MBMS International. Transforming Lives In Mission

The recent Kenya election crisis has captured the attention of the western world with pictures of violence and indications of fraud. Having spent a number of years growing up in Kenya while my parents served on the MCC Teachers Abroad Program (TAP) in the 1960's, I've followed the current crisis with interest.

I had an interesting conversation with a young man coming out of a worship service recently. He asked me what I thought about witnessing with our bodies. When I looked a little puzzled he explained that he was thinking about getting a tattoo with a picture of the cross and a heart combined with a verse of scripture. He wondered what I thought of that idea. I asked him if he had checked out the Bible on this topic. He assured me he had read the relevant scripture on tattoos and cutting from Leviticus 19:28.

I attended a baptism last month in Thailand. The sun was setting over a reservoir outside Chon Buri as 21 new followers of Jesus gave public testimony to the transformation taking place in their lives. The little park was crowded with families enjoying a Sunday afternoon at the beach. Their curiosity grew as they listened to the worship and then watched the procession heading into the water.

We recently invited a consultant, Dr Linda Williams, to interview a number of mission organizations who are engaged in church planting and community transformation in "creative access countries." Her recent report to the MBMS International board was a fascinating look at current realities and best practices amongst agencies currently focused on the "least reached." Here are some highlights:

On a recent visit to Ukraine for a church planters' summit that we hosted, a team of young pastors gathered for several days of teaching, prayer and relationship building. They represented 5 young churches that have been planted in the new Union of Mennonite Churches in Ukraine. These pastors have a vision for a New Testament church marked by dependency on Jesus, the work of the Spirit and community outreach that represents a real alternative to the prevailing Baptist and Charismatic churches which dominate the landscape of Ukraine. The challenges faced by these churches are many.

This summer, one of MBMSI's missions teams was engaged in a month-long trek through a secluded alpine valley. One day, as the team entered a part of the valley that was several days' walk from the nearest town, they encountered a nomadic family's tent. The team arrived just as the family was slaughtering a goat as a sacrifice for better rains, grass for their herds and health. The holy man who was sacrificing the goat invited the team to participate in the meal and later invited them to his family's tent higher in the mountains. Neither of these families had ever met Christians before.

There is nothing that can prepare you for the sensory overload of Kinshasa, DR Congo. The civil war and crises of the past decade have swollen the city with refugees while Kinshasa's infrastructure has degenerated. Despite the incredible poverty, Kinshasa is a city with new hope after the recent elections.

I've been impacted this week by a visit from a new mission candidate from Colombia. He has served for the past three years in Central Asia as a school teacher in a totally Muslim context. As a single man, he has been able to live with local Muslim families accepting their hospitality and sharing his life in Christ with them. The humility and simplicity of his life and witness reminded me of John's account in John 20:21 of Jesus' commission to us, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

I had an opportunity to visit Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome a number of years ago.  I noticed four huge pillars surrounding the main alter at the front of the sanctuary. Carved into the marble base of each of these pillars were two massive keys, symbolizing the "keys of the Kingdom" given to Peter.