As part of my course at SMBC, I’m required to do a 4-week overseas cross-cultural communication fieldwork placement . It seemed sensible to try & combine this with some investigation into long-term ministry possibilities.
There are many countries where there is systematic repression of the gospel & varying degrees of persecution against Christians, either by the government or by the general public. But there is one country which had captured my imagination before I even got to college & began hearing from the missionaries who visit SMBC each week. It’s a very restricted country so I’ll refer to it as Tashbaan. It’s a place of stark contrasts - it’s beautiful & heavily touristed, yet in many ways extremely oppressive for the locals. Having done a bit of investigation, I decided early this year that it didn’t seem possible - I couldn’t find information about any missionaries there, & it’s an Islamic country so going on my own didn’t sound like a good idea.
Then we had a visit from a couple who are the mainland south-east Asia area coordinators for Pioneers (a mission agency I very much like the sound of). In the course of our conversation, it came to light that Pioneers actually have a team in Tashbaan, who like the idea of people to coming to work in the scuba diving industry (which is an idea I had been contemplating) & had been praying for Australian team-mates!
I was put in touch with the team leader in Tashbaan, & after months of exchanging emails we made arrangements for me to visit for 3 weeks, staying with a family who is based there long-term.
Given that accommodation is quite expensive in Tashbaan, so I’m largely dependent on staying with team members who are living in a fairly stressful environment, I decided it would be too difficult to do my cross-cultural fieldwork there, so I started investigating other possibilities.
Meanwhile, several people I was in touch with from Pioneers suggested going to the conference in Thailand in late January. This idea fitted well with the fact that the Tashbaan team-leader & his family will be attending the conference, but won’t be in Tashbaan when I am!
Finding someone who was willing & able to act as my fieldwork supervisor proved a challenge, but that’s now confirmed & I’ll be hanging out with some Australian Pioneers missionaries in Chiang Mai for 4 weeks, helping them run English classes for Thai university students.
My itinerary:-
28 Nov-18 Dec:- Tashbaan - exploring & meeting the team
18 Dec—18 Jan:- Chiang Mai—doing fieldwork & investigating mission work in the region.
20-26 Jan:- Pioneers conference in Pattaya, Thailand
28th Jan:- Home again!
Longer term plans...
The long term plans at this stage are fairly hazy. There are still many countries “on the list” (I’ve given details of those countries on the following page). Asia is the region that I’m feeling most drawn to, but I’m open to whatever God may have planned for me.
Wherever I end up, it’s likely to be a restricted country - and that means I’ll be there as a “tentmaker” of some description (English teaching seems to be a good option in many of these countries). I may well be in a paid job, which will mean financial support needs will be lower than they otherwise would be. But my prayer needs will be greater!
As new developments unfold, I’ll try to keep everybody updated. I’d very much appreciate your prayers along the way - and also your thoughts. I’d like my church family to feel free to have input, if there’s a particular country that’s on your heart or that you feel may be part of God’s plans for me. I’d also like you to pray for the countries that I’m considering, as their needs are very great.
I hope that by the time I return from Thailand, I’ll have a fair idea of whether I should apply with Pioneers, much greater clarity about whether Tashbaan is a long-term possibility for me, and if not, what the other options are.
Whatever the future holds, next year will be largely taken up with my studies and I’ll continue to be very involved at RPC. It may also involve getting qualified as an English teacher in my spare time!
I’ll let you know when I know more... some countries I've been considering are (in no particular order):-
- China
- Laos
- Nepal
- Burma/Myanmar
- Vietnam
- The Maldives
- Indonesia
- Bhutan
- North Korea
You can find out more about the situation in these countries and how to pray for them through organisations like Open Doors and Voice of the Martyrs (www.persecution.org).
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