WIM Flash Magazine August 2019

WIM FLASH
W O R L D I N D I G E N O U S M I S S I O N S • A U G U S T 2 0 1 9
W O R L D I N D I G E N O U S
M I S S I O N S I N T E R N A T I O N A L
C O N F E R E N C E 2 0 1 9
“Best conference ever!” This
sentiment echoed once again at our
2019 WIM International Conference.
Over 87% of our missionaries
attended this year, making it our
most-attended conference yet.
A N O T H E R S U C C E S S F U L
O R I E N T A T I O N &
T R A I N I N G W E E K
Thank you so much to H-E-B, Las Palapas, Sue Saur,
and the WIM staff for helping make this year’s orientation
and training week an amazing success!
W W W . W O R L D I M . C O M

WORLD INDIGENOUS MISSIONS
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2019
"Best conference ever!”
This sentiment echoed once again at
our 2019 WIM International
Conference. Over 87% of our
missionaries attended this year,
making it our most-attended
conference yet. The theme this year
was “Reconnect, Refresh, Retool,”
placing a focus on Jeremiah 31:25, “I
will refresh the weary and satisfy the
faint.” Each day provided everyone in
attendance a chance to do just that.
The event kicked off on Sunday with
dinner followed by a night of reuniting
and worship. The days that followed
included times of learning, fellowship,
fun, and great food, of course. On
Monday, the ladies had a special
lunch and activity which mirrored the
conference theme.
Tuesday was a day of leisure for
attendees to spend the day at
Schlitterbahn or touring the San Antonio
area. Wednesday provided more
opportunities to retool via breakout
sessions, and Thursday concluded the
conference with worship, awards, and
communion.
Various WIM members and guests
spoke on several topics, including the
need for willing and tough workers,
Biblical storytelling, stewardship
education, and many others. The
conference was truly a blessing to all in
attendance and everyone could feel the
presence of the Holy Spirit. Thank you
to everyone who participated, to the
generous sponsors, and to our Heavenly
Father for making this event so
successful.

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL
ORIENTATION & TRAINING WEEK
Each year, the WIM staff hosts new and prospective missionaries for a week
of learning, growth, fun, and fellowship. Of course, there is always lots of
delicious food, and this year was no exception.

Some topics discussed
during the week included:
Cultural Adaptation
Selfcare, Stress and Burnout
Effective Team Communication
Cross-Cultural Ministry
Budgeting and Debt
Ministry Support Team Building
Vision and Personal Strategy
Conflict Resolution
Ethnographic Research
Language Learning
Thank you very much to H-E-B, Las
Palapas, Sue Saur, and the WIM staff
for helping make this year’s
orientation and training week an
amazing success! God bless you all!
If you are interested in attending our
next orientation and training week and
would like to learn more about it,
contact us at 830-629-0863.

To the Wild
Child
(and the Church
that doesn’t
know what to do
with them)
Written by Annaliese Myers
Dear Wild Child,
The world (and the Church) has never quite
known what to do with you. Not quite fitting in
the box, and not quite wanting to. The crazy
one who fell in love with a wild, crazy,
dangerous God. The one who so often feels
silenced, invisible, because when you speak
you’re told to be quiet. A still small voice calls
you way out beyond where the waves break,
and the world calls you crazy for it.
You, the wild one who prefers a wild, raging
ocean that sweeps you off your feet to a
smooth sea where the swimming is safe.
You live life climbing mountains, chasing
adventures with God as your guide. You live
wholeheartedly, not taking the easy road,
and because of that your mountains and
valleys feel so much higher and lower than
the others’. You, the one who can’t stay still,
give in, or let go of your calling; it’s too
much a part of you, as is the God who gave
you it.
Wild one, I see you. You’re not invisible.
You’re not forgotten. You’re not better off
staying silent. Too often the only options we
see are to shut you in, shut you out, or shut
you up but just because that’s the way it is,
doesn’t make it right. We need to hear you,
and if the Church is a little scared at first,
that’s okay. Find your people, the ones who
cheer you on, instead of predicting that
you’ll fail. I promise they’re out there, and
God will lead you to them eventually; it just
might take some searching. You are not
bound to be silenced wherever you go. Give
grace, but don’t settle for less than what
God is calling you to. If that makes the
Church a bit (or a lot) uncomfortable, that’s
okay. It’s not your job to keep them
comfortable, but to live courageously.
With Love,
Relentless

Dear Church,
I know you see them, the ones who aren’t
happy to just sit in the pews on Sunday
mornings and then go home. They want to
start new ministries, not join old ones, and so
often it’s easier to place labels on them or to
say, “We don’t have a place for you here,”
rather than support them in their callings. It’s
certainly easier than facing the fact that
although they make you uncomfortable, they
don’t make God uncomfortable, and maybe
the fact that you’re so uncomfortable with
them and the callings He’s given them,
means it’s your heart that needs to change,
not them. Chances are, God hasn’t put you
into their lives to try to crush the life out of
them and keep them quiet. The fact that
you’re uncomfortable doesn’t mean God
doesn’t have a hold of their hearts, doesn’t
mean He’s not calling them, doesn’t make
them bad, and maybe, if your biggest fear is
being uncomfortable, something needs to
change, and it’s not them.
Church, like it or not, you do have a place for them, but it’s a place that’s left empty when
you decide to either kick them down or kick them out. I promise they’re not trying to start
anarchy; they just do things a little differently sometimes. Church, I know they’re not perfect
and their mistakes often seem huge. Frankly, most people aren’t trying hard enough in the
first place to mess things up too badly, and, well, these ones aren’t having that particular
problem. If you watch them fail while having the ability to help though, that’s on you, and
their failures are not the cue for you to walk out and give up on them. Church, what if we
stand behind them instead of rooting for them to fail?

Church, your God is the same as theirs; the God of the still, quiet waters is also God of
the raging ocean. It’s not one or the other, but all of us, together and maybe, in them,
you can see a side of God that you’d never seen before. Maybe the fact that your walk
with God looks like a quiet, stable sea while theirs looks like a raging ocean, going
(seemingly on a whim) to wherever God calls, doesn’t make you a better Christian than
them.
Church, I know you see them, the ones who ask to be sent out, but you’d prefer they’d
be less outspoken first. Church, they’re not worth less because they don’t fit into
human boxes, because they can’t stay in the pews. God has their hearts too, and it’s
not your job to try to crush their enthusiasm into common sense; that so often comes
later. Yes, they’re wild, and yes, they’re not what you’d expect (or want) them to look
like, but whether or not you like it, they are there, they will make a difference, and you
do have a place for them. After all, this is the Body of Christ we’re talking about, and if
you’d prefer these ones not be a part of it, then that’s something to take up with Him,
not try to deal with yourself by cutting these wild ones off. Church, it’s not your job to
try to break them into what you think they should look like, what you think their calling
should be; chances are, you’ll end up breaking their hearts in the process. You have
the choice to put them down or to stand behind them. Church, treasure your wild ones.
With Love,
Relentless

F O R T H E N A T I O N S
PRAY
M O N D A Y
EAST/TRIBALS
AFRICA/MIDDLE
T U E S D A Y
AMERICA/CARRIBEAN/UNCHURCHED
LATIN
W E D N E S D A Y
ASIA/PACIFIC/HINDUS
T H U R S D A Y
U.S./CANDADA/EUROPE/MUSLIMS/BUDDHISTS

for your interest in missions and for your
prayers for workers to go to the fields.
you thank
World Indigenous Missions
PO Box 310627
New Braunfels, TX 78131-0627
Website: www.worldim.com
Phone: (830) 629-0863
Hours: Mon-Thurs, 8am-5pm