Pondering SIM Start

I learned some things that surprised me during lectures at SIM Start.

They said we will have more stress than we have ever experienced in life. Fatigue on the mission field is apparently universal. They said that we might get only 6 hours of work done in a 8-10 hour work day due to the length of time spent just trying to get things to work there that we take for granted here. Electronics are particularly unreliable there. In dusty areas they can be rendered useless in a very short period of time.

We should "tone down expectations" or find ourselves discontented. We should never be satisfied with the lack of accomplishment as we expected, but we should learn to live with it. A snippet of advice that sticks with me is "Ruthlessly eliminate hurry in your life."

More positive lessons were: Be convinced your steps are God ordained. Be a lifelong learner. Missions happens face to face, one at a time. Recognize that I am finite, but God isn't.

They encouraged us to write down our expectations, then we discussed some of them and how it may be necessary to adjust them.

Sheila's expectations:

• I will use my skills to establish trust and relationships with people.
• Health lessons I teach will be believed and at least part of the time put into practice.
• I will have a roommate with whom to debrief, pray and relax with.
• I will have at least once weekly access to email to stay in communication with friends and family in the States.
• Friendships will form with national women and children.
• I will give and receive emotional and spiritual support from team members.
• I will grow closer to Jesus.
• I will see nationals come to know Jesus and grow in their faith.
• I will stay healthy and that my financial support will be in when I need it.
• I will have a good relationship with all of the missionaries on the team, regardless of country of origin, different cultures, different denominations, different ages, etc.
• I will maintain a positive, unselfish and compassionate attitude.

Mission Agency Secured

As of this afternoon I have been accepted into missionary service through Serving in Mission. I am thrilled! Over the next 2-5 months I will research the four teams in the field who will need a RN for two years beginning in the Spring of 2010. These are Zambia, Sudan, Nigeria and Ethiopia. I will be praying, asking for your prayer, reading 15 books on mission work, my identity in Christ, grace, support raising, cross cultural ministry, evangelism, etc. (seriously 15!) required by SIM and, most importantly, developing a closer relationship with Jesus.

Early next year I will choose one of the sites and SIM will contact the current team there to ask them to prayerfully consider adding me to their team. They will have information about my skill set, personality, strengths, weaknesses and background. If they agree to add me to their team, I will approach my home church, The Grove, and ask them if they will agree to be my "Sender" while SIM functions as the facilitator.

At that point I will begin the process of raising support for the two years on the field. I'm so excited--honored, humbled, happily overwhelmed, giddy, ecstatic, intimidated and grateful.

Soon I will post more information about the job description and locations in the four African countries. They are each unique and intriquing to me, though one site does stand out from the rest.

"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see. The longer I live, the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and the wonder of the world." --John Burroughs