Kay returned from teaching how to use mobile phones in Ghana and Kenya (click here to read the story). But is mobile a viable platform for discipleship and training?

Here is some good reading on mobile devices. I’ve put some of my favorite quotes beneath each article link.

1. Tablets are starting to impact African education

Africa is the second-largest mobile-phone market in the world behind Asia … Over the past 10 years, the number of mobile connections in Africa grew an average of 30 percent a year, and the report predicted it would reach 735 million people by the end of this year on a continent with about a billion people. [Note: this would be about 70% of the population.]

USAID recently started an education mobile-phone initiative and last year hosted, in Bethesda, Md., the first International Symposium on Mobiles for Education for Development. The initiative aims to improve access to low-cost mobile technologies for education globally.

It’s important not to oversell the use of mobile technology in Africa. While many people in Africa have mobile phones, many aren’t smartphones that can access the Internet, she said. Mobile learning, she said, is not going to take the place of traditional teaching methods. … education with mobile phones in Africa typically involves a student or teacher using his or her own technology and bearing the burden of associated costs, even if those costs are low.

She expects a very low cost tablet to be introduced in the marketplace soon and to explode in Africa. “I know mobile phones are all over Africa, but I’m not sure that’s the right form for education,” she said. “The tablets are great.”

2. Mobiles starting to edge out internet cafes in Africa

Smart mobile phones are slowly edging out internet cafés in Malawi, says a new report.

He said most youths are buying high-tech mobile phones because they want to appear to be ahead of the game in terms of living up to modern trends and fashion.

3. Wikipedia will be available on free mobile access in Africa via Orange

Orange has struck a deal with Wikipedia to make its digital encyclopaedia available free of data charges to millions of mobile phone users across the Middle East and Africa. The mobile phone operator has 70 million customers across Africa and the Middle East.

The ability to access the internet, and websites such as Wikipedia, is currently limited to about 10 million Orange customers who have mobile devices with 2G or 3G capability.

4. Next billion mobile users will come from developing rural areas

Operators can expect to see the next billion mobile connections to come from rural areas in emerging markets, according to analyst Ovum.

5. In 2012, there will be 200 million more mobile users in India

The mobile phone will drive internet use in India in 2012. Computing begins with the mobile and its growth is fast in India.

He believes that the increase in smartphone and internet capable phones, selling below $94 and built by Indian manufacturers, is making it easier and more affordable to own such devices.

The other big change when it comes to India and the internet is how people are using the web. With better connections, mobile phones and computers, Indians are increasingly using the internet for more than just checking their email.

In both rural and urban areas, social networking is a key driver of use. The most popular site in India is now Facebook, which in the past six months saw its user base grow by more than a third.

When I lived in Nigeria in the ’80s and ’90s, few people had a landline telephone. The introduction of  cellphones allowed Africa countries to skip the installation of telephone line infrastructure. I think the growth in smartphones will similarly allow Africans to skip the computer + internet that most of us associate with internet connectivity.

Yes, I think mobile phones, and especially tablets, will allow us to increasingly disciple and train people better than ever before. What about you? In what ways can mobile assist discipleship? In what ways should we be cautious?

Africa, here I come!

Keith drove me to the airport. Then he drove home. I, on the other hand, flew to Accra, Ghana as part of a training team. A few days later, we will fly to Nairobi, Kenya for a second round of training.

We are embarking on the next step in a massive, faith-stretching opportunity. Our Global Technology Team is partnering with the Go North project to train thousands of pastors and church planters to plant thousands of churches across the Sahara Belt of Africa by 2020.

Karin & Kay preparing training materials

The Go North strategy leaders expressed a need. How do we train thousands of pastors and church planters in thousands of towns and villages in a dozen countries? International Leadership University-Kenya had experience in life-transforming training, so they produced Pastors Training in Leadership. The Global Technology Office had an idea: use the most common communications device in Africa today — a mobile phone. Together we developed the solution to the need.

These next weeks will represent the culmination of 2 years of development, testing, planning, and praying. Mobile phone training using ILU-Kenya curriculum has been tested in several locations for 18 months. Pastors tell amazing stories of how their lives and their leadership have been transformed.

Some of the mLearning team

We will train 32 coordinators from 11 countries. In the next few months, 100 to 300 pastors and church planters in each country will be trained. In the following months, we prayerfully expect this training to spread to 20,000 pastors and church planters who will plant 50,000 churches across the Sahara Belt of Africa.

Right where Islam is spreading southward. Right where sectarian violence is growing. Right where people desperately want to know about God’s love and his release from shame and guilt.

So, how does a seasoned missionary and global traveler feel about this next adventure on her own? I am honored to be able to help these leaders learn a new method of training the pastors of their countries. I am excited to be back on the continent of Africa, a place that God has given me a special love for. I feel strange to be leaving Keith behind, but confident in traveling with good friends and co-laborers.

Read co-trainer Karin Tome’s thoughts here.

I re-read this today. “Each step by any (and every) one who ships moves us.” Read it! Then pick something you haven’t released or shipped yet and get it out the door today.

What letter hasn’t been written? What gift hasn’t been sent? What encouragement hasn’t been given?

Renner travelled 56 hours. Selegna was refused a visa to enter Thailand. International travel can be uncertain and frustrating. But Renner and Selegna and 170 others from 32 countries felt God had called them to join us. So they persevered.

Renner wrote: I’m now at the São Paulo International Airport. I spent 5 hours on a flight to be here. I’ll wait 11 hours before flying to Amsterdam. Another 14 hours later, I land in Amsterdam. I wait 9 hours for my next flight. Then 17 hours later, I arrive in Bangkok. Yep, I really need to be with you, guys!

See Selegna’s story.

As I watched the next step in a dream that began in 2005 with the first MinistryNet, my mind filled with David’s question from Psalm 8: 4 “What is man that you are mindful of him?” Overwhelmed by God who is allowing me to see a dream coming true — engaging the power and reach of the internet to help people know him and to grow to be like him.

Our theme “Decisions to Disciples,” focused on new ways to move people forward in their journey to follow Jesus.

One of the unique additions to this MinistryNet was spending two hours each morning in small innovative workgroups. We were seeking to solve a problem or develop an innovative approach to moving people from making a decision, to being a disciple of Jesus. Each group developed a short video to present their proposed solution. The best solutions will receive seed funding to develop a prototype. With MinistryNet less than a week old, three groups are already developing their prototypes.

Imagine the power of 170 people returning home to 32 countries with new strategies, new passions, new relationships with like-minded digital ministry entrepreneurs! This is our dream becoming reality.

You can watch many of the MinistryNet 2011 sessions here. [Note: You will need to create a sign-in using TheKey. It's free.]

Would you like to know more about the diverse projects in internet ministry happening in Campus Crusade for Christ? Visit the MinistryNet Conference Virtual Ministry Fair.

What is your plan to use the opportunities of the internet to deliver the timeless, unchanging message of Christ in fresh, changing ways?

I had a small part in flood relief in Thailand. You can have a small part also. Many small parts can make a huge difference.

Several of our Thai staff have flooded homes and submerged cars. I heard yesterday of 5 flooded homes and 7 submerged cars. Yet these staff are engaging every day in helping others. They deliver drinking water. They distribute food. They help carry evacuees’ belongings to safety.

Kay and I ask you to help the helpers.

Help replace household goods. Help replace cars. Help the helpers as they help the suffering.

Pray.

Give.

Share this link. Go to the bottom of the page and share on Facebook. Click the Like button. Tweet it to your friends.

Let’s Help the helpers.

The flood is coming to Bangkok. So are the MinistryNet conferees! The MinistryNet 2011 conference is ON and it is in Bangkok!

Our theme verse is becoming Isaiah 43:2:

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.

Kay and I are in Bangkok as the advance team. Well, truthfully we are in Bangkok to be Grammy and Grandad to two amazing grandgirls. With the flooding crisis, we have become the eyes and ears to help with on-site evaluations about continuing the conference here.

We traveled the city streets in the conference area of town which have no water at this time. We talked several times with our Thai leadership and crisis management team. We all agreed the conference should continue. Air tickets are purchased. Travel visas are approved. Hotel arrangements are made.

In contrast, our grandgirls and their mom Michelle are leaving town!

Yes, we are bringing people into town and Daniel is sending his family out of town. How did we arrive at differing decisions?

It’s because the decision-making process needs to fit the target audience. Our conference is in a 5-star hotel that is committed to providing food and water. They have large national procurement chains that continue to work during this crisis time. They have a stand-by generator with days of fuel reserves. The hotel is located in a higher section of town. The roads from the airport to the hotel are elevated and will not flood. Our conferees are adults who can take care of themselves.

This is different from the parents of 4 and 6 year olds who were scheduled to depart for furlough in 6 weeks. They purchase their food in the local stores, where food and water have disappeared from shelves due to stockpiling. Their daughter’s school, along with all Bangkok schools, are closed for 2-3 weeks. Some expect the flood waters could stay around for the month. Would you want to live on the second floor of your house and not go outside for a month?

Daniel, Michelle and their leadership decided to send them on their furlough early. Daniel will stay behind to care for their house during the flood and to help with flood relief.

Continuing our MinistryNet conference is already helping with flood relief. We were asked by the Thai leadership if conferees could bring in 4-person inflatable boats. Local Campus Crusade staff will fill the boats with water and food and navigate flooded streets helping others. In 90 minutes, we found 7 volunteers who each purchased a boat, two paddles and a foot pump. We used the internet to pull it together very quickly. After a cellphone call from the Thailand Campus Crusade crisis management team, we used Skype and email to finalize the plan. We emailed a number of conferees. We used a Google Doc to manage the signup process. Each volunteer used Amazon.com to order the items. There was not a single face-to-face meeting to plan and execute the project. It was a totally internet-based project.

In 90 minutes, across 9,500 miles, the project was initiated, planned, and executed. Next week, 7 boats will arrive to help with life-saving relief.

It’s kind of cool — a conference focusing on using the internet for ministry is able to use the internet to prepare for flood relief.

As Hannibal Smith would say, “I love it when a plan comes together!”

I just finished the plane part of a journey which got me to Amsterdam. Soon, I start the train to Rotterdam, then the bus. The goal is to get to the ship, SS Rotterdam. But before that story, let me tell you what Kay and I did last week.

Kay and I joined about 40 others at the Global Operations Team meeting in Orlando. I love going to a conference and not feeling jet-lagged! The highlight of the time was connecting with leaders from around the world.  After a dinner where Kay and I talked with leaders from 5 parts of the world, I was struck by how unusual that might be to many people. Kay and I are blessed to be missionaries in a role that allows us to work across cultures with Spirit-filled leaders from around the world.

Some of the highlights:

• Kay served all as the hotel and conference liaison, working with the hotel to enable the conference leaders to focus on the agenda rather than the rooms, the break times, and the physical arrangements. Her gift of hospitality and service was appreciated by everyone.
• I spoke on Leadership Thoughts, sharing from my experience and from the Word.
• Introduced the initial version from the Ops in a Box project, a set of simple but powerful operations tools that help our staff (and disciples) be more effective at building movements at the local level. I have been co-leading this project over the past 6 months with our leader in East Asia. The development of this project has been fast and furious. Our project motto:

An imperfect plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan when it is too late. [US General George Patton]

Some photos from the conference. Click the thumbnail below to see a larger version.

Global Operations Leaders from the 13 areas of the world	Keith speaking on Leadership	Working with Operations Leaders

Now, on to the train and bus part of this story!

I am participating in the Jesus.Net Conference. Our European colleagues partner with others in an internet evangelism and discipleship project called Jesus.Net.

Visit their real-time decision page to see an absolutely amazing display of people who are coming to know Jesus right before your eyes. Their Knowing God website has been translated into 21 languages and variations with trained counselors ready to help people come to know God, to grow in their faith, and to engage in sharing their faith with others via the internet.

What is your latest travel story? Comment below and we can all enjoy!

God just doesn’t fit into any box. We often appear to try to box God in by predetermining how he should work out a solution to my current problem.

I’m reading through Acts. It’s amazing how often God spoke directly with Paul, to warn him, to guide him, to encourage him.

So, why then did God use the son of Paul’s sister to overhear an ambush plot? Why did Paul believe him? (Acts 23:16-18)

It would have been easy for Paul to say, “Thanks, nephew. But I have this communication channel with God, you see. He speaks directly to me. In fact, he spoke to me just last night and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” He didn’t say anything about this ambush plot, so we’ll just let things go. I’m sure God can deal with it.”

No. Paul understood that God uses all sorts of ways to communicate with us. Paul understood a very important principle. Don’t put God in a box. Don’t predetermine how God will speak or how God will act.

Let God be God.

How do you sometimes box God in?

I recently returned from a 10 day trip to Asia. I spent nights in 3 countries.

And I checked no baggage.

I lived out of a rollerboard carry-on bag and my computer backpack.

How did I do this?

It has taken me some time to learn and it takes my wife’s excellent packing abilities. And it’s not just a guy thing. Kay has developed the ability to live for a week out of a carry-on bag. Here’s how we do it.

• Wear the shoes you will use throughout the trip. Extra shoes take up space.
• Pack efficiently. Roll your clothes. This prevents wrinkles, but also takes less space.
• Use the laundry service in your hotel. There is a cost, but it’s less than having no changes in clothing because your checked bag is missing.
• Choose clothes that can be mixed and matched. Every shirt should go with every pair of trousers.
• This is a personal choice, but I prefer wool-blend trousers, even in the tropics. I’m in meeting rooms with air conditioning most of the time. Wool trousers travel well with minimal wrinkles. They wear well and can be worn more times than cotton trousers. (Pinky Tailor in Thailand makes great trousers!)
• Be brutal about leaving things at home. You need much less than you think you do. Set out everything you think you need. Then remove everything you can.

Why is this important?

• Because I was moving every few days to another country, a missing bag would probably never have caught up with me. It was important to have everything with me as I moved from place to place.
• Because flights are sometimes delayed or rerouted. It’s important to have everything with me.
• Because I can more easily rebook flights if necessary. On the return trip, we arrived at the U.S. entry airport more than an hour earlier than expected. I was able to change to flights that allowed me to arrive home an hour earlier. After 33 hours of travel, arriving at 10:30 pm rather than 11:30 pm becomes really important! It was important to have everything with me when rebooking or changing flights.

Here are some links that I’ve found helpful

• Never have to check your luggage again
• Pack as efficiently as a flight attendant
• 10 days in a carry-on
• Fit more clothes with fewer wrinkles

So, what packing tips do you have? Use the comments to share with others.