Short Term Mission Trip Summer 2010 Overview & Updates

New York City Mission Trip Background:

This trip was organized to support mission work in “Little Africa”, an area in Harlem, New York City which is home to approximately 150,000 West Africans.

West Africa

Little Africa, New York City

The concentration of Africans in this particular area of New York City lends this area the name of “Little Africa” or “Africa Town” . These native Africans, displaced to New York by poor economic conditions in their home countries, political persecution and other causes, maintain their ethnic identify and distinguish themselves from African-Americans by their dress, their Muslim faith, and their maintenance of other practices from their home countries (such as their open markets). This enclave of African restaurants, shops, and mosques has also made this area a tourist attraction. It has also led to Christian evangelism efforts recently by different groups.
As we prepare for this mission trip, we will be meeting once a week at different churches in our association. At these meetings we will be studying how to evangelize immigrants, working on fund raising events to finance the trip, and doing other planning for the trip. Postings to this site will allow you to follow the progress of our team. A short summary of each week’s meeting will be posted here.

General prayer requests to consider are:
• Pray for our team-members
• Pray for us to stay focused on the lost-not be sidetracked by tourism of NYC 
• Pray for us to impacted by the lostness-not only of this 150,000 people in this neighborhood, but as training takes place and we have to hit the streets to put into practice what we are being taught, let the lostness of our area break our hearts.
• Pray for our team-members health-Satan is NOT going to take this sitting down!  His job description-John 10:10: Steal, Kill, and Destroy.  He is not thrilled that we have people burdened for the lost in 6 of our churches.
• Pray for God to be glorified in all we say, do, and through it all that men and women, boys and girls will come to a saving knowledge someday because we were faithful.

Weekly Updates:
March 7: We met other members from other churches. Our trip coordinator gave us some background on the involvement of organizations in this outreach effort. She also talked about plans for the trip, which will be during July.

March 14: This meeting's lesson concerned general information about African tribal groups and customs.

Our trip coordinator also commented upon the change in the hospitality of New Yorkers since 9/11 (much more hospitable and helpful to visitors than before). The rest of the evening was spent with Courtney giving a presentation on other religions and fielding questions about the different faith practices we will face. A report from the field indicates that women are especially receptive to the message of love that Jesus offers. Prayer requests were shared.

March 21: The large group of about 25 was divided into smaller groups tonight for us to learn more about other people involved in the trip. This evening we talked about several issues. Our trip coordinator led the discussion concerning fund raising. We will be contacting local businesses about donations for a fund raising auction. Each person is to contact 10 businesses between now and May. She then led a discussion of the customs we will face and what we should be careful to observe (keep good eye contact) and not do (eat with our left hand, etc.). Each of us also had an opportunity to share our testimony with other people in our small group. She also mentioned the three pillars of our outreach work – Authority of the Bible, Prayer, and Lordship of Christ (one message, one God). Prayer concerns were shared.

March 28: The training time was spent on studying Islam.

April 4: (Easter) No training He is alive!

April 11: We discussed the silent auction fund raising and where to go and not go. African Islam and culture was covered. In Africa, Islam is mixed with local culture to produce a combination of both. It was also mentioned that each group needs to come up with a contact person to help the church come up with an idea to send us off. We also need to get into shape (walking, drink water regularly, etc.) We also will arrange to get NT to distribute. We then saw an IMB video about Islam and had some general discussions. Our trip coordinator mentioned that many Africans in NYC have had unrealistic expectations and when these are not met want to go back to Africa. Even so, they welcome visitors who are genuinely interested in them. We are also to read a couple of articles a week about Islam, Africa, and NYC. Prayer requests: continued enthusiasm for the mission and trip; that we would learn to love the Africans; physical fitness; scripture memorization for witnessing; fundraising (each person is to get 10 items).

April 18: Our Trip Coordinator began with some stories about missionaries and contacts in Africa. We then continued learning about Islam and the complexities of the faith. There will be a special service at the Darrington Church on Monday, April 26, at 7 PM for those of us in the group. Prayer requests: some members of the group have had to drop out due to personal circumstances so please pray for these, their circumstances, and those who remain; service at Darrington; and for peace and strength.

May 2: View With Pictures (PDF)

Today’s training session was a real treat, literally. Audrey cooked some special African dishes shown below (from left to right – Ground Nut Stew; Jollof Rice; Injera and Chipati Flatbread; Dessert and Yams):

The trick, as Audrey was so quick to point out, was to eat this without forks using the flatbread.

The recipes for these dishes appear at the end of this mission training report. We enjoyed the dishes so much that we (Jim, Paula, Jarret, Shirley, Tom, and others) are planning a fund raising dinner at church in mid June where we will cook and you can partake of this food as well. (No, we will not make you eat it with your fingers, and you can use your left hand.) Audrey followed up the meal with some discussion of African customs and lead a discussion on the fund raising efforts for the Silent Auction. This auction will be held at Cascade Middle School on Saturday, June 5th. More to come about the auction and dinner. We will have our next meeting after Mother’s Day on May 16th.

Now here are the recipes:

Injera

Servings: 14

"A flatbread from Ethiopia cooked in the skillet. "

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

5 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45

degrees C)

1 teaspoon honey

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cup white flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of the water. Allow to proof and add the remainder of the water and the flour. Stir until smooth and then cover. Allow to stand at room temperature for 24 hours.

2. Stir the batter well and mix in the baking soda.

3. Heat a pancake griddle. Spray with Pam. Tilt the pan to quickly even out the batter, and allow to cook for about 1 minute. The bread should not brown but rather rise slightly and very easy to remove. It is cooked only on one side. This top should be slightly moist. Remove to a platter and cool. Stack the cooked breads on a plate.

Ground Nut Stew
"A spicy chicken stew filled with rich peanut flavor! Serve it over rice or couscous."

Ingredients:

2 cups peanut butter

1/2 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with

green chile peppers

4 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast

halves - cubed

1 onion, chopped

cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Melt peanut butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in tomato paste, and blend with peanut butter until smooth. Mix in diced tomatoes with green chile peppers and chicken broth. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken and onions until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

3. Mix chicken, onions, into the peanut butter mixture, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season with cayenne pepper.

Serve with hot rice.

Jollof Rice
Servings: 8

"Popular and spicy West African chicken and rice dish - this is a one pot meal with chicken, rice, fresh green beans, onions, and carrots all stewed together with fresh rosemary, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg."

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes

1/2 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

2 cups water

1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into 8

pieces

1 cup uncooked white rice

1 cup diced carrots

1/2 pound fresh green beans, trimmed

and snapped into 1 to 2 inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Pour oil into large saucepan. Cook onion in oil over medium-low heat until translucent.

2. Stir in stewed tomatoes and tomato paste, and season with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce and rosemary. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stir in water, and add chicken pieces. Simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Stir in rice, carrots, and green beans, and season with nutmeg. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover, and simmer until the chicken is fork-tender and the rice is cooked, 25 to 30 minutes.

Yams

3- 28 oz cans Yams, cut into chunks

1 cup Maple syrup

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Ground Ginger

1 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1/2 cup Brown sugar
Mix gently, and bake intil bubbly hot.

Chapati Bread

Ready In: 30 Minutes

Servings: 10

"A simple but delicious recipe for flatbread. Serve with rice dishes, main dishes, or even use to make sandwich wraps. Enjoy!"

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 cup hot water or as needed

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and salt. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the olive oil and enough water to make a soft dough that is elastic but not sticky. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth. Divide into 10 parts, or less if you want bigger breads. Roll each piece into a ball. Let rest for a few minutes.

2. Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot, and grease lightly. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out the balls of dough until very thin like a tortilla. When the pan starts smoking, put a chapati on it. Cook until the underside has brown spots, about 30 seconds, then flip and cook on the other side. Continue with remaining dough.

May 16 and 23:
Jambo! Which means hello in Swahili. We met two Sundays at Valley Baptist Church during these weeks. Audrey handed out data sheets for some of the people groups in West Africa that we may encounter in NYC. These included the: Fulakunda found in Senegal, Gambia and Guinea; Hausa in Nigeria and Niger; Kanuri in Niger and Nigeria; Maninka in Guinea, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Liberia, and Sierra Leone; Songhai in Mali and Niger; Soninke in Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, and Guinea; Susu in Guinea and Sierra Leone; and the Tuareg in Niger and Mali. Here is a link to the IMB Go West Africa website where you may find more information about these people groups http://www.gowestafrica.org/ . Below are some pictures of people of the Fulakunda, Hausa, Maninka, and Sonike groups and a map of West Africa from the Go West Africa IMB website.

The site also has resources that includes some audio of common phrases for some of the different people groups. Audrey spent some time in the two weeks telling us about some of these people groups and the countries in which they live. She also gave each of us one of the chronological Bible storying cloths (shown below). These are used to tell Bible stories to oral learners in countries where Bibles are either forbidden or not available or understood (illiterate learners). Each of us is to learn to use this cloth to tell one of the 42 Bible stories (from creation to Jesus’s ascension) illustrated on the cloth.

We also spent some time talking about fund raisers. The Silent Auction is scheduled for June 5 between 1 and 3 PM at the American Legion Lodge in Sedro Woolley. (This date is also when the “Blast from the Past” festival is held there http://www.sedro-woolley.com/ , so come and enjoy the silent auction as well as other events happening this weekend in Sedro Wooley.) We are also planning a large garage sale on June 12 during the day and our African/American dinner at CBC that night; a concert by the Gospel group “Common Bond 5” on June 13; and a car wash on June 19th. I will pass on more information on these events as their times draw closer. One of the businesses contacted, Coldstone Creamery, is donating 20% of its income on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. So if you are in Burlington those days, drop by and enjoy some ice cream. (See announcement below.) If we can make $5,000 aside from the silent auction someone has volunteered to donate an additional $5,000.

EVER BEEN TO AFRICA?
MOUNT BAKER BAPTIST ASSOCIATION
IN
PARTNERSHIP WITH
COLDSTONE CREAMERY
CASCADE MALL AREA
(NEXT TO TARGET)
BURLINGTON, WA.
INVITES YOU TO A WORTHY FUNDRAISER FOR
AFRICA!
OUR GOAL $5,000.00
JOIN US EVERY
TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY
5:00-9:00PM
20% OF ALL SALES WILL BE DONATED!

GREAT PLACE, GREAT PEOPLE, GREAT CAUSE!

We continue to be excited about the trip and are looking forward to more training, planning and going there.