Living Well with Candice

Here are some notes from this morning's talk by Candice Siewert.

What are you going to do when you don't get a paycheck because you didn't clear your advance?
What are you going to do when your team leaders are big jerks?
What are you going to do when your boy/girlfriend who promised to call you on Skype every night doesn't?
What are you going to do when everyone else's computer will connect to the internet and yours won't?
What are you going to do when you practice what you need to say at the restaurant and the waiter doesn't understand a word?

STINT is a full-time job. You actually have to work all day. You have signed up for a 40-50 hour work week. (At this point, we read 2 Timothy 2:3-7.) This is what we're called to do: to be a soldier under authority. Being a missionary is hard work. It's hard stepping into a culture you don't understand.

Don't create "Little America" on stint. Ask your team leaders what you should be doing, when, why and how often.

Some things that should always be in your schedule:

1. Time with the Lord. Do it in the morning, afternoon or evening, just do it.
2. Day with the Lord every month.
3. Prayer. Build it into everything you do.
4. Days on campus. Be thinking, "I am on campus every day."
5. Be looking for exposures. In the first month you should meet 25 people a week.
6. Evangelism. We really do want you to share your faith. Make the name of Jesus FAMOUS. The world has enough friends. You're not going to make friends. You are going to represent Christ.
7. Small groups. Don't lock into a small group until after the sixth week. Ask yourself, "Who is truly spiritual interested among the people I know?"
8. Always practice the language. Use the bi-lingual materials. Use your language. Go to class. Use people who know the language.
9. Share your firsts. First time you order in language. First time you use the squatty potty without holding your nose.
10. Meetings. Be prepared. Show up. Do your homework. Be prepared for prayers, planning, parties, administrative details.
11. Send your prayer letters. People have invested in you
12. Be careful about Time stealers. Updating Facebook. Blogs. Skype. Throwing a good Pity Party. Harboring a bad attitude. Lack of planning.
13. Be people of encouragement. Help deal with conflict. Encourage your teammates. Invite people into your troubles.
14. Use your Playbook. Lots of great tools in there to help you.
15. Team Norms. Come up with three or four you will actually do and commit to it. Look at the "one anothers".

Things are going to bug you. Don't let things build up. Little things become big things if you don't deal with them.

Authority. Your team leaders may be younger than you. But the Lord has chosen them to be your leaders. Pray for them, support them. Remember, when Miriam and Aaron grumble against Moses, God says to them, "Who are you to grumble against God's anointed?" Pray for your leaders. Pray to be humble, to be allowed to submit, that he will enable you to speak positively about them.

Some decisions no one else can make for you:

1. No one can make you study.
2. No one can make you send out a prayer letter.
3. No one can budget for you.
4. Drinking. No official WSN policy... but if you do not drink now DON'T START ON STINT. Talk to your team. Some of them may struggle with alcohol. Talk with your team about what you're going to do about this.

STINT will be an adventure. Believe it or not, you will soon have stories like Candice's, complete with convicts, terrorists, hippies, rock stars, Bolsheviks, broken airplanes, and vodka-imbibing Russians.

God knows what is going to happen to you this year. And he is going to provide for you all the way.