The "D" Word......

DEPUTATION ........(you didn't think I was talking about another "D" word did you??? In all fairness, sometimes it's called itineration - but somehow "the 'I' word" just didn't sound as interesting)......It is a word that can simultaneously create a sense of excitement and dread in missionaries. It's a word that is sometimes misunderstood. In Africa, when a missionary is leaving for an extended time for deputation, it's not uncommon to hear African friends call it "vacation". "Oh, you get to go to America for a year for vacation" or "Enjoy your vacation!" While being able to return to one's home culture is definitely a "changement d'air" as the French would say, and there are many enjoyable aspects to it- it is definitely not a year long vacation!

What is deputation? I would never try to answer that question for every missionary or every missions organization as there could be subtle differences in what different people hope to accomplish. But, for us, deputation is a time of RECONNECTING, EXPANDING and FUND-RAISING.

The reconnecting part is great!! I LOVE our partners - seriously, I am constantly humbled by the generosity in time, prayer and money that we are shown. I enjoy seeing friends, family and ministry partners, thanking them for the tangible ways that they support us, telling them stories that demonstrate how their support is making a difference in Central Africa and hearing about their lives and their ministries. I like being in our American churches, seeing the changes, challenges and victories. I love the road trips, traveling around the Pacific Northwest as we visit churches, fun meals with friends and meeting new people.

Expanding - and NO, I do not mean expanding our waistlines....although that is a common side effect of deputation. Every deputation we hope to expand our partnership base. We want more and more people to be excited about what God is doing in Central Africa. We want to know more churches, see how they do missions and listen to their ideas. We like seeing the changes in America and the expressions of American Christianity - the good, the bad and the ugly. Change happens and we like growing and learning - expanding our knowledge base and our understanding as we interact with others. We also like helping people expand their worldview - bringing a bit of understanding about our corner of Africa, what is happening there, the needs, the adventures and the  opportunities.

The reconnecting and expanding parts are fun. They usually seem to happen naturally as we share our lives with you, and you share your lives with us. Being able to visit new churches and meet new pastors and other Christians is great - something we LOVE.

The "dread" part of deputation, for us anyway, comes with fund-raising. I totally understand fund-raising, I understand the biblical examples and principles of it, I understand how it takes all of us, in partnership, to accomplish world evangelism - goers, givers, prayers - and often we are all a combination of those. But, I'm being extremely honest here, it's soooooooo hard to ask for money and it's soooooo humbling to receive. I have found that I love to give, but it's kind of hard to receive. I always want to be able to pay someone back - but the reality is, in a monetary sense, we can't. 

At heart, I'm a Midwest farm girl. Raised in Iowa I grew up with a very hard, honest work ethic. My dad had no boys, so us 3 girls drove tractors, helped with livestock and worked in the fields. My parents were very careful with money - a quality that I'm thankful to have grown up with. If us girls ever did something that seemed a bit frivolous to them, financially, we would hear the dreaded line "you don't work hard enough for your money". Honestly - if you could have seen how hard we worked in those fields under the hot Iowa sun, or shoveling snow during the harsh winters. Haha......my parents were great - I'm not fussing about them, just trying to give you a glimpse of my upbringing. 

I remember once, I was probably in about ninth grade (i.e. before cell phones!) and I had to call my mom and ask her something. Remember PAY PHONES?? Remember how you could use a dime or a quarter in a pay phone? Well, this particular time I didn't have a dime and I didn't feel like running into a gas station for change so I used a quarter to call my mom........yep, you guessed it - when she found out that I had spent .15 cents more than necessary she said "You don't work hard enough for your money!!" Sigh.......I can still hear that phrase in my mind!

Fund-raising is humbling and a bit frightening, to be honest. Humbling for the obvious reasons I already mentioned and frightening because, well, the reality for any missionary is that if we don't raise the necessary funds, we can't go back to the land of our calling. And even though the land of our calling is often without electricity and running water, has frequent protests and riots, 5 hour traffic jams to go just a few miles, sweltering heat and humidity, constant harassment by police and military - the thought of not being able to go back is horrifying. I guess that's part of the call - it's not some mysterious thing that makes you immune to on the ground realities - but it is mysterious in the sense that if you're not following the call, not walking in obedience, you're pretty miserable. 

So today, I choose to be thankful for deputation. I am easily thankful for the chance to see our partners, to share what God is doing in Central Africa, to listen to and connect with pastors and friends and to expand our friends, partners and understanding of one another. But I'm also going to be thankful for fund-raising, because.......it is what it is and when it's done, we get to go back, work for Jesus, be a small representative of YOU in Central Africa and basically, we get to be obedient. 

Thank YOU......for letting us share with you, for being our friends, for your prayers and for your financial support. 

If you are interested in joining our Central Africa team by giving a one time offering or making a monthly pledge, click HERE.