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Steve and June Wojcik:
the December 2009 Update
WHERE WAS STEVE?
It was nearly two years ago when we started planning for
this-- almost starting the day after the last one ended. I (Steve) have
been involved from the beginning, as I was with the previous two. After
countless emails, phone calls, meetings and video conferences, those plans
came together when, in October, 166 delegates from 37 countries and 5
continents gathered in Antalya, Turkey for MinistryNet 2009.
Each day, those delegates pondered God's Word and
worshiped and prayed in many languages. Then they rolled up their sleeves
for strategy workshops and met long after hours in small groups to
consider all the ways God is moving online to bring people into His
kingdom and what role He has for each of them in ministry.
They also fellowshipped over great Mediterranean food and
visited the marketplace in Perga where Paul and Barnabas passed through on
their first missionary journey.
During the conference, one of the delegates started
writing to his donors: "International gatherings are inevitably
complicated and expectations are hard to meet, given different cultures
and languages. I've been in my share of so-so conferences like this over
the past four decades. But the buzz here in Antalya is palpable. A fellow
from Romania said he was so excited he can hardly sleep. A British
colleague has people queuing up to discuss how he could help with
transforming their corporate websites..."
Seeing comments like these let those of us on the
conference team know that we got it right: we had sensed a need, and
MinistryNet was meeting that need. We wanted to bring together Campus
Crusade staff who wanted to build an internet ministry and put them in the
same room with experts from around the world. We had succeeded.
But our success wasn't complete yet. Although we had a
great turnout in Antalya, there were hundreds of others who wanted to be
there, but couldn't. So, my team worked nearly 16 hours a day, not
only keeping the conference running smoothly, but also feeding live
streaming video over the Internet, and recording and uploading videos of
all the main sessions and seminars, as well as daily devotionals. Within
hours after the first video had been uploaded, it had already been viewed
over a dozen times. And our staff are still downloading and viewing those
files.
We've already started to plan for the next MinistryNet in
2011!
WHERE WAS JUNE?
Did you see the movie Castaway? After being stranded on a
desert island for 4 years, Tom Hanks' character encounters major
difficulties as he tries to re-engage in life that has moved on without
him. Feeling lost and left out in a place which should feel like home, the
story ends with him standing at a fork in the road, trying to decide which
direction to take.
In October, I (June) was on the team that provided a
Debrief and Renewal Conference for some of our staff, many of whom have
served internationally for more than 20 years.
 Some
of them will return overseas, while others are unclear as to what their
next assignment will be. Perhaps you can imagine the challenge and
confusion of spending many years learning how to thrive and fit into a
foreign culture, only to return "home" and find it has changed and they no
longer fit in.
Debrief and Renewal is a five day retreat for the
whole staff family, designed to help them prepare for a healthy return to
where they've been serving, or transition into their next phase of life
and ministry. During the retreat we discuss how ministry and life are
going overseas, re-entry into American culture, grief and loss, rest and
Sabbath, and things to celebrate. Missionary Kid to Missionary Kid (MK2MK)
guides our staff kids in adapting to overseas life, to "foreign" US
culture, and relating to other American kids.
One very important aspect of the retreat is when our staff
meet in small groups to share their "stories" with each other. After
individually contemplating the past few years, they gather magazine photos
to make a collage reflecting what they are personally experiencing.
One woman portrayed herself dangling off the side of a bridge (of
transition), hanging on by one hand! Sensing that it won't work to hang
on, she's also scared to let go. As each person shares their story with
each other, they're able to grieve, question, process, and even discover
what is actually going on inside of them. It is a healing experience
as their feelings are affirmed by others who can well understand because
they're in a similar spot.
What a privilege to come alongside these missionaries and
help provide an environment where they can feel safe and accepted, start
and continue a time of healing (if needed) and transition, and build a
foundation for moving forward well personally and in ministry.
Serving with you,
Steve and June |
Growing
the
kingdom
of God,
one
disciple
at a time.
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