The Difference a Month Makes
When Paul’s local believing friends, including Jason, got caught in a riot and a mob showed up at Jason’s house, it looked like the movement may be snuffed out as quickly as it began.
The Harvest
The harvest was ready. The harvesters were due to come the next day. Then came the hail.
“It’s 100 percent worth it.”
How do you make new friends on a new campus using a new language? Maybe an old game. Table tennis, anyone? To prepare for leading a Navigators iEDGE missions team in Mexico and to explain their ministry, Kevan and Ashley made an action video—ping pong action. They share their story below and on the iEDGE […]
Missions, Marriage, and Pastries
Surprisingly, my biggest challenge as a freshly married young woman working at a children’s home in Africa is not the oppressive heat, separation from family, or even lack of coffee shops. I expected to surrender those trials to the Lord and willingly did so. (I wanted to be a good missionary after all!) My biggest […]
Diving into Missions Life Overseas
Arriving on the mission field felt a bit like cliff diving: exhilarating and terrifying. In one leap, we left our safe and secure American lives and launched into the unknown world of rural Africa. We had a rough idea of our job descriptions: I would teach at the children’s home while Nick would do worship, […]
From Bliss to Mess: An Overseas Story
Planning a wedding and a move across the world is not difficult—it’s insane. Before my wedding, dozens of well-meaning people told me first-year marriage horror stories. With stress about my dress, the weather, and the flowers, I had no brain space for anything other than my wedding. After July 28 I would be a new […]
Meeting Unknown Needs
Accepting an iEDGE team at the beginning of 2020 was a step of faith for The Navigators ministry in Glasgow, Scotland. They wanted the iEDGE team to have a specific role and be seen and valued but initially the Glasgow ministry team wasn’t sure exactly what the iEDGErs’ role would be. The Glasgow Navigators decided […]
The Bible Study That Wouldn’t End
“Is this even allowed?” Before going to Kenya with my iEDGE team, I prayed that I would meet women to invest in. Fast forward three months into my time in Kenya: I was leading a Bible study with three guys! I was thinking, “Is this even allowed?” and “What gives, God!?” Older Sister I had […]
Healing Friendships
Abigail Strand (left) served with Sam and Rene in Mongolia with Navigators iEDGE (International EDGE Corps) from 2018 to 2020. On my own, I probably never would’ve become deep friends with either Rene or Sam. Rene was too popular and Sam was too cool—I definitely felt lacking and weird. Real, imperfect people But this was […]
Improving your missions posture
While you’re out in the community with part of your short-term missions team, an earthquake hits your Pacific Rim city. Where do you duck for safety when you feel the first tremor? What do you do after the shaking stops? If cell towers aren’t working, how do you connect with your teammates? If you’ve been […]
A painful summer: The Father who sees
Most of us consider fasting only when times are truly tough. You may want to seek God’s face this summer over your lost summer in overseas missions, a loved one threatened by the pandemic, injustice, or financial and unemployment fears. Fasting during distress Jesus spoke of fasting, funds and the Father to people on a […]
Near yet global: Our Father in heaven
People with a missions mindset often care about both loved ones nearby and multitudes beyond their own borders. In a global health crisis, we can feel deeply grieved yet powerless to help. Who’s in charge matters. Pandemics and the way they are handled in our country, state, or locality can prompt us to ask who […]
Jesus’ timeless truth: Our Father knows
Plans change, trips fall through, needs arise that we haven’t faced before. A frightening pandemic can cause us to wonder where to turn for truth. Around the world people are reaching out to God, many for the first time, asking for His help. Yet amid all this, the Father hears each one of us when […]
Missions trip cancelled? Our Father sees
If you were planning on an overseas mission trip with your team the summer of COVID-19, most likely your trip will be cancelled due to the pandemic, if it hasn’t been already. You may have planned for this trip for months, if not years. Whatever your plans for missions and your life, the coronavirus probably […]
How to talk to your parents about going on a mission trip
“I want to go on a short-term missions trip to Zambia.” What would rush through your parents’ minds if you said that? Where’s Zambia? Africa, right? Was that a country with Ebola? Or with terrorist activity? Who’s supposed to be leading my precious child on this trip? Who do I talk to for background on […]
“Who will go?” An “inadequate” student responds
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 (ESV) If you’ve been around a Navigators or missions community for any length of time, you’ve heard conversations about world missions and making disciples. All too often […]
Are short-term missions worthwhile?
During a recent group discussion on missions, a university student asked, “Are short-term missions really worth it? Why not just send money to the locals?” What a great question! Benefits of short-term missions While short-term mission trips can seem expensive for the actual work accomplished, they still provide many benefits: Many locations use short-termers as […]
Short-term missions
A missions trip fit for you Like Mary Poppins’ bag, the deeper you reach into short-term missions, the more you find. Search “short-term missions opportunities” and you’ll quickly find dozens of websites offering hundreds of trips. Complete an agency’s requirements and you could conceivably serve nearly anywhere for less than a year (as we’ve defined […]
Open for business: A story of God at work through Business As Mission
Most citizens in our adopted country belong to a religion that is hostile to the gospel. The people around us have grown up hearing all kinds of untruths about Jesus. Their hearts tend to be resolutely closed to following Him. What a privilege and honor it has been to rub shoulders at work day in […]
How to raise funds for a short-term missions trip
“I’d sign up for a mission trip, but I don’t think I could ever raise the money.” You may have heard (or made) an objection like this. If you’ve made plans to serve on an overseas short-term missions trip, you’re unlikely to be going for free. If you’re going to ask others for support, how […]
Gaining from training: Short-term missions training
“All right everyone, listen up! You have one minute to read the following game instructions in silence (no talking) and then we’ll collect them.” What followed was semi-organized chaos. We participants didn’t realize that each table was given a different set of rules. I found this out when, of four players at my table, I […]
Finding the right mission organization
When I was little, my dad gave me a Swiss army knife—not that I could be trusted with it, as a tiny arc welding accident proved later—but I loved that knife. I could use tools on that single knife for so many things: Big knife: Slice celery. Small knife: Slice butter (but I’d pull out […]
Why fundraise for a short-term mission trip?
So you’re telling me that my meal plan will consist of whatever carbs and carrion a nasty flock of birds delivers!? I imagine this is what Elijah must have wondered about God’s provision for him in the ravine east of the Jordan River (1 Kings 17:1-6). But bread and meat showed up via ravens and […]
How to prepare yourself for a missions trip
Yes! You’ve signed up for a missions trip! Now what? God’s called you to step out in faith, surrendering your time, efforts, and talents to see the gospel advance into the nations though a short-term missions trip. And you’ve obeyed! Suddenly, your to-do list is full of team meetings, fundraising, passport photos, packing, vaccinations and […]
Why go on a short-term missions trip?
I was asked today about taking a mission trip to Southeast Asia. Why would anyone want to go overseas for weeks at a stretch when there’s plenty to do here—including earning some money? Widen your world: No matter how many posts we read, we’re often drawn to what we already know, what we think. What […]
Four ways to share about your overseas mission trip experience
You made it! Now that you’re back from your short-term missions trip, how do you share all that you did overseas with Americans back home? Four ideas may help you communicate more effectively: Be prepared “How was your trip?” Family and friends will ask this as soon as you get back. Some people want all the details, but […]
Three ways to process your overseas mission trip
Through fundraising, plane rides, unique foods, foreign culture, and more, you’ve just experienced big things during your overseas missions trip. You may feel that your overseas trip was brutal, excellent, or maybe both. How do you process your short-term missions trip? You’ll want to consider a few things: Time to process your short-term missions trip […]
What you need to know about hot- versus cold-climate cultures
A group of Nepali men approached speaker Sarah Lanier with tears in their eyes. Why, they wanted to know, did no one tell them earlier how directly they had to speak with European colleagues who were visiting Nepal as guests?“[W]hen they asked us to take them on treks into the Himalayas, we would, of course, […]
