Praying people,
It’s been a while since we last sent out an update. Sorry about that. At the top you’ll get the basic prayer requests with some additional information at the bottom for those who are interested.
1) Visitors: During the past month, we’ve had 3 sets of visitors come stay with us at Sunrise. Without exception, these visits have renewed us. Praise God for sending friends to recharge our social batteries!
2) 3-Year Project Agreement Renewal: In a post communist nation like Cambodia, the bureaucracy at times seems impenetrable. Months after beginning the process, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for Sunrise’s/ICKCC’s application with the Ministry of Social Affairs. Please pray that the remaining details would be hammered out quickly so we can renew the agreement before our old one expires in late September.
3) Discerned: Multiple times during the last year we’ve asked you to pray for our discernment regarding the big three questions of our InnerCHANGE novitiate: 1) are we called to the poor, 2) are we called to Cambodia, 3) are we called to do these things with InnerCHANGE? After much prayer, reflection, and discussion, we’ve decided not to commit to InnerCHANGE for the long run. Thankfully, we’re leaving on the best terms possible and have even agreed to extend our service through June 2008 so that I (Danny) can finish well with Sunrise / IC-KCC. Please thank God for his guidance and for the amazingly supportive community we’re a part of in CRM and InnerCHANGE.
4) Next Steps: If we aren’t continuing with InnerCHANGE, then what will we do? This is the question of the hour. Thankfully we already have a few attractive options, some of which are with CRM in other contexts. I’m also planning to apply to graduate programs in international public health. Meanwhile, Anita would like to continue in ministry (as much as she can with two little ones). Please pray for God to make our paths straight.
With joy,
Danny
Details:
We’ve come to appreciate that, within InnerCHANGE, discernment is a process rather than an event. Since arriving here, and especially during the last 6-months, we’ve had the big three questions (listed above) in our minds. As of September 1, our discernment date, approached, it became abundantly clear to us that we would not continue with InnerCHANGE for the following three reasons:
- Sustainability: We’ve decided that living among the poor of the developing world is not sustainable for us as a family. Since InnerCHANGE exists to live prophetically among the poor, there is an obvious tension. Though our teammates are more than willing to extend the grace of putting us in ‘exception mode’ to meet our family needs, we feel that this would lack integrity and water down IC’s original purpose.
- Model of Ministry: I’ve come to realize that God hasn’t wired me for InnerCHANGE’s model of ministry. While I enjoy living among the poor, I don’t enjoy spending my days doing “neighborhood ministry.” (I define neighborhood ministry as building relationships, slowly introducing others to Jesus, and eventually discipling and developing leaders.) As an introvert, having a job that is, in essence, hanging out with people, is extremely draining. In contrast, I love the organizational, analytical, and financial work that I am doing with Sunrise/IC-KCC. It wasn’t until I found this niche that I realized how out of place I felt doing neighborhood ministry. Here again, we want to honor IC’s original intent with regard to model of ministry.
- Calling: As a family, we would like to continue living out our value of “God’s preferential option for the poor” and believe that all Christians are called to address the plight of the poor in some way. However, Anita does not have a personal calling to live among the poor and does not want to be limited by focusing her ministry to serve only the poor. She joined IC for this season wanting to expand her mind and heart for the people that the world overlooks but are loved by God. After 3 years of serving with InnerCHANGE, she believes that actually living and serving among the poor was probably one of the best things she could have done for her spiritual formation. She is appreciative of all that she’s learned but still does not have a specific calling to serve only the poor, the very thing IC exists for. Again, InnerCHANGE was very gracious in trying to include us, but we want to uphold InnerCHANGE’s unique calling as a missions organization among the poor.
So, that’s the detailed scoop regarding why we’ve decided not to continue with InnerCHANGE. The support we’ve been given throughout this discernment process by both InnerCHANGE and CRM staff, as well as our supporters, has been incredible and we’re grateful for it. No matter what God would have us do next, we hope to remain connected to CRM/InnerCHANGE in some meaningful way in order to support their work around the world.