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Not your Father's Missions

It is amazing to see how far missions has come. This is definitely not your father's missions.

Way back in 1995 I was here in the Philippines doing a missionary internship my school Oral Roberts Unviersity. I had to make a call to the States for some school business. At that time a call to the U.S. cost about $20 for five minutes. The call was made over a trans-Pacific phone line, and you had to have an operater here in the Philippines connect you with an operator in the States before you actually got to talk to the person you wanted to call. The reception was terrible, and there was a two second lag in the connection, so I could hear my voice echo as it traveled to the other side of the world

Now just over ten years later, things have definitely changed. I have recently discovered the Gizmo Project. Using a microphone and headset I bought at a local computer store for about $5, I just made a call to the U.S. for free. I was able to do this sitting here at my desk, on my Powerbook, using my wireless Internet connection. I talked to a friend from Camp Sonshine, MD, Mike Charbonneau, for about thirty minutes. Using the Gizmo Project software, you can call toll free numbers without cost, and Camp Sonshine, MD just happens to have a toll free number. While it was not 100% clear, the connection was pretty good, and we could talk and communicate just fine. Not too bad considering I am on the other side of the world, and it was free.

Free is good.

This is definitely not your father's missions.

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There are times . . .

when I really miss being in the States. Right now in Maryland the weather is getting very cold, and there might be snow in the forecast. I miss the smells of winter and the cool crisp air. I also miss the first world comforts that I have taken for granted for so many years. In that regard, I miss how most first world countries are usually much cleaner. I also miss living and working in a temperature controlled environment, where I am hardly every sticky with sweat or humidity. Also the Filipino way of doing things is different--not necessarily better or worse, just different. I guess I will go through this all throughout my missionary career. While Iloilo is my home, I still feel like a foreigner. While I love my life here, I am still a citizen of two worlds, calling two VERY different places home.