The Beauty of a Truly Global Network!
Greetings from Liberia! No this is not Sheryl Haw, our Micah Network director writing, it is Adrienne Blomberg here. Some of the Asian members, or those of you who attended Consultations in Thailand or last year in Thun, might recognize the name.
We have recently advertised for a Global Network Coordinator to work with Sheryl – hope you received this and have passed it onto those who you know would be great at this job. The closing date is the 31st October. In the meantime, I am trying to give Sheryl some help during these last months of 2013, as an assistant.
For now until the end of this year, which is speedily coming, I'm here to help out where ever necessary. It is a joy to work for the network and give back to it for the inspiration it brought into my life and ministry.
My ministry 'Siam-Care foundation' first contact with the network was in 2001 during the meeting in Oxford then Mexico and Chieng Mai followed. From this automatically friends and new connections to our work in Bangkok followed. I first attended a consultation in 2005 the “ Jomtien Consultation on Integral Mission” in Thailand. From all over Asia we met to wrestle with issues of Integral Mission related to Caring for Cares, Relief and Development and the beginnings of Micah Challenge National campaigns in Asia.
This Micah consultation was different from others I'd been to. It was covered in prayer, there was time for devotions and biblical teachings/reflections, the topics were relevant and were really dug into, we learned from each other as we shared best practices, brainstormed new ideas, but there was also plenty of time to get to know the other participants around the dining tables, during small group work, and at the times of relaxation.
Being a member of the Micah Network brings much, it is like a ripple effect. It doesn't stop at the end of a meeting attended or a newsletter read. Over the past many years Siam-Care and I have been active with the network in an ongoing, sometimes more, sometimes less intense relationship, always bringing something new: we arranged accommodation and travels for MN members coming through Thailand and at my home I have hosted members in need of a place while in Bangkok. We hosted exposure visits for other MN members and our staff have been on exposure visits learning from members in the Philippines and India. We have helped out when there were medical needs and hospitalization required for relatives of members that were stuck in Thailand, helped repatriate a deportee making sure he was met by a member organization in his home country, have helped host a regional consultation and on
the list, which is full of variation, goes. Personal relationships and lasting friendships developed over the years which are valuable!
Micah Network values these personal contacts while looking at the big picture of equipping its members (from the local church, seminaries and aid/mission organizations), with more understanding of examples of practical implementation, and a passion for integral mission. Through organizing training, capacity building, consultations at national, regional and global levels the network meets many needs. In order to help with some of this in Asia I've been a part of the Asian Coordination group for a number of years and joined the global MN board in 2012. Again these commitments have enriched me with friendships and stretched my own skills and gifts as I've used them for the Network. I, and I'm sure it is true for many of us, am always learning new things, challenged in areas of my thinking, speaking and doing/acting through the Network's emphasis on Integral Mission.
Now, after almost 30 years of living and working in Thailand, the Lord moved me to Liberia, a new country on a new continent. The first contact I had here was with..., yes you guessed it right, a Micah Network member; Marconi very graciously arranged accommodation for us and went the extra mile; without complaining he spend many hours at the local immigration office helping us sort out some legal issues we'd run into. I've already enjoyed partnering with him as he invited us to share about Integral Mission and our Asia experience at his organization's, CIDAL, meeting with local churches in the interior of Liberia.
Micah Network is truly a global network, with members from all over the world, the north, the south, the east and the west, we have so much to offer each other, to learn from each other, to share with each other and to support each other in the many different ways. We are such a diverse network with members working in all sectors of society; bible colleges training its students, relief organizations ministering to the sick, downtrodden and vulnerable, justice organizations standing up against corruption and speaking out for justice, and all seeking to serve the Lord in humility, helping each other to be that man/woman that the Lord has shown us that is pleasing to Him and which He requires. (Micah 6:8)
That is why I love this network; that is why I want to help the network grow in depth and members, there is room for many more and room for each of us to develop and grow together in one network. I hope you share some of this passion with me.
Where ever you are and whatever you are involved in as you read this, my prayers for you right now is that Micah Network will be able to inspire and encourage you as Integral Mission becomes more and more our life and work. Blessings
Adrienne Blomberg
Executive Assistant
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