Due to a “failure to launch,” there have been no blog entries for over a month. Not that I did not write some entries, but due to a computer problem that is not yet worked out, nothing I entered stayed, if you can follow that. So let me back up and try again (for the fifth time) this entry.
I was in Oregon the first week of August for the Winema Week of Missions, an annual gathering of hundreds of people on the beautiful Oregon coast. The weather was spectacular, with people saying “the best in twenty years” for the conference. The conference is for the entire family, with the whole week dedicated to missions. Five missionary speakers and one Bible lecturer constitute the program. Each speaker talks with various groups (children, youth, adults) about seven times during the week.
Those participating this year (besides me) were Bible lecturer Mark Moore (Ozark Christian College); Marsha Miles (Pioneer Bible Translators); Steven Carpenter (CMF missionary to Mexico); Rick Jett (International Disaster Emergency Services); and Doug Lucas (Team Expansion).
 I went out a few days early to see my folks and to go salmon fishing. The ocean was not Pacific and boating was not allowed. So I went to central Oregon to do a little birding with my friend Terry O’Casey. I was able to get a couple of lifers – the gray jay and the pinyon jay. We were east and north of Lapine, driving all over looking for the pinyon jay, only to be told (thank you, friend) by another birder we happened across that the pinyon jays were right outside of his house in Bend. We drove to where he directed us, and sure enough, got the noisy bird.
After the Week of Missions, I stopped on the way to my aunt and uncle’s house at the Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge where I picked up a third lifer, the Vaux’s swift. The bird is common; I just had not been in the right place at the right time. This bird roosts in chimneys by the thousands. In fact, this last week I got an email from my cousin in Oregon about hundreds of these swifts roosting in their chimney in Woodburn, Oregon.
This week Robyn is in California for a family wedding, leaving me a confirmed bachelor. She gets home and then two days later I leave for a trip to Kenya.
 This past Sunday Robyn and I attended the church our daughter and son-in-law (Nicole and Greg) are attending in Philadelphia. The church is called “Christ Church” and it is right down in the historical section of town (think Liberty Bell, Constitution, etc.). The church was established in 1695, and the current building was completed in 1744!
Here are some quotes from the back of the bulletin about the church: “Often referred to as ‘the Nation’s Church,’ or ‘the Patriot’s Church,’ Christ Church was frequently visited in the Revolutionary era by members of the Continental Congresses, Washington’s troops, and the Constitutional Convention.” “Seven signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried in the groups, and it has counted as its members Benjamin Franklin … Betsy Ross … Andrew Hamilton … and George Washington.” Wow!
After all of these years, the Word continues to be proclaimed from these premises. We enjoyed participating in the Lord’s Supper in a high church environment.
In case you are wondering, I am not using the word spot in a geographical sense, but as in spotted with my own eyes. All birds mentioned were lifers for me.
10. Limpkin, in a water purifiying area near Ft. Lauderdale. And since I also got a purple gallinule there, it was a great morning.
9. Colima warbler. It was a long hike in and a long hike out, but the bird sighting made it all worthwhile. Plus, on the same day, got the canyon wren. My wife spotted both of them before I did. Big Bend national park, Texas.
8. Chesnut-backed chickadee and hermit warbler. Outside of Vancouver, Washington, with new friends Sherry and Arden.
7. Northern bobwhite. This was the bird that got me back into birding after fifteen years. So, it deserves its rightful place in my top ten list. Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis, IN.
6. Western bluebird and pygmy nuthatch. In the mountains in eastern Oregon. Another special memory that day, calling up a cow elk with a blade of grass as a whistle.
5. Northern saw whet owl in the mountains out of LaPine, Oregon, with my friend Terry O’Casey. He helped me get the American dipper the day before.
4. Red-cockaded woodpecker, north of Houston. We followed the directions from the book, got to the place an hour early, and sure enough, got this endangered species.
3. California condor in the Pinnacles National Monument, California. I got up early, hiked the trail, and came upon the condor still sleeping. I watched it for 45 minutes before it took off.
2. Whooping crane. OK. It didn’t take much work. Just get on the boat and let them take you to the area where they live in the winter. Rockport, Texas. But this bird was down to some 18 individuals before they started making a comeback, slowly but (hopefully) surely.
1. Three short-eared owls near Klamath Falls, Oregon. It was daylight, and the reason this makes it my number one spot is that the three owls were buzzing a coyote and making it run away from the area it was prowling around. Who would have thought the owls would take on a coyote.
Best day: pelagic bird trip on Monterrey Bay with Debra Shearwater. One dozen lifers.
Most recent lifer? Wrentit, at Canyon Cove State Park, near Corona Del Mar, California.
Most surprising? Guinea fowl seen in both Tennessee and Montana. I couldn’t believe my eyes since I wasn’t in Africa. Too bad they don’t count on an official listing.
Next lifer? Perhaps Vaux swift, Laysan albatross, or marbled murrelet, on my upcoming trip to Oregon.
This past week-end I participated in the annual American Society of Missiology meeting. This was the 39th meeting of the ASM, which was founded to promote the discipline of missiology. Its charter called for a meeting where mission agencies, missionaries, and mission professors could get together to promote their causes, fellowship, and learn from one another. Over the years the audience has been primarily (almost totally, one could say) mission professors.
The president for this conference this year was Dr. Rob Gallagher, a friend who teaches at Wheaton College. The theme of the conference was Mission Spirituality. I was blessed by the presentations and came away wanting to deepen my own spiritual life. We had Rob speak at our Mission Trainer’s Forum at the National Missionary Convention last year. Leading worship for the conference were Rob and Shannon Maupin. Rob is a missions professor from Lincoln Christian University.
Of special interest to me is a three year undertaking of the ASM to talk about the future of the academic discipline of missiology. It was noted that many chairs of missiology in European universities have been closed down, and that it is almost impossible to get a degree in missiology in American universities. If one desires a degree in missiology these days, one goes to a seminary. Getting a teaching position in the field is difficult because there are more qualified people than there are positions! So, the discussion on the future is needed. One thing is for sure: The Lord continues to want His Creation to honor him, so the task is ongoing.
I enjoyed the chance to see folks I only see every few years, and to meet some people whose books and articles I have read over the years. Kip Lines, former CMF missionary in Kenya and completing his Ph.D. was there, my colleague Darrell Whitemann (going back to Fuller’s School of World Mission, 1975) was there, and it was great to spend some time with each of them. My roommate for the conference was a long term missionary to India now working with the US Center for World Missions in Pasadena. He told me he was well aware of the Tippett series I am working on, and he also informed me that Vol. 1 of the Donald McGavran biography is soon to come out (written by Vernon Middleton).
This is the third ASM meeting I have attended in the sixteen years I have been living in Indianapolis. Maybe I need to go more often.
Everybody wants to be unique, to have something about them that nobody else in the world can claim. I think I was the only one in the entire world to have had this experience. It was about ten or fifteen years ago. But let me back up. When we were missionaries in Kenya I read a book called The Lunatic Express, a book about the construction of the railroad from the port city of Mombasa, Kenya that eventually went into Uganda. A great chapter in the book talks about a pair of lions that attacked and killed those who were working on the railroad, and were eventually killed themselves by a hunter.
So years later when I heard that there was a movie made about this, I definitely wanted to see it. The movie is called The Ghost and the Darkness (referring to the names of the two lions), and it starred Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer. It is a great movie, but don’t let your young children see it.
The same week I saw the movie I was in Chicago and went to the Museum of Natural History. (I had gone there back in the mid-sixties when we lived in Aurora, IL and wanted to go back and visit again). In that museum are the two stuffed lions from the movie (I believe they are the actual two lions). And just after being in Chicago, I had a trip to Kenya in which we drove from Nairobi to Mombasa, right along the railroad where some of the killings took place.
So, I am certain that I am the only person in the world who, in the same week, 1) saw the movie; 2) saw the stuffed lions; and 3) drove by the spot where some of the actual killings took place.
Anji Barker, serving with Urban Neighbors of Hope in Bangkok, Thailand, is active in community development in the slum of Klong Toey. She has helped dozens of women on the road toward self-sufficiency. One of her great projects involves helping women to utilize their resources. One of the women Anji works with is named Poo (short version of her first name). Anji assisted Poo to use her talents in cooking to initiate a business. Poo has done marvelously and has built quite a reputation. People come from many places to sit in on Poo’s cooking classes. Her cooking classes are a great addition to a trip to Bangkok, and not only do you get some great cooking tips, you are also taken to a local market to pick out the food to be prepared. Best of all, you know that the minimal fee is helping the poor to help themselves.
Another aspect of the business was the publishing of a cookbook, entitled Cooking with Poo. The book has been published and was recently launched in Bangkok with an autographing session. Many books were sold, 300 I believe. In addition, T-shirts had been made, saying, “I cooked with Poo and liked it.” Some 60 T-shirts and aprons were sold.
A local press correspondent from Australia invited the international press corps in Bangkok to a gathering where the book was highlighted. Anji and her husband Ash were there and Ash got to share with the press corps about the plight of the poor around the world. After his short talk, he and Anji were asked many questions by the press. What a great opportunity to highlight ministry to the poor.
Good job Poo, Anji and Ash! Check out their website www.unoh.org and google Urban Neighbors of Hope for other stories.
Wednesday was a super day! This past year we renovated the CMF Mission Services Center. We moved a few walls, replaced some of the art work and totally repainted the office. Rather than one or two colors, we now have half a dozen colors in the various offices and cubicles.
One idea our design team had was to make a “wall of history.” We picked out 50 things of interest, wrote up a little text, and then our artiste’ Joyelle went to work. What a fabulous job she did in pulling it all together. It takes up two walls in the hallway. The walls go around the corner so are at a 90 degree angle, meaning you can walk around the wall of history when you walk down on hallway and then turn left. Interestingly, the walls come together right by my office door so every time I walk out of my office I can see the wall.
I won’t say more because I want you to come and take a look. It really brings CMF history to life. Come and see! Robyn is due here in half an hour to take a look. It will take about 15 minutes to see everything and read everything.
This week we are offering training on CHE and are pleased that twenty-two people have come for the training, one from as far away as Colorado. CHE is a kind of Christian version of ABCD, “Asset Based Community Development.” (Actually, maybe I should have said that the other way around.) As an organization, CMF partners with FAME, a medical mission group. FAME is a strong proponent of the CHE strategy toward community development. CHE stands for Community Health Evangelism, but CHE is not limited to health issues.
Those doing the training this week are Linda Brock and Judy Fish. Both have extensive service in Africa and nowadays spend a good deal of their time in teaching CHE around the world. Some of those taking the training are missionaries, some of members of church missions committees, and some are recruits to work in other countries.
Our CMF home office is fortunate to have a room, the Charles Cook Center, where we can have training sessions for this many people (but not many more!). Charles Cook was an early leader of CMF who stayed with us in a variety of roles for over fifty years. He and his wife Barbara’s photo are on the wall of the room.
I want to introduce you to a new on-line journal: Missio Dei: A Journal of Missional Theology and Praxis. The link is http://missiodeijournal.com You can download the journal to read or save in pdf format. The issues are themed. The theme of the first issue was “Rediscovering Missio Dei” and the second issue’s theme was “Good News to the Poor.”
The articles are stimulating; as are the responses. Each issue includes book reviews. I discovered the journal when I was asked to submit a book review. When you look at the book review, you can actually hit a button and purchase the book (from amazon I suppose). The journal is in color on your screen.
The editors deserve our thanks for the effort they put into this journal. I hope you will take a look. You do not need to subscribe, the issues are free to read on-line.
This past week-end Robyn and I drove to Kentucky Christian University for the graduation of Allison Thwing. She is the daughter of my cousin Patty, so I think this makes Allison my first cousin once removed or something like that. It was a great family gathering with my aunt Louise and uncle Jerry, cousin LuAnn and her husband Al and son Jacob, the Allison’s family (Don, Patty, Jaime and Peter).
Allison graduated with a degree in nursing. She received the Service award in her nursing school. Besides being Magna Cum Laude, she presented the class response at the graduation, which was quite an honor. We are all proud of her.
Allison was a REACH intern with CMF last summer in Kenya. She wants to get some experience in nursing and then to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Health with an emphasis on world health issues. We hope that turns out to be with CMF!
While at the school I saw my friend David Empson, Director of the National Missionary Convention. David’s daughter was graduating. Good times all around.
Back in Indianapolis, Allison, Patti, LuAnn and Louise stopped in for dinner. They are embarking on a two week driving trip headed back to Oregon. Before dinner we went for a walk in the Ft. Harrison State Park. I saw a prothonotary warbler, first time for me in Indiana. I know right where it is nesting and I am going back later today to try and get a photo. I’d seen this bird several times in Texas and Oklahoma.
Good times all around.
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