What a thrill it has been to spend nearly three months here
on the island of Maui. It's hard to believe
that in nearly ten days we will be leaving, as our 3-month assignment will have
been completed. There have been so many
possible things to share about in our blog that it's been difficult to keep a
balance between what we've experienced in our travels about the island during
our free time, and the incredible stories, relationships and transformations
that have been happening within this conference center.
One of the men's team-building exercise games, the first day after arriving. They needed to devise a way, with pieces of rope and a small plastic pail, to transport the water contents from one pail to another one about 35 yards away. They could not set foot inside the white plastic pipe circle around the receiving pail. Two teams of 30 men each competed in this. Some emerged as leaders, some workers, some cheerleaders, etc. :)
CLICK on photo below:
One expression I have both used myself, and heard from
others is—this experience, is in many respects, a “little slice of heaven”. I truly believe that outside of the reading
of the book of Revelations, what comprises our weeks’ activities are a
foretaste of just that! Here’s what I
mean.
Just looking purely at the physical surroundings of the
island of Maui. The incredible natural
beauty of creation—the shorelines, the underwater beauty of marine life, the
majestic volcanic mountain of Haleakala, the lush tropical flora and fauna, the
power of the surf, the sweet aromas of many of the tropical flowers, the
beautiful Hawaiian melodies and accompanying, expressive, swaying hula dances
is one facet.
The constant interaction we have among the 20-30 volunteers
builds fast bonds of friendship, accountability and encouragement. Monday to Friday we spend 30 minutes of inspirational
sharing together as volunteers. We vary
the days between inductive Bible study, personal life stories, prayer and
praise. We hear of God’s faithfulness in
our personal by bringing us through deaths of spouses, surviving cancer, concern
for wayward children, forefathers being saved from the ravages of war to create
a lasting legacy. Amidst the tremendous
diversity and years of experiences we feel quickly unified by one Spirit and one
motivation to be servants in God’s Kingdom work here right now.
And then there is the beautiful international tapestry of participants
coming together from all over the globe, for one purpose—to learn more effective
ways to communicate the gospel. It’s amazing to see that in just 2 or 3 days
after arriving there is a lot of close communicating and sharing and embracing
of one another going on. The other day
one of the men said that he counted 96 different times during that week he had
been involved in some sort of small prayer cell activity! These were with varied groups of individuals,
throughout the day, as part of focus response sharing after lecturers,
etc. Even though a practical use and understanding
of the English language is a requirement, to see so many diverse cultures and
mother-tongues, styles of music and expression come together in one place,
especially as we praise God together it seems to fit the picture of Revelation
7:9-10--
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples
and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation
belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Although the 60 men from 25 different nations started their
month-long evangelism training conference 3 weeks ago I have not taken time to
highlight any of their activities. The
25-day conference is a rigorous, 6-days a week 12-hours a day schedule for the
participants. The faculty are all
non-western presenters who, themselves, have at one time completed this same training. They are brought in from their respective
countries of residence for a week or two for the several sessions series of the
curriculum they are presenting, and then return to their places of employment
or service.
One of the reasons why the training of H.I. is so effective is that
the faculty are not full time, “professional” trainers or lecturers. Rather they, themselves, are on a daily basis
“fleshing out” the very principles of living out the Gospel message that they
are advocating. And H.I. is constantly
screening the “best of the best” of the graduates, based on their effectiveness
in the marketplace, and inviting some of them to return as adjunct instructors
for this ongoing program.
Although we as volunteers do not get an opportunity to sit
in on any of these daily participants’ sessions (we are busy doing the
janitorial, maintenance, and housekeeping duties we volunteered for) We do
interact with them during our evening dinners together and Sundays, which are
free days for both volunteers and participants.
There is, however, one event which the volunteers get to attend with the
entire group of participants, and that is the Global Forum, multimedia reports given
by regions, based on the geographical proximity and religious challenges of
each of the countries represented at each conference. These are very powerfully presented by the
participants of that region. A different
region is featured each day for 5 days and lasts about 1 ¼ hours. The participants of that region decide and
plan together how there will introduce their individual countries to the group—population,
tourist attractions, economy, religions, how and when in history Christianity was
introduced to that country, what are the challenges to evangelism today. This information is shared through creative
use of multi-media, dramatic skits, etc.
At the end, there is a powerful time of prayer and laying on of hands by
the other non-presenting participants of that day. We have ALL become much more aware of what our
brothers and sisters of the global church are faced with and how we can more
specifically and effectively pray for and encourage them as we walk with them.
This has gotten a little longer than I had intended but I wanted
to give a fair representation of how rich our time has been as we daily go
about our duties here at the center, and not just the external exploration of
this beautiful island and its people.
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| Summary information shared by one of the specific regions in the Global Forums |
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| Effective use of "breakout discussion" groups to help appropriate principles taught in larger sessions |
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| A skit depicting a witch doctor's approach to a client's problem |
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| After a region's global forum presentation, that group receive special prayers from the rest of the group |
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| An example of regional information shared |
