Safety and Security

Immediately the question arises, how safe is safe and how secure is secure? A difficult question, but one worth considering when traveling to a foreign country where evangelizing is prohibited, where distributing literature is not the order of the day and where even possessing a Bible is not the norm. And what about talking of a proposed spiritual journey to a foreign country?

A FEW INCIDENCES THAT MIGHT GET YOU THINKING

A seemingly innocent gesture, but one that might have far reaching effects; A group that visited a closed country thought it might be polite to at least give the host a photograph of the group. The down side; the photograph was taken during the training weekend and the missionaries that presented the training wee also featured on the photograph. Imagine literature distribution simultaneously taking place and the connection between the group and the missionaries on the photograph? Harmless? Or was it an act of negligence? Another seemingly innocent act: Communication regarding a missionary in the field.

How safe is this really? The fact is that due to this type of communication a worker in another closed country has his name at the top of the missionary search on a well known search engine on the internet. Is this what we really need? The bottom line is that we really need to think before we do. Let us not think about ourselves, but rather about those who have sacrificed so much. An innocent act could cause major changes in a country where a lot has been sacrificed.

WHAT TO SAY AND WHAT NOT TO SAY

“Have you heard, we are joining Operation Evangelization, and going on a journey to Lostland to distribute Bibles and DVDs to the people”? Even this simple sentence to a group of people you do not know could have far-reaching effects, not only to the sending organization, but also to anyone working in the country. I do not even want to mention the ripple effect that this could cause over a period of time. What you say, when you say it and to who you are speaking are small things that have to be noted before opening your mouth. Each person going on a short term outreach is faced with the problem of raising money. To be able to raise money, you need to tell the would-be investor a little more than just the bare essentials. This is where so many people loose the “deal” or expose the team. The question is whether it concerns MY journey or if it concerns the work that is going to be done through me. Let us look at the start of the conversation again.

“Have you heard, we are going on a journey to a country in the Middle East where the people are lost and we are going to take the wonderful News of Salvation to them?” What have we said to endanger anyone in the sending organization or anyone in the country we are traveling to? We really need to think before we speak. Remember, the tongue is a mighty instrument and the spoken word cannot be retracted. As someone that knows he/she has been called to reach out to those who have not heard, it is also the individuals responsibility to gather the information from the sending organization as to what may and what may not be mentioned prior to your journey. The less you say pertaining to the exact nature of the journey, the better. Safety and security does not only concern you. There is the sending organization, the workers in the country and also the believers in the country. And what about the members traveling with you? Rather ask the “stupid” question before having to explain your actions.

COMMUNICATING IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY

What about communication once in the foreign country. Once again, be alert as to what you say. Here I am also speaking about the use of cell phones and the internet. Sending a sms is not as safe as we think. With technology today, it is possible to trace the origin of a sms to within 3meters of the person sending it. Imagine giving detail as to your whereabouts and the material distributed. Caught red-handed comes to mind immediately. E-mails, how do you know who is hacking the computers?

Once again, do not give exact detail, but rather communicate in a predetermined manner. This will not only protect you but also everyone involved in the outreach. These are but a few aspects that we actually just take for granted when we depart on an outreach to a foreign country. I believe many organizations provide training for spiritual journeys and that Safety and Security is one of the modules in the training program. Take heed to this module.

CONCLUSION

To close; Don’t let expediency take precedence over security. There is a saying: expedience will bite you and exception will haunt you!

SAFETY AND SECURITY IS EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS

John de Kock – Macedonian Project