Tag Archives: missions

#PAOCGENCONF2010 – Ivan Satyavrata

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Ivan Satatyavrata serves as the Senior Pastor of an Assembly of God church in  Kolkata (Calcutta), India.  Here are my notes from his message at the General Conference:

Christianity in general is more of a multicultural and global movement than ever before.

  • need for Christians all over the world to work TOGETHER.
  • John 17:18 (Jesus prayer)
  • John 20:21 (commission) – As the father sent Jesus, so he sends US!

“How of Missions”

  • it is the manner in which the Father sent the Son that determines the manner in which the church is sent by Jesus
  • it’s mission is governed by the manner of His (mission). (Newbigin, Missons in Christ’s way)
  • the importance of “as” in what Jesus said. (the father has sent me AS I send you)
  • missions is NOT about colonization.
  • missions must NOT be done alone!
  • missions is not marketing (corporatization)

What is Jesus way for missions?
John 14:21 (Jesus prayer) – one as you and I are one.

1. Intimacy  

  • with God and with each other
  • must be nurtured in and flow out of our intimacy with God
...This is a preview of #PAOCGENCONF2010 – Ivan Satyavrata.
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Day Four (Dec 31) – Fireworks at Sunshine [Ukraine Missions Trip]

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This is the fourth entry in the series I am writing about my trip to Ukraine – I didn’t have daily internet access while there so I recorded each day for later publishing.  And later [much later actually] is now.  

  • after breakfast I spent time in prayer and message preparation. Still don’t know what I’m going to preach tomorrow and Sunday!
  • Joined some of the team to go to the bazaar to get a picture frame (for the picture of the ladies giving the teddy bears) and then fireworks for the New Years Eve celebration.
  • Went to McDonald’s to hopefully meet up with a team there for the McJoyful but they were already done.
  • Went to a mall near the McDonald’s – Walt wanted to look at some boots for his wife. There’s some nice footwear – price is fairly comparable to Canada BUT what is different is the quality for the price.  FASHION is a big thing in Ukraine (and light years ahead of back home).
  • Had an awesome lunch – I was feeling a bit queasy though so I didn’t eat that much (“that much” is a relative term in comparison with the other meals I’ve eaten so far…the food is so amazing here)
...This is a preview of Day Four (Dec 31) – Fireworks at Sunshine [Ukraine Missions Trip].
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Day One (Dec 27): The Journey Beings [Ukraine Missions Trip]

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This is the first entry in the series I am writing about my trip to Ukraine – I didn’t have daily internet access while there so I recorded each day for later publishing.  And later is now.  I’m hoping to publish each days notes over the next week (one a day) but we’ll see what happens…

Waiting at the Toronto Airport for our flight to Germany

Waiting at the Toronto Airport for our flight to Germany

Well today was the day I left for the country of Ukraine on a missions trip with my church.  I’ve been looking forward to the trip but also a bit pensive about it.  Not knowing what to expect AND knowing I’ll miss my family I’m somewhat pensive about the days ahead.

Here’s the route we took today…Toronto (jet) – Frankfurt (jet) – Borispol(near Kyiv)(train) – Krivoy Rog (bus to apartments)

The flights were fairly uneventful. We had about a 1 hour layover at Frankfurt which meant we basically went to the boarding gate after landing from Toronto and waited to get on the next leg of our journey.  

...This is a preview of Day One (Dec 27): The Journey Beings [Ukraine Missions Trip].
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(846 words, 10 images, estimated 3:23 mins reading time)

Stay tuned, Zimbabwe Updates only 9 days away…

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While I am in Zimbabwe I am going to be posting here daily (as long as I have internet access/power) .? I will be posting to the Zimbabwe 2007 series that I started when I first announced my participation in this project.? If you’d like you can also subscribe to the series.

What am I going to be writing about?? At this point I really can’t say.? All I can promise you is that I’ll be chronicling my experiences and thoughts on what I am experiencing.? Kind of broad isn’t it? :)

“Fill the bags”

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We’ve just published a “needs list” of items that the Village of Hope could use and what we’d like to be able to take when our team goes in June (just under a month to go!).? Thanks to special arrangements with British Airways, we are able to take two extra bags per team member and each bag can be up to 50lbs.? That means we can take 400lbs worth of stuff on top of our own luggage.? It’s a great opportunity to be able to take things to Zimbabwe for much, much cheaper than it would cost to ship (at least $450/50lbs from Hanover) the same items separately.

We are hoping that we’ll be able to take most of the needs on the list – if any of my readers are able to contribute somehow it would be greatly appreciated!

Walkathon, Retreat, and Countdown

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Time for another update about my Zimbabwe trip. Between the Fundraisers for Zimbabwe 2007, the 50 Days of Prayer and Fasting that I’ve been participating in (which includes writing and publishing the devotional that my church is using) and my normal day job – I’ve been kept extremely busy and have barely had time to maintain all the websites I manage/own let alone put posts up. Yet, it’s really no excuse, I guess the creative part of my brain is just exhausted by the time the night rolls around and I haven’t been able to muster up the energy to put words down. I haven’t even twittered!

Anyway, tonight I’m finally taking some time to write up another installment in my Zimbabwe 2007 series.

Walk-athon Fundraiser

This was held on Saturday April 28th and all participants walked 10km (The number of average steps in 10km = number of kilometers to go to Zimbabwe). We collected pledges for each km or for the total distance. At last count there was close to $1200 collected for the project!  

...This is a preview of Walkathon, Retreat, and Countdown.
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(673 words, estimated 2:42 mins reading time)

Event Update (getting closer to Zimbabwe)

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Just thought I’d give a little bit of an update as to what’s happened in the past few weeks with the Zimbabwe 2007 Project that I’m a part of.

Day at the Sugar Bush Fundraiser [04/07/2007]

The unexpected snowy weather for this time of year turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it really contributed to the success of the day. The snow certainly gave a more appropriate backdrop to the whole experience of being in the sugar-bush.

When I arrived at the Schaab’s barn I quickly attended to my pre-arranged pancake duty. It was while making my extra special “flap-jacks” (all I did was coat the pan with oil, pour the mix, and flip) that I realized how many people were attending this fundraiser event. We were kept pretty busy making the pancakes and there were times that we couldn’t keep up with the number of people arriving!

All in all the day was a fun day – and thanks to all the volunteers and the generosity of the people attending we made just over $2,000 between the sale of Maple Syrup and the tickets for the day.  

...This is a preview of Event Update (getting closer to Zimbabwe).
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(1051 words, estimated 4:12 mins reading time)

Countdown

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Had my latest meeting with the Zimbabwe 2007 Team last night. Things are really progressing well with the planning and preparation. From my end:  

  • My passport has been received and placed in a safe place (I actually got it two weeks ago – earlier than expected!) – of course my photo makes me look like a mobster hehe.
  • I’ve started receiving the necessary vaccinations (HepA and B, Typhoid) and have received my Malaria Medication. I still have to get my Tetanus shot and a second dose of HepB. The needles aren’t as bad as I thought they’d be. I don’t like needles but the prick came and went before I had a time to react!
  • Fund-raising planning has been going along great and we’re gearing up for some great events in April/May (see the fundraising page on my church website).
  • My personal support is coming in fairly well. I recently had a $40 donation via the “chipin” widget here on unfoldingneurons.com (Thanks Colleen!) which was a pleasant surprise. I wish I could add-in support I’ve recieved other ways as the tracker isn’t really reflective of what I’ve had donated to me to date. I’ve actually received around $900 (including the $40 through ChipIn) towards my personal support goal.
...This is a preview of Countdown.
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(295 words, estimated 1:11 mins reading time)

What am I getting myself into?

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I believe it was back in May of last year that one of the men in my church first approached me expressing his desire to go on a short term missions trip in the future and wanting to present a questionarre to the men’s group to see if there were any others who had an interest. Little did I know the way events would unfold and how not only is this missions trip actually happening, but I’m one of the ones going!

Why Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe became the point of destination for the men in our church because it is a natural fit with the partnership our church has established with Gord and Anita Cooledge who run a Village of Hope in Harare. The purpose of this project is to make available the varying gifts and abilities of the men who go, the resources we are able to take with us, and the willingness to serve wherever there is a need to aid in the work that the Cooledges are doing in building this community to help children orphaned by AIDS.  

...This is a preview of What am I getting myself into?.
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