Missions Mistake?

A Taliban militia ambushed a bus on a highway in Afghanistan. The Muslim extremists kidnapped the group on July 19th. The group happened to be 23 Korean Christians, most in their 20's and 30's, on a medical missions trip. The Taliban militants demanded South Korea withdraw its 200 troops from Afghanistan and release prisoners with the threat of death to the captives. The captives include 18 women and 5 men. At this time, none of the demands of the Taliban have been met. One of the captives, a sick pastor who could no longer walk, was killed by at least 10 gunshots in his head, chest, and stomach. Paul Kim, a staff member of Fuller Theological Seminary's Korean Doctor of Ministry program, said this, "When I heard the news, I was sad and kind of angry about why non-professional missionaries went to such a dangerous place. The main thing for short-term missionaries is to help long-term missionaries. If you miss the point, then it could be really dangerous." I like Kim's point-cooperate with the locals! When you participate as a missions group, it's important that you are contributing to the cause and not being a disruption. When we take mission groups to France, we seek the permission of France Youth For Christ to serve them. We discuss the project and wait for their approval. Once given the go ahead, then we make plans to go. Work with who's there. That's sound advice whether you go to Afghanistan (it's not recommended!) or Chicago.
These are the days my friend,
Jim "Train"