The letter

Dear Friends,
As some of you may know, I began to do mission work several years back. I’ve traveled to the Appalachian Mountains, to a Navajo Indian reservation in Gallup, New Mexico and for the last 4 years, to Juarez, Mexico. Most of the mission projects I have participated in were building projects, however during each one there were people met along the way and lives changed forever, mine included. Now, I feel I’m being called to South Africa. Why South Africa? This year World Vision brought a traveling African village to my church. They talked about the children who have lost their parents to AIDS and how their own family members, aunts and uncles, wouldn't take them in because they were afraid that the kids had AIDS and would infect them. I would like to think that my family wouldn't do that to me! These kids then are left to fend for themselves. Upon entering the exhibit, you were assigned a child and given an MP3 player to listen to your child tell his or her life story. These were actual kids telling their stories, not actors playing the part. Hearing the story was heart breaking, to say the least and personally, I was moved. I kept asking myself, what can I do? Right then, sponsoring a child was not an option for us, but I did not forget and knew that God would provide an opportunity to serve. In November, the opportunity I had been looking for and praying about appeared in the newsletter from our church and I felt God telling me to GO to South Africa. I feel in my heart that I am supposed to serve the people of South Africa by building homes through the Mission South Africa work project. I am asking you to partner with me, so I can help a few of the millions that are hurting.
The goal of the mission is to build houses on land owned either by a church or a non-profit organization. The houses will be built in a circle, with a courtyard in the center. Since a lot of households are child led, meaning no adult is present (most likely due to the death of the adult caretaker from AIDS), the hope is to have one of the houses be for a "mother" figure who will help lead any child led homes. The houses are built here in Iowa, disassembled and shipped to South Africa where we will re-assemble them. If you are interested in learning more about the houses, the website address is: http://myabod.com/.
There are several ways you can partner with me as I prepare for the mission work in Africa. First and most importantly, I would ask for prayer for the participants, the details and planning of the mission, and for the people of South Africa that we will meet and have the opportunity to serve.
Secondly, in order for me to go, I need to raise $4000 for the 13 days I will spend in Africa. I ask that you prayerfully consider this opportunity. Any help you could give to this trip financially, ($25, $50, $100, etc.) would be greatly appreciated. If you choose to support me financially, please make your check out to Lutheran Church of Hope. The contribution is tax deductible as long as my name does not appear on the check. It can be mailed to my home address at the top of this letter no later than May 15th, 2009. If you have any further questions about my mission trip feel free to contact me by e-mail: sendmarktoafrica@yahoo.com or in writing. I would love to hear from you!
Lastly, you can help me spread the word about the South Africa mission to anyone you know that might be willing to help by way of prayer or financial support. You can send them directly to my blog spot or share this letter with them.
Thank you for prayerfully considering this opportunity to support me on my journey to South Africa.

In His name,

Mark

And it begins

Here we go, the fund raising letters are now being sent. I agonized over what to include in the letter and what to leave out. I wanted it to only be one page long, so people would read the whole thing. If I put everything into it that I wanted, it would have been 5 pages long and I'm guessing most people I sent it too would loose interest after the first page. I'm passionate about my missions, so I may tend to bore people with the details. I'm reading a book now about South Africa, that is a bit dated, but gives a lot of history of apartheid and race relations. As I read it, I find it hard to believe that people were treated in the way that native Africans were treated by the European settlers. I know the US doesn't exactly have a stellar record on how we treated people (African Americans, American Indians), so I guess I shouldn't be so shocked. I hope to find a few more current books to tell me how things are going now. I'm looking for websites as well and will post them on this site when I do. I'm also including the letter I'm sending out, just in case someone happens upon this site and wants to see it. Thanks to everyone who has passed along their encouragement, it means a lot. A big thanks to Marcy for helping me not sound like an idiot, in the letter that is, she can't help me on this blog:) She is my number one supporter and has worked as hard as I have to get this thing rolling.

How to donate update

I've had a couple of people ask me about monthly giving, seeing as how they didn't have a block of money to donate but wanted to help. That is great, in fact, I'm willing to send you a monthly reminder and even a self addressed stamp envelope for each month as well. I want to make this as easy as I can for anyone who is willing to help me. If you want to get in on the monthly donation road, send me an email and I'll get you set up. Remember, this will only be through June, since I leave in July, so it won't be a year long thing. If anyone has any other ideas on ways I might be able to raise money, send that to me as well. Thanks again for your help!

FAQ 3

Here are a few questions that people asked at a meeting I was at today.

10. What is the weather like, seeing as how it is winter in Africa in July? I asked my friend Bobbi that same question a week back and she told me the same thing they said today. The temps can get into the 30's at night and up into the 70's during the day. Sounds like my Mexico trips in Feb. I also learned that the facilities are the same as Mexico, no heat and no air conditioning. Two years ago in Mexico, it snowed on us. I was on the roof of the house working with my winter coat on and snow in my face. I never thought I would see that. I'm sure we won't see snow in Africa, if we do, I'm going back to my elementary school teachers and telling them they lied when they said it was always hot in Africa. That might be true in northern Africa, but they didn't mention the southern part.

11. Is it safe? I talked about this earlier, but I have new info. Again, my friend Bobbi said it was really no different than major cities in the US, which is exactly what they said in the meeting today. But, seeing as how we are staying in a rural area, it is very safe. Dr. Blessman compared it to Polk City, which is a town north of Des Moines. For those of us here in Iowa, we know it don't get much safer than that.

12. Will we be working with the kids, like the medical missions do? Maybe. The building trip has less interaction with the kids, but we will be around locals and kids might be there. This was important to a few of the women that were at the meeting, which I can understand, but as long as I am helping, I'm good with whoever God puts in front of me.

Meeting #2, houses we will build

I had my second meeting of the weekend, this one more specific to the trips and not the whole ministry that we will be serving. I learned a little more info about the houses we will build and where we will stay while we are there. The goal of the ministry is to build the houses on land owned either by a church or a non-profit organization. The houses will be built in a circle, with a kind of courtyard in the center. Since a lot of households are child led, meaning there is no adult present, most likely do to their death from AIDS, the hope is to have one of the houses be for a "mother" and she will then help lead any child led houses. Not all of the houses will be occupied by child led families, some might actually be full families, but the circle will help if need be. It sounds like a great plan, but it really is untested since the houses we build will be the first the ministry has done. Their hope is that, in the future, they will be doing a lot more houses. From the sounds of it, the housing situation is a lot like Juarez, where the homes are really shacks. The houses we build will be a major step up, although not luxury. I was really impressed with the thought they have put into the plan, the houses themselves and the dedication of the team to branch the ministry into housing, while still working the medical side.



I also found out a little about the trip its self. Sounds like we will fly into Johannesburg, spend the night, then drive to the game lodge (I think they said it is 2 1/2 hours north), where we will spend the rest of the trip. We stay at the lodge and drive 1/2 hour each morning to the work site. The last 2 days we spend in the park with the ability to take pictures or go on a hunt. Seeing as how I don't hunt, I'll do the pictures. Since I'm horrible at photography, I'm sure my pictures will look like one of my kids did it, but oh well. Tonight, I'm filling out my forms and writing my non-refundable deposit check. Pray that everything else works out.

Meeting #1

I just spent a few hours with Dr. Blessman, whose organization I will be going through, and was really impressed with his heart and the things they have been able to accomplish. The meeting has charged me up to find all of the money I need to be able to go. I spoke with him briefly after the meeting and asked how many houses they hoped to build on the trip. He said his goal is 20 at $4000 each, but he'd love to raise enough money to ship 30 pre-fabs down. I'll be interested to see what our church can do. When the body of the church was asked to donate to sink water wells last year in Ghana, the goal was 15 or so, can't remember the exact number. After all was said and done, we raised enough to sink 59 wells, which didn't surprise me one bit. I don't think I have ever been apart of a church that got "IT" as a whole. They understand the need to help, and for most of us, that means we give money. The church is so large, that even those of us that don't have a large amount of money, when put together with our other brothers and sisters in Christ with low funds, we can make a difference. Not everyone in our church could travel to Ghana to dig wells, but they gave what they could and then, hopefully, took joy in the final outcome knowing they were just as big a part of it as everyone else. It's a team effort, Team Christ, if you will. As a team, we are undefeated. We can't loose, but we should refuse to take our trophy and go home. We need to take our trophy to wherever we can, show it to everyone, and ask them to join the team. The best part of the team? You can't be cut and you will always be asked to play.

I have a trip meeting tomorrow, I'll post more info after that. Today's meeting was more for the whole ministry, which included the game farm, which was really interesting. Part of he money you pay to hunt on this farm, which is owned by the ministry, can be tax deductible. That is really cool. I'm not a hunter, I want to do a photo safari, but if I was a hunter, this is a great opportunity to bag an African animal and provide for a mission at the same time. A new sport for team Christ, hunting, who would have thunk it.

I'm getting a lot of positive feedback about my trip. I received an encouraging email from my friend Bobbi, who is currently living in South Africa, that has fueled my desire to go. I'm currently working on a letter to send out to everyone I know for possible partnership with me and looking for other ways to either get people to this site, or flat out raise the money. One idea I had, which Marcy didn't care for, was to have a t-shirt printed with the site listed on it, plus a little info to get people asking questions. I'm amazed at the conversations that start from me wearing one of my other mission shirts. I had a guy at the movie store start yelling titles to movies with Christian themes, which actually made me a little uncomfortable to begin with. When there are 20 people standing in line and Joe Movie is screaming at me from 10 feet behind me, makes me want drop my movies and head for the exit. If he had been right behind me, we could have had a conversation, but I'm not yelling things back and forth and disrupting everyone else and their peaceful line standing. I figured the shirt couldn't hurt, but I'm still looking into what it would cost to get one shirt done. I have a friend that owns a screen printing/embroidery company, so maybe it won't be to bad. All I know to do is pray, and try everything I can.

How to donate

How to give.

First off, thank you so much for helping me. You will be providing shelter to people who don't have any, giving orphans hope, and telling them that there are people who care about them. You are allowing me to share the love of Jesus Christ, and I couldn't do it without you.

Please make your check out to Lutheran Church of Hope, but DO NOT put my name on it anywhere, also put Mission South Africa on the memo line of the check. Then, you can do one of two things, send the check directly to my church, address below, just be sure you add a note that says it's for my mission account, by the way my name is Mark Shrum if we've never met. You can also make monthly donations, if that fits your budget better. Just remember that June is the last month to donate, as I will be leaving at the beginning of July. Please keep your canceled check(s) as your proof of donation, Hope will not send a giving statement unless you request it.

Church address:

Lutheran Church of Hope
Attn: Dina Remington
925 Jordan Creek Parkway
West Des Moines, Iowa 50266

Or, you can send it to me, with the same stipulations as above, and I will get it applied to my account.




You can send any comments or questions to the following email account:

email: sendmarktoafrica@yahoo.com

I welcome any and all comments and questions.

FAQ, 2

8. What happens if you don't reach your goal? If I'm unable to raise the necessary money to go, the money I do raise will go towards my next trip to Juarez, as will any money that I go over the $4000, God willing.



9. Will you make this trip an annual thing? Probably not. This trip to Africa may only be a one time deal, but my mission trips won't end. I will continue on my Juarez trip and any other chance I get to serve God's people, I will go.

IT'S A GO!!!!!!

The first hurdle has been cleared and I have been given the OK from my company to go.


Now, on to the money, the part where you can help. Not just by giving of your own money, but by hitting up everyone you know to try and help. Since my goal is $4000, that comes out to 160 people giving $25. That sounds pretty easy, but I don't know 160 people well enough to ask them for $25, I'm hoping that you can help. Of course, some people can give more, which cuts that 160 down, but some can't give $25, and I understand that. I'm making some cards to hand out that tell people what I'm trying to do and list this website as a place to go to support my trip. If you would like some of these, let me know and I'll get them to you. If you want to do something different, by all means, go for it. I will be adding a page to this site called, "How to donate," which will give directions on how to donate and get credit for tax purposes and where to send the money. I figured if I made this site a one stop shop for information about my trip, how to donate and ultimately a report on how the trip went, that takes the actual "begging" for money out of your hands, you just need to ask people to check it out. I'm well aware that some people won't want to support a mission trip in South Africa, that's cool, I don't want anyone trying to help me to strain a relationship they have with someone by angering them or making them uncomfortable. Just point them to this site and they can make up their own mind. I'm also aware that some people won't want to support a faith based organization, that's fine as well, but I won't hide the reason I'm going. Ultimately, this is a God thing. I'll go if it is his will, but He doesn't just hand us anything except salvation, I'll have to work if I want to go.



So get out there, spread the word, and Thanks! South Africa, here I come!!!!!!!

If you are new to this blog, and who isn't, this is only the second post, but if you haven't read my other blog, let me fill you in on a few things.

1. I do a lot of numbers, like this list.
2. I am a terrible writer. I can't spell worth a damn, can't put a proper sentence together, I ramble on and on with 10 commas, and I sometimes have a hard time expressing exactly what I want to say.
3. Obviously, you can tell from #2 that I would make a terrible salesman.
4. I'm a smartass, maybe the biggest smartass you have ever met (or read if you have never met me)
5. I have a sign, given to me by one of my sisters, but all will agree, that says "Sarcasm, just one more service offered here." So true. Funny thing is, this same sign is hung at my little brothers house and if isn't at my big brothers house, it sure should be. It's a family trait since my sisters are guilty of the same.
6. I'm a Christian, returning to my faith after years of not being one. I didn't have to go to jail to find Jesus, just met a hot chick that turned me around, so I married her.
7. This particular blog is for updates and information about my attempt, and hopefully, my successful trip to South Africa. If you care to read about my other mission trips, you can visit my main blog and click on Juarez or Navajo. I've also gone to Appalachia, but that was well before I ever set up a blog. The rest of that blog is dedicated to family, (so it would be boring unless you knew my family), business trips I have taken, and misc. stuff.
8. You won't find flashy things on my blog, like music and pictures that change. No, I'm pretty technology challenged, scary for a guy who worked in the software industry for 15 years. In fact, if it wasn't for my friend Bobbi who is a missionary in Cape Town, South Africa, I would have never even started a blog, so you can thank her or cuss her, your choice.

That's it for the numbering for now.

FAQ, part 1

I've had a few questions posed to me that I thought I would answer on the site, so any of you that have the same questions, can have them answered.

1. Why? Why do you go and why South Africa? Since this is 2 different questions, lets answer each one separately. (her I go with the numbering thing again. This time, I'm throwing in some letters as well)

a. Why? Well, the short and simple answer is, God told me too. "Holy crap, this guy is nuts!" Yep, I would have said that myself just 7 short years ago, but here is what I have learned. God speaks to you, if you choose to listen. What did he say to me? No words, but an overwhelming feeling like I've never felt before. An emotion that I can't explain and a desire I couldn't deny. I'm the first one to think it must have been gas, but no, to powerful for that, and much higher. No, this was a full out command from God, telling me I need to move, to get off my ass and do something bigger than me. I've always been a fan of me, doing whatever I wanted and not apologizing for it. Now, it was time for me to do something for someone else, but not just anything, something big. My first venture on this journey was a week in the Appalachian mountains building a wheelchair ramp for a lady, with a group of people I met in the van ride from my West Des Moines home to Jonesville, VA. Spending 2 days in a van with people, lets you get to know them pretty well and I'll tell you I fell in love with them right away. You see, they had that same feeling as I did. I'm not sure it was the same experience as mine, but similar. The thing I remember most about that trip, was something the lady we built the ramp for said as we watched her wheel down it for the first time. She said, "You gave me my life back." We did what? We just nailed some boards together, I didn't know it would actually be appreciated. Her husband had to carry her down the steps before, so if he wasn't home, she couldn't leave her front porch. If her granddaughters were playing in the front yard, she could only watch from 4 feet above, but now, she could be right with them. I knew right then why God had sent my selfish ass. I knew my life would never be the same, and it hasn't been. The next year, as I began to prepare for my second trip to Appalachia, a new trip was started, this one to Juarez Mexico. Never heard of it. Again, God spoke to me and told me to give it a try. I went to the informational meeting and it scared the hell out of me. They wanted us to go to the most violent city in North America, stay in the old garbage dump, and build a house for a family I had never met and probably wouldn't be able to communicate with, because my dumbass never took Spanish in high school, so I only new words from the Taco Bell menu. I was pretty sure that Taco Belgrande wasn't going to be helpful in Mexico. The title of that trip was, "Step out of your comfort zone." That was an understatement for me. I like my schedule. I like to know what I'm doing, when I'm doing it and for how long. I'll tell you, that trip had none of that. It was totally out of my control, but for some reason, it didn't bother me. That was 4 years ago and I have gone every year since. That was a long winded answer for a three letter question.

b. Why South Africa? I learned a little about the AIDS epidemic this year from a traveling information thing. (not sure what category to put it in, calling it a show seems to lessen it's impact) They talked about all of the children that have lost their parents to AIDS and how their own family, aunts and uncles, wouldn't take them in because they were afraid that the kids had AIDS and would give it to them. I would like to think that my family wouldn't do that to me, if I was in that situation. These kids then have to fend for themselves. As you went in to this "show," you were assigned a child. You listened through a MP3 player as you walked through this child's life. These were actual kids telling their stories, not actors playing the part. Heart breaking, to say the least. I was moved. I kept asking myself, what can I do? I don't have money right now to sponsor a child, I'm committed over my head as it is. So I did nothing. Then, I saw the opportunity to GO to South Africa and see and do, what I felt in my heart I was supposed to do. So here we are, me trying to go, asking for you to partner with me, so I can help a few of the millions that are hurting.

2. Why bother? You can't make a difference. Oh how wrong that statement is. You heard what the lady in Jonesville, VA said. Last February, as we handed the keys to a new home we had just built, I watched a man, his wife and 2 daughters hold each other and cry. People had walked into their lives, built them a house, handed them the keys, prayed for them, then walked out, asking nothing in return. Imagine if someone did that for you, ala Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. How would you feel? I can't imagine, but I'll tell you how it feels to be the one who hands them those keys and walks away. Incredible. Did we solve the economic problems of Mexico? Hardly, but we changed the quality of life for that family. We prayed with them everyday and told them that we didn't come as Americans, big brother of the north. We came as followers of Christ, to share his love and live out his plan for us.

3. How does your family feel about you being gone so long? How do you feel about that? I guess I can't speak with 100% certainty, but this is what they tell me. Marcy backs me 100%, because she knows I'm following the plan that God has laid out for me. She knows I'm not faking it to get out of the house, because believe me, it would be a hell of a lot easier to stay home, watch Survivor, drink a beer and yell at my kids to stop hitting each other(I enjoy all of those things). The boys are always excited because they know I will bring them something back, so that is an easy sell. If you ask them what I do when I go away, they say to help people. If you ask them, who told me to go, they say God. I feel I need to lead by example. If I want them to help others, I need to do it. How do I feel? I'm extremely sad to leave them and I miss them a ton when I'm gone. I do feel that the week (or weeks) I'm gone do way more to teach them about who God wants them to be, than the time I would have spent with them during that time.

4. What about local missions? Why not help those? Good question. There are two main things about that. The first is, there are a lot of people who help and can donate food, or volunteer to serve meals at a shelter downtown, or volunteer at any of the other local charities or missions, but not everyone can, or is willing, to travel too far away places to do Gods work. Does that make me better than those that don't go? Or make the work I do more important than someone who helps at home? Not at all, both of these things are important. I hope that the people that are called to help locally are answering the call. These are just different ways to help people, no better or no worse. The second reason is, focus. When I'm at home, I have a hundred things pulling me this way and that, as I'm sure you do as well. It's very difficult to work another commitment into the schedule. Is that a lame excuse? Yes and I'm aware of it, but there is truth to it as well. When I know I'm going on a trip, I get everything I need to get done, then I leave. Then, for the next week, I focus. I focus on the reason I'm there. I become immersed in it. I focus on the people I'm there to serve and the people I'm there serving with. I pray, a lot. I listen to my fellow missionaries and I learn. I laugh. I relax. I have no TV, no newspaper, no phone, no appointments, no meetings, no distractions. I have God. I have life. A life most of us know nothing about, because it is poverty, it is dirty, it is real. I see happiness, in the midst of what we would think would be misery. But I also see people who struggle to feed their children, clothe them and put a roof over their head. I see people who give me far more than I could ever give them.

5. Are you scared? Shitless, times 100.

6. If you are scared, why do you continue to go? If you have seen the trailers for the Bill Maher movie, Religious, there is a clip where he is talking to a guy who looks like the stereotypical Jesus, and the guy asks Bill, "What if you are wrong?" Bill isn't a believer and I'm guessing his movie tries its best to disprove all religions. Bill replies with something that I just don't get, he says "What if you're wrong?" Really? That's your comeback. I'll tell you, if I'm going to be wrong, I'd rather be wrong listening to God, than ignoring him. Once you come to your judgement day, what will your come back be to the question, "Why didn't you listen to me?" I'm sure these words coming from God would be a lot scarier than those same words that came out of my mothers mouth, about a million times. This isn't a blind faith, I've done a little reading on the subject, and will continue too, because it's still a little confusing to me.

7. Is it safe? As safe as it can be. I'm not fully up to speed on South Africa yet, but I know in Mexico, we take care. We stay inside after dark. We stay in a group. We haul all of our own food and water. We take precautions and I've never felt unsafe, excluding the first time I went and spent the whole time wondering what in the hell I was doing in a country I didn't speak the language and building a house that I had no skills to offer.

That's what I have so far, feel free to ask anything you want, regarding the trip, past trips, how or why I do the stuff I do, or anything else you want. I'll post more questions as I get them.

My process

So I'm thinking of adding a trip to South Africa into my list of missions. This is the biggest one for me, so it's the scariest I've ever done (or at least I'm trying to do it). Here are the issues I face:



1. I need to raise $4000.00 in 8 months in order to be on a plane on July 3rd, 2009.

2. I need to convince my company to either:

A. Give me 2 extra weeks off, with pay.

B. Allow my co-workers to donate days off to cover the 2 weeks I will be gone.

I've all ready started on this one.

3. I need to pay my deposit and get on the list of people going. Seeing as how this trip also includes a photo safari, I'm guessing more people will want to go. My church has a mission trip that goes to Ghana, and it's always full.



I'm not sure I can pull this off. I mean, I have to have my company add something to their rules that they have never addressed before, or at least as far as I know. If they don't do it, the trip is a no go. I'm all ready committed to one week in Mexico on my Mission Juarez trip, which I won't give up. I'm now on the planning committee for this one, and it is very important to me. That trip will cost me $700.00, which I don't have, so you can see that the Africa trip will have to be on a donation basis (I'll be getting to that later). I'm also going to spend a week in CA with Marcy, which I won't give up either. That leaves me with one week of vacation, plus my paid days off, another 5. If I used these to go to Africa, I wouldn't ever be able to call in sick, or take a day off for my mental health or to work around the house. This would make for a very long year and I don't think I could pull that off.



You may be asking yourself, "Self, what can I do to help Mark live out this call." First, you really shouldn't call yourself "self." Second, I'm so glad you asked, here is what you can do. Obviously, I need money for my trip. The good thing is, you can make a donation for my trip and then claim that donation on your taxes. You will be able to make a check out to my church, then send it to me or directly to my church, and they will hold the money in a account for me to use. If you send it to my church, just be sure you include a note that it is for me, but don't put my name on the check anywhere. Don't send anything yet, I know you are dieing to, but consider what you can do, or who you can get to help me, and when I clear the time off from work hurdle, I'll get everyone info on how to help. I'm even working on a way for people to make monthly donations, if they so desire, so one doesn't have to come up with a chunk of money. I know times are tuff, and money is tight. Believe me, I'm the last one you have to explain that to, so don't feel you have to, if you can't. This is in God's hands, if it's meant to be, I will go. If this isn't in his plan, it won't come together. I also have a backup plan for the money if I'm unable to reach my $4000 goal. Since your donation would not be refundable, I would use it for my Juarez trip the following year. That would be something for you to consider when making a donation for Africa, it might not happen.

Keep your eyes on this site and I'll update as things change.