghana and Hopeline Institute, as they have great staff who will make setting this up in Ghana much easier.
Please continue to pray for people in Ghana and their economic challenges. Please also pray for this growing ministry. Pray for God to send trainers, the funds to translate these into the necessary languages, and for wisdom and discernment in each and every process and conversation.
I leave for home on Wednesday. I must admit that I'm exhausted. I didn't feel well for most of this trip and I think it was the constant travel, speaking, changes in climate, changes in food, changes in beds, etc. I am very ready to be home again but very thankful for your prayers and partnerships in this endeavor of Discipling Marketplace Leaders!
This has been a very busy and fast-moving week in Kenya. I arrived in Kitale late on Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning we left for Kakamega to meet the Bishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya. It was a delight to meet with him and he seemed equally delighted in the work of Discipling Marketplace Ministers. He quickly organized for us to speak to all of the clergy in August from his diocese, and is going to work with us on organizing the first training of the ACK in Kakamega. [This had been our control group in the research study but we promised them that when the study is over, we would offer them the same services as those in the treatment groups.]
We then had a meeting with Rafiki (which means "friend" in Swahili) bank where we are exploring having our loans flow through. It was a good meeting and Caroline's history in the banking industry came in very handy!
The DML office also did some "growing up" in the last week. It received a full paint job with logo on the door and mission statement painted on the walls. We also bought desks and office chairs! It feels like we are moving from the baby to toddler stage! [I had deja vu of doing that in Restorers for the first time...in Liberia...in Ghana...and now here.]
But the focus of the week was on the inspirational event that we planned for Saturday for all Marketplace Ministers, with BAM father and guru, Rev. Dennis Tongoi from Nairobi. We had hoped that we would get 100 people out for the event but we were surprised to have 177 people show up! It was a great time (even though we ran out of food and handouts!). Rev. Tongoi is a great speaker and everyone loved him. I first met Dennis Tongoi in 2005 at a conference in Nairobi and he inspired me then. I view him as my father in Business as Mission. He is now the Executive Director of CMS (Church Mission Society) Africa and they have an active Business as Mission program as well. He brought his wife as long as two of his staff members and we found great opportunities for collaboration. God is at work!
Rev. Tongoi in action.
Brainstorming with the CMS and DML staff.
On Sunday morning, we had a chance to worship at Pastor Moffat Weru's church. If you remember, he was the pastor who has been very active with us, and his motorcycle shop was looted last December. We did some advocacy work with the insurance agency and they agreed to pay him for his losses. I found out that when he informed me that he had received the check, I had taken it to mean that he had received the check from the insurance agency - but he was referring to the check from a few of you who gave gifts to help him cover his losses. I learned today that the insurance agency changed managers and reversed the decision. He has spent 90,000 KSH (about $900) pursuing this but has not gotten anywhere. He continues to work hard in his church and he preached a powerful message on the end of poverty and the holy calling of business.
The afternoon found us at the commissioning service of Marketplace Ministers in Chebarus with the Christian Reformed Church of East Africa. There were 41 graduates and a great amount of energy in that place! We drove in to them singing as seen on the video below.
There are currently seven (!!!) DML classes going on simultaneously in Kitale, Eldoret, Kisumu, and Kiminini, with more pending to start in July. This is where we begin to see exponential growth and it is exciting!
Tomorrow morning I have to speak at an area company on Business as Mission, then we will have our first Advisory Committee Meeting for DML Kenya. Shortly after that, I leave for Nairobi, flying out to Ghana on Tuesday.
It has been a busy week but so productive and affirming of God's orchestration of events and people. Thank you for your prayers! Enjoy this joyful song!
Venue for Pastors meeting in Menia, on the Nile River
"We are viewed like a cow - [the church] milks us for all we have but they refuse to feed us...spiritually..."
This was a comment from one of the business participants during a workshop held in Egypt in response to the question of how the church views business. It was clear that the business people are frustrated by how they are perceived by the church. Another person said, "Fifty percent think we love money; the other fifty percent love our money." This opinion is not unique to Egypt, unfortunately.
A young entrepreneur summarized the challenge very well when he said, "Because the church does not share the participation in creating the vision and mission of the church with business people, business people don't feel a part of the church. Because the church doesn't care for the spiritual health of business people (they just care for their money), the business people don't come to church. But then they are accused of not coming to church because they 'love money' and because they have 'become worldly.'"
Discipling Marketplace Leaders Logo in Arabic
This comment came at the end of five workshops in Egypt: one workshop for fifty pastors in Menia (from many denominations: Coptic, Catholic, Presbyterian, Assemblies of God, Methodist, and others), one for thirty-two business people in Menia, one for sixty educators and pastors in Cairo, another for twelve pastors in Cairo, and the last for thirty business people in Cairo. The meetings had all gone very well and the message of Church-based Business as Mission was received with great enthusiasm at all levels. At the end of one session, a man approached me and said, "What you are presenting is not new. It is Biblical." He then followed with, "But I don't know why the church hasn't been doing this all along."
The amazing MELTI team! They were so great!
I was very excited at the end of the week when the Middle Eastern Leadership Training Institute (MELTI) concluded that the DML program is clearly needed in Egypt, and that MELTI would be happy to partner with DML to facilitate its work. They are a dynamic, organized, visionary team, and it was fun to work with them this past week.
Not only did the pastors and business people respond favorably, but the schools did as well. The Academic Dean (who has been trained by both Yale and Princeton) from a seminary told me, "I have so many people that ask me about the relevance of the church in daily life and I often am at a loss for the answer. Today, you have given me the answer."
Dr. Wahba as my translator
There was definitely a sense that God had gone before us in this, as people indicated that they had been looking for and praying about something like this. In fact, one of the meetings we had with business people resulted with them forming a group that night. They weren't going to wait for us to come back! They wanted to get moving!
We will be back in September to begin training pastors and start a pilot program for business people in a church. From there, we will then begin to train trainers. Between now and September, we need to get all materials translated into Arabic. Lots to do!
I leave on Monday for Kenya, where I will have a busy week as well, and then to Ghana to repeat what we just did in Egypt. Please keep praying for this work!
Presentation to educators from six different Bible Colleges and Seminaries at the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Cairo.
All work and no play makes Renita a dull girl: I had one day off while in Egypt, and so Dr. Walker and I took off to see some of the sites, which was a real treat.
Ya gotta see the pyramids while in Egypt. Very cool.
And of course the Sphinx.
Brief sailboat ride down the Nile River with this father and his two sons.
The scenery from Cairo to Menia. Maged, a MELTI staff, told me he was our tour guide. After about twenty minutes, I told him I had learned enough to be a tour guide for the next guest: "Desert on the right. Desert on the left."
Having worked in primarily Christian, English speaking countries in sub-Saharan Africa for the past ten years, I knew that Egypt would be different in many different ways. But I didn't expect the difference to become so apparent in the very first meeting that I had.
I arrived at the guest apartment in Cairo at 3:30 am, after a trip that (including a long layover) took around thirty hours. My first meeting was scheduled for noon with Dr. Wahid Whaba, and his wife, Dr. Laila Risgallah.
It didn't take long for Dr. Whaba to tell me why he believes the work of
Discipling
Marketplace Leaders is important for Egypt at this time. He
said, "Christians are leaving Egypt very rapidly for Canada, the US,
Australia, New Zealand, and other places. Over 100,000 have left so
far. We are between 15-17% of the population as it is, so this is a big
exodus. But I believe our call comes from Jeremiah 29 which reminds us
to stay and build houses, and plant gardens, and seek the peace and
prosperity of the city. This relates to business. But we don't know how
to do it. The pressures are immense. The economy has suffered since
the revolution in 2011. That is why I think the message of DML at this
time is so important."
In Christian countries, the work of DML is to help people understand
that there is no split between sacred and secular, and that all of our
work should be done "as unto the Lord" with the Church being at work from
Monday to Saturday in the Marketplace. In a country where the
Christians are by far the minority, where they raise their children to
know that just by virtue of their name (if it is Christian instead of
Muslim) they will not receive equal treatment, and where jobs are held
for Muslims only, it seems that there is already a deep understanding of
how faith impacts all of life. Where the opportunity is here may be in exploring how to stand firm when feeling like you are in captivity,
as in Jeremiah 29, and understanding how to do be the Church from Monday-Saturday
in a world that doesn't accept your faith. We can look to examples
like Joseph and Daniel, both of whom were in captivity yet rose to be
the top government official right next to the pharaoh/king, due to working
with excellence and integrity. Both of these men could have had the
attitude of not trying their best as it wasn't their land; of cheating
the land, just as they were cheated of freedom. Yet both men decided to
seek the peace and prosperity of the land and work diligently, and
through that work, not only they but their God was recognized.
I have used the example of Joseph and Daniel many times, but it now
jumps to the top of the list of Biblical characters when examining the
business people God used throughout the Bible. Another message that finds its
way into the DML teaching is being both a light and a covenant (which
comes from Isaiah 42: 5-7) in the midst of darkness. As you know, when
you turn a light off, it doesn't take any time for darkness to take
over. When Christians leave Egypt, they take their light with them. To
stay takes courage and prayer; it is not an easy decision, based on
many factors. But for those who stay, knowing the Church's affirmation
of their work in the Marketplace, intentionally praying for each other
as they work and bear witness through their actions, and having a place
to talk through the frustrations and challenges of working in such an
environment, can become a primary role of the church. The reason that
the Muslim religion was so successful in Indonesia was because the
Muslims went in and worked in business, and through commerce won
people. The Christians had arrived at the same time but set up churches
and tried to win people through revivals. There is an opportunity here
for Egypt. Dr. Wahid believes that this is a crucial and important
time for Christians in Egypt and that the ministry of DML can be
instrumental in it.
Other
differences that I have observed, maybe you are wondering? Dangerous at this time
as they may be gross generalizations based on very little knowledge, but
here are some:
View from my window
It is obvious that in order to drive in
Cairo, you have to be an INCREDIBLE parallel parker and be very
comfortable with very narrow spaces as cars are parked everywhere.
Egyptian men seem very hospitable and
helpful as several men around me in the ninety-minute customs line checked in with me several times afterward to make sure that I
got all my luggage, that I had a ride, or just to see if there was
anything else I needed. Very polite, very hospitable.
Cairo is very dry and dusty - they say you
can dust your house and two hours later have to dust it again. The
country receives between 0-7 inches of rain per year, depending on the
location. Contrast this to Liberia which receives 220 inches of rain
per year, or Michigan which receives 32 inches of rain per year. This
dust causes lung problems as well.
I learned that most widows do not remarry here - it is considered disloyal to your late husband.
There is a heaviness here - a stress that is almost palpable. I feel it emotionally and physically.
It is interesting to me that my initial reaction to being in Egypt is
similar to my initial reaction to Liberia - both love and fear at the
same time. For Liberia, it was post-war with ex-combatants all around,
causing some fear, but a love for the people and compassion for the
hardships they were experiencing. For Egypt, there is fear in the
possibility of persecution, of terrorism, of IS, and yet so quickly a
love for the people and a compassion for the hardships they are
experiencing.
On Wednesday, June 10, I leave on a trip that I have been preparing for for some time. The goal of this trip will be twofold: 1. to launch the Discipling Marketplace Leaders (DML) Ministry in two new countries, Egypt and Ghana and 2. to check in on the work in Kenya with the two new staff persons for the DML Kenya office, help with a DML event and various meetings/trainings.
The work in Egypt and Ghana will involve introducing the idea of Discipling Marketplace Leaders to three different groups: pastors, seminaries/Bible colleges, and business people.
The first leg of the trip will be to Egypt, where we (Dr. Phil Walker, President and co-founder of ICM and I) will be guests of the Middle East Leadership Training Institute who have organized these meetings for us. These meetings will all be translated into Arabic. We will be primarily in Cairo, but will also have meetings in Menia. I will be in Egypt until June 22.
Dennis Tongoi
From there, I will fly to Nairobi, Kenya and then to Kitale, where I will be with the Discipling Marketplace Leaders Kenya team for a week. On Saturday, June 27, we will be having an event in Kitale for all Marketplace Ministers and people interested in this ministry, with Dennis Tongoi as our main speaker. Dennis Tongoi is a Kenyan who has been involved in Business as Mission for a number of years; I first heard him speak at a Partners Worldwide event, probably ten years ago. I met up with him in Thailand two years ago and we hope to work together as he is passionate about getting this work into the Church. Dennis is the Executive Director of CMS Africa and has connections in many African countries. He will be bringing several of his staff with him to learn more about DML, and how this has worked through the church in Western Kenya.
On June 30, I will fly to Accra, Ghana where I will spend nine days with ICM Ghana Country Director, Rev. Philip Tutu, as well as long-time friend Fanny Atta-Peters, the Executive Director of Hopeline Institute. My previous work in Ghana was with Hopeline Institute, who does an excellent job in business training, mentoring, and access to capital. We will now work on bringing this into the church though the DML program. Rev. Tutu, and ICM Ghana, is very active and networked through the churches in Ghana, so the two will work together to make this fit.
Rev. Tutu, ICM Ghana Country Director (left) and Rev. Mairori, ICM Kenya Country Director (right)
Lord willing, if these trips go well, we will start training in both Egypt and Ghana in September.
Just as I built a team of DML trainers in Western Kenya, I hope to build a team of trainers in the US to help serve in new countries. The goal will be to develop a DML team of trainers in each country, but it will require a three month training period with outside trainers to start. If you are interested in being a DML trainer, with business experience,
and able to teach on subjects like marketing, simple book-keeping, or
management, and would be willing to volunteer to go for ten days trips, please email me at renitar@icmusa.org. I will be looking specifically for trainers to go to Egypt this fall. [Ghana should be covered with the trainers through Hopeline Institute.]
Please pray with me for this trip. There are lots of flights, with lots of potentials for challenges. Additionally, this is the first time to try to launch such a ministry without actually living there for some time. There are challenges in each context as it relates to language - Egypt and Arabic; Kenya and Swahili; and Ghana and Twi. Please pray for clear communication and understanding. And please pray for the right pastors, business people, and seminaries or Bible schools to show up to the meetings to move this ministry forward, for the sake of reclaiming the redeemed marketplace.
Thank you for your partnership and prayers! This trip couldn't happen without the support of so many of you!
I'd like to say that it's because of age or being forgetful. I'm only forty-six years old but it can happen. I'd like to say that it's because I'm stressed, which I am. Or maybe because I'm busy, which I always am. But the truth is that I think I just didn't care. I think that I'm getting hardened, weathered, or calloused, and I just didn't notice.
But the uncomfortable part is getting caught. Realizing that you are naked. That you are exposed. Vulnerable. Unprepared. That awkward moment when you look in the other person's eyes and see them seeing you naked. That is very uncomfortable and embarrassing. And shameful.
Okay, Renita - what are you talking about?
I'm talking about Colossians 3:12 which says, "Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Unfortunately, when we give our lives to Christ, these characteristics do not become part of our skin. They do not become part of us. We are told to clothe ourselves - that means intentionally putting it on.
That also means that these clothes can get dirty and stained - either by us spilling on ourselves, in our human ways, or by others spilling on us, in their human ways. That means the clothes need to be cleaned. It also means that these clothes can get holes, can wear out in certain areas, and/or suffer rips and tears. They need to be sewn, patched, or even replaced. They need to be checked.
Sometimes it's not that I forget to put them on, but if there's a certain portion of this type of clothing that receives a lot of friction, it can wear out before I've even realized it - and I am exposed, revealed, and embarrassed.
I think I used to be a kinder, gentler, patient, and compassionate person. I think years of ministry have hardened me in some ways, and I have lost portions of these items of clothing. I have become cynical and judgmental in some ways. I want to be clothed again. I don't want to stay naked. Not just because of my own embarrassment, but because if I am dead and my life is now with Christ, in God, then I need to represent Him well.
And so I try to remember to put these clothes on daily. And I try to check for holes.
Next week I leave for Egypt, Kenya, and Ghana. I'm excited to meet the people from the Middle East Leadership Training Initiative in Egypt and see what God has been doing in and through them. I look forward to being back in Kenya with the Discipling Marketplace Leaders Kenya team and spend a week in meetings and trainings. And then I get to go to Ghana and be with old and dear friends, with ICM Ghana and Hopeline Institute. Please pray that the time in Egypt and Ghana may find people and places that are ready to receive this new concept of Church-based Business as Mission.
I love this quote: G. K. Chesterton
observed, "We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of
wonders."
Since starting my MBA in Sustainable Development two years ago, I have run across the essay called, "I, Pencil" a number of times and have grown to appreciate it more and more. It is the story of the family tree of a Pencil and points to the creativity and complexity of a simple pencil. Have you ever wondered about a pencil? Have you ever seen it as a complex thing? If you are like me, probably not. Yet, this pencil claims that not a single person on this earth is able to make it. If you are lacking wonder today, I encourage you to watch the brief video or read the essay, both of which can be found below. What is exciting to me is that it points to God - and the essayist, Leonard Read (who wrote this in 1958) also saw that. He says, "Since
only God can make a tree, I insist that only God could make me (referring to the pencil). Man
can no more direct these millions of know-hows to bring me into being
than he can put molecules together to create a tree."
This is one of the reasons that I love doing what I do. I get to see the creativity of man across nations using the resources that God has give to create goods and services that allow individuals and communities to flourish! And it is an amazing thing.
I, Pencil
My Family Tree as told to Leonard E. Read
R
I am a lead pencil—the ordinary wooden pencil familiar to all boys and girls and adults who can read and write. Writing is both my vocation and my avocation; that's all I do. You may wonder why I should write a genealogy. Well, to begin with, my story is interesting. And, next, I am a mystery - more so that a tree or a sunset or even a flash of lightning. But, sadly, I am taken for granted by those who use me, as if I were a mere incident and without background. This supercilious attitude relegates me to the level of the commonplace. This is a species of the grievous error in which mankind cannot too long persist without peril. For the wise G.K. Chesterton observed, "We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders." I, Pencil, simple though I appear to be, merit your wonder and awe, a claim I shall attempt to prove. In fact, if you can understand me - no, that's too much to ask of anyone - if you can become aware of the miraculousness which I symbolize, you can help save the freedom mankind is so unhappily losing. I have a profound lesson to teach. And I can teach this lesson better than can an automobile or an airplane or a mechanical dishwasher because - well, because I am seemingly so simple.
Simple? Yet, not a single person on the face of this earth knows how to make me. This sounds fantastic, doesn't it? Especially when it is realized that there are about one and one-half billion of my kind produced in the USA each year.
Pick me up and look me over. What do you see? Not much meets the eye - there's some wood, lacquer, the printed labeling, graphite lead, a bit of metal, and an eraser.
Innumerable Antecedents
Just as you cannot trace your family tree back very far, so is it
impossible for me to name and explain all my antecedents. But I would
like to suggest enough of them to impress upon you the richness and
complexity of my background. My family tree begins with what in fact is a tree, a cedar of straight
grain that grows in Northern California and Oregon. Now contemplate all
the saws and trucks and rope and the countless other gear used in
harvesting and carting the cedar logs to the railroad siding. Think of
all the persons and the numberless skills that went into their
fabrication: the mining of ore, the making of steel and its refinement
into saws, axes, motors; the growing of hemp and bringing it through all
the stages to heavy and strong rope; the logging camps with their beds
and mess halls, the cookery and the raising of all the foods. Why,
untold thousands of persons had a hand in every cup of coffee the
loggers drink! The logs are shipped to a mill in San Leandro, California. Can you
imagine the individuals who make flat cars and rails and railroad
engines and who construct and install the communication systems
incidental thereto? These legions are among my antecedents.
Consider the millwork in San Leandro. The cedar logs are cut into small,
pencil-length slats less than one-fourth of an inch in thickness. These
are kiln dried and then tinted for the same reason women put rouge on
their faces. People prefer that I look pretty, not a pallid white. The
slats are waxed and kiln dried again. How many skills went into the
making of the tint and the kilns, into supplying the heat, the light and
power, the belts, motors, and all the other things a mill requires?
Sweepers in the mill among my ancestors? Yes, and included are the men
who poured the concrete for the dam of a Pacific Gas & Electric
Company hydroplant which supplies the mill's power! Don't overlook the ancestors present and distant who have a hand in transporting sixty carloads of slats across the nation.
Once in the pencil factory—$4,000,000 in machinery and building, all
capital accumulated by thrifty and saving parents of mine—each slat is
given eight grooves by a complex machine, after which another machine
lays leads in every other slat, applies glue, and places another slat
atop—a lead sandwich, so to speak. Seven brothers and I are
mechanically carved from this "wood-clinched" sandwich.
My "lead" itself—it contains no lead at all—is complex. The graphite is
mined in Ceylon. Consider these miners and those who make their many
tools and the makers of the paper sacks in which the graphite is shipped
and those who make the string that ties the sacks and those who put
them aboard ships and those who make the ships. Even the lighthouse
keepers along the way assisted in my birth—and the harbor pilots. The graphite is mixed with clay from Mississippi in which ammonium
hydroxide is used in the refining process. Then wetting agents are added
such as sulfonated tallow—animal fats chemically reacted with sulfuric
acid. After passing through numerous machines, the mixture finally
appears as endless extrusions—as from a sausage grinder-cut to size,
dried, and baked for several hours at 1,850 degrees Fahrenheit. To
increase their strength and smoothness the leads are then treated with a
hot mixture which includes candelilla wax from Mexico, paraffin wax,
and hydrogenated natural fats.
My cedar receives six coats of lacquer. Do you know all the ingredients
of lacquer? Who would think that the growers of castor beans and the
refiners of castor oil are a part of it? They are. Why, even the
processes by which the lacquer is made a beautiful yellow involve the
skills of more persons than one can enumerate. Observe the labeling. That's a film formed by applying heat to carbon
black mixed with resins. How do you make resins and what, pray, is
carbon black?
My bit of metal—the ferrule—is brass. Think of all the persons who mine
zinc and copper and those who have the skills to make shiny sheet brass
from these products of nature. Those black rings on my ferrule are black
nickel. What is black nickel and how is it applied? The complete story
of why the center of my ferrule has no black nickel on it would take
pages to explain.
Then there's my crowning glory, inelegantly referred to in the trade as
"the plug," the part man uses to erase the errors he makes with me. An
ingredient called "factice" is what does the erasing. It is a
rubber-like product made by reacting rape-seed oil from the Dutch East
Indies with sulfur chloride. Rubber, contrary to the common notion, is
only for binding purposes. Then, too, there are numerous vulcanizing
and accelerating agents. The pumice comes from Italy; and the pigment
which gives "the plug" its color is cadmium sulfide.
No-One Knows
Does anyone wish to challenge my earlier assertion that no single person on the face of this earth knows how to make me?
Actually, millions of human beings have had a hand in my creation, no
one of whom even knows more than a very few of the others. Now, you may
say that I go too far in relating the picker of a coffee berry in far
off Brazil and food growers elsewhere to my creation; that this is an
extreme position. I shall stand by my claim. There isn't a single
person in all these millions, including the president of the pencil
company, who contributes more than a tiny, infinitesimal bit of
know-how. From the standpoint of know-how the only difference between
the miner of graphite in Ceylon and the logger in Oregon is in the type
of know-how. Neither the miner nor the logger can be dispensed with,
any more than can the chemist at the factory or the worker in the oil
field—paraffin being a by-product of petroleum.
Here is an astounding fact: Neither the worker in the oil field nor the
chemist nor the digger of graphite or clay nor any who mans or makes the
ships or trains or trucks nor the one who runs the machine that does
the knurling on my bit of metal nor the president of the company
performs his singular task because he wants me. Each one wants me less,
perhaps, than does a child in the first grade. Indeed, there are some
among this vast multitude who never saw a pencil nor would they know how
to use one. Their motivation is other than me. Perhaps it is
something like this: Each of these millions sees that he can thus
exchange his tiny know-how for the goods and services he needs or wants.
I may or may not be among these items.
No Master Mind
There is a fact still more astounding: the absence of a master mind, of
anyone dictating or forcibly directing these countless actions which
bring me into being. No trace of such a person can be found. Instead,
we find the Invisible Hand at work. This is the mystery to which I
earlier referred. It has been said that "only God can make a tree." Why do we agree with
this? Isn't it because we realize that we ourselves could not make one?
Indeed, can we even describe a tree? We cannot, except in superficial
terms. We can say, for instance, that a certain molecular configuration
manifests itself as a tree. But what mind is there among men that
could even record, let alone direct, the constant changes in molecules
that transpire in the life span of a tree? Such a feat is utterly
unthinkable!
I, Pencil, am a complex combination of miracles: a tree, zinc, copper,
graphite, and so on. But to these miracles which manifest themselves in
Nature an even more extraordinary miracle has been added: the
configuration of creative human energies—millions of tiny know-hows
configurating naturally and spontaneously in response to human necessity
and desire and in the absence of any human master-minding! Since
only God can make a tree, I insist that only God could make me. Man
can no more direct these millions of know-hows to bring me into being
than he can put molecules together to create a tree.
The above is what I meant when writing, "If you can become aware of the
miraculousness which I symbolize, you can help save the freedom mankind
is so unhappily losing." For, if one is aware that these know-hows will
naturally, yes, automatically, arrange themselves into creative and
productive patterns in response to human necessity and demand—that is,
in the absence of governmental or any other coercive masterminding—then
one will possess an absolutely essential ingredient for freedom: a faith in free people. Freedom is impossible without this faith.
Once government has had a monopoly of a creative activity such, for
instance, as the delivery of the mails, most individuals will believe
that the mails could not be efficiently delivered by men acting freely.
And here is the reason: Each one acknowledges that he himself doesn't
know how to do all the things incident to mail delivery. He also
recognizes that no other individual could do it. These assumptions are
correct. No individual possesses enough know-how to perform a nation's
mail delivery any more than any individual possesses enough know-how to
make a pencil. Now, in the absence of faith in free people—in the
unawareness that millions of tiny know-hows would naturally and
miraculously form and cooperate to satisfy this necessity—the individual
cannot help but reach the erroneous conclusion that mail can be
delivered only by governmental "master-minding."
Testimony Galore
If I, Pencil, were the only item that could offer testimony on what men
and women can accomplish when free to try, then those with little faith
would have a fair case. However, there is testimony galore; it's all
about us and on every hand. Mail delivery is exceedingly simple when
compared, for instance, to the making of an automobile or a calculating
machine or a grain combine or a milling machine or to tens of thousands
of other things. Delivery? Why, in this area where men have been left
free to try, they deliver the human voice around the world in less than
one second; they deliver an event visually and in motion to any person's
home when it is happening; they deliver 150 passengers from Seattle to
Baltimore in less than four hours; they deliver gas from Texas to one's
range or furnace in New York at unbelievably low rates and without
subsidy; they deliver each four pounds of oil from the Persian Gulf to
our Eastern Seaboard—halfway around the world—for less money than the
government charges for delivering a one-ounce letter across the street!
The lesson I have to teach is this: Leave all creative energies uninhibited.
Merely organize society to act in harmony with this lesson. Let
society's legal apparatus remove all obstacles the best it can. Permit
these creative know-hows freely to flow. Have faith that free men and
women will respond to the Invisible Hand. This faith will be confirmed.
I, Pencil, seemingly simple though I am, offer the miracle of my
creation as testimony that this is a practical faith, as practical as
the sun, the rain, a cedar tree, the good earth.
Leonard E. Read (1898-1983) founded FEE in 1946 and served as its president until his death.
"I, Pencil," his most famous essay, was first published in the December 1958 issue of The Freeman. Although
a few of the manufacturing details and place names have changed over
the past forty years, the principles are unchanged.
[I have two more classes left in my MBA in Sustainable Development, then my thesis. I won't be done by June as I had hoped but I continue to make progress!]
