What does it mean to “walk as Jesus walked?” (I John 2:5-6) Earlier this month the five new missionary candidates here at JAMI wrestled with this question, which is the theme of the Vida Missionaria (Missionary Life) course that we teach. Here’s what we discovered in summary form: To walk like Jesus is to manifest God’s love and demonstrate wisdom, truth, and integrity in our relationship with God and with others. It means to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts and attitudes so that we can faithfully carry out the good work that God has prepared for us to do. Now that you think of it, does this apply only to missionaries?

During the course the new missionaries learned and reflected on how to walk faithfully with God and with our “companions on the journey” as we grow in our relationship with the Lord. To do this, they examined their spiritual journeys and understood better how God works in and through us.

Dealing with the ups and downs of culture shock elicited some great discussions. For example, what do you do when “yes” in your culture means “not really” in theirs? Or when your “OK” signal turns out to be a profane invitation in your host country? You would have also enjoyed seeing our students dramatize how NOT to manage conflict on multicultural ministry teams.

God did some amazing work during the course – healing, deeper understanding, capacity building, and improved communication skills. Listen to our students’ comments on the course and praise God with us for these results:
* I see more clearly now how God is acting in my life and what he wants me to learn because he wants to bless me and use me to bless others.
* I learned how to confront inevitable problems in a healthier way, for example culture shock, stress, and conflict.
* In our missionary life, we need to practice abundant grace with regard to different cultures (not just look at other cultures from our own perspective).

On a more somber note, on a field trip during another course we teach JAMI’s dear old “Kombi” (VW van) was stolen in broad daylight while it was parked for a short time right in front of our apartment. We had hoped the police would find it abandoned by the thieves since it regularly broke down or had a flat tire, but it is more likely that it is already in a 1,000 pieces in the auto parts market. The loss of the Kombi cuts deep. It was JAMI’s main source of transportation to buy food for the training center, take our students to speak at church mission conferences, and cart short-term mission teams around. JAMI is beginning to campaign among churches here for the funds (approx. US$20,000) to replace the Kombi, and we are praying that God would direct and bless these efforts.

Prayer Requests:
* Please join us praising God for the growth we see in our students as they prepare to serve as missionaries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
* Pray also for wisdom and endurance as Bruce continues in his role as Interim Treasurer of International Ministries – and pray that just the right person would be found to take on this vital position soon!

Com amor em Cristo, (with love in Christ)
Ann, Bruce, and Asa

borquist4all@mindspring.com