First, we got to have what we call “Culto Unido” at our church Jesus The Good Shepherd. Culto Unido means “United Service.”

At our church, we usually have two services, a 9am service in Quechua and an 11am service in Spanish. But one Sunday a month, we join together and have a super-long service in both languages. We sing songs in Quechua, then in Spanish. We read all the Scripture verses in both languages, the announcements are made twice. Even the pastor tries to preach with both languages intertwined.  It seems a daunting task, but it’s worth it. We always take this Sunday and have Santa Cena – Communion – together. It’s a lovely time. And our first Sunday back in Cusco was spent in Culto Unido.

What a great time it was getting to see so many friends that we’d been missing for so long. We are so blessed by our church in Cusco. I hope we’re as much of a blessing to it as it is to us.

Then, we got to have lunch with the Powlison’s and Dr. Henson (he would rather be called Mr. Nathan – or “Nafan” as Mark says it, I think, but we’ll go with Dr. Henson for fun). I love these people. Seriously. I honestly don’t know what life in Cusco would be like without the Powlisons and the Hensons. But… I think the real fun part was that Rachel got to have a lot of fun with Ellie and Emma Powlison – her sweet little friends whom she has missed tremendously since we left in September. They are a very major joy in her life. It’s good to see them playing together again.

Our lunch, by the way, was a fund raiser for the father of a man in our church. Actually, he’s the father of about 6 members of the church. He had hurt his leg, needed surgery, and because of his surgery was unable to work. So they had a luncheon fund-raiser to raise money to help afford the surgery. It was a great way to be able to help out a neighbor in need. But, what’s really amazing is that within one week of the fund raiser, this man gave his life to the Lord. God used this awesome opportunity to open this man’s heart for Him. And what an honor it was to celebrate with the family, our dear friends, that their dad is now going to worship God with them forever in Heaven.

The kids have enjoyed having their toys unpacked and available for full-time play. I’ve enjoyed having clean clothing.

Two things that I brought from home that I am SO GLAD I did and would be so sad if we left behind are:

My food chopper – You know, that little round thing that you bang on and it chops up your food -  Pampered Chef sells it. LOVE it. My life is changed already.

My can opener – I know, it’s just a can-opener. But seriously, every single time I had to open a can in the past three years, it has been all out war between me and that silly contraption that is now in my trash can. I could not find a can opener here that didn’t give me grief. Clearly, it was user error, since all of my Peruvian friends had no problem at all whatsoever with the little devil. So now that I have my new can opener, opening cans has been… mmm.. less than frustrating… maybe I would even consider it a delight.

It really is the little things.

Altitude adjustment has been going well. I feel tired more than I used to, and my throat is dry – I probably need to drink more water. Scott’s doing great, though, and so are the kids. Overall, we’re doing well. I even made it to the grocery store on Friday and have cooked some. You know what it’s like, moving to a new home, finally getting settled, and making that first grocery store trip? Finally having something for dinner besides take-out or fast-food? It was good.

On Thursday, our friends Jordan and Joy Allen who are missionaries here with YWAM brought us dinner. (It was awesome. Chicken Parm is a favorite around the Dillon house, and hers was excellent) They have three children the same ages as ours. It’s nice to not feel all alone on the mission field. I know that’s a struggle in many places… and it’s even been one for us before. But right now, we are surrounded by people who love the Lord and care for us, and we for them. It’s a beautiful thing. Praise Jesus.

Since this is our second time coming to Peru, we have learned a few tricks. One is that LAN, the company we use to fly from Lima to Cusco, charges overage fees for traveling with more than one checked bag, whereas the companies (ie Delta, Continental) whom we use for our international travel usually allow 2 bags. So, to avoid loads of extra baggage charges, once we get to Lima, we take most of our bags to a shipping company in Lima and have them shipped to Cusco for a LOT less. It’s a great plan. So, Wednesday, we had to go pick up all of our bags. Yet another blessing – they all arrived on time, and unharmed. (insert sigh of relief – we all have clean clothes for tomorrow).

Then, our lovely team in Cusco had a party for us. Brooke Daniel was a party-planning beast, knowing all of the important things, and with the help of everyone planned a really fun party, including: 1. Food that everyone likes – tacos. Perfect. Brownies. Also perfect (and tricky at altitude, but it was delish). 2. Disposable paper products. Since we actually hosted the party at our house (which was nice; it meant we didn’t have to go anywhere), it was nice to not have to wash a single dish. 3. Last but not least –lots of great friends welcoming us back. It was so wonderful to have not one, not two, but SIX families welcoming us home to Cusco! We are blessed beyond words. It was surreal and beautiful and sweet and special. Rachel especially liked getting to play with her new and old Cusquenan buddies. It was a real treat for her – well, for all of us. Thanks to our very awesome Cusco team!

We are now in the process of getting adjusted to the altitude. For those of you who didn’t know, Cusco sits at around 10-11 THOUSAND feet in the air. It’s crazy high. And there’s what feels like next to no oxygen up here. You can be 7 words into a sentence, and have to stop to take a deep breath before you can go on. You can feel dizzy from simply sitting still. You can get a pounding pressure headache which will NOT be helped by ibuprofen. Some people even get nausea and severe fatigue. Dehydration’s also a problem. Thankfully, we haven’t been too sick. Tuesday and Wednesday were both hard altitude days for us. We’re doing well with the adjustments thus far. All of these altitude symptoms are usually temporary and go away after the body makes its adjustments. We’re almost there.

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We arrived! We’re here!

But let me say – we are a bit shocked. Only the Hand of God could have made it happen (which, I’m sure God’s hand was involved in ever tid bit – so no surprise there).

After four months of God affirming our call to Cusco through MTW’s approval to be career, and our team’s making us aware of the need for us to return, we were slightly discouraged by the lack of raising all of our financial support. But, just two weeks before our scheduled return, we received a handful of pledges and one-time support. God made it very clear to us during that time that it was right for us to return as scheduled on the 21st.

So, after a week full of packing and repacking… and repacking 9 suitcases and 3 large Tupperware bins, two trips to getting an expired passport reestablished, one last minute trip to the eye doctor, one undeserved parking ticket and one towed car, we were finally ready to begin our voyage back to Cusco.

We had an early flight out on Saturday morning, the 21^st, so we chose to stay the night in Newark, NJ the night before. And after four months of hoping for some snow so that my children could see it, experience it, & play in it, and NO snow appearing, of course, snow made its appearance the morning of our departure. We woke up in Newark to a blanket of the white fluffy stuff. We were sure our flight would be canceled, or at least, delayed.

But no. Not even a thought to a possible delay.

So we boarded the plane.

And waited an hour….

Apparently, there were thunderstorms in Atlanta, our first layover. So, our flight was delayed, not because of the snow in Newark, but because of the storms in Atlanta. When we finally landed, we were less than an hour until we were supposed to board our flight to Lima. We were sure we wouldn’t make it – but we would try. Then, of all things, the Jetway wasn’t working and we were stuck on the plane for at least another half hour after we landed. So… no hope in getting to Lima.

And, since our traveling difficulties were weather-related, Delta decided to not help us pay for a hotel. But they did give us some really nifty travel-toiletries bags, so we really can’t complain. Thanks, Delta.

Anyhow, 24 hours later we finally made it to Lima, and all 13 pieces of luggage also arrived! Of course, customs demanded to send our bags through their little machine that lets them pick up on anything they could possibly charge us for. Thankfully, they let us go without opening a single bag. Thank God! (This was a miracle)

And let me just mention how good the kids were. I think, maybe, they’re getting used to all of this travel. I once had a seasoned missionary tell me their children were/are most comfortable in an airport – it’s just so familiar to them. This past trip, I saw my kids behave very comfortably during our travels. They enjoyed the plane, they knew to take their shoes off at security check (even though you don’t have to if you’re under 12 – they wanted to anyhow). It’s very interesting seeing kids raised knowing how to travel internationally. I didn’t fly on a plane until I was 20!!! So different…

Anyway, from then, it was basically smooth sailing. We spent a day and a half in Lima, shopping and enjoying the heat that Lima provides in January. And we landed in Cusco only 10 minutes before the rain started at 2pm on Tuesday the 24^th. Ahh, Rainy season. How I’ve missed you. (this is the part where you may think you sense sarcasm in my tone, but there is actually none. I adore rainy season. I wish it were rainy season 12 months of the year)

Once we were in our home, Scott and I looked at each other knowingly with shock and joy and excitement and exhaustion in our eyes. We made it.. so we celebrated with a high-five immediately followed by a nap, of course. It seemed impossible. But God made it possible.

And we are so very thankful we’re here.

Thanks to those of you who made it possible – your prayers and support are priceless. We have never been more grateful.

Why do you need a mission agency? Can’t you just independently go to Peru and reduce your budget by $1000s a month? What kind of support does a mission agency actually provide? Is the training worth it?

First, I’d like to address the very issue at the heart of most of these types of questions: money. I haven’t met anyone yet that argues that having a misson agency is a waste of time because of partnerships, accountability, training, support, assistance, etc. It always comes down to money and this is the fact: an independent missionary raises significantly less money than missionaries with an agency. Let’s address the issue of money first and then we’ll look at some of the benefits of a mission agency that are worth a lot more than the small percentages that they receive.

Let me say before we jump into all of this that there are many independent missionaries doing excellent things for the Lord in ministry. This isn’t meant to be a slight against independent missionaries, but rather an argument for the use of a misson agency (or church that acts like one).

Money is a Means and Not Just a Resource

Most of us look at money as a resource. It has limited supply (at least in our pockets) and like global warming, we’re finding ourselves with less and less of the resource we need due to a global recession. However, the Bible looks at money a little differently and I think that if you look at how you use money, you’ll see that it’s a means to do something rather than simply a resource to be expended. If we look to the Bible, we read passages like 2 Corinthians 9:6-12:

The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for great generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God; for the rendering of this service not only supplies the wants of the saints but also overflows in many thanksgivings to God.

Paul is talking about money as a means to accomplish ministry. It’s not just a resource. This should really change the way we spend money. In Paul’s view, the more we invest (the more we give) the more we receive. Try to do that with any other resource! It’s completely upside down thinking than the world’s view on money. The world teaches us that if we want to save and have more, we need to give less. It’s upside-down.

Giving to Christian ministry should be seen as an investment into the Kingdom of God which always has the best positive ROI. Sadly, maybe more than ever in history, the Christian Church has lost this perspective on money. Have we really forgotten, “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and increase the harvest of your righteousness.”?

(2 * Prayer + Faith²)/Need = 100% Support

There isn’t a formula for a missionary raising support. In fact, whether or not your budget is $500 a month or $10,000 a month, the task of raising support requires the same amount of faith and perseverance. When you see money as a means to ministry and an investment for your partners in ministry, you realize that saving money by being independent doesn’t really save you much at all.

The logical question is, “Does being independent allow for more missionaries to raise their support in less time?” Not necessarily. If the goal is simply getting physical bodies to the mission field, then yes, it is quicker. However, without a mission agency, the missionary may be greatly under prepared, under funded, and under supported. Don’t we want our missionaries to go with the best training? the best support? Why do we shrug that off like it’s only for weak people?

Paul’s Example & the Church

Paul didn’t have a mission agency, why should we?  Paul also didn’t have a car, yet most missionaries find that having one is necessary. Why is that? Paul also didn’t have to attend language school, so why should we? I think we would find ourselves with really silly questions if we continue on. Paul may not have used a mission agency, but he heavily relied on the support and accountability given to him by the churches and people that supported him. Independent missionaries often claim that they have the same relationship with their supporting church (and sometimes they do!), but more often than not there is a real need that isn’t being met. Which leads me to the other question, “Shouldn’t the Church fulfill all of the responsibilities of the misson agency?” YES! The church is called to be that supporting body and the biblical model is that the Church would fulfill all of the needs of the missionaries. However, can we realistically expect all of the churches (even within the same denomination) to agree on training, development, deployment, and support for missionaries? Most churches in the States are just content to provide that support to their ministries at home let alone to a missionary abroad. For the same reason, I would argue that mission agencies should be directly tied to the church and/or denomination. That last statement is just my personal opinion.

Money Can’t be the Issue

The conclusion is that money just can’t be the only reason to be independent. If we neglect the benefits of a mission agency to gain the only benefit of saving some money, we really lose. I believe, honestly, that in most cases the desire to go independent is driven by a fear of raising support. Deep down, we’re afraid of the big budgets that mission agencies assign us and we think somehow God’s people won’t give. I’m not arguing for big budgets; every mission agency has fat to trim. I am arguing that we lack faith in believing God will provide. Money just can’t be the issue. God owns all of the cattle on the hill and the hill. His providence doesn’t depend on our ability to cut back on costs, but on whether or not it is His will. If the provisions of an agency are necessary for a missionary to thrive, then we can’t neglect it.

Provisions of a Misson Agency

Again, let me reiterate and say that for some independent missionaries, their home-church does a good job of providing these things. For a lot more, however, they are left on the mission field without these needs met.

Financial Accountability

With complicated IRS laws and detailed ministry budgets, it’s really important to have financial accountability. Missionaries need financial accountability in staying above reproach in areas of spending, but also guidance in making wise decisions on new purchases. Furthermore, because the funds are transfered through the mission agency, there is a sense of security given to the donors that their money won’t be wasted.

Leadership Structure & Accountability

If you have more than one person on a team in any location, you already have conflicting views. Almost never do you see two people with the exact same perspective and philosophy of ministry. Who is to provide leadership and who is to keep others accountable to the leadership structure? Who is to provide direction and vision? Who is to provide encouragement and accountability to ministry tasks? Commonly the mission agency provides this structure and holds everyone accountable to someone or a committee.

Furthermore, the leadership provides direction in times of serious disagreement between missionaries on the field. This is often overlooked and when differing opinions arise on the field between two or more missionaries and there is no one to help negotiate or arbitrate them, people become offended, burnout, and discouraged. The number one reason missionaries leave the field is because of disagreements between their teammates.

Ministry Direction & Encouragement

This explains why a lot of mission agencies focus on one or a few specific tasks. Wycliffe missionaries focus on getting the Scriptures in the heart language of the people and Latin Link focuses on mercy ministries (often orphanages and street-children). It’s not that the agencies should focus, but rather that they help missionaries and teams find focus. Most agencies genuinely care about what their missionaries are doing and why they’re doing it. The other side of this is that a mission agency will remove a missionary if they feel they aren’t fulfilling the vision and call of the ministry.

Training and Counseling

These are actually two sides to the same coin of spiritual, emotional, and ministerial development. Most agencies provide significant training for their missionaries which may include: language acquisition, church planting training, theological enrichment, cross-cultural learning, gospel-contextualization training, and more. Most missionaries minister in cross-cultural situations and therefore benefit from these training opportunities. Often times independent missionaries argue that they didn’t need any training because they’re getting along just fine. However, the goal, in most cases, of the training isn’t to just make the missionary survive, but really flourish in their cross-cultural setting. It’s not a difference between a missionary who stays and one that goes home, it’s the difference of a missionary that exists and one that effectively communicates the gospel into another culture/language.

Counseling cannot be overlooked. The mission field in many areas has become a graveyard for marriages and a battle ground for spiritual warfare. Mission agencies often care for their missionaries by providing counseling both on and off the field through trained and often licensed counselors. While churches can provide independent missionaries assistance with matters of the home and family, how will a rural pastor provide insight to a missionary trying to make friends in a city of over 10-million people while learning a second language?

Lastly, many agencies provide some form of spiritual enrichment for their missionaries. Usually, this looks like an annual or bi-annual retreat or conference. Independent missionaries can technically still get together and often times they tag along with other agencies’ missionaries. It’s just not the same.

Health Insurance

In many circumstances, the costs of health insurance for the missionary on the field are less than what they’re paying into a health plan. This is true for those of us paying health premiums here in the States. We rarely get out of it what we put in (and if we’re honest, we’re thankful that we’re not getting much out of it). However, the big mistake is to go abroad with the mindset that we don’t need any healthcare for the States. True, health costs abroad are often a lot cheaper, but what would you do if someone in the family was found to have cancer? or broke a leg and need reconstructive surgery? These kinds of procedures would need better healthcare and often times only a mission agency can provide affordable healthcare for Stateside needs.

Consistency on the Mission Field

Most mission agencies have a reasonable approval process and often times it requires their missionaries to agree (or disagree) with certain beliefs, theological statements, and/or philosophies of ministry. I think most of us agree that we should do our best to be interdenominational in our approach to ministry. However, there are many cases on the mission field where it’s important to take a stand and let our “Yes be Yes.” When multiple independents work together and don’t agree on an important theology or ministry philosophy, who is to settle the difference? The negative side of this has already been mentioned above in the fact that mission agencies can provide support by helping discern the right from wrong. However, on a positive side, this larger body (misson agency) sends missionaries with similar ideals and theology. This, in turn, produces consistency between their missionaries. There aren’t, for example, some missionaries that believe baptizing children is good and some that think it is wrong. Disclaimer: Some agencies do send missionaries with beliefs all over the board and often find themselves arbitrating difficult arguments between their own.

Now, and this is almost more important than the consistency just within the agency: the nationals see a very real and positive consistency among the missionaries. Suppose three independent missionaries are working with a church plant and each of them have a different view of baptism. The missionaries agree to disagree and think it’s just important enough for them to work together and all help lead the church. A young couple has a new baby and they approach all three missionaries with the question, “Should we baptize our baby?” They’re going to get three different answers and no one will have the authority to say which is right. This just causes confusion and can cause a lot of disruption in the church– isn’t that something we want to avoid? The mission agency provides consistency for the missionaries between themselves and also for the nationals.

Agency Approval

Lastly, the mission agency gives their approval of you and that seal of confidence should allow you to also gain some confidence of other people. Assuming the mission agency does some form of testing and approving of their missionaries, there should be a sense of ordination (I said sense) in being approved for mission work. This is somewhat getting lost in our society, but there should be an appreciation that someone has gone through the interview procedures and has been approved of by a discerning and wise committee.

Final Thoughts

I do believe that with today’s technology, a mission agency could be more virtual than they have been in the past. This means that possibly a partnership between churches could provide the above effectively for missionaries while still spending less. Still, it would take a lot of organization and sadly volunteerism is a poor system for accountability. This is why mission agencies exist. They recognized the need for accountability and partnership with missionaries on the field and the fact that churches alone could not provide them. Sadly, many missionaries throw it all out: the agency with the support. This just leaves people alone on the field and very often in moments of need for financial means for ministry, for their family, or emotional/spiritual support. I really don’t think that is what anyone intends to happen, but it’s what I’ve witnessed from other independents and it’s the natural conclusion. Churches mean well, but the reality is that if we’re truly honest, the “out-of-sight out-of-mind” principle applies in most cases.

A mission agency provides more than we realize. For a handful of missionaries, they don’t need all of the accountability and facilitation that an agency provides. However, for those of us that do, we have a strong argument for why we do need it. Personally, my wife and I have a big budget, but we believe in what our agency does and how they handle their money. We don’t question their motives and we’ve witnessed first hand all of the training and support they provide. We don’t have any regrets about continuing in ministry with our agency: Mission to the World.

We have also witnessed independent missionaries feel neglected and while their budgets are lower, they struggle just as much to raise their support. We should be careful not to throw away our agencies with the only real benefit of lowering our budgets. Do we have enough faith that God can raise our support? Philippians 4:19 promises us very clearly, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

If nothing else, a mission agency provides direction on choosing a good prayer card photo (see photo to right).

We’ve opened comments on our website for our blog posts. So if you think you have something interesting to bring to the conversation, feel free to leave your comments.