August 2002

Dear Friends:

We are on our way back to the States for a month of vacation and visits with family and friends. That we are leaving for a month in the few days since we left Tshikaji has provided a lot of topics for thought and discussion between us. We wish to share with you this experience as it presents some different aspects of mission.

We were called by God to follow Him. His call was not very detailed, and we experience each day new aspects of that call. When we were in orientation we asked other new missionaries what they were going to do. The universal response was, "I am not really sure." We thought that strange, or at least Mike did since, being a doctor, he thought that he had a pretty good idea of the scope of our work. He expected we would care for the sick and teach our skills to others, which we have been doing. What we have come to realize, however, is that this is only a small part of the work and life in mission.

During orientation we participated in many discussions on the difficulties we might experience while living, as strangers, in a new culture and with a language new to us. This is true, but even more important is that we’re living in a different culture experiencing not only great poverty but also the effects of war.

After announcing our planned vacation several months in advance, we received frequent inquiries about exactly when we would be leaving. There were any number of reasons for this including concerns over our absence. Our efforts at becoming active members of the community were paying off, and our new neighbors were concerned that all that we were involved in would disappear if we left, even for a month. Probably the most important instruction we received from our "bosses" at PC(USA) was to be co-workers always. Rather than to initiate projects that depended upon us, we were advised to help folks solve their problems with means and methods that could be sustained by these same people.

The colonists had come and gone, and many well-meaning missionaries started programs that died with their departure because their projects depended on support from outside. When you learn the history of these people you can appreciate that this is one of the greatest challenges that we face and is always in our minds as we work with, and not over, people. Our interpretation of this principle produced one of the most difficult tasks for us, that of refusing personal requests. As the days approached, more and more people asked us to get things for them from the States: watches, radios, cameras, computers, books, shoes, belts, and on and on. These are all available locally, but according to these who asked, the quality of U.S. products is superior and they are cheaper. We received hundreds of requests and explained in each case why we could not respond to their personal requests. A few people offered to give us the money to buy things but most assumed we would buy them as gifts, even folks we did not know. It was not the poorest people who asked but those with a job whose relationships with missionaries had allowed them to receive these "gifts" for years. When there were more than 30 missionaries at IMCK, each must have received several requests. Now that there are only four of us, it was overwhelming.

It makes you feel good to say "yes" and satisfy that singular request but, in doing so, you continue a dependency that benefits a few already relatively advantaged individuals but not the community. It makes you uncomfortable to say "no" and to explain that our mission is to use our talents to teach them skills for the long-term benefit of all rather than to be a mini-mart for the few advantaged. Saying "no" is still saying "no" and is met with disappointment and statements of disbelief as other missionaries had always done this, so we were told. Although many folks see a missionary as a source for their personal material profit rather than a source of inspiration for a people to work together to profit the community, we must see beyond that and must always keep in mind that although we are called to serve, they are just trying to live. We don’t know that we would be any different if we changed places. As I said, these requests did not come from the most poor and were not for life necessities but for luxuries that are of little interest to the poor, who seek basic shelter, food, and ways to make them well. The efforts of mission have raised the standard of living for some and human nature is such that when given a little, we want and ask for more. Many that we work most closely with are in that category, while there is unbelievable poverty all around. Maintaining good relations with the first group (less poor) in an environment where we depend upon them to be with us in helping the second group (dirt poor) is one of the challenges of mission, as is fostering a culture in which the material resources of missionaries benefits the community rather than individuals. If anyone has the formula for this, we are ready to listen.

For the month of August, we look forward to being able to rest and relax as unknowns. We take comfort in that even Jesus admitted getting weary.

God’s Peace,

Mike and Nancy Haninger

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 29