The Stress of Working in a CAN

CAN = Creative Access Nation      CAM= Creative Access Ministry

The Last few weeks I spent 10 days travelling around a CAN in East Asia. It was a great time of seeing first-hand what our workers there are doing and how they are going about their work. There were some things that really made an impression on me and raised the respect that I have for these workers enormously.

Our ministry in Thailand had three main areas of stress that we had to deal with day-to-day. One was language and culture, which was foreign to anything that we had grown up with. Even after 14 years of working there and being fluent in the new language we would still feel the strain of operating in a culture that would still feel "foreign" to us. Even though we might understand the culture, and a different way of doing things, there would still be things that we would find uncomfortable or alien to us.

 The second area of stress was the ministry aspect as we worked together with people in a team. Often there would be intense times of stress as we dealt with issues such as team conflict, immorality and supporting people in crisis. These things seemed to occur much more frequently in a situation where the church is young and immature than in our home country.

The third main area of stress came about from bringing up a family in a foreign country. Bringin up a family is stressful under any circumstances, but even more so when the family is isolated from the extended family and familiar supports.

As we travelled around East Asia and met with people, it became apparent to me that the Christian workers that we came into contact with have another 2 areas of stress piled on top of all the other ones that I have already mentioned. One is that in order to work in a CAN it is necessary to have a visa, and for many this requires them to open and run a business. Not just any old business but a real business that makes real money satisfies the government that you are legitimately bringing a financial benefit to the country. If this business is going to bring a profit it requires a substantial investment of time and effort, which can sometimes distract the worker from their reason for working there and being a testimony to Jesus.

On top of all that are the security concerns that all our workers have to put up with. Most of the ones that we visited work with ethnic minority groups in areas that are monitored strictly by the government. As a result their movements and communication are watched very closely. If they break the guidelines that the government issues then they will be asked to leave the country. This means that our people have to be very careful about their movements and what they say to their supporters and friends.

The result of my trip was that I have an increased sense of respect for our workers in Creative Access Ministries, and a better understanding of the pressures that they deal with. Please pray for our workers that you know in Creative Asscess ministries that our Father will sustain and strengthen them to be testimonies to Jesus.

Click Here for Photos From the Trip