Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Connexions

I'm a connector.  In my role as WGM's Wholistic Transformation Coordinator I connect people to each other and people to resources.  Here are a few of the connections I've made over the past few months.

Social media can be put to good use.  WGM has a new Facebook page (WGMCompassion) and a blog called Life Between the Trees to connect people with stories and resources about reaching out and sharing Jesus' love with others.  I'm encouraging folks to sign up and I encourage you to join if you're interested in learning, being challenged and inspired.

In April I was able to visit Nathan and Cydil Waggoner and their two children.  They live in Albania.  I had to do a lot of studying about Albania before this trip as I knew almost nothing about it.  What a charming country.  The Waggoners were incredible hosts.  It was great to see how God is at work in their neighborhood.  I loved the chance to share some resources and tools that might be helpful as they reach out to Albanians.


We visited this mountainous village below that reminded me a lot of Kenya.  Especially the part where I needed a helping hand on the steep path!


I'm very excited to return to Albania in November along with Bonnie and Peder Anderson.  Bonnie was one of my Clinical Instructors in Nursing School way back when at Marion College, now Indiana Wesylan University.  More recently Bonnie volunteered with Mango Ministries in South Sudan.


In November she and her husband Peder and I will share about several transformational development tools.  Will you pray for wisdom as we prepare and teach and that the team in Albania will know how best to use what they learn?

In June I was able to spend several days with the WGM Leaders in Africa.  It was really good to connect, share, be challenged and pray together.


Adhanom and Helen's prayers were answered when they received an invitation to Canada this winter.  As refugees living in Kenya and working in South Sudan their lives were restricted in so many ways.  They are excited to be gaining some stability in their lives as they gain a new home country.  Adhanom has found many ways to continue the work he was doing in South Sudan by connecting with refugees from many nations who are also settling in Canada.

It was a lot of fun to invite Helen's family, who are living in Nairobi, to supper one evening along with three WGM summer volunteers.  Helen's Mom enjoyed it when several of us put on a scarf the same way she wears a scarf.




The volunteers were interested in hearing what it's like to be refugees as well as hearing about what people eat in Eritrea.  Our Eritrean friends tried to explain it but I thought it would be so much easier to show them.  So the following night we went out for Ethiopian food as it's very similar to Eritrean food.  We enjoyed our meal!


And while in Indiana this summer attending meetings at our HQ I was able to introduce my cousin and her family to Ethiopian food.  The younger generation loved the food and especially enjoyed eating with their fingers.  The restaurant manager helped us with our pronunciation of "Thank You" in Amharic ~ Ameseganalehu!  If anyone wants an introduction to Ethiopian food I'm always available!


One of the reasons I was in the States this summer was to join WGM's Regional Directors in preparing new recruits before they leave for their places of service.  In case you can't quite make it out I'm in the pink top, middle of the front row!


I also had a neat opportunity to attend the Nazarene Compassion Conference along with several other WGM'ers.  I was priviledged to hear Dr. John Perkins who shared his personal faith journey and his views on the role of churches in serving their urban neighborhoods.  If you don't know who John Perkins is you will be blessed and challenged to learn more about him.  Check out the trailer to this documentary about his life.


I love attending conferences!  I love to network with people, be challenged by new ideas and, especially, I love to be inspired.  Are you missing some inspiration in your life? Grab a cup of coffee or sit down with your lunch and watch one of the plenary sessions from this conference.

What has inspired you as you make connections within the sphere of influence God has given you?




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