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I have been studying ravens. They are mentioned in the Bible 10 times. And not always in the best light. I was thinking about 1Kings17 where God used ravens to feed Elijah while he was hiding out after declaring there would be no rain until he said so.

Conspiracy of Ravens

In today’s world, a group of ravens is called a conspiracy of ravens, or an unkindness of ravens. That tells you what our modern world thinks of this animal. Things like death, darkness, selfishness, mischievousness, or scavenger have been used to describe ravens. I also found:

• The poem by Poe, The Raven, a mournful remembrance of a lost love.

• The Hitchcock movie, The Birds, I think used some ravens.

• The American football team the Baltimore Ravens (14-2 in 2019).

• Spirit animals representing intelligence and quick learning.

• Totems representing mystery and divination.

• In Native American culture ravens represent change or transformation and are seen as tricksters.

What does God say about ravens? He says multiple times not to eat them. He also shows that He provides for them. He took them on the ark (Genesis 8:7). The raven was released before the dove to see if there was any dry land. When God is talking with Job, he reminds Job ravens are taken care of in His plan (Job 38:41). Their provision is shared again in the Psalms (147:9). The raven would be used as a weapon to peck your eyes out when you disrespect your parents (Prov30:17), even as a reference to the color of hair (SOS 5:11). Don’t take my word for it, look it up and see for yourself.

When I think of ravens a picture pops into my head of a very black bird, so black it almost reflects light instead of absorbing it, with beady black eyes. Bigger than a crow, this bird has a 45” (114cm) wing span, that is almost 4 feet people.  One of those blue US Mail Boxes is 3.75 feet tall. About as tall as your average American 6 year old. Weighing in around 4 pounds (2kl), this is like four boxes of butter, a big cast iron skillet, or a solid metal hammer. Do you have a picture of this big black bird?

God used a raven to feed Elijah in the wilderness. An unclean bird that will peck your eyes out. Can you imagine? One raven (or was it ten ravens?) show up each morning and evening dropping bread and meat in front of you. Seems this happened every day for nearly a year. What a miracle. A continuing miracle. Day in and day out these birds bringing food to a man waiting in a cave. I wonder when it became commonplace? When Elijah stopped being amazed? When do we stop seeing Gods miracles that are right in front of our faces?

Ravens, a conspiracy of ravens. I have been thinking about ravens lately.

What is a care team? Simply put, a care team is a group of people who have committed to the care of a missionary. Normally, care teams meet monthly to pray and plan. There are a few different support roles on a care team: moral, logistics, financial, prayer, communications, reentry, and team leader.

Care Teams

Let’s dive in and take a closer look at the different parts of the care team:

Roles

• Missionary: the person heading out to share the love of Christ (Deb).

• Moral: giving an encouraging word, holding me accountable to Jesus Christ and to do what I said I would do. An ongoing relationship to provide encouragement and accountability.

• Logistics: details, details, details. Helping me get what is needed to function, whether in the country I am serving in or with things back home.

• Financial: money. To provide financially for ministry activities and day to day living expenses.

• Prayer: spiritual covering. To provide a first line of defense, praying for me on a regular basis.

• Communications: staying connected to what is going on back home. Keeping me connected to my home of origin, the people and happenings.

• Reentry: Helping me transition to my original culture. To provide help in fully integrating my new self into my old environment.

• Team Leader: one person at home in charge of coordinating the care team.

There can be additional roles as needed. For instance, research. Right now in this time of preparation to return to the field, many things need looked into. People are participating by researching things like language acquisition and church locations.

Mission

Spreading the love of Christ with everyone I encounter (see End Game). A missionary normally focuses on sharing the good news with one people group. I feel God is pointing me to share His love with Norwegians.

Monthly Meetings

Care team meetings for the Norway mission will begin soon. You can join the care team in person or on the online stream.

There will be an interest meeting in January where we will discuss the roles, the mission and vision, and spend some time in prayer. I invite you to come and see if God is asking you to share His love with Norwegians, too. Please enter your email here to get information about the Norway Care Team interest meeting.

Should you have questions about how you can get involved, send me an email today.

Note: Should you want more information about Care Team Roles and supporting a missionary you can read Serving as a Sender by Neil Pirolo.