Member Care, beautiful words. I will use them!

I wrote the word Member Care in an e-mail to a person another day. That person responded with: "And Ingvar, Member Care .... beautiful words. I'll use them!

Sometimes we feel the need is too great, the budget too small and we wonder: Is it best to give up?

No, there is a beautiful word! We can use: Member Care. And it’s in there already in our Christian faith, the Church and in Missions. Let`s use it.

When I visit our various projects, I see clearly how Member Care is there. The persons in the projects and the local churches can cry and give a hug: Heart to Heart. But still more of this “currency” is required.

The man in the picture below, which was in a hospital in Asia 2009, got a lot Member Care. He says:

"I'm glad they were sad."

Member care has a divine “currency”, which is needed more off in today's world. The beauty of Member Care is that it works in there, but ..... it is highly contagious towards those living in the periphery, so even they will say: I will also use them. Then the world will experience God's love. Ingvar

Good News

Our beloved grandchild No. 5: Emelie Gullan Trygg was born 14:26 on Wednesday.
Welcome.
Grandmother Anna is with Ruth and Niklas in Borås. I can only follow them on a distance from Chiang Mai and ..... pray for them. They came home today Friday, from the hospital and .... all is well. Greetings from a proud grandfather. Ingvar

Pioneer ..... right here and over there

I am now reading a book on Pioneer work. It gives a good insight and challange into what it is like to be a pioneer. The verb PIONEER means:
1. open up an area or prepare a way
2. take the lead or initiative in; participate in the development of

A challenge for us who has received the calling to be pioneers is that it doesn’t end when the work becomes a few years old. No. God's pioneer work provides simultaneously:

a) a stable and functioning local work, right here ....in the old place.
b) And it`s open up doors for new work, over there ..... in new places.

The call to pioneer work in not just once in life, as a young person. No, it concerns us all. I have experienced that pioneering work is tough, but ... it has a very special and fresh blessing. And we need that blessing – the whole life. Ingvar

Moving on with a song.....

Yesterday I said in my office: I will now go to Sidney!
An immediate response was: Take a photo on The Opera House.

Well, I was going to Pastor Sidney’s house in Chiang Mai.

To connect and Catch Up with people is exiting. I can see that life is not always easy, but … people with a heavenly orchestra within themselves never stops sounding and are ….. always moving on forward.

I returned from Sidney without an Opera House photo, but I got a good song singing in me. Some people always can inspire others to move on and sing too.

God bless people like Sidney and Joy.

Ingvar

Bless our society ... on all levels

I found the Singapore presidential election Saturday 27th August 2011, very interesting. It`s true that I like to follow elections. One reason is that I find many biblical values highlighted during elections that people are looking for.

I listened at TV news to Dr. Tony Tan Tan. He asked the voters to think who would best represent Singapore, at home and abroad, and who would have the right temperament, character and courage to remain calm at times of turbulence.

I followed also his press conference yesterday. He is clear … and I trust he will become a good president the next six years. Interestingly, he is Anglican and nr 2 in the elections, is a Catholic. The two others, who came 3rd and 4th is not, what I could see, declaring their religion.

Dr. Tony Tan is 71 years old. But still he does not giving up, but wants to give Singporianerna: Confindence For The Future.

I am happy to see that more and more Christians in Asia are becoming good leaders on all levels of the society. We Christians can surely, bless the societies we live in and also the countries as a whole. Ingvar

5 days in the projects

I have just returned from Bangkok, Songkhla, Hat Yai and Phayao. To be active in the projects – on the spot – gives me always joy. Well ….. almost always. There are sometimes problems that give me sadness. But I am also challenged of the mixture of all the plus and all the minus.

The matter is:
1. not where we come from,
2. not where we are
3. but in what direction we are moving.

And together with God and the local people we can have an active Vision: What is the goal? And an active Mission: How do we get there? Ingvar

Hands On.... what is that?

For a few days ago I saw an advertisement:
Take the opportunity to join the Hands-On Conference xx September 2011 in Stockholm.

Many people are isolated and lonely, but they long to be involved. In the Church and in the Missions with all different programs we surely have many opportunities to give good Hands On experiences.

I looked for the meaning of the word Hands-On and got:
hands-on (adj.)
Involving active participation; applied, as opposed to theoretical: "We're involved in hands-on operations, pulling levers, pushing buttons" (Arthur R. Taylor).

We as a mission are constantly working towards a better and better balance between:

• Theory - Hands On.


• They are training (helping) us to do the job - We training (helping) them to do the job.


• We do the work - they do the job.

One thing is certain, to be Hands On in some places is not easy, due to language and culture, but we need everywhere to work on a good and creative balance between the involvement of the nationals and the involvement of the foreigners.

With the Head in the right place (Theory) and the Heart in the right place (Love) we can also have our feet and hands in the right place (Action).

They can do something. I can do something. But the best and fastest will be (in my opinion) when we are Hands On helping the Nationals to be Hands On. Ingvar