Thank You!!
I want to take this opportunity to express my sincerest and heart-felt thanks to all of you who so very generously partnered with me and my friends at newhope church in Durham, NC, in our most recent trips to Bohoc, Haiti (April 2011) and Kiria, Kenya (July/Aug 2010). Again, I am so very grateful to you for your prayers and financial support as well as your encouraging words, thoughts, and suggestions. Provided at the end of this thank you letter/post are some links to pictures, a Haiti trip report, and a few post-Haiti posts that you might enjoy viewing or reading.
The most common question I get upon returning from a trip to the third-world (actually, majority world) is, So what did you do while you were there? Despite what you might think, answering such a question can be a little difficult. Mostly, I answer with something akin to the following: “We just spent time with our new Haitian friends…praying and worshiping with them, listening to them, playing with them, and working alongside them.”
How many wells did you dig?
“Ummm....none.”
How many latrines did you construct?
“Zero.”
How many people did you see come to faith in Jesus?
“That’s really hard to say.”
Sometimes, after I provide such answers, I get a variety of reactions from blank stares, to “That’s nice,” to “Well...did you have a good time?”
I understand a little of the frustrations of those asking me about such a trip. I really do. We in the U.S. tend to value time, efficiency, and the bottom line over just about anything else. This can be seen in our Monday morning quarterbacking and in our emphasis on P and L statements, church attendance counts, website stats, and the number of “widgets” produced last month in factory x. Not that such things aren’t valuable, because they certainly can be, it’s just that many cultures outside of the U.S. tend to place a higher priority on things that are not necessarily reflected in the efficiency measures we value so highly here in the states. For instance (and this is not intended to be a slam on the U.S., [for I love the U.S.] but an attempt to point out a difference only), the Haitians and the Kenyans, two people groups that I have grown to love dearly, place a much higher priority on togetherness, community, and the building of lasting friendships than most of us do here in the west. For those of us experiencing such things for the first or second time, the “shock” of such an exposure can be difficult—especially, upon returning home after such a trip. Re-assimilating back into the culture of central North Carolina after hanging out in Kiria, Kenya, for a week or two can be very challenging. Just ask anyone who’s ever come back from such a trip.
My Missional Philosophy
Last fall, Benji Kelly, the Senior Pastor of newhope church, asked me to write a “two-year game plan” for international missions at newhope. In that document, I wrote what I believed to be “our” missional philosophy. Provided below is an excerpt from what I wrote. The same can be found on the newhope curch website (http://www.newhopenc.org/Serve/HOPEmissions/International-Missions.aspx).
While there are many ways to engage in mission, it is our intention at newhope church to pursue international missions activity by partnering with very discrete and specific communities as they seek to follow Christ and to do for themselves that which they feel must be done to create flourishing communities devoted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The provision of disaster recovery (the rehabilitation that occurs after 'the bleeding has stopped') or development resources that are not community based (basically, initiated, driven, AND managed by the community) will fail—PERIOD. History teaches that this is the case. Once 'the bleeding has stopped,' the community directly affected must be intimately involved in and with their own rehabilitation and development. As servants of the King, we must do all that is in our power to come alongside those who are hurting and who are trying to recover and develop themselves, but just as a physical therapist cannot make someone do his or her shoulder exercises, we cannot (nor should we EVER) do for others what they can (and must) do for themselves. To try to do otherwise is disrespectful, creates dependency, leads to 'unhealthy giving,' and, quite literally, hurts everyone involved.
Partner Communities
Currently, we are partnering internationally with the following two communities:
- Kiria, Kenya
- Bohoc, Haiti
To date, we have visited Kiria once (July/August 2010) and Bohoc once (April 2011).
Tentative Trip Schedule
The plan for the next couple of years is as follows:
2011
- Kiria, Kenya (July/Aug 2011)
2012
- Bohoc, Haiti (Mid January 2012)
- Bohoc, Haiti (Late March 2012)
- Kiria, Kenya (June 2012)
- London, England – 2012 Olympic Outreach (July/Aug 2012)
- Kiria, Kenya (Early September 2012)
My Ministry Philosophy
To me, all ministry is God’s work. Paradoxically, though, He has chosen to limit what He does to His partnership with us. In Jesus, God has inextricably yoked Himself to us, and, it is my observation, that He will not do much without us. As far as my own personal involvement in ministry is concerned, I see myself as, quite simply, a five-year-old little boy with a small plastic rake in his hands, who’s just happy and content to be out in the front yard working—playfully and admiringly—alongside his Papa as his Papa gathers up the leaves.
My Role
For now and, Lord-willing, in the foreseeable future, I will continue to be the lay leader for Hope Missions/International (HMI) at newhope church. This role involves the following key activities:
- Coordinating mission trips;
- Overseeing the administration of trip planning (meetings, coordinating with The 410 Bridge [http://www.410bridge.org/], fund raising, etc.);
- Creating, building (spiritually), and physically leading travel teams; and
- Fulfilling a liaison role between HMI and the leadership at newhope church.
How You Can Be a Part of My Life and Mission
I am in almost desperate need of support from my friends and family. I so want all of you to be a part of my life and to be able to share in the wonderful things that God is doing here in central North Carolina as well as in some of the most remote places in the world.
Provided below are, in my estimation, the three most prominent ways that you can share in my life and work:
Pray for Me…
My prayer needs are so great right now that I am not sure if listing them here would be the best thing to do at this point. I think I just might devote another post entirely to discussing these needs.
Keep Informed…
Read my blog, "The Oils of My Gladness.” I write in it almost every day. Most of the time, I just write about what I’m feeling and thinking as it relates to my living as an apprentice of Jesus, but, sometimes (like tonight), I write about missional things. The link to my blog is as follows: http://theoilsofmygladness.blogspot.com/.
Support me financially...
All of my international missions activities are conducted under the auspices and spiritual covering of newhope church (http://www.newhopenc.org/) in Durham, NC. Currently, I am in the process of raising $3,500 to lead a team of 22 people back to Kiria, Kenya, this coming July. If you are feeling led by God to partner financially with me in this work, there are two ways that you can donate (Note: All donations are 100% tax deductible):
- Write a check. To do this, please make the check out to "newhope church," please write the following in the notes section of the check: “Dave Brown – Mission Trips,” and then please send the check to the following address: Dave Brown, 111 Northcreek Drive, Durham, NC 27707.
- Donate on-line. To do this, please go to the newhope church website, and please click on the i-giving icon. When you donate on line, you can do it in one of two ways: (1) You can make a one-time gift; or (2) You can make a recurring gift. I would like to suggest going with option 2. For example, if you would like to donate $50 to my going back to Kenya, what you could do, instead, is set up a recurring account where, say, $15/month would be debited from your bank account. If you choose to donate on-line, please make sure that you write the following in the notes section of the fill-in form: “Dave Brown – Mission Trips."
Quick Links
Provided below are a few links to previous posts about Haiti, etc., that you might enjoy reading and watching.
Before I leave you, I want to impart unto you a slogan that has meant so much to me over the years. Here it is...
God bless you,
Be happy, my friends...all the time...even when you're feeling sad and broken. For in God's amazing Presence are fullness of joy and pleasures everlasting.
God bless you,
Dave
“A Personal Vision” (May 1, 2011)
“Haiti 2011 Trip Report” (April 30, 2011)
“Picture Montage of Haiti 2011 Trip” (April 9, 2011)
“Marinating” (April 8, 2011)
“Haiti Rising and the Nehemiahs of Bohoc” (April 12, 2011)
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