August 2006

Dear Friends,
I have a confession to make. There are times that I’ve thought to myself, it would be so much easier if I had some concrete skill to share. As regional liaison what do I really offer? I wonder why I didn’t study medicine, or obtain some other practical skill, and then I’d have something tangible to offer the communities where I visit and see so much poverty and need.

A delegation member from Topeka, Kansas greets a community member from the partner community of Talpetates, El Salvador.

Admitting this publicly is not easy for me. It’s quite contradictory to much of my work over the past seven-plus years. I’ve worked with many visiting delegations that come focused on doing some sort of hands-on mission project. Time and time again I would get frustrated with this “must do” attitude, wanting so much for them to see that what really matters is that they come to accompany and learn from the people. I found myself wanting to steer away from the tangible projects because when building a house or a latrine for a poor family, it’s so easy to just pat yourself on the back and never ask why this family is poor to begin with. When it comes to short-term missions, I believe that the most important outcome happens when those who travel are challenged and changed by the experience. Which is why it is hard for me to admit, after years of pushing the relational aspect of mission, that sometimes I wish I could just do something.

As I reflect more on this dichotomy between doing and being, I realize that mission is not an either/or, but a both/and. Stephen Knisely writes in his book, Faith in Action: Understanding Development Ministries from a Christian Perspective, that bases on Micah 6:8, we are called “to provide assistance to the poor; to partner with the poor for justice in all aspects of society in which we live; and, together with the poor, to be open to God’s transformation of our lifestyles and lives so that all of us might fully share in the abundant life God envisions for everyone.”

In July I had the pleasure of joining a delegation from Topeka, Kansas on their visit to a community in El Salvador that they have been in partnership with for fourteen years. In the few days I spent in Talpetates I got a sense of this kind of holistic mission that Knisely talks about. Back in 1992, the relationship began with a desire to also address community needs. And as a result, changes have come to Talpetates. The school has strengthened and grown, there is a maternity center that offers care to expecting mothers and there exists a small community bank that offers loans to the rural poor. But beyond these quantifiable results, so much more has happened, something less tangible. This relationship that began with “providing assistance to the poor” went beyond. They chose also to “partner with the poor for justice … and to be open to God’s transformation.” This holistic missional attitude spoke to me. Over they years not only have many from Topeka traveled to Talpetates, but many from Talpetates have also been invited to travel to Topeka. These exchanges are now the basis of their partnership. Carmen Argueda, a leader from Talpetates, mentioned that after the first year or two, things began to change. She tells me, “I believe that the partnership has transformed us. And that it has transcended, because we no longer see them as those that help us, those that are going to bring us something, like we are waiting to see how many dollars they bring us. Instead, we are waiting excitedly for these brothers and sisters who are coming to visit.”

The doing was never as important as the being, but it was important. It is important for us to share with and do for, as long as we do it with the right attitude. There was a doctor in this particular delegation, and he came to experience and share in the partnership but also came open to sharing his skills as an experienced family physician. One afternoon, just as the group left for a walk in the community, a young woman with a large abscess in her armpit showed up. I stayed back with the doctor to attend to this patient. I stood by and translated as he anesthetized her, lanced the wound, cleaned it, and dressed it. Perhaps “stood by” isn’t quite accurate. Soon into the procedure, due to a combination of the stifling heat and the blood, I got a bit woozy and had to leave the room and sit down before we had another patient on our hands. I remember translating from the other room, shouting “she says it hurts … she says it really hurts.”

Both she and I made it through all right. She was grateful for his services, and I realized why I never had the urge to study medicine. It also brought me to reflect further. I was a bit jealous of these tangible skills, a way to really help somebody, hence my earlier confession. It would feel good to have something more tangible to offer. But at the same time, I realize that I do have skills to offer. As regional liaison, my job is about building relationships, connections and networks. If the way we participate in God’s mission is to move beyond just helping the poor, then we need these relationships. Without these relationships, much of what we do could be paternalistic, and merely reinforcing of the oppressive structures that God calls us transform. I am grateful to the group from Topeka for their inviting me to join them in Talpetates. I may have not “done” much while with them, but in my “being” with them and our sharing together, our commitment and understanding of mission has strengthened and grown.

Blessings and peace,

Tracey King

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 38