There's a bird in my kitchen, dear Liza, dear Liza

Steve and I thought it would be nice to give our indoor-only cats an outdoor experience by taking out the windows in our sunroom, and give them access to a little ledge where they could wander a few feet out into the great unknown. We spent the afternoon outside, washing our cars, and came in every once in a while to check on them. Just a little bit ago, we came back inside. I put a few things away in the basement, and I heard Steve say, "Rachel, Rachel, come upstairs!" I ran into the kitchen, and he asked me, "What happens when you leave windows wide open all day long?" I thought, surely not a bird. But yes, it was a bird, nestled right between the olive oil and the soy sauce. Lady, Cat # 1, was prowling around and was VERY interested.

Naturally, we thought, what do we do now? I grabbed a box with a lid, close the door to the living room, and Steve tried to coax Bird into the box. Bird did not want to be coaxed, and dive-bombed towards me. I screamed like a little girl - very sad, I know. Bird landed by our coats, which handily enough, is right by the front door. Steve finally got it, and it flapped pitifully against the box as he carried it outside. He placed it on the driveway and opened it up, and Bird did nothing. Just sat there. Still nothing. Obviously stunned.

So I picked it up and placed it on the driveway. Bird blinked at me, and still did nothing. Steve picked it up and it perched on his finger while I ran for the camera. I got to take a few pictures of Steve looking like Nature Boy. Bird didn't do anything until Steve gently tossed it in the air, and it flew - somewhat erratically - away.

At least we have the proof.

The need for trained native missionaries

Today, I was flipping through the most recent issue of Christianity Today, and saw an ad for Christian Aid Mission. What caught my eye was the large picture of a south Asian man holding a Bible in a language that looked awfully familiar. And, as I looked closer, I saw I could READ the front of the Bible! Always a fun thing to discover. It was a man from Bangladesh - a tribal man, to be exact.

The point of the ad was that it makes more sense to send native missionaries than Western people because 1) they already know the language, 2) they are already a part of the culture, and 3) they are able to reach unreached people groups. The ad claims that 90% of mission work is being done by native people, but they are only receiving 10% of resources given to missions, and for $50-$100 a month, I can support a native missionary. "They live at the same level of the people they're reaching, they eat the same food, and they never take a furlough."

Huh.

I'm obviously not about to go into all the fun little issues this ad touches on. I definitely don't think bashing all foreign missionaries is the answer. I think it comes down the fact that we need both: foreign and native. Both have valuable resources to share with each other. Foreign (in most cases Western) missionaries have the responsibility to build up a church and native leadership, in the hope that one day, missionaries will no longer be needed. It is undeniable that native missionaries can be much more effective in many areas than foreign missionaries, particularly in third world countries. I strongly believe that foreign missionaries must make deliberate efforts to raise up nationals to take over the ministry, and national believers must understand that it is their burden to take on; they can't depend on foreign missionaries forever.