CRI COMMUNITY BLOG

Dear Len, 

Jan and I returned from our 13 day trip on Saturday night. The CRI provided a superb starting place for our meeting with each of 13 Frontiers missionaries on two teams that we supervise. What I learned: on the security line, all the missionaries scored "not at all," or "slight." This was so, even though they live in northern Iraq and have heard missiles overhead. They have carefully communicated with all the other missionaries in Kurdistan to make sure they are aware of the situations. I think they are in touch with reality; there was no imminent danger. But the other score that was so interesting and revealing was their sense of purpose and direction. All of the 13 missionaries said that they were very sure God had called them to bring the hope of Jesus Christ to Muslims, and they were sure God was leading them to stay in the region for this season. I have introduced you to Scott Breslin, in Sweden; he researched the dissertation on why some say ten years to life, and discovered three common qualities that all of those he interviewed had in common. The first and most important was "grit," the determination to stay, to endure hardships, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:3 I think). Second was some rewarding for their efforts; they could see some positive results. Third was some successful peacemaking on their teams and with the people around them. The CRI seemed to correlate with these three experiences. 

All the missionaries were greatly helped by the CRI and several said they could keep it in their heads to think through the resilience factors in the weeks ahead. The "criss-cross" exercise was also helpful for married couples. 

It is good to be home. Thank you for creating the CRI and taking time to train Jan and me in using it. 

Sincerely, Bob Blincoe

I blog at Lighthouse and Flint.