May 2016 - TEAM Christian Missions Blog

How to Teach English Overseas and Be a Missionary Too

Teaching overseas is opening up new doors to share the Gospel in countries around the world. Photo by TEAM

May 31 2016

We all have gifts that God has given us to effectively share the Gospel. Have you ever considered that your fluency in English is one of them? Today, more and more people are getting certified in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and using it overseas to meet practical needs and make disciples. Kristin Dykstra, a TEAM missions coach serving in Illinois, majored in TESOL at Moody Bible Institute and now equips others to use English education in global missions. Her love for TESOL first grew while participating in a student exchange program in Russia, teaching English to non-native…

Many aged-out orphans in Zimbabwe face unemployment and a lack of skills to change their lives. But an agricultural training program is planting the seeds for a hopeful future. Photos courtesy of Steve and Anthea Love

May 24 2016

“How can you go back and help the children of the very people who took your family’s livelihood?” a supporter asked TEAM missionary Anthea Love before she left for Zimbabwe. A missionary’s departure for the field doesn’t usually prompt questions about bitterness. But then, most missionaries aren’t returning to the nation where their family lost everything. Sixteen years ago, in an effort to right colonial-era wrongs, Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe introduced land reform that seized 4,000 white farmers’ land. Among those farmers were Anthea’s parents. With a mix of corruption and poor execution, the redistribution project led to the collapse…

If you're stuck staring at a blank screen, here are some tips and tricks to help you write an effective support letter.

May 23 2016

Writing a support letter can seem like the highest hurdle to overcome in the support-raising journey — until you have the right tools in hand. Here are some great tips and tricks to writing a fantastic letter with all the key components that will make “the ask” for support a success. And once you’ve written your awesome support letter, be sure to download this Google template to keep track of your support team’s contact information and your financial progress. Less is more. Fit all the necessary information on one page, front and back. Period. Being clear and concise is key. Attention will…

Follow one worker's journey as he establishes a new life and ministry in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

May 20 2016

Ever wonder what a missionary actually does? Well, today William Santiago, TEAM worker in Puerto Vallarta, shows us how he’s navigating his first week as a missionary in Mexico, where he intends to engage in discipleship through creative arts. Follow along as he establishes a routine in a new home with new challenges. Day 1 I’m exhausted. I stayed up too late preparing, and I couldn’t rest well because I was excited! I felt kind of like a kid trying to get to sleep on Christmas Eve. Note to self: Setting out to the airport at 4:30 a.m. is not nearly as exciting as…

In cultures where the group is more highly valued than the individual, envy can occur when the status quo is threatened. Missionaries from an individualistic culture need to be mindful of these differences and how they affect their ministry. Photo by TEAM

May 18 2016

Have you ever thought about how envy plays out in culture? In Western capitalistic societies we do not usually think about envy, though it is a universal human emotion. Many people in the Majority World take steps to avoid becoming the target of envy. Being envied (or perceived as envious) carries significant social, and sometimes material cost. Envy is a feeling of disappointment or ill-will at the advancement of another person in happiness, success, reputation or the possession of anything desirable. It can be characterized by “I wish I had what you have,” or more intensely by “I wish you did not have what…

Every mission trip is different, but there are few essential items every short-term missionary shouldn't leave home without.

May 12 2016

Whether you wait until the eleventh hour or have been packing and re-packing for months, here’s your comprehensive mission trip packing list. Download the checklist here to cross off items as you pack them! THE ESSENTIALS Don’t pull out of the driveway without these items in your bag. Bible and Journal Keep your journal handy to record your experiences and what God is teaching you. If you are serving in a security-sensitive area, like the Middle East, check with the long-term missionaries there before you bring Christian materials. Cash and Debit/Credit Card Find out how to best obtain the local currency when…

We don’t go through language learning to get to the “real ministry." Learning Japanese is ministry. Photo by TEAM

May 10 2016

There was a time God used a travel-size bottle of shampoo to connect me to language learning. In May 2015, my husband and I went on a vision trip to Japan. We were toward the beginning of our support raising process to be long-term missionaries there. During our stay in Tokyo, I ran out of shampoo, so I stopped at a local store by the train station to purchase some more. I found a small bottle and saw that the price tag in yen appeared to be roughly $1 USD. Not a bad price for travel shampoo I thought. Happily, I took my…

From bad t-shirts to wild gestures, watch this video for tips on how to avoid common mission trip blunders.

May 05 2016

Whether you’re going on a mission trip to Thailand or Guatemala, there are a few universal best practices you should know. Watch the video below for a comical look at the blunders short-term missionaries have been known to make. Then, read on for practical tips that will help you avoid these common mission trip mistakes. 1. Don’t be loud and obnoxious. Going to a new place you’ve only seen in photos is exciting. With each novel experience, you might feel like snapping a few selfies and voicing great delight. It’s important to remember that while this is an experience for you, it’s another Monday for the people…

Trent and Christine spend their days smelling like coffee and dreaming of the day when they will open up their first missional coffee shop in Manila, Philippines.

May 03 2016

For the past year, Trent and Christine* have lived in Manila learning everything they can about Filipino culture and coffee in order to open up their first missional coffee shop, Narrative, later this year. Scroll through their photo journal to see how, in a city of millions, they are making disciples one cup of coffee at a time. Meet Trent and Christine (and Gordon, too) Mabuhay! We are Trent and Christine and we’ve lived in Manila, Philippines, together for just over a year (Trent since 2010). We have the best job in the world: setting up a specialty coffee shop in…

Archive - May 2016

How to Teach English Overseas and Be a Missionary Too

Planting a Future for Zimbabwe’s Aged-Out Orphans

How to Write an Awesome Support Letter

My First Week as a Missionary in Mexico [Photo Journal]

Why the Missionary Must Consider Envy

The Essential Guide to Packing For Your Mission Trip

Why I’m Learning One of the Hardest Languages in the World

7 Things to Never Do on a Mission Trip [Video]

When God Calls You to Open Up a Coffee Shop [Photo Journal]