Missionary consultant Trevor Douglas in his Three Hills office presented traveller-beware Zoom sessions April 25-26 to more than 100 Christian workers from 21 countries. ECA Review/D. Nadeau
“International Christian workers entering limited-access countries,” says Three Hills mission consultant Trevor Douglas, “need to be well aware of what they face.”
Dr. Douglas, with decades of Asian mission experience, conducted a two-day traveller-beware Zoom workshop April 25-26 for over 100 Christian workers from 21 countries working and travelling in restricted-access countries.
From his tiny Three Hills basement office, Douglas, teaching through a translator, covered traveller-beware safety information such as “ensure your phones and computers contain no compromising material, cloud computing in countries hostile to Christianity is not secure and, exercise care and caution at all times. Even an innocuous door-to-door salesperson can be a phoney trying to determine if anyone is home.”
Being cautious in closed or restricted-access countries, says Douglas, can be important in something as simple as an interrogation.
“I teach about what to say and not to say while being interrogated. I teach how to sense when you are under surveillance. You just can’t be too careful.”
The Zoom sessions, which took more than 70 hours to prepare and illustrate, are based on personal experience and that of many other visitors to closed countries.
“What I do is a work in process,” said Douglas, “because political situations are unique and change quickly.
The key to visiting a closed country is to be prepared, be cautious, and be wise. I am always learning and enjoy helping like-minded international workers.”
D. Nadeau
ECA Review
