Why WorldVenture Part 1

It is not uncommon for me to get asked the question "who?" when I tell people I will be serving with WorldVenture. Others say oh I have heard of "World Vision" and then I have to correct them and say no that was WorldVenture. So I thought it might be a good time explain a little bit of my history with WorldVenture. The second part that I post later will give you a little history of the organization, explain more about the role WorldVenture plays in my life and some of the exciting work they are doing around the world.

I am not sure I can actually say I chose WorldVenture originally. I know that the first time I headed to Indonesia in the summer of 2000 as a college student I had some paperwork processed and an interview with someone but I really don't remember many of the details. They were the missions organization for my home church in Oregon and also the organization that helped start Bethesda Hospital, so it seemed natural that I would choose to serve with them. 

That relationship deepened though when I wanted to return to Indonesia for a planned stay of 2 years (that ended up being 2 1/2 years). At WorldVenture this is called a mid-term assignment, which is longer than a short-term assignment but not as long as career assignment either. There was paperwork, an interview, and once approved books to read and training to do. Through this journey several people from the home office in Colorado walked alongside me and prayed with me. I think that was one of the reasons WorldVenture felt so right - there was rarely a conversation etc that didn't end with time in prayer.

It was when I got sick while serving in Indonesia though that their true worth became very evident to me. For starters because I was serving with them I had international health insurance that paid for care in Malaysia and Singapore in search of a diagnosis. In the end we still didn't know what I was sick with then but we knew I would benefit from some time in the US to rest and try to find a diagnosis. I was a little over a year into my two-year stay and instead of just telling me I should quit and come home they walked through that long and scary process with me. They supported not only me but also contacted my church to make sure they understood what was happening and that the organization was available if needed. They then supported my return to Indonesia a month later and provided the resources and assistance I needed to readjust back to Indonesia.

After coming home in late 2006 from my third trip to Indonesia I attended a Renewal Conference in early 2007 as part of the debriefing process. Renewal Conferences are held annually in Colorado near the home office and all US staff as well as any missionaries in the US at the time attend. Because I had served short and mid-term I had been in contact with only a few of the staff at the home office and had never visited, so I assumed when I arrived for Renewal Conference that I would know very few people. It didn't take long though for me to realize how wrong I was. There was always the initial awkwardness of trying to sneak a look at each others name badges and then the the look of recognition would come into their eyes and they would recall a story or prayer request I had shared in my one of my monthly updates. It felt like I was welcomed into a family that I had long known about but had never met.

It was during this conference that I first felt the plan of going to grad school and then heading back to Indonesia long-term come together. I shared this with one of what WorldVenture calls Mission Coaches. According to the WorldVenture web page "Mission Coaches exist to help discover a person's passions and gifts and then together discern whether WorldVenture and a person are a good match and whether there is a place for that person." That sounds like a big job description but in reality they do their best to walk alongside a person who is interested in serving as a missionary. I assumed this missions coach would file my info away and we would talk again in a few years because grad school would take me at least two years and I hadn't even started yet. Instead over the years I received regular emails and phone calls asking how they could pray for and with me and discussing what God was doing in my life.

So as grad school wrapped up and doors seemed to again be opening for my return to Indonesia letting WorldVenture know seemed like a natural choice. You can read some of my very first blog posts to find out what happened next here and here. Stay tuned for more to be posted the end of this week. 

Birthday Celebrations

It is that time of year again - time when I celebrate being one year older! This year I celebrated turning 33. It feels like the years are flying past as I get older and I suppose sometime soon I will be tempted to start lying about my age :) But for now I am happy to celebrate all that that has happened in the past few year. It has been a year with quite a few milestones. I completed my Master's Degree and became a Certified Nurse-Midwife. And I was appointed to return as a career missionary in Indonesia.

So over the past couple of weeks I have celebrated with family and friends. My celebration actually started before my birthday with an afternoon of shopping (shoes of course!) and time with my sisters Kara and Laura in Seattle. I worked the day of my actual birthday, so I also got to celebrate with my friends at work.

Finally I went camping with my parents and grandparents. Because of the time of year celebrating my birthday with a camping trip was common when I was kid. During this trip we had fun remembering past trips. I got my first bike during a camping trip! Little did I know until we were discussing it this time my parents had saved and been very excited to find a used bike that would work for me at the time. We also remembered a camping trip that was so hot that it melted all the frosting on the cake and it slid off as we traveled leaving a mess :) My mom had a lot of fun creating cakes each year, spending a lot of time decorating it with our chosen theme of the year, so I am sure it was disappointing at the time but all I can remember now is lifting the lid off that cake container to see that mess and having a good laugh. It still tasted delicious!

This year we traveled over the North Cascade Highway to Lone Fir Campground where we met my grandparents who live in Wenatchee, WA. Over the next several days we spent the days hiking area trails (including my 92 year-old grandpa!), enjoying the beautiful views, spending the evening around the campfire, and spending the night in a tent with my parents. Been about 30 years since I shared a tent with just my parents :) All in all we had a great time!

  

This coming year will include a lot of changes and next year I will most likely be celebrating in a very different place and with different people. That makes this birthday a bit bittersweet. Although I am looking forward to creating more special birthday memories next year. 

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.

Be Still

The picture above is an item near my bed. It is a bowl filled with sand, lavender candles, and a rock with with the words "be still" written on it. Many of the items were gifts. They help remind me that sometimes it is good to slow down and take time. Time to rest. Time to focus on my relationship with the Lord. It seems life flies by so fast these days!

This is a life skill and spiritual discipline I am trying to learn. My mentor, Beth Ladd, has been instrumental in helping me recognize this need through her work with Be Still Retreats. Taking time to be still will be even more important as life will be very busy when I am serving in Indonesia. The work there is 24/7. When you are just a phone call and couple minutes walk away from the hospital it means you are always on-call. That on top of the heat and humidity means there will be stress on my body. With my diagnosis of chronic lyme disease this makes taking time to rest even more important.

So one of the growth goals I just finished was writing out a plan to proactively take time to rest. As you might remember growth goals are several goals and requirements WorldVenture wants me to complete before I leave for Indonesia. These requirements include rounding out my Bible education, reading several books, doing training, and intentionally making plans to guard my health while I am serving.

So my new plan includes making sure I take a break at least once a month with a three day weekend. Weekends as Americans know them don't really exist in Indonesia because the nursing school operates 6 days a week including Saturday and of course the hospital is open all day every day. Sundays while different with church are still full of activities. So hopefully designating three days a month to rest will help me to stay healthy and serve well the rest of the month.

This is a life skill and spiritual discipline I think we all need. So sometime soon be intentional about taking time to Be Still.

Where (Part II)

So once upon a time I promised that I would tell you more about the country of Indonesia, which is where I will be serving. I am such a visual person that I think it would be a good idea to start off with a few pictures including a few maps.

A map of the world with Indonesia circled in red

This is a view of Indonesia from Google Earth. Indonesia has been described as a string of emeralds strung on the equator like a necklace. The equator isn't in this picture but it pretty much runs right through the center.

Because of its location on the equator the weather is hot and humid. You can check out the current temperature near the hospital by looking in the upper right hand corner of the blog. Another fun fact about living near the equator is that the sun comes up and goes down pretty much every day around 6.

Officially Indonesia has 17,508 islands although that number may vary based on the source due quickly changing geography amidst several active volcanoes. Only about 6000 islands have people living on them. That includes about 750 different people groups.

It is considered the most populated Muslim country in the world with about 80% of the people claiming to be Muslim. There are however 6 recognized religions in the country. The main remaining groups include Christian (15%), Hindu/Buddhist (3%), and Ethnic/Animist (2%).

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here are three pictures of the main people groups the hospital serves.

The majority of the people who live around the hospital are Dyak

Celebrating the end of Ramadan with a local Muslim Family

Chinese man participating in a ceremony to celebrate the Chinese New Year

Indonesia is a fairly new country. It declared independence on August 17th, 1945 but before that it was ruled by several colonial powers including most notably the Dutch and the Japanese (during WWII). Then until 1997 it was controlled by a series of powerful presidents/dictators. After successful democratic elections in 2004 and 2009 it is now considered a fledgling democracy.

One of the current challenges facing Indonesia is it location on the Ring of Fire. This causes frequent volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and in 2004 a large earthquake/tsunami which devastated part of Indonesia and caused the death of an estimated 180,000 Indonesians.

Ways to Pray
Indonesia’s vast diversity is both its strength and its peril. With 17,500 islands strewn across nearly 10 million sq km of ocean, 33 provinces, 722 languages, even more ethnic groups, myriad religious expressions and deeply divided political agendas, holding this nation together is a monumental task. Pray for political strength for the maturing democracy to stay balanced between national unity and regional identity. Pray also for the government to act with righteousness in honouring all peoples and communities; Indonesia’s history, especially recently, is characterized by discrimination, exploitation and favouritism. (From Operation World)

You can find out more information about Indonesia by reading:
The CIA Fact Book
Operation World
The Jakarta Post - online version of the largest English-language newspaper in Indonesia.