Meet a volunteer
| Name | Roger Mullan |
| Age | 36 |
| Location | Newtownards, Northern Ireland |
| Job back home | Estimator / Quantity Surveyor for a Belfast based construction firm |
What made you volunteer?
I have always been interested in mission and had been involved on a number of mission teams with children’s clubs in Ireland & Scotland, as well as a GLO team in France. When I went to university to commence an HND in Building Studies, leading on to a degree course in Quantity Surveying, I asked myself the question “is there no organisation that links mission with construction?”
After some initial enquiries via Echoes of Service, I heard of Brass Tacks, contacted their Executive Director, a Mr Colin Breeze, and the rest as they say is history.
How many Brass Tacks projects have you been on?
I have been on 6 different Brass Tacks teams over a 15 year period.
Where have you been?
New church building, Ploiesti, Romania (6 weeks, summer 1993)
Whitehills Christian Fellowship, Gateshead, England (1 week, summer 1994)
Sakeji School, Zambia (10 weeks, summer 1995)
Amano School, Zambia (1 month, summer 2003)
Mambilima Special School, Zambia (1 month, summer 2004)
Kalene Hospital, Zambia (1 month, summer 2006)
Why do you do it?
It is a great opportunity for me to meet missionaries & other Christians working in another culture and to experience, just a little, the daily challenges they have to contend with in a very different environment.
I enjoy working alongside and chatting with the local people, trying to learn some of their language. It gives your home church an opportunity to support the work through prayer, emails, letters, etc.
Each Brass Tacks project results in immediate benefits to local communities and the local Christian workers – whether it be a church building, a school, hospital, children’s centre or hydro project. It is a privilege to be involved and see first hand the expressions on the faces of those who will benefit. The new buildings are used to improve not only their working conditions, health and education, but most important of all to introduce and demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ in their lives.
What have been the highlights so far?
There have been so many, but here are two - one very specific memory and one more general of every team.
Sitting around a campfire in Zambia one night after swimming in the river and listening to 4 Zambians – Mike, Andrew, Burt and Alex – singing ‘when peace like a river attendeth my soul . . . it is well with my soul’ – Awesome! I will never forget it.
Meeting and getting to know the local Christians and their families as well as the missionaries and Brass Tacks volunteers – there is always great ‘craic’ on the teams. While we are there to build with ‘bricks and mortar’ to aid in the Lord’s work, God is building His church - a building not made with hands.
Is it a holiday?
A Brass Tacks team is no holiday! While it is good to get away from your usual daily routine to head off to another country, culture and language, you definitely work hard on a Brass Tacks team. On any Zambian trip I have been on, I have generally lost 1 stone in weight over a 4 week trip! (it’s always almost all back on again by Christmas!)
How is Brass Tacks different to your normal job?
I work as an Estimator preparing tender bid submissions for proposed construction projects of varying complexities within a very specific time frame – very much computers, drawings, scale rules, pencils and calculators. On a Brass Tacks team I get an opportunity to get my hands dirty and breathe in the fresh air. While I do not consider myself all that ‘handy’, I generally work well alongside someone who has practical trade experience.
Each Brass Tacks team is unique, depending on the mix of volunteers - loud, quiet, trades, professional, older younger, male, female - however, there are common bonds which unite – a willingness to serve Jesus Christ, a belief in mission & a determination to complete the project at hand in the timescale available.
Does the work Brass Tacks do make a difference?
Yes. On every Brass Tacks project I have been involved with to date, I have seen how busy the missionaries & full time Christian workers are with the work that God has called them to do – nurturing the local church, village work, running a hospital or school, Bible studies, youth work, clinics, time with family – the list goes on. Add to that the burden of organising building projects, whether new build or simple routine maintenance, raising funds, sorting drawings, ordering materials, employing skilled and unskilled labour, supervising the works, paying the men, sorting out any disputes, etc – to be able to go to another linked Christian organisation with your plans drawn out and say “please come and help us”. Brass Tacks exists to “serve those who serve”.
What has been the hardest thing so far?
I was away for a month on one of the Zambian trips. While I was very ill during this trip, that wasn’t the hardest thing to deal with. During the trip, my grandmother died unexpectedly & my grandfather was taken into hospital only to pass away himself some 8 weeks later. To be so far away from family at times like this is extremely difficult, but just before I left, my grandmother gave me a Bible verse she had always been fond of: “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.“ Deut. 31:8
What do you bring to the team?
Skills from my profession – measuring quantities from drawings, preparing project cost budgets, general construction knowledge, used to working to tight time schedules, time management. Taking part in local Gospel services or morning devotions when opportunities arise.
What have you got out of it?
A greater awareness of local and world mission. A greater appreciation of the challenges and pressures missionaries and local Christians face on a daily basis. Ability to pray more intelligently for the Lord’s work having seen His Spirit in action at a grass roots level. Greater appreciation of the many blessings we enjoy which we often take for granted in our more affluent Western society.
How have you coped with working in a different culture?
No problems usually – I am pretty adaptable & settle in fairly quickly. The heat in the afternoons can be difficult to cope with. Generally, culture shock hits me returning home again when I see the affluence of our country – tarmac roads, street lights, drainage systems, hot & cold running water, no cows in the airport!
What have been the biggest challenges on site?
Communication with the workers.
Raising awareness of general site safety issues.
Finding tools & materials.
Finding the energy some days to keep moving!
Any last words?
I challenge any Christian, of any age, to volunteer for a Brass Tacks team (or indeed any mission team) and return home untouched by the experience. I would recommend that everyone should be part of at least one such mission team – it opens and broadens your mind to see how God is working and building His Church – a building not made with hands.