Recently in Partnering ministries Category

The SIM International newsletter has just published the following need for ELWA, specifically the Trinity Dental Clinic. TDC is located at ELWA Hospital.

Dentist

Career: Medical and Health Ministry

Country: Liberia

Length of Service: More than 2 years

Priority: Normal

PRF Number: 7693

Trinity Dental Clinic, just outside of the capital city of Monrovia, Liberia, opened its doors to patients in November of 2008. Liberia has only a handful of licensed dentists for a population of about 3.5 million.

Dental therapist Frieda Schmidt and dentist Keith Chapman are full time practitioners at the clinic, which has three treatment rooms and one alternative treatment room primarily intended for hygiene. The clinic is fully equipped with dental units, lights, suction units, supplies and materials.

Volunteers may be asked to help with any urgent needs, as shipping is one of the clinic's greatest challenges and expenses. Short-term volunteer needs include dentists, hygienists assistants, and prosthetic laboratory technicians, but Trinity is also seeking a long term volunteer administrator to help with minor accounting, paper work, e-mails, fundraising, awareness raising, and procuring of both orders and donated items.

For dentists, options include working at the clinic, possibly helping cover for vacation time for the full time practitioners or allowing one or both of them to travel to a more remote location and offer a temporary clinic to that area. Volunteers can also split their time or devote all of their time to a remote clinic with the aid of Trinity Dental Clinic for organization and logistics. Cost, materials to bring, and need for your own auxillary staff would be much greater if doing remote clinics. Dental work involves primarily extractions, but the clinic also offers restorative and some endodontic treatment.

Frieda and Dr. Keith "Surfer Dude" first visited Liberia while serving on the Mercy Ship. (Keith's love of surfing has lead to form "Surf Liberia"). Keith and his wife Kristen have hosted many dental volunteers in their lovely home. There is much more information and other videos available at their website, or you can join their Facebook page for news and updates. If you can help you can contact them by clicking here, or contact SIM , identifying Opportunity PRF Number: 7693.

Christine Norman recently sent out her newsletter, REAPing the Harvest.docx updating her supporters about the Franklin Graham Life Festival. Here are some excerpts:

Hundred Thousands Blessed by the All Liberia Life Festivals

REAP had the favor to serve along with the Body of Christ in Liberia, Change Our World Foundation (COWF), Billy Graham Evangelist Association (BGEA), and Samaritan Purse to implement the just ended Franklin Graham All Liberia Festival (FG-ALLF). The series of festivals held in Lofa, Nimba, Grand Gedeh and Montserrado counties between March 5-27, 2011, were attended by 122,505 (one hundred twenty-two thousand five hundred five) persons in total. Specific statistics are as follows:

• March 4-5 in Foya, Lofa County, 7,230 attended with 624 commitments to Christ.
  
• March 8-9 in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, 761 attended with 181 commitments.
  
• March 11-12 in Ganta, Nimba County, 23,514 attended with 1,463 commitments.
  
• March 24-27 at SKD in Monrovia, 91,000 attended with 14,140 commitments.

REAP Brings Smiles to Hundreds of Children

Of the 31,500 children who attended the Franklin Graham All Liberia Life Festival on March 26, 2011, a total of 150, mobilized by REAP, came from the city of Bentol. On March 28 and April 2, 2011 respectively, REAP conducted a follow-up intervention at the WRT Center in Bentol for the 150 children, representing some of the fruits of the FG-ALLF. During the event, children were served lunch and presented with several gifts including balloons, toys, sweet candies, etc.

June 16-19, 2011
REAP will work with the Body of Christ in Liberia to host Dr. Neil T. Anderson in a Truth Encounter Freedom Conference for 400 adult participants and 500 street children.

Here are some additional videos, courtesy of the Franklin Graham Life Festival website, containing reports and testimonies about the festival.

From the BGEA website...

Pray for the All Liberia Life Festival

Will you join us in praying for this important move of God?

* That Liberians would come to Christ and know the truth during the Festival;
* That churches would be strengthened and Christians encouraged;
* That spiritual renewal and revival will spread through Liberia;
* That the truth of Christ will be rooted in every church and that false religion will have no place in the Body of Christ;
* That many will hear about the Festival and attend the meetings;
* That pastors in this nation would be encouraged;
* For all the technical details to come together so that people will be able to hear and see the event;
* That buses and other transportation will be available, especially for the children's meeting.

Please add your own prayers for Liberia in the Comments section below.

In past posts, we referenced John Corey and MP3 players that Bill and Judy Slater carried to Liberia. Liberia is rebuilding spiritually, and John Corey is on a mission to rebuild Liberia spiritually by training English speaking pastors using expository messages (from his pastor Scott Gilcrist) on key books of the Bible. The bar is high if a pastor desires to join this program, which uses the MP3 players. According to John,

In order to qualify to receive a player a pastor is required to first read the book of Romans 20 times and to copy it word for word into a notebook. When he is presented with the player he must agree to listen through the 109 messages on Romans as taught by Scott Gilchrist of the Down Town Bible Class. He is then encouraged to do the same with the Gospel of John and then each of the books on the player.

Can you imagine your pastor doing this, and what an impact it would have on him and his preaching? Bill and Judy were able to deliver a supply of MP3 players to Pastor Jeremiah F. Kollie, who is the ECUL Todee-Careysburg District Chairperson. In a recent letter to his supporters, also posted on his church's mission blog , he wrote the following exciting report.

Dear Friends,

Imagine pastors throughout Liberia reading the book of Romans 20 times, copying it into a notebook, and then listening to an exposition of Romans in 109 messages, and doing the same with John, Acts, Eph., Phil., Col., 1&2 Tim., 1&2 Peter, 459 30-40 minute expositions, with Genesis, Luke and Rev. possibly to be added? I visualize 1000 pastors and leaders in Liberia and 10,000 and more among other English speaking emerging church countries doing exactly that.

Since 2005 I have been taking mp3 CD players with messages of our pastor, Scott Gilchrist, to Liberia and giving them to key pastors. I upgraded last year and this to an electronic mp3, 4gig player to give to other pastors Since returning from Liberia late Feb., I purchased 40 more of these players at prices from $15-20. But it gets better. A business man, who is connected with our church, living in China and participating in our project, can purchase the players there and deliver them to us for about $8-10 each or even lower. We are expecting the first shipment of 100 by the middle of May with Scott's messages on the above books already preloaded. We are still researching for the best product and pricing, however. Join in prayer that we will come up with a very durable player to meet this need.

Scott's messages are broadcast on various radio stations in America, and have been on ELWA in Monrovia Liberia since 2004 and for about 3 years in Ghana under the name of Down Town Bible Class (DTBC), the radio wing for Scott's ministry. He has taught for many years in the Portland Art Museum under this same name. This class is cross-denominational and designed for any who can come on Wednesdays at 12:15 - 12:45. About 150-175 attend it weekly.

Kolahun leaders

We have set up a project in Liberia that once a pastor or key church leader has read the book of Romans 20 times and copied it in a notebook word for word, he will be presented with a mp3 player containing the above mentioned 459 messages. They are encouraged to read the other books 20 times and copy them as they listen through them. Scott doesn't begin to study a book he is going to preach on until he has read it about 50 times. He has hand copied the whole Bible exactly as it appears in his own Bible, line for line, page for page. Over the last few years he has encouraged us to copy books, and many are doing so. Why not try this yourself? (Deut 17:18-20) He's back to copying the NT again. I asked those I was training in Liberia this past January and February to copy Philippians during the week that I taught it. Several gave testimony that it helped them to understand the context of verses they often quoted. Few pastors have ever read through the New Testament and many haven't even read through very many books. So this is a big leap for them.

Moses Paye "I am having a wonderful time reading Romans the 20 times. It is a great spiritual experience for me. It is so encouraging, reading and playing the messages of the book (Romans). I am enjoying it so much, and am teaching it in my church in a Bible study. Two years ago (15 months) when you were here you challenged us to read through the Bible. I have been doing that and am almost finished now. It has been a new experience for me. I am so glad. This has helped me so much to focus on just one book. So wonderful. Pray this program will open for many others. People see me with the phones in my ears and ask me about it. Then I have to tell them all about it and how wonderful it is. When I get up in the morning I read and at night time I read and any other time I can get I am reading Romans. I am encouraging the people of my church to be reading it. I am telling people about it everywhere I am going."

He was very encouraged that we are opening this up to all pastors who will do it. He said it would be so helpful to the pastors of Liberia. He felt that it would strengthen them and help them to understand good doctrine and to teach good doctrine and not just any kind of things that come to their minds. He repeated over and over again how valuable this is and how happy he is about it.

Moses is one of our lead pastors in associated with SIM international mission). A very godly man. His wife had a near death or death experience a year ago, after an operation to repair her intestines with complications of Typhoid and where her intestines perforated in many places. None of the doctors expected her to survive, and almost immediately after the surgery was finished her blood pressure dropped to zero, the doctors left her, changed their clothes, and two left the hospital. A nurse stopped in from time to time, but there was no response, but then she came again and saw her toe wiggle. Moses and the chaplain had been in a room and praying through all this time. His wife had seen herself leaving and felt she was on her way to heaven, but was told strongly by someone in front of her to go back. She tells that she knew she had gone a long way and didn't want to go back, and felt afraid to go back but because the one in front of her was so strong in his command to go back, she turned around to go back. She has totally been restored, and when I asked Moses how she was doing, he said she is in normal strength. She is an OR nurse and had worked and is working in the same room where she had been left for dead, and where God brought her back. Her story has had a deep impression on many.

Thanks for your participation with us in the gospel. Jesus IS COMING SOON!

John and Jeanette

For more information about the MP3 project, visit http://mp3project-mp3.blogspot.com/, or if you desire to support this project send your contributions to:

DBC - MP3 Project

14605 SW Weir Road

Beaverton, OR 97007/

"Rebuild Liberia With God's Help. All People. All Tribes. All Churches. All Needs. 'May God shine his light upon us'". What an all-encompassing goal for a single event! We Need Your Help! says the commitment page from the REAP Life Festival link. This appeal for help is directed at literally everyone. The Festival committee wants the Liberian people to be invested in this event:

We are praying that each Liberian would invest in this movement to give at least one Liberian dollar to help bring restoration, forgiveness, renewal, and salvation for all Liberians. If you can donate something we would like you to do the following:

• Write your short prayer for the festival on the currency/note.
  
• Write your initials on the currency/note.
  
• Check the Donate Box on the Commitment page and write the amount of the currency/notes you are including.
  
• Send to the festival committee at the address listed.
  
• Continue to pray for this for the All Liberian Life Festival.

It will take other help in addition to the Liberian support to make this happen. The Festival Committee is looking for commitments to help with:

• Ushering
  
• Set up
  
• Counseling
  
• Refreshments
  
• Donate Supplies
  
• Help with Food/Serving
  
• Music/Choir
  
• Telephone friends
  
• Represent my church/ministry
  
• Security
  
• Put up poster(s)

In addition,

The Crusade will include a complete humanitarian aid outreach to minister to the needs of the Liberian people, most of whom have not even seen a doctor or medical practioner in 25 years. The Crusade will take place mainly at night and clinics, seminars, and workshops will also be held at the stadium during the daytime to provide needed medical, dental, health, social, financial, psychological, and spiritual assistance and education to the people.

Contact the Festival committee at:

The entire "Commitment" page with a form to fill out and send in is available at commitment page festival.pdf

We Need Your Help! . We need everyone's help. Everyone can do something.

The dates have been set. The partnerships of REAP, BIlly Graham Evangelistic Association, ELWA, Samaritan's Purse in Liberia, and Bishops and church leaders from all across Liberia are in place and working together to facilitate the largest African crusade of its kind in history. This dream of Christine Tolbert Norman of REAP is an unbelievably huge undertaking, and she wants it to be surround by prayer, for it is only by God's grace that this will be the life-changing, nation-restoring event that is desperately needed. It will take many people working together to make this happen. Here is more information from the new REAP website:

ALL Liberia Life Festival

There is a nation of Christians who were embroiled in a bitter war, tribe against tribe, faction against faction. They have now laid down their arms. But who will reach out to heal them, restore them to their salvation, and offer forgiveness for their sins?

This is the purpose for which the ALL Liberia Life Festival Crusade has been raised. The death of Christ called forth a few weeks later the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The people who had killed and crucified Christ were called upon to spread the Gospel and the truth of Christ to the rest of the world.

This event will be located at the newly renovated SKD Soccer Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia from March 24 - 27 2011 and will be an ask for the blessing of God upon all of Liberia and all Liberians. The theme will be "May God Shine His Light Upon Us" and will feature several speakers including Dr. Rev. Franklin Graham. All denominations will be invited. All tribes and people from every part of Liberia will travel to make the event.

There will be a major prayer event preceding and at the crusade. This will be a joining together of all Liberians in prayer, forgiveness, and reconciliation for their country and their people. In addition, there will be an emphasis for Liberians to become missionaries to the rest of Africa and to have Liberia become the "spearhead" to bring the gospel to all of Africa.

The Crusade will include a complete humanitarian aid outreach to minister to the needs of the Liberian people, most of whom have not even seen a doctor or medical practitioner in 25 years. The Crusade will take place mainly at night and clinics, seminars, and workshops will also be held at the stadium during the daytime to provide needed medical, dental, health, social, financial, psychological, and spiritual assistance and education to the people. Major banks and hospitals have committed to providing needed clinics and seminars.

The Government has also committed numerous resources and official help for the aid event. We are now working with several international aid and assistance organizations and NGOs to come aboard to provide a full range of needed supplies, goods, items and personnel to offer assistance in a wide range of categories.

To become involved with the ALL Liberia Life Festival, download and fill out the commitment card below or email all.liberia.crusade@gmail.com. We are in need of volunteers, supplies, participants, prayer, and monetary support among many others. Thank you and may God Bless you for your support!

More information about how you can get involved and how to pray to come.

ELWA kids. Never mind that some of us are in our 50's and 60's - in our minds we are all still "kids". Who is an ELWA kid? Anyone who spent part or most of their growing up years in that scenic campus called ELWA is a member. ELWAKIDS is a site exclusively for "kids" who share the experience of ELWA on the beautiful palm-lined beach on the Atlantic Ocean near Monrovia, Liberia.

Six years ago, Nancy (Sweekie) Ackley Ruth and her sister, Karen (elwagirl) Ackley Kern, formed a Yahoo group, "ELWAkids". The purpose of this site is simply to offer a venue for reconnection with those who spent some time in their formative years at Radio Station ELWA. It provides an opportunity to share our stories - the good, the funny, the bad, the ugly, the silly, and the unique. It does not matter if we experienced life at ELWA at the same moment in time - simply sharing a heritage, similar stories, pain, and distinctive experiences produces a profound bond. It is a missing link to our adult lives as many of us tried to camouflage our youthful identity in an effort to blend into our current surroundings. Many of us have gone decades in this masquerade, having no "safe" place to share our "real" selves.

According to the ELWAkids Yahoo group site,

It is not intended to be an evangelistic site, although we recognize that God is an important part of the lives of most of us; it is not intended to be a business site from which to solicit for personal gain; it is not a political site. It is a place that allows us all to go "home" cyber-ly.

We come together with a commitment to treating each other with kindness and acceptance and respect regardless of theology, philosophy, ideology, and place in our individual journeys.

As we reconnected in cyberspace we began to dream about returning to Liberia. Lee Sonius kept us informed with his frequent ELWA trips and report on the 50th ELWA celebration, Dan Snyder, John Schindler, the Molenhouse family with David Parker and Clip Kniffin, David Frazee all visited, and the Thompson siblings returned in 2006. With these trips, our desire to support the current ELWA ministry and its surrounding community developed into the seeds of the EMA+USA ministry.

ELWA MK's got together for mini-reunions, but the in 2006 a number of us met in Dallas at the SIMRoots reunion. We decided we needed our own reunion, and in 2008 we met in Atlanta. One of the unexpected blessings was having our children becoming friends. Tracey Kern, Taylor Snyder and Joelle Koci stay in touch and look forward to their own reunion. Then, our parents apparently were jealous of all the fun and reconnecting, so they had their own reunion at the same time at a hotel next to ours. Three generations impacted by missions, all eager to attend a reunion!

We sang old choruses, lead by Dr. David Troko (complete with all the motions), had an auction, talked into the wee hours, played Rook and more. On Saturday, we met with the "oldtimers" for a group meeting, updating the work at ELWA, and then Marie Kayea and others cooked all of us an amazing feast!

We then entertained the "old folks" with the Bucks version of "This Land is Your Land", followed by four square in the gym! It was an amazing weekend, and gave us just a little taste of what heaven will be like when we see Jesus, and all those who've gone before us. We decided the next one would be this July, at a beach, Cocoa Beach Florida!

If you are an ELWA Kid, join us on the Yahoo group! Karen Ackley Kern is the administrator, and can help you. Tomorrow, more about the upcoming ELWA Kids Cocoa Beach Reunion.

Ron McGinley is an "ELWA Kid", an MK who lived at ELWA in the 70's. He eloquently wrote this essay describing his experience, which resonates with many of us MK's. He has graciously allow us to share his thoughts. Thank you Ron for writing beautifully about your ELWA experience.

Jesus once said that we must become like children to enter into Heaven. I had never really contemplated those words until recently. I've had plenty of time on my hands as I have been going through cancer treatments over the past few months. This has given me a new priority in life as I have come face to face with my own fragility. Was I ready for Heaven? What kind of legacy would I leave? Had I accomplished what God had intended for my life?

Unfortunately the answers were not good. My life was a mess of selfish, sinful, and painful clutter. God was far from the center of my life and yet He was there waiting and working. Through "circumstances" and people God placed in my life I began to work through that mess as I spent hours with Him in prayer, reading and worship. Forgiveness is sweet and yet consequences linger.

It's been during these times that I have felt God speak to me through His Word, dreams, and prayers. He's given ideas that have turned into poetry. He's woken me with feelings of urgency to pray about something. He's brought memories I'd long forgotten back to life and some of those memories shed some light about Heaven for me.

I have experienced a small taste of Heaven here on earth. That place was called "ELWA". One may think me crazy and wonder how a little place in Africa could bring a foretaste of Heaven, but I beg your indulgence. It was in looking through some recently found pictures of ELWA and further discussions with my parents that some real correlations became evident to me. It wasn't because of the beach, though that was wonderful, and life wasn't perfect there, but I soon felt something stir in me as I remembered people. Heaven on some level is all about relationships: relationships with God, with friends and loved ones, saints of old and many more. This time we all will be perfect.

But as I remembered life as a child my memories are sweet. I can recall most every missionary that was there while I was and they all became more than other missionaries. Parents of friends and other adults became known as uncle or aunt. We did everything together, there was a sense of belonging to something bigger than just my family...I had a great extended family right there at ELWA. We celebrated and we grieved together, we played and we prayed together, we supported each other in a way beyond my experiences since. The stories that could be told would fill volumes and still only those that lived it would truly understand.

I remember the longing to return after furlough or while at boarding school, and I remember turning into the main gate and the comforting feeling of being home. I couldn't wait to see DAY or DK. Yes we had nicknames for about anyone. Sam, David, and Meanu Kayea were known as Sam-Jo, DK, and man-toose (later it was "frog island tarzan). DAY was for David Young, Byoke was for Brian Bliss and there were many more. The memories of people like Uncle Pete and Aunt Sadie, Pat (Chase) Ring, the Naffs and Balzers, Dr's Schindler and Young, Miss Kasper, the Geysbeeks, Brunings, Thompsons, Slaters, Sonius, Blisses, Hungerpillars and many more. All of these people and others had a profound effect on my life and I could never thank them enough. Many of them are still with us and some have passed on but I want to pay tribute to each of them for modeling Christ for me.

I never even knew what denomination all of these people were from and really didn't even know about denominations until high school. That says a lot because it seems these days there is plenty of friction just in one church or denomination, yet alone between denominations. I believe God was glorified at ELWA. There were plenty of non-ELWA'ers that we adopted too. There were the McClellans, Sweets, Enstroms, Jones, Reimers and so many more. I'm sure there were differences but they were never very evident to this child's eyes. All I saw was a big family that loved me and I loved them too. My heart broke when Aunt Betty Geysbeek, Uncle Els Balzer, and Bertie Hungerpillar passed away. They were part of my family too somehow.

I know that never again will I have a Christmas-eve potluck on the beach, or enjoy an Easter sunrise service on the beach with breakfast at Ackley's to follow, or experience the sight of Lee Sonius running across our backyards yelling in excitement at 3:30 am after the Cincinnati Red's won the 1976 World Series. Oh for Uncle Pete to have been a little league coach for my boys, what wonderful life lessons he taught. And yes there were the communal gatherings during the evenings at homes that had televisions. These were events. There were contacts, and junior high and high schoolers coming to our house on Sunday afternoons, charter flights where we could actually go up into the cockpit and talk with the pilots. How the world has changed. Before Playstation MLB there was APBA... (ELWA boys remember those games).

I'd love to return to Liberia, but I know that it is not the same place. Yet there is a deep sense of longing for the Liberian people that I love so much. The slice of Heaven that was there is gone and the hellish un-civil war has left so much need and a people starved for Good News. God is faithful and loves Liberia more than I ever could so I pray for them continually.

As I look toward Heaven now I can't help but think with child-like faith that someday I will be re-united with all of those who played such an important role in sharing Christ with me and showed me a little bit of Heaven.

My dad and I were talking and he shared with me that he had been thinking about family and history and such. He talked about going to a cemetery and seeing all of the stones and the epitaphs and the dates, but what really peeked his interest was that little dash between the dates. It represents a persons whole life and he wondered what that person had been like, what had they experienced and seen. Was their life meaningful, did they know Jesus, what all did that little dash entail? Well all of us are somewhere along that dash in our own lives and hopefully at the end of your dash I will see you in the real Heaven and we can sit and reminisce over old stories with those that have gone before. Someday maybe there will be an ELWA reunion in Heaven where I can finally meet those I had never had a chance to meet there and then be re-united with all the other "ELWA'ers".

Ron McGinley

According to Wikipedia,

Missionary Kids (or MKs) are the children of missionary parents, and thus most were born and/or raised abroad (that is, on the "mission-field"). They can be a subset of Third Culture Kids (TCKs), but not always.

The term is more specifically applied when these children return to their "home" or passport country (the country of their citizenship) and often experience various difficulties identifying with fellow citizens. The resulting feeling is described as "reverse culture shock." MKs often identify more with where they were raised (and this could be multiple cities, countries, or continents), than where their parents were raised, but are not fully at home in any one culture.

MK's tend to be open-minded and tolerant of many diverse cultures. They often feel more at home in culturally rich environments and can be "homesick" for their foreign home. Their knowledge of a country and its culture typically exceeds language fluency. Upon returning to their passport country, MK's possess unique skills that can be helpful to academics and governments. Because of their international experience, they often have a much broader worldview than their peers. This broader worldview can also lead to mixed emotions about their passport country and its foreign policies...

You know you're a Missionary Kid When...

• You can't answer the question, "Where are you from?"
• You speak two languages, but can't spell in either.
• You flew before you could walk.
• The U.S. is a foreign country.
• You have a passport, but no driver's license.
• You have a time zone map next to your telephone.
• Your life story uses the phrase "Then we went to..." five times.
• You watch nature shows, and think about how tasty that would be if it were fried.
• You speak with authority on the quality of airline travel.
• You send your family peanut butter and Kool-Aid for Christmas.
• National Geographic makes you homesick.
• You have strong opinions about how to cook bugs.
• People simply don't understand.
• You don't know where home is.
• Strangers say they can remember you when you were "this tall."
• You have friends from or in 29 different countries.
• You sort your friends by continent.
• You keep dreaming of a green Christmas.
• You tell people where you're from, and their eyes get big.
• "Where are you from?" has more than one reasonable answer.
• You realize that furlough is not a vacation.
• You've spoken in dozens of churches, but aren't a pastor.
• You stockpile mangoes.
• Someone brings up the name of a team, and you get the sport wrong.
• You believe vehemently that football is played with a round, spotted ball.
• You know there is no such thing as an international language.
• You tell Americans that democracy isn't the only viable form of government.
• You realize what a small world it is, after all.
• You never take anything for granted.
• You know how to pack.
• All preaching sounds better under a corrugated tin roof.
• When guests come to your house and bring a fish as a gift.
• Going to the post office is the highlight of your day.
• When you sing songs to yourself in a language other than English.
• When on deputation you have memorized Dad's messages.
• When after the church service you look for a slide projector to put away.
• When wearing shoes in the house sounds disgusting.
• On your 18th birthday you still don't have a driver's license.
• When you go on furlough your Mom buys everything in the store.
• When you would rather sleep on the floor than on the bed.
• When the family gathers around the computer to check the E-mail.
• When you enjoy getting together with other MK's and talking about old news.
• When all your clothes have been worn by someone else.
• When you find a seven year old picture of yourself on someone's refrigerator.
• When you know how to send a fax using an international call back service.
• When you have carried the same dollar bill in your wallet for four years.
• When you take a shower before taking a bath.
• When you call senior missionaries grandma and grandpa or aunt and uncle.
• You consider parasites, dysentery, or tropical diseases to be appropriate dinner conversation.
• You tell people what certain gestures mean in different parts of the world.
• You have stopped in the middle of an argument to find the translation of a word you just used.
• You calculate exchange rates by the price of Coke.
• You would rather have a Land Rover Defender than a Lexus.

(Originally compiled and published by Andrew and Deborah Kerr)

This week we are focusing on ELWA MK's. What's an MK? It's short for "Missionary Kid", a child who's parents were called by God to serve him in someplace other than where they called home. MK's often have a hard time answering questions like, "Where are you from?"

The homesick Bucks wrote this while traveling on furlough in 1984:

This land is your land. This land is my land.

From the ELWA beach--to the Nimba Mountains

From the Lofa River to Sinoe County

This land was made for you and me.

As I was tramping through her steamy jungle

I saw above me the rain was falling

I saw below me the snakes were crawling

This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and followed my footsteps

From the swampy lands of her coastal beaches

And all around me a breeze was blowing

This land was made for you and me.

I've trekked and hunted thru the swampy bushland

I've canoed and swam in her raging rivers

And all around me the birds were singing

This land was made for you and me.

As I was walking, I met a Charlie

He said, "My good fren, I have some ivory."

I said, "My good fren, I have no money."

But this land was made for you and me.

I said, "My good fren, go fine a white man,

The kind of white man, who has no suntan.

He's from the rich land, he's got some money.

He just come from the United States."

Under a palm tree there is a small box

And from that small box a voice is speaking

It says God loves you, He lives in heaven

And that land's prepared for you and me.

The baby hurting, the mother crying.

We have injection to heal their sickness.

We bring them Jesus to heal their spirit

And give them life eternally.

That land is your land, that land is my land,

If we ask Jesus to be our Savior

From pearly gates down the golden highway

That land's prepared for you and me.