October 2011

October 2011

I N S I D E   T H I S   I S S U E

1. Integral Q&A: Never Give Up!
2. Integral Marketing Group: What Can We Give?

Never Give Up!

Thomas McWhertor is the Director of Constituency Relations at Christian Reformed World Relief Committee Where are you from? I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but was originally from the Pittsburgh area. My wife Janice serves as minister of congregational life in our church, and together we have four grown children and three grandchildren; They live in Grand Rapids, Boston, Washington, DC and Marburg, Germany. What has been your most interesting job (apart from your current one)?  From 1988-90 I served as special events coordinator for The Williamsburg Charter Foundation. The organisation celebrated the uniqueness and importance of the US Constitution First Amendment religious liberty clause. However, I have "loved" each job I have had. What is the main motivation for your work? I have been in non-profit management for my entire career and see it as a good use of my gifts (campus ministry, government affairs, communications and marketing, higher education leadership, and now CRWRC). In all of these positions, I have sensed my calling to implement God's good will on earth, to encourage a Christ-centered worldview, and implement management and leadership principles that are consistent with those in my work. What has been your most memorable country visit with work, & why? Actually, it was a side trip to the Great Wall of China, when in China for my former employer (Calvin College). We walked/climbed five or six miles along the wall, and passed through several villages en route to the wall itself ... the whole experience was exhilarating and something that few people ever get a chance to do ... It is, indeed, a Great Wall! What do you enjoy the most about your current job? Working with dedicated colleagues to do our own small effort to address the plight of the poor, oppressed, and disaster victims. Enabling constituents to see the way their involvement in our work can transform their own worldview and their daily lives. What do you find the most challenging? Securing the funding necessary to expand the work as we envision being able to do - in the midst of this tight economy. What has been your work highlight so far this year? 1. Achieving and exceeding the general program revenue goal for the 2010-11. 2. Visiting CRWRC staff and seeing the work in East Africa - Kenya and Uganda specifically. 3. The opportunity to meet and engage Integral counterparts at the Denmark meeting in April ... and looking forward to engaging more in the Integral Marketing Group in October here in Michigan. What do find inspiring about Integral? It is simply good to be among colleagues who are committed to the same goals and addressing the same concerns in their work. And it is quite inspiring to see what can be accomplished for the Gospel in the combined efforts of our member organisations. How do you relax? My ideal relaxation is a week at the beach. I also bicycle, read in a broad range of areas, and enjoy "lazing around" with my grandchildren playing around me! What skill do you have that many don’t know you possess? None that I know of! What’s your favourite quote? "Never give up! Never! Never! Never!" ... by Winston Churchill What is the most useful piece of work advice you ever received? "Plan in such a way that you're ready for the unexpected: The measure of a planner is one's ability to respond to the unexpected."

CRWRC website

What Can We Give?

Amazing singing accompanied by a well-worn guitar! “During our visit to the popular tourist attraction, The Golden Pagoda, our hostess Nancy (alias) whispered to us, ‘People in this country need to believe in something in order to survive day by day.’  It became clear what  Nancy meant during our time in Myanmar. We spent the next four days of the trip staying at the orphanage where Nancy works.  We were greeted by about 200 enthusiastic children who looked at us with their big, black, inquisitive eyes. Some of the older children held our hands and led us to see their vegetable garden.  It was not long before torrential rain broke out, forcing us to take refuge in a nearby hut.  We started singing an English Christian song that we thought the kids might know - what we did not expect was the half a dozen girls standing 10 feet away on the other side of the dimly lit hut joining in with a Burmese rendition of the song with the power and gusto that blew us away.  In the next few days we learnt the stories of some of these children - many of them lost their parents due to tribal conflict or during Hurricane Nargis in 2008.  One girl was physically abused by her stepfather and left with permanent neurological damage.  She was eventually abandoned.  When she was taken into the orphanage she would uncontrollably bite anyone who came close to her.  Under the care of the orphanage she has calmed a lot and no longer bites.  These children really do have nothing.  They wear mostly donated clothing.  They have plain rice for breakfast, more rice for lunch and dinner with some vegetables and maybe a little bit of fish during the week.  They sleep en masse on hard wooden beds with minimal privacy.  Their entertainment is playing together in the muddy field.  But there is a kind of serenity and order to this place - the older children looking after the younger ones.  As Jim, one of our tour members, said, ‘We imagine orphans would display self-pity, be defensive, constantly haunted by their childhood nightmares, but that is not what we saw here.  They seem to be filled with love and genuine care for one another, having a joy that burst out from the deepest part of their hearts.' As the children grow up, Nancy helps them find a place to live together in the city while they attend universities or work. Some have started a small  businesses - a doughnut shop, a farming training centre and selling soymilk. With the number of orphans increasing from just over one hundred to two hundred in only a couple of years with no significant increase in funding, this orphanage is indeed a miracle.  Indeed, surviving in Myanmar does require one to believe in something.  Nancy and the two hundred orphans are living day-to-day.  CEDAR treasures our partnership with them but we know what we do is only a small part of what they need.  As Chinese-funded factories are popping up around the orphanage they need to build a perimeter fence.  As the US dollar continues to devalue drastically in the monetary exchange in Myanmar, it is an increasing challenge to pay the monthly bill of 3000USD for basic operational expenses. The children gather for devotions every night and here again we were confronted with the powerful singing from the children. I have sung in a cathedral choir and experienced contemporary worship in a large auditorium - but nothing came close to the impact of these children’ singing along to couple of worn out acoustic guitars. On his post-trip reflection Jim wrote, 'We have the most expensive and advanced musical instruments.  Yet these kids, who only have a couple of well-worn guitars to accompany them, belt out the liveliest and the most powerful singing we have ever heard.  Perhaps it is a reminder for us how we should worship.' Jim left his own amplified acoustic guitar behind for the kids, and I am left thinking: What can we give?"

CEDAR Fund's website

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