Missionary

APT 8 is on the theme "MIGRATION, INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT,
HUMAN DIGNITY & RIGHTS". Caught between brokenness and reconfiguration of their narratives, what might migrants and internally displaced persons hope for? Can they hope to be ‘neighbours’ or they have to endure being seen as ‘leeches’ and threats? Can they hope for justice and compassionate liberality? Or they are not entitled to the goods of the earth in their new space? Should they hope for philosophers and saints to welcome them unconditionally?; Or they can only battle with politicians and demagogues contesting against enlarged ‘open spaces’? APT 8 investigates conversations about migration, internal displacement vis-à-vis human dignity, civil rights, multiculturalism, and preferential treatment. How do these  issues challenge and inspire both the ‘hosts’ and the ‘guests’?

Purpose – The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the role of spirituality, understood as a personal relationship with God, in missionary intercultural experience.

Design/methodology/approach – We conducted narrative interviews with eight Polish consecrated missionaries in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Paraguay. We used thematic analysis to establish spirituality in missionary experience and narrative analysis to examine sensemaking processes.

Findings – Missionary spirituality was defined by a personal relationship with God as a source of consolation, psychological comfort, strength to cope with distressing experiences, and Grace promoting self-improvement. It compensated for the lack of family and psychological support and enhanced psychological adjustment to the environment perceived as dangerous. Spirituality helped missionaries deal with cultural challenges, traumatic and life-threatening events. Traumatic experiences furthered their understanding of the mission and triggered
a spiritual transition that entailed a change in their life, attitudes and behavior.

Research limitations/implications – Comparative research into religious vs nonreligious individual spirituality in the experience across various types of expats in various locations could capture the professional and cultural specificity of individual spirituality. Research is also needed to link spirituality with expat failure.

Practical implications – Catholic agencies and institutions that dispatch missionaries to dangerous locations should consider providing professional psychological assistance. Narrative interviewing could be used to enhance missionaries’ cultural and professional self-awareness, to better serve the local community. Their stories of intercultural encounters could be incorporated into cross-cultural training and the ethical and spiritual formation of students and future expats.

Originality/value – This study captures a spiritual aspect of intercultural experience of under-researched expats. It offers a model of the involvement of individual spirituality in coping in mission.

The Quechuas (Ethnonyms: Kichwa, Qquichua, Quechua, Kechua)  are the largest indigenous people in South America. Distributed throughout the entire continent, the most significant populations are located in the Andes Mountains, primarily in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Less populated groups are also found in Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Brazil.  There is an important distinction – and many times intertwine – between the Quechua, as an ethnic group, and the speakers of the Quechua language.  The number of Quechuas living in South America today is believed to be around 2,5 million, however, the speakers of the Quechua language can be as much as 10 million.
The Quechuas probably are the biological descendants of the first Andean population, but the line of descent is not direct. Several times in the history of the region, populations were moved in and out. Culturally, today’s Quechuas are the inheritors of an indigenous Andean culture that extends back at least to 8000 B.C.E. and quite likely as far as 20000 B.C.E. They see themselves as descendants of the Incas and the Quechua language was the one spoken by the ancient empire. Today, Quechua is still the most widely spoken Amerindian language in South America and, in Peru alone, over one fourth of the population speak it as their native tongue. Despite their ethnic diversity and linguistic distinctions, the various Quechua ethnic groups have numerous cultural characteristics in common with one another.
Subsisted farming is the base of the Quechua economy. They are known for their potato crops and for raising llamas and alpacas. Pottery, textiles and other handcrafts are also produced for sale at local markets. In terms of religion, they have been strongly influenced by Roman Catholicism, which was brought by the Spanish invaders in the 16th century. Nowadays, syncretism between Christianity and ancient Quechua religious practices walk hand in hand. 
The Quechua are a diverse people with a rich culture but are still found at the bottom of the social strata and are very oppressed by the “whites” (full-blooded Spanish) and the mestizos (mixed-blood people). 
With this research paper, our group intends to learn more about the Quechua people and also understand their history, cultural and religious practices. As we comprehend more about them, we will be able to better connect and share the good news of Jesus Christ with them.

This book contains essays by NETS faculty members who bring with them a rich ministry experience in churches and para-church organisations in Namibia and other countries. Each essay is a sustained reflection on a particular aspect of Christian mission and ministry in Namibia and beyond. Thorsten Prill looks at both the challenges and opportunities for the Church in Namibia. He argues that para-church organisations with their focus on evangelism, church-planting and theological training have a significant role to play. In a second essay he identifies key issues in mission today and challenges churches, mission organisations and mission partners to be caught up in a missionary movement with God. Basilius Kasera demonstrates that the use of traditional African names for God as representatives of the God of the Bible is problematic as it leads to a distorted understanding of the biblical revelation. Such an approach fails to distinguish clearly between the revelation of Yahweh and the idols Africans have always worshipped. In a further article Basilius Kasera discusses the dangers of prosperity gospel teaching for the Namibian Church. Simon Gillham argues that the models and assumptions behind theological education in Africa have been largely imported from the west. Using the biblical metaphor of a tree representing spiritual maturity, he explores what roots, what fruits and what species of theological education might be most appropriate for the African context. Victor Kuligin examines the general state of the Namibian Church in light of the well-known statement that ‘faith without deeds is dead’. He argues that there is a discrepancy between the claim of being a Christian country and the lifestyle and conduct of many Namibian church members. He finds an answer for this disconnect in the second chapter of the New Testament letter of James. Achim Rieger believes that local church leadership should be, first and foremost, trained in the local church – given the socio-economic conditions in Namibia. He shows that the training strategy used by the apostle Paul can be a viable option for the Namibian Church. Spencer Tjijenda examines the spiritual condition of the Herero-Banderu people before and during the missionary period. He argues that the evaluation of pioneer missionary Carl Hugo Hahn was not only true but was also motivated by deep concern and love for this Namibian people group – an attitude that is still relevant for God’s mission in Namibia today.