Memos From The Mission Field - According To Plan?

The first rule of mission trips that we try to teach people is that nothing...absolutely nothing...goes according to plan. You can have the best laid out plans in the history of mission trips but I promise they will change once you actually get on the ground. That's what happened to us on Friday.

We met up with a friend of mine named Tim for breakfast around 7:15 in the morning. Tim is a resident of Panama where he and his family serve as missionaries. He will soon have a new job title of connecting local churches in the states to local churches in Panama. For that reason I invited him to travel to David with us in order to meet some

of the contacts that I knew there.

Our short, one-hour, flight to David left at 9:30 and we were ready to hit the ground running. The plan was to meet Pastor Ricardo, who is a local pastor and is heavily involved in mission projects, upon arrival and start exploring ministry options. That was the plan...

When we were met at the church by Jim (a North American who lives in Panama) we were informed that Ricardo was ill and wouldn't be able to be with us for the afternoon. So much for the plan, right? Well actually that's wrong. On the mission field plans don't completely fall apart...they just change. We were ready to adapt and move on.

One of the things that we needed to do while in David was to find a tour option for our mission team to enjoy on their day off. After grabbing a homemade lunch we were off to the Pacific to check out some beach options. There's a great beach resort close to David named Las Olas but unfortunately they didn't have enough rooms available for our day off for our group...but that didn't stop us from enjoying the beauty of the beach.

After striking out at the beach we decided to head to the Panama/Costa Rica boarder to see if there were any options there for a group to enjoy on a day off. Unfortunately we struck out again. While it was pretty cool crossing the boarder into Costa Rica there was absolutely nothing a mission team could do in that area on their day off.

We may have failed in our quest to find a tour activity but we got to enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery on the face of the planet in doing so. We talk a lot about how big God is with the understanding that there's nothing we can encounter that's bigger than Him. Exploring His creation and seeing the vastness of it goes a long way towards advancing that understanding.

The day ended with us attending a Friday night Bible study at the local church we're working in partnership with. It was an amazing day but there's still a ton of work to get done. Including finding a tour option.

Memos From The Mission Field - Mission Trips Really Aren't Like This

Typically when it comes to traveling I enjoy being in different places but I really don't enjoy the process of getting there. That has changed a little bit for me on my last two trips to Panama.

Flying on a plane can be a bit exciting if its your first or second time but after a while the adrenalin rush of speed and high altitudes gets replaced with the burdens of cramped seating, crying babies and anxiety to arrive at our destination.

Last November when I was leading a team from the Capital Baptist Association the airlines had a mix up on our plane tickets by overbooking the flight. The end result was a majority of our group being bumped to first class on our flight from Orlando to Panama City.

Now, fast forward to this trip. We are on a scouting trip in which we are exploring ministry opportunities for a group we are bringing in March. There are just two of us traveling this time and a great friend of ours from church got ahold of our flight information and upgraded our tickets to first class. So here I am again arriving to Panama in front of the plane and once again the process of getting there has become fun.

We arrived in Panama City around 2:00 local time and met up with one of our missionaries named Dave. Dave took us to his house for a little while where we enjoyed some iced tea and caught up on how our families have been since we last visited a few months ago.

After visiting for a little while we were off to our hotel to check in and then to dinner. We actually chose a Lebanese restaurant which I found amusing because we were in Panama. Over dinner Dave and his wife Nancy shared with us some of the amazing things God has been doing through their ministry.

As I settled in for bed that night I couldn't help but think over the day and how much I had enjoyed it. I got to fly first class with a good friend I've had since college. Got to visit with another longtime friend at his home and over dinner and I was settled into a comfortable bed in Panama City. The final thought I had was that if all mission trips were like this then I bet a whole lot more people would come. Fortunately they are not like this.

I say fortunately because comfort is the thing that keeps us off the mission field the most. We're not too keen on giving up our lavish lifestyles to be uncomfortable serving Christ to people who live in a completely different culture.

You could very well be screaming, "Wait a minute! Who are you calling lavish?" Well...its you. I'm saying that you live a lavish lifestyle. Even if you're on the complete opposite end of the tax bracket from the multimillionaires that you consider to be lavish you are still so far ahead of the people we're about to encounter and compared to them you've got it made.

We put so many things in the way of fulfilling the Great Commission and reaching out to make disciples in "all the world." The excuses of family, finances and culture among other things all become excuses we offer to God when we are asked to instead pick up our crosses and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23).

The question we must all ask is, are we willing to sacrifice family time, finances and embrace another culture to advance the cause of Christ? Mission trips aren't about first class, nice meals with friends and comfy hotel beds. Its about being willing to abandon comfort zones to answer the call of Jesus to go and make disciples. That's what we'd be doing and over the next 60 hours our hearts would become broken and our world views completely shaken to the core.

Unbelievable! Obama Claims To Be Nation's Fourth Best President

That's certainly not what the polls say, nor the jobless, no those who have had to foreclose ontheir homes, nor those on medicare struggling because of Obama's changes, etc...

Photos From The Mission Trip

Here are a couple of photos from my latest mission trip to Panama. Our mission team was divided into two groups and most of the photos are from my group that worked primarily in a community named Don Bosco. Some of the locations shown here are Ancon Hill, Balboa and Don Bosco.

Memos From The Mission Field - Part I "Arriving In First Class"

To me, the longest and most tedious part of a mission trip is the actual travel time to and from the destination. This certainly wasn't aided by the fact that our mission team had to fly from OKC to Atlanta, Georgia to Orlando, Florida and then to our final destination of Panama City, Panama. However, we did receive a small blessing when we arrived in Orlando.

After getting our luggage from Delta and then waiting in a forever slow line at Copa to recheck our bags we were informed that they had overbooked the flight and six of the members of our mission team did not have seats. So what did they do? They bumped them all to first class!

While we certainly aren't here on a pleasure seeking expedition arriving to Panama first class went a long way towards adding special memories to Caleb's mission trip experience.

More to come later

2011 MLB World Series - Tobacco Bans And Underdogs

Major League Baseball's fall classic starts tonight when the Texas Rangers travel to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in game one of the 2011 World Series. Of course with our current big government we can't just sit back and enjoy the grand stage of America's favorite pass time. We've got to decide if players using smokeless tobacco during the game is appropriate or not.

“When players use smokeless tobacco, they endanger not only their own health, but also the health of millions of children who follow their example,” the senators wrote to union head Michael Weiner. The letter was signed by Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, and fellow Democrats Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Senate Health Committee Chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa.

Of course they endanger their own health by chewing their cud and spitting on home plate. Its proven that smokeless tobacco causes oral, esophageal and pancreatic cancer. However, to be quite honest I feel that the teenager texting on the cell phone while driving next to me on the interstate endangers my children more than some multimillionaire slugging the ball out of the park with a wad of chum in his mouth.

“Unfortunately, as these young fans root for their favorite team and players, they also will watch their on-field heroes use smokeless tobacco products,” the democratic senators wrote.

What really saddens me about this is not the fact that our government seems bent on controlling every single little aspect of our lives but that they also put no stock in the role of parents. How about instead of shaking down Major League Baseball they start a campaign on equipping parents on how to properly educate their children on the dangers of tobacco products? It really shouldn't be this difficult should it?

My son: Dad, what is that they're spitting out of their mouths?

Me: Its chewing tobacco.

Son: It looks gross, what does it do?

Me: Its kinda like smoking but not really. People chew on it instead of smoking it. It really isn't good for you and causes cancer.

Son: Why do they do it then?

Me: Because some people make really bad decisions and don't really think of the consequences.

Son: I wouldn't want to do anything that could cause me to get cancer!

Me: Because you are a smart kid!

Son: Thanks dad!

See! That was quick and painless. It was also a conversation that never would have occurred had he not seen tobacco use during a Major League Baseball game. Thanks but no thanks, government. I prefer you do a little more work on the economy then focus on the World Series.

So who's going to win baseball's biggest prize? As a long-suffering Seattle Mariners fan I've grown accustomed to cheering for the underdog. That my friends is the St. Louis Cardinals. This is a team that just a little over a month ago was dead in the water and has now found themselves in the World Series. Just about everyone is picking the Rangers which makes the Cards the underdog and my team of choice in the World Series.

However, a little known fact is that since 1985 the home team in the World Series has a 20-5 record. That kinda rains on the St. Louis underdog parade a little bit seeing as how they have the home field advantage.

Should Religion Play A Part In Presidential Elections?

As 2012 approaches GOP presidential candidates are looking to gain strong footing among voters who are eager to see changes in our government. With several economic and healthcare reform plans to delve through there's really no room for distracting side stories among the candidates. Of course that doesn't mean we won't have any though.

Earlier this month Mitt Romney's religion came back to the forefront of the election when his Mormon beliefs were compared to that of a cult at the Values Voter Summit. The question is, with today's unemployment rate hovering around 9% and the economic rebound still somewhere over the horizon is that something we want to waste time debating?

Let's not forget that although our country was established on Christian principles it was also established under the guise of religious freedom and not just Christian freedoms. As a Christian evangelical I must admit that I have significant issues with the Mormon doctrine because it completely contradicts the Bible and is intentionally misleading. However, I also support Romney's religious freedom to practice Mormonism even though I strongly disagree with the doctrine.

I won't vote for Romney not because he's a Mormon but because I think he flip-flops a bit too much. I'm also not a fan of his economic plan nor his stance on healthcare. Those are the things that matter in a presidential election along with a person's moral agenda and stance on human life. I'm all for morality and protecting unborn children and will honor a candidate who supports those regardless of their religious affiliation.

As for the differences between Mormonism and Christianity...those are matters best suited to be discussed in a private manner instead of a public forum. Its time for Christians to stop being judgmental towards people of other religious practices. How about instead we take the approach that Jesus would by befriending them, loving them, praying for them and showing them the truth of the Word of God.