Building a Prayer Team

One of the things that has become more and more obvious as I have worked through this process of preparation is that prayer support is incredibly important. Satan has and will do as much as he can distract and destroy the work at Bethesda Hospital. That includes attacking those who serve there, myself included. Staying strong physically, emotionally, and spiritually will be crucial and one of the best ways I know to protect myself is to have a strong team praying for me and the ministry there.

The idea is that this core group of people would commit to pray regularly. I would send updates to this group on a regular basis as well as any urgent prayer requests. These requests might be personal, others would be for needs or problems in the Indonesia, and some for specific patients or needs at the hospital. As the prayers are answered I would let you know giving us a chance to share in the joy of what the Lord is doing in Indonesia.

Prayer support has been an incredible blessing for me during previous times serving in Indonesia. There was someone at First Baptist Church in Hood River who prayed for me during the service when we were sharing in a time of blessing and praying just before I left for Indonesia. The person praying told me to look around and see the faces of the ones praying for me and feel the presence of those that were laying their hands on me at that moment. Then when the hard days came to remember that moment and know that those people were still thinking and praying for me. That encouragement is something I took with me and that gave me an incredible sense of peace when those hard times did come and obviously it is something that I remember even today.

If you are interested in joining this team please let me know. You can email me at calistay[at]gmail.com. (Just replace that [at] with an @ symbol in your actual email - this helps cut down on the spam I receive)

Oh and FYI for people in Hood River - I will be visiting the area August 19th-23rd. I know August is a busy vacation and activity time but I would love to sit down and talk with anyone who is interested or has questions. I will be also be visiting near the end of September (dates still be to determined) for those that aren't available in August.

Counting the Cost

Yates Girls at Laura's College Graduation

I have a confession to make... I have been struggling with the "have nots" and "won't haves" lately. What exactly are those you might ask. They are the realization that in choosing to serve in Indonesia there are several things I will have to give up. It is hard knowing that all this work is preparing me for something that will be difficult, stressful, exhausting and lonely. There will be days filled with language oops and culture missteps, days when I don’t know the answer to the question or even where to get the answer, and days when I lose patients (probably quite a bit more frequently than it does here in the US).

One of the things I will miss most are regular and frequent moments with my family. The picture above was taken in June of this year at Laura's graduation from Seattle Pacific University. We spent a weekend as a family enjoying Seattle sites, having family discussions, and of course eating some good food. As part of the weekend we also celebrated my mom's 60th birthday with her parents and sisters. These were bittersweet moments. Sweet because we always have a great time when we get together as a family. Bitter because I know there will only be a few more of these before I leave and I will miss many of them when I am gone. Yes they can and will come visit  (I hope!) and I will be home every couple of years for a few months at least, but still it will be different.

Here in the US I am a respected healthcare provider. I am part of the team with a known role and responsibility. With my arrival in Indonesia I will back at the bottom of the learning curve, working to figure out my role and responsibilities. Transition from the known to the unknown is always hard. I cannot tell you how many times I have told friends my plans, to have them express excitement that I will be working to help prevent maternal and neonatal mortality. And then comes the question, “how long will you be there?” And when I respond, “it is a long-term commitment” they all of a sudden become quiet. To go for a short time is completely acceptable and respected as a humanitarian mission. To give up an extended period of my life is considered crazy.

So why in the world would anyone choose to go? Why would I??

I have to admit there have been days I have put off the work of preparing to go because somehow it delays the hard days I know are ahead. So I took some time during my vacation in early June to just get away from all the voices, all the worries, and all the fears and the let the Lord speak. He took me to Philippians 2 and reminded me of part of an article I had read during Perspectives.

It was an article about the incarnation as a model for Christian witness. Sounds very theological and a bit overwhelming to me but the basic idea was that since Jesus gave up His status, independence, and immunity to become human and to save us, how can we as Christians be willing to do less. That is not to say that I have this figured out but something I am trying to work though. 

So I took some time to remember the positive reasons for going… A daily reliance on the Lord and a deeper relationship with Him, amazing friendships, knowledge that God used me to help people, moms and babies saved that would have died if Bethesda Hospital wasn’t there, the chance to share with patients about their Creator and the God who loves them, the adventure of trying new foods and new words, and lots and lots of laughter at those cultural missteps and language oops. 

There was an article about the missionary journey in the Women of the Harvest magazine back in 2005 that said it so well, “… we alone are stretched beyond what we thought was possible. We are physically and emotionally drained. And we are the ones bearing the bruises and scars. Yet we know the names and the faces of those who have been transformed by God’s Spirit. We alone have the privilege of experiencing the birth of a love for the people God has called us to. And we will never be the same" (From Laboring for the Kingdom by S.R.L). 

Once I found my eyes focusing on Jesus and the positive I found my energy and excitement about completing all this preparation and going had returned. Not to say that life is perfect and that sometimes the thought of that departure checklist and the to do list doesn't make me want to roll over and go back to sleep in the mornings :) Then I try to remember that while all the human reasons may not make sense it all makes perfect sense in God's eyes and that I have to be willing to live this adventure I call life. Please be praying that I will keep my eyes on the positive (Phil 4:8) and stay focused on the task ahead.

Philippians 2:1-8 from The Message
If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if His love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

The Question of When

One of my most frequent conversations these days is about the process of preparing for departure and when I will be leaving, so I thought it would be good to share some more of the details with you. Below is the document that WorldVenture uses to list the requirements that need to be completed before departure.

 

Basically it breaks down into several categories:

Books to Read: These are required for every long-term missionary preparing to serve with WorldVenture. They cover topics ranging from support raising, to history of missions, to cross-cultural integration. In addition, each missionary has books assigned by their specific country leadership team to help prepare them for service in that country or area of the world. In total each missionary reads somewhere between 10-15 books. An integration report is written after reading each set of books. I have completed integration reports one and two and am currently working on three through five. 

Growth Goals - These are specific to me and include taking Perpsectives, completing 30 credits of Bible including a systematic theology class, and writing a self-care plan. I have completed two of the three growth goals and am currently working on completing the Bible credits. 

Training: Every missionary is required to complete several training requirements to help better prepare them for service, help with making the cross-cultural adjustment and learning a new language. The first training is two weeks at the main WorldVenture office in Colorado following appointment. The second is a several days spent learning about partnership development and support raising back at the WorldVenture office several months later. There is also a 3-week training on cross-cultural adjustment and a 2 week training on language acquisition that are outsourced to other well-respected organizations. Finally you spend one final week at the main office for pre-departure training. I have completed the first two trainings. To attend the remaining three I have to have read all of the books, complete all of my growth goals, and be at least 60% supported. I am hoping to attend those trainings starting in the fall. 

Departure Clearance: Once I have completed all of those requirements and am at least 80% supported I will start on the final phase. This involves coordinating my arrival in Indonesia with the team already there, making sure all of the official documents like passport and will are up to date, final trips to doctors and dentists, and making travel arrangements. Finally of course I will plan to spend time with family, friends, and churches saying goodbye. 

So the answer to the question of when I will leave really does depend on several factors including how quickly I can complete these requirements and be 100% financially supported. My latest goal is a departure in late January 2012.  

So are you overwhelmed yet? I have to admit I was at first, but as I have started to walk through the process things have become clearer and it is always fun to check something off the list. I have completed all of the requirements in the first column and am slowly but surely working on the second column.

I have to admit there are days when I start to doubt whether this is all necessary but then I remember that WorldVenture has 65+ years sending missionaries and over 500 missionaries currently serving around the world. They are an organization that is known for their care of their missionaries. This personal care is something I have experienced before while serving with them and why I chose to serve with them again. Their and my desire is to succeed and thrive while serving, so time spent preparing now will I am sure pay off in the future. 

I am blessed to have a great team walking on this journey with me including 8 other "units" (single people or couples/families) who were appointed to serve with WorldVenture at the same time I was. We keep in contact via Skype and Facebook to share ideas and encouragement. I also have mentor and partnership development coaches (more about them another time) who I meet with regularly and who help keep me working toward the goal and encouraging me.