We had been living in Cairo about a year and a half when friends visited from Uganda. We ate at the mall food court when they asked how it has been meeting and making friends with Egyptians. I told them it’s been hard: Where do you meet people you can make friends with?
I mean, you don’t just make friends in the food court.
The accident with the motorcycle left me shaky, anxious, and worried.
Besides my husband, the person I wanted to talk with was my closest Egyptian friend. I wanted her to help me process through what I could have done differently, what I was supposed to do after, how I could ever drive again.
Confession: I’ve never been that trendy of a person. (Maybe you could have guessed that from my regrettable personal trends in the last post?) I have never actually been cool. I have just been a person cool people liked.
But missions trends, see, aren’t on par with whether you listen to Maroon 5 or wear maroon skinny jeans.
I don’t know about you, but I do have regrets over some trends in which I was a willing participant.
They include teased bangs. Polka dots. Crispy, overgelled, permed hair. Tight-rolled jeans. White eyeliner.
On Go. Serve. Love, we talk a lot about strategies to reach the 4.13 billion unreached.
This month, we’re geared up to share stories from Avant Ministries, which since 1892 has focused on planting and developing the church in unreached areas of the world.
Through church planting, church support ministries, media, education, camp and business, Avant hopes to establish churches among the unreached: mature, nationally-led churches that desire to plant more churches, first in their own city, and then all over the world.
Go. Serve. Love is pretty hyped about this month’s focus organization: MDE–a Business as Mission org helping individuals around the world employ their skill sets in nations that need them most.
MDE describes themselves like this:
We heart this new, ongoing series–a virtual trip to the coffee shop with organizations to help you go there, serve Him, and love them even better. (For more thoughts about why you might join an agency–and a handful of reasons you might not–make sure to check out He Said/She Said/You Say? “Should I go overseas with an organization?”, both the pros and the cons.)
Today, we’re grabbing a nitro cold brew with Steiger, a powerful worldwide organization seeking to bridge the gap between the Church and youth around the world. They first captivated our staff at Go. Serve. Love with a stunning video on how they’re specifically using the arts in European cities.
Part of our passion here at GSL is to mobilize even those of you who never saw yourself going overseas with the way you were made. Get ready to break out of the missionary mold, y’all.
photo courtesy of IMB.org
A friend who served overseas once told me a story from her recent home assignment. She’d said hello to two Muslims she’d seen walking together on her jog; she saw them in the carpool line where her girls were putting in a semester during their time in the States. She said hello to them, and welcomed them to the U.S.
One of them began crying. We only walk together, she explained. We’re too afraid to walk alone here.
We dig this new, ongoing series–a little cup of coffee with organizations to help you go there, serve Him, and love them even better. (For more thoughts about why you might join an agency–and a handful of reasons you might not–make sure to check out He Said/She Said/You Say? “Should I go overseas with an organization?”, both the pros and the cons.)
Today, we’re grabbing a peppermint mocha, extra foam with Christ for the City International. Pull up a chair.
We’re completely committed to the transformation of communities by transforming lives and developing leaders in Jesus’ name. Our major focus is on the people most marginalized by society, reaching the lost with the Gospel.
