End of the Spear

The book I read, End of the Spear, by Steve Saint, is the sequel to Through the Gates of Splendor. First, Through Gates of Splendor is about five missionaries who go to Ecuador to try to reach a tribe called the Waodani. It ends with the missionaries being killed by the "Aucas" or Waodani. End of the Spear begins the son of one of the missionaries living with the Aucas to teach them about God, or Waengongi, as the Waodani call Him. He decides to bring his family down to live with him in Ecuador so he can resume teaching the Aucas about God. They spend about two years with the Aucas and decide that it's time to go home. At the end of this book, the main character's daughter dies of a blood vessel bursting in her brain. This book is all about following God's Will.

There are several aspects of which I liked about this book. It is amazing how He can even use a tragedy to bring others to His love. That's exactly what happened here. I loved how God changed these peoples' lives with His love. I think my favorite part of this book was when Mincaye, one of the Aucas who had killed Steve's father, told Steve, "He is taking her to live with Him now. Being an old man, I will go live there too, very soon. If you will only walk Waengongi's trail, then you dying, you will come to His place, and Stephenie and I will be there waiting. Happily, we will great you" (316). Mincaye accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior after he killed Steve's father. He was Stephenie's adoptive grandfather. To me, this quote from him shows how much he has changed from the time he was living in anger and rage to now, living in God's love and mercy.

There are a few things I didn't really like in this book. It kind of bored me in all the geographical descriptions of Ecuador. The way that Steve's family got to and from Ecuador was by plane, so it had many pages of describing the plane and how it flew. I'm not big into physics, so the aerodynamics were confusing to me. Other than that, I thought it was an awesome book.

Saint, Steve. End of the Spear. 1. 1. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2005. Print.

Where Will the Money Come From?

"Out of the Comfort Zone", by George Verwer, is about how you can raise the money to be able to go overseas. He talks about how missionaries live by faith in that they don't receive a normal salary, but rely on God to provide for them. According to Verwer, "it is ultimately God who provides all our resources and who deserves our gratitude" (Verwer 1). He also says that we need to move away from the attitude that says talking about money is unspiritual. God wants those who preach the gospel to to receive their living from the gospel. Verwer says we must not feel bad or guilty for asking people for donations for our missions. Churches must be well informed about all their missionaries' needs.

I really appreciated what this article said. I know so many people who are afraid of asking for money for their mission work. The church is crucial in supporting you. You must let them know what you're doing so they can help provide for you.I think one of the things you must do is be able to ask and accept money for the mission work. The thing I don't get is how when you ask for money, you pay it back. I don't
think missionaries do that because they have no money to give back. They barely receive enough as it is. However, we must rely on God to provide for us.

Verwer, George. "Out of the Comfort Zone, Chapter 6." Network for Strategic Missions (2001): 1. Web. 21 Apr 2010. .

Christian Missionary turns to Atheism

This youtube video, "Christian missionary deconverted by tribe", by Daniel Everett, is about how he was a christian who went to a place in Brazil so he could live with a tribe called the Piraha and witness to them. However, it backfired. He ended up converting to atheism. According to Everett, " The Pirahas were only concerned about the present day, not the past or future." They didn't have a creation theory nor did they believe in an afterlife. They only believed in what they saw. One of their biggest objections to Christianity was the fact that they could not see Jesus. They were comfortable living with the present and ok with not knowing what the future held. He didn't like the fact that he was going off of blind faith.

I do not agree with this Christian missionary. We know Jesus lived, died, and rose again because of the Bible. We trust in Him. I like the fact that I know I'm going to Heaven when I die because I believe in God, I know I'm a sinner, I believe that Jesus died on the cross, and I know He rose from the dead. Because I have given my life to Christ, I have peace in my heart that no matter what happens, I'm going to be ok. I love the fact that I can trust in God for everything. I do not know how the Piraha do not question how life got started or why they're living or what happens when they die. I think the reason why he changed to quickly is because he hung out with them too much. Let me explain, say you're hanging out with some people that may have a bad influence on you. You may not be doing what they're doing, but you're still probably going to be wavering in your beliefs. That's probably what happened with this guy. "Christian Missionary Deconverted by Tribe." YouTube. Web. 15 Aprl 2010.

What Judaism thinks of Missionaries

This article, "What Judaism thinks of Missionaries", by Kressels, is about what Jews think of Christian missionaries. Kressels believes that Christian missionaries should not try to convert Jews into Christians. According to Kressels, "unfortunately, many Christians do have a mandate to proselytize, and they do feel that they must proselytize to Jews and turn them into Christians" (Kressels 1). They feel that people should accept each other for what they are. Otherwise, there'll be no peace. The Torah is what Jews study. According to Deuteronomy 13:7-12, the Torah says that you shouldn't like anybody who trys to convert you. You must utterly kill him. If you try to convert a Jew, they cannot love you. Kressels compares Christian missionaries to Hitler, Genghis Khan, Esau, and Laban. He also says that Christians have blind faith. That they automatically just accept the Bible, and they don't question it; which is wrong. One of the reasons they do not believe in Jesus is because they believe that Mary was not a virgin.

I totally disagree with this article. As a Christian, God commands all of us to love one another. I thought it was weird that Jews are taught to love the fellow man, but to hate missionaries. Are not missionaries also the fellow man? Christianity is about faith. We trust in God. We believe that He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins so that whosoever should believe in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life with Him in Heaven- John 3:16. Without Jesus, we have no hope. Jesus is the only One that is perfect. We can not possibly follow all the rules. We are going to mess up. None of us is perfect. That is why Jesus had to die on the cross. He is the Way, the Truth, and the ife. No one goes through the Father except through Him- John 14:6. Deuteronomy is a book of law. When you break a law, you receive some sort of punishment. Because I believe in both testaments of the Bible, and Jews only belive the old testament, things are different. Jesus changed everything when He died on the cross for us.

Kressels. "What Judaism thinks of Missionaries." Being Jewish 1. Web. 15 April 2010. http://www.beingjewish.com/toshuv/missionaries.html

Being a Missionary

"Being a Missionary" by John Warkenton, is about how it is being a missionary. He interviews several people of what their opinion of missionaries are and what it's like to be a missionary. "It's not about anything I say, it's not about anything I do, it's about the God of the universe living inside of me and shining through me," says one person John interviewed. One said that she liked being a missionary because it has challenged her to walk more closely with Jesus and to trust and depend on Him more and more everyday. It's all about knowing God's will for you.

I really liked this video, because it gave both sides of the package- opinions of missionaries and what it's like to be a missionary. My favorite quote is the one about Jesus living in our hearts and shining through us. Without Him, we are nothing. One thing I might need to work on is a sense of humor. Most people say I'm a pretty serious person. From this video, I learned that a missionary is someone who leaves their home country to go somewhere else to teach the love of God. They may eat strange foods, sweat a lot, and be in uncomfortable situations. Like I said earlier, you've got to have a passion for telling people about Christ to be a missionary.

"Being a Missionary." YouTube. Web. 8 April 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBdnhxNdQ1w&feature=related.

What to Do While You're Waiting

So, you've found a missions agency and you've got the financial end covered. What next? "Why Wait Till You Get There?" by Mala Malmstead, tells you just that. Maybe you've got two weeks or two months to prepare for your mission trip. In the meantime, minister at home. Malmstead says that "the most important way to prepare yourself for the rigors of missions is to live a life of service at home first" (Malmstead 1). You've got to get out of your comfort zone. The second step is to find cross-cultural environments. There are homeless shelters all over the place. Find one, and volunteer. If the country you're going to speaks a different language, be prepared! You must learn to laugh at yourself. Literacy programs, Sunday schools, church youth groups, crisis pregnancy centers, drama, music, and ministry are some of the options that can prepare you for overseas ministries. Also, know how to witness. Know about the culture in which you will be living in. Most importantly, be a servant. Always be ready to do what God leads you to do.

I thought this was an awesome article. Most of the time when you're going to foreign countries, you have time between the time you confirmed the trip and you actually leave. This article has several aspects in which you should be aware of. Knowing the language is extremely important; otherwise, how would you communicate with them? As always, having a good attitude is imperative. I think the most important one is that you should always have a servant's heart.

Malmstead, Mala."Why Wait Till You Get There?" Send Me! Your Jounal to the Nations 1999:1. Web. 8 April 2010. http://www.urbana.org/next-steps/send-me/show?RecordID=20.

How to Pick an Agency

"How to Select a Missions Agency" by John W. McVay, is all about picking the right agency. McVay states that you must have a partnership with a mission agency to be an effective missionary. So, how do you go in the process of choosing one? According to McVay, there are a few questions you must ask. One is what is God's calling on the agency? He lists to different agencies and how they are different. One is called Youth with a Mission, which is devoted to training and short term missions. The other is Wycliffe Bible Translators. Their goal is to translate the Bible into all the languages. Another question you need to ask is how their financial policy is. One agency, WEC International, focuses on God alone to provide all the funds. On the other hand, Wycliffe asks their missionaries to fund themselves. An additional is which countries and people groups is the agency working among? Some agencies have specific locations where the minister at. Others send missionaries all over the world.

As one can see, there are a few things that a missionary needs to consider before picking an agency to work with. I think McVay hit the spot when he said that "Your priority should not be a comfortable fit or even personal fulfillment. Your utmost desire should be to find direction from the Lord of the harvest," (McVay 1). At the end of each of the questions he said that you should contemplate, there was always a "depend on God" sentence. All in all, I liked this article. It had some really good information that I had never thought of before, like that some agencies required seminary degrees, discipleship courses, and bible courses before you could partner with them. Again, the sentence that hit me hard was the one about you not looking for what you desire, but going after what God's plan is for you, and where He wants you.

McVay, John W. "How to Select a Missions Agency." Network for Strategic Missions 12 Nov 2001: 1-2. Web. 1 April 2010. http://www.strategicnetwork.org/index.php?loc=kb&view=v&page=v&id=8617&mode=v&pagenum=1&lang=