10 Years of Mission...

 

A Look Back in Pictures...

 

Taking a Haitus to Work on the House

 See my other blogs to the right  ----->     ----->     ----->     ----->   

Difficult Decisions to Receive

One of the responsibilities I carried during our time in W. Africa was reviewing funding proposals for a particular disaster assistance funding program. This "Hunger Program" connected with Church World Service (which also connected with One Great Hour of Sharing). And so, in western Ghana, with machetes in hand and boots on the feet the 6 km (3.7 miles) trek to the Cocoa farm out in the bush begins… The coop's farmers were trying to demonstrate their need for a $1000 grant to buy 35 pairs of rubber boots for women in the co-op.

You see, not infrequently, the women who do most of the physical labor, are found along the path having fallen under their loads or having slipped in the mud because they can’t afford the $30.00 for a pair of rubber boots, and in some cases they may have broken limbs and may have waited a day or more for someone to come. This is the life of a cocoa farmer.

Today, along the way we see signs of illegal timbering and a small (3’ black Cobra).

Neither is a welcome sight. One, however, is more acceptable.

The snake moves quickly away. The trees will take 30-40 years to replace.

And finally, the payoff. A well managed and healthy cocoa farm almost 4 miles into the bush.  It was the only land this co-op, of close to 100 people, could afford.

Most of the initial processing will also be done in the bush.

The pods are split open and the cocoa beans are dug out (much like seeding a pumpkin), wrapped in banana leaves, buried, and left to ferment for several days in the bush. Then they are unwrapped and dried.  When dried they are bagged and carried to town where they may only be sold to the government at prices controlled by the government.

In an attempt to minimize production costs and maximize the minimal profit that may be made, farming cooperatives spring up.

In this case when they heard that a white man was coming who was more interested in learning about their cocoa farms, than their former gold coast setting over 100 people walked and traveled by public transport up to 12 kilometers to see if it was true...

 

Even the Chief showed up...

...and if you're wondering, the request was denied.  This was one of the hardest parts of the job, reporting back to the co-ops (or any applicant) that their request was denied.  No reason was given it was just denied.  This has left a chip on my shoulder for some of these offerings, because as I reviewed (and I always did) the programs that were supported, it always seemed to be the more radical, liberal, "social justice" bent requests that saw the money flow.  And I, and others, were left informing the applicants that folks in the US couldn't afford $1000 to buy 30 pair of rubber boots...

 

Kenya, to Thailand, to Ghana

 

 

"Joy"

Copyright:

Artist: Tree63

Composer: John Ellis

Publisher: Hal Leonard

Great Challenges Yield Greater Blessings

 

Music Copyright:

"I Had a Farm in Africa"

from the Motion Picture "Out of Africa"

Composed by: JOHN BARRY

Arranged by: MICHAEL MARTINEZ

Universal Music Group

 

 

It's a trap!

It was an innocent enough question, or so I thought.  I was being interviewed by someone who would soon become my boss. We had been talking about cross-cultural issues, challenges, coping mechanisms, healthy boundaries, and other matters pertinent to living in a very different cultural context.  The question seemed a natural extension of that line of discussion.  "How are you at non-verbal communication?"

I answered frankly, that I felt I was reasonably well able to follow a lead, to read body language, and tone of voice to help interpret the person's communication. However, I anticipated that there would be increased challenges along those lines in a culture with which I was less "well-rehearsed or experienced."  And that seemed to be the end of the matter.  My future boss smiled and seemed to be particularly pleased with the answer. Duh!

It wasn't until things began to fall apart in our relationship that I began to understand that what was really being asked was "are you willing to read between the lines to discern what I am asking so that I don't have to actually come out and ask it?"

Now, on the surface even that may seem a reasonable request, but as most of my co-workers in the region at that time would attest, it was really nothing more than a cover to avoid responsibility.  The deeper implications were, can you discern what I am asking you to do without my actually asking you, so that when it blows up, I can deny ever having asked or even implied that you should do such a thing?  Are you willing to take the fall for my ineptness?  Will you guarantee me plausible deniability in everything I want you to do?  Will you insulate me from responsibility for my actions?  This person had built his career on plausible deniability.

Case in point, I was asked to team with two other missionaries to plan a missionary retreat for our region.  We took the responsibility well in hand and began the process.  I was warned by the others that there may be pushback as this director expected to be treated like visiting royalty.  

We found a very good deal at a resort at which the missionaries would all feel comfortable.  It was not a guest house nor was it a 5 star location. And it was within the budget we had been given.  As our plans progressed I stopped hearing from my director.  Later, at a gathering of the missionaries, one who had rarely been a part of our gatherings approached me and said that she was excited about having booked a certain rather fancy resort for our retreat.

When we talked further, she was honestly surprised I hadn't heard that the director had asked her to assume responsibility.  We were out of the picture.  She apparently was better at non-verbal communication and understood what was wanted.

The bash was so extravagant that no other region in the world was able to have a missionary retreat for the next three years.  It exceeded the budget by close to five times I later understood. But the boss got to stay in the Presidential Suite during the retreat. AND was able to say he wasn't aware of the costs that were being incurred since he had handed the responsibility over to one of the missionaries.  The missionary took her bruises and went on.

We lost 8 out of our 11 missionaries (in that region) in just 4 short years over just such matters. Few could live with any integrity when the ones with which we were called to work and witness lived on subsistence level salaries.  We were being asked to make promises we knew wouldn't be kept...told to ignore somethings that were being said...and not to communicate with anyone back at the denomination's USA head office, except the director.

Thus it was that we left the mission field for the first time, resigning after our first year, and being black-listed by our director, ensuring we would never return to the country we loved as long as he sat in that seat.  And we didn't...

So if someone at an interview asks you about how you are at non-verbal communication, you might want to push back a bit on the question and dig deeper into what is actually being asked in order to avoid a misadventure in mission.