July2014

There are many different types of tents in this world. I remember being a Girl Scout and having the old-style canvas tents with
wooden poles and big metal stakes. Those things were NOT the easiest tents to build! Then I remember the progression to nicer
nylon tents with aluminum poles. As I aged and grew (in height and weight!), tents seemed to have done the opposite = theyve
gotten lighter and smaller. I remember getting our first backpack tents tiny little things with fiberglass poles connected by elastic
cables that almost built themselves.
Tents go way back. I dont know when the first tents came on the scene, but its a long time ago. Probably invented by somebodys
kid when he took the family blankets and built the very first under-the-table tent in the family living room! Who knows. But I do
know that tents are in the Bible, so I can rest assured that they were around back then, for sure.
Yes, tents have evolved in size and style and weight and usage. But one thing has stayed relatively the same they all have a
support system. Fabric doesnt just suspend above us and create shelter. The shelter has support.
Most of us have spent our lives building our personal tents, or support systems that shelter us in life. We have family and friends
that create a part of our support structure. We have church families, Sunday School groups, small groups and Bible study fellowships
that give us another form of support and structure in life. We have mentors and peers and helpers in our life that are there to listen to
us, to help guide us and give us advice, who lend a hand and a shoulder when needed. And we have professional support systems in
our lives - doctors, counselors, coaches - many times these are the ones we turn to when we need a big boost or lift or specific help.
Of course, God is our number one support - our center pole, if you will. When all is going well and life is functioning in a normal
fashion, we have support systems in place and we are sheltered and feel loved and, well, supported.
But what happens when your support systems begin to fail, or if they arent accessible to us any longer? What happens when you
pitch a tent and you are missing a pole? What if one pole breaks? Have you ever been camping when you have a system failure and
you are missing poles or have a broken pole?
That is exactly what happens to immigrants and cross-cultural workers (missionaries). All of the sudden, we find ourselves in tents
that suddenly arent working very well because we are missing some support poles.
God has not abandoned us, so thats the good news! We still have a Center Pole. But for immigrants and CCWs / missionaries, we
suddenly find ourselves in situations where we no longer have our church families (or they arent easily accessible to us). We find
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How i s your t ent ?
ourselves in places where the professional systems of doctors
and counselors and coaches is vastly different (or non-existent)
and we arent sure where to turn when we need help. The tent
pole that would be Family and Friends is suddenly reduced to
only a couple of people who may actually be living with us in
our new situation (spouse, child), and our extended family and
friend groups are now far, far away. No longer can we meet our
best friend for some one-on-one time or vent to them when
weve had a crazy day. No longer does Mom come to keep the
kids so we can get away for a date night or a much needed
weekend away.
I remember a time, back in The States, when I had surgery on a
ruptured disc in my back. I think back to all of my support
people who rallied around to help care for kids, who brought
meals by the house, who called to check on me, who came to the
hospital to sit with Billy and pray while I was in surgery
people even came and cleaned my house while I recuperated!
When you take on immigrant status - when you leave your
home country and you go to live in another place far, far away -
you lose many of your natural support systems. And suddenly,
your tent looks like this:
Billy and I are no exception to this
situation. When we chose to follow
Gods call to be cross-cultural
witnesses, we suddenly found
ourselves in situations where our
support systems were not accessible or
non-existent. We have had illnesses in
other countries, illnesses that required
doctors and counselors and navigating a system that we didnt
understand in a language that was vastly different from our own.
...How is your tent?
Pray for those who we minister to and among. Pray for immigrants, for missionaries, and for our neighbors.
Pray that we may be a light for them, that we may be support for them, and that we may be friends and family to
all who need it.

Pray for Spain! Pray for more mission-minded people to come alongside us and help. Pray for relationships to
open up. Pray for new believers. Pray for the many Latin American immigrants who are on fire for Christ and
are now living in Spain pray that God would ignite their passion and their confidence and help them to carry the
word to their host country of Spain. Pray for cities and towns and villages that do not have a witness, do not
have a church pray that God rises up workers and believers who are willing to GO and LIVE and SERVE and
LOVE in places where the gospel is not present or heard.

Please pray for us as we live among our neighbors in Antequera. Please pray for us to shine and share the light
of Christ with others. Pray for others to see something different in us. Pray for our work as we build up believers
and disciples and help them gain the confidence to share with others. Pray for us to be healthy spiritually,
physically, emotionally, and relationally. Pray for us to experience rest, in order to have the strength to serve.
Spirituality emerged as a fundamental guidepost in Wholeheartedness.
Not religiosity but the deeply held belief that we are inextricably connected to one another by a force
greater than ourselves--a force grounded in love and compassion.
Bren Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
We have had LONG stretches (like YEARS) where we didnt go on
dates or have any time alone because we didnt have anyone to care for
Sarah. We have missed Bible study and church in our heart language.
We have greatly missed having our friend group from back home. At
times, these missing support systems seemed like they might
overwhelm us and our tent might collapse. If it werent for our Center
Pole in God, surely we would have succumbed to pressure and strain
and gone home a long time ago.
More good news Support systems can be rebuilt! There are
replacement poles to be found! It takes time and intentionality, but
we have been able to find new in-country friends and build the
beginnings of support systems for ourselves in our new context. And,
we are helping others do the same.
We stand as support systems for others. In our coaching and
counseling roles, we help others who are in need of a listening ear and
a shoulder. In some circles, we are mentors. In other circles, we serve
as church family, as bible study friends, and as small group members
for immigrants. We serve other cross-cultural witnesses as mentors
and trainers and peer support. We have built friendships in Spain with
Brazilians and Nicaraguans and Brits, Puerto Ricans and Spaniards,
Mexicans and Gitanos (gypsys), just to name a few. Slowly, we
are building our support systems again, as well as becoming
support systems for others whose tents are a little shaky.
So, how is your tent? When you reach out to family or friends
this month, think about an immigrant or cross-cultural witness /
missionary who is finding themselves without that support.
When you go to church or have dinner with your small group or
coffee with your bible study class, think of those around the
world who are looking for that kind of fellowship and support.
Maybe you can reach out and help someone re-build a support pole in
their tent. Blessings!!! ~Laurie
DEAR BILLY AND LAURIE, I will pray for you.
As God provides, I plan to partner with you by giving
$ _________ Per month / quarter / year for _____ years.


Name (PLEASE PRINT) ______________________________________
Address _________________________________________________
City____________________ State__________ Zip _______________
Phone _____________________ Home Church __________________
Email Address: _________________________________________

TAX DEDUCTIBLE GIFTS MAY BE SENT TO:
The Mission Society
PO Box 922637
Norcross, GA 30010-2637 USA
DESIGNATE GIFTS: DRUM0321SUP
Remember t hat sc ene i n For r est Gump???
RememberthatsceneinForrestGumpwhenhestartstorunacrossthecountry?Herunsandrunsandruns,
throughallkindsofweatherandscenery.Herunsalone.Herunswithpeople.Hejustkeepsrunningunlhe
getstotheocean.
ThatspreymuchbeenBillysexperienceforthepast5+weeks!HestartedwalkingtheCaminodeSanagoin
May.HebeganinSt.JeanPieddePort,France.Eachdayhegotup,hebandagedhisfeet,hefoundcoeeand
bread,hoistedhisbackpackonhisback,andhewalked.Hewalkedandhewalkedandhewalked.Hewalked
fromsunrisetosunset.Hewalkedinallkindsofweather.Hewalkedinmudandrain,inswelteringsunand
pelnghail.Hewalkedalongsidelotsofdierentpeople.Hewalkedingroups.Hewalkedinpairs.Heoccasion-
allywalkedalone.Atnight,hetookothebackpackandslept,onlytostartthewholethingagainthenextday.
Over780kilometerslater,hearrivedinSanagodeCompostelo,Spain.
And,likeForrestGump,heisntsurehowtostop.NowthatBillyishome,heisgoingthroughalilebitofawithdrawalprocess-men-
tally,emoonally,andphysically.IhavethisstrangefeelingwhenIwakeupandIdontgothroughtherouneofbandagingfeetand
pungonthebackpackandwalking.Hisbodyisquiteliterallygoingthroughawithdrawalperiodasittriestoadjusttodierentphys-
icalrounes,dierentfoods,andthediminishedendorphinsfromthedailytrek.Today,wewalkedfortwohoursintownjusttohelp
himfeellikehewassllwalking.Mentally,therearenightswhenhewakesupandrealizesthatheisntinastrangebedoranalbergue.
Hehasbeenhavingdreamsaboutsleepinginhisbackpack.Emoonally,heconnuestoworkthroughthedebriefandreeconpro-
cessofallofthecounselingandcoachingandministrythathedidalongtheway,aswellastheemoonalimpactthatothershadon
himpersonally.
Billykeptanonlineblogofhistrek.Ifyouhaventbeenfollowingalong,pleasecheckitout!Somany
awesomestories!Gotoourwebsitetoreadmorehp://www.drumsforchrist.org/france-to-compostela
Interestedintrekkingwithusnextyear?WewillbeministeringontheCaminoagaininlateMayJune
2015.Youcandotheenre5+weekswithus,orjoinupforaweekortwo.Letusknowifyouareinter-
ested!Wealreadyhaveseveralwhowillbecomingalong!
NON-PROFIT
ORG
US POSTAGE
PAID
BRYAN TX
PERMIT #102
The Mission Society

Laurie & Billy Drum

3907 Old Oaks

Bryan, Texas 77802 USA
E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
Drums
Contact Info
Youcanconnuetocontactthem:
[email protected]
Ph#979-985-5238(Texasphone
thatwillroutetoourcomputerin
Spain)

Mailing address:
BillyyLaurieDrum
Apdo.#46Correos
29200Antequera,Malaga,Espaa

Sharing the Love of Christ with the least, the lost, and the left out immigrants, displaced peoples, the lonely,
the abandoned, those who need a friend.
Nurturing and developing people to be healthy spiritually, physically, emotionally, and relationally - because
care is not just an emotional feeling word, care is a verb - an action. Thats who we are the care-givers!
Special thanks to all who sent letters
and notes for us. You thought that
we were going on a special mission-
ary retreat and would receive the
letter there so did we! But our
retreat was cancelled and we were
not able to go. BUT WE GOT
YOUR LETTERS ANYWAY! So
thank you for your encouragement
and love!
Sarah recently produced a set of 5 short videos for VBS! Our home
church used one video each day as a mission moment. Take a
look! And feel free to use them in your church or class!
Day 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NWOin4NUeQ
Day 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6ob68c8gMo
Day 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HCdu0UG-44
Day 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSenCXPZSnQ
Day 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTARiuOJ J jE