Psalm 37:8b “Do not fret—it only causes harm”

This was a verse highlighted from My Utmost for His Highest for July 4^th. Oswald Chambers’ comments are as usual, quite challenging. “It sounds easy to talk about resting in the Lord and waiting patiently for Him, until the nest is upset—until we live, as so many are doing in tumult and anguish; is it possible then to rest in the Lord? …… Resting in the Lord does not depend on external circumstances at all, but on your relationship to God Himself.”

As I looked back into the Psalms, I had highlighted a verse a few years back from Psalm 36:7-8 “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures”

What a contrast when we choose to dwell in the peace that only God can give. Yes times are stressful now as we have passed the 90 day mark of our time in Bismarck and the 120 day mark before we head toward Africa. We still have a house to sell and renovations to complete on our permanent residence in Florida. We have packing to complete and the timing is uncertain because of the sale; or not sale of the house. How does this all affect our daily lives? We feel somewhat like we are living in “no man’s land” with feet in 3 spheres. The house has to always be ready to “show”. Does this cause anxiety? Not if we can learn to rest in the Lord who is the giver of peace. I am one who thrives on schedules and plans and this present existence does not lend to either. I am asking daily …. or houly…. or by the second, for His Grace to help me to rest and enjoy the process. I am strengthening my relationship with God by dwelling even more in His Word that gives me strength.

We are getting really excited about seeing the vision of being on the ground in Africa serving with Rafiki finally coming into sight! I was able to attend the three day “Enrichment” in mid June which was encouraging and uplifting. I was able to talk with many of those “on the field” who I have known by name but not before met in person. It was indeed a special time. Karen Elliot and Rosemary Jensen also shared updates and vision for the future in Rafiki which is exciting.

We now have purchased our tickets for leaving from Orlando on October 30^th and arriving Kilimanjaro, Tanzania on October 31^st. We were even able to get the tickets at a wonderful price. Our layovers are just right (until the airline changes the scheduleL) and we should be able to check all 6 of our suitcases without extra charge. And we have great “assigned” seats. This is all a tremendous blessing as we prepare for the trip. International travel can be daunting and little “perks” are always a blessing.

Kent has asked to retire on October 1 instead of November 1 and the request has been granted!! This is a huge blessing as it will give us a few weeks to settle into our home in Florida. We hope to drive our car down over Labor Day and then fly back to Bismarck for the remainder of September. We will then fly to Orlando right after the STEER conference (a wonderful organization which “steers” +1.5 Million dollars to missions each year by having ranchers and farmers take additional cattle into their herds with the money going to missions).  October 2-4. In the meantime, please pray that we have the sale of our house confirmed by the beginning of August so we could close by September.

Last time we did a blog post I promised to bring everyone up to date in regard to our goals ahead especially since the present schedule calls for under 90 days before moving to Florida in preparation for Africa (we are planning a yearly visit to Bismarck since our home church is here, we have many supporters in the area and for now this is where we will continue to get our medical care). In addition to being allowed to retire on October 1 there have been some other new developments. A few days ago an email copy of my license to practice medicine in Tanzania was sent for which we are profoundly grateful. I have finished reading two volumes on the life and work of David Livingston and H.M. Stanley (the latter becoming world famous after his breath taking journey through Tanzania to find Dr. Livingston destitute in the town of Ujiji on the shores of Lake Tanganyika). If anyone is interested in just a quick run through of this whole saga I would recommend Martin Dugard’s Into Africa, The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingston. It was delicious reading! Our readers would get remarkable insight into where we are going to work by going through this volume-only 316 pages as a paperback. I have been helped immensely by J.I. Packer’s comments on what we should expect as we ask God for wisdom in encountering tribulation. Here is a short version which I would have been very much better off to have known earlier in the Christian life: 1. as we ask for wisdom in tribulation we need to pray for God’s perspective and insight, 2. we need to ask humbly keeping in mind our spiritual, physical and emotional weakness, 3. since the wisdom which He gives may require courage and strength for action we need to be prepared for the consequences, 4. In revealing wisdom, God may wonderfully challenge us with the most unexpected interventions and even have an expectation of us in how we need to change, 5. and lastly, as best we are able, His wisdom should be put into action with the constant effort to seek peace and pursue it if possible (Ps 34:14, a composition based on David’s own experience). Over this last week we have been able to shed about a ton of stuff, I am writing literally: a snow blower, 4’x 8’ sheets of various grades of plywood and lumber, books which can now be found on the internet, clothes, boots and various paraphernalia for keeping warm at -30⁰ F. Much of our moveable furniture which is no longer needed in downsizing is sold but not picked up yet. I am also trying to formulate a workable mentoring program for our new physicians before October and work out details for a new emphasis in medicine called the Medical Home. It is a program to keep much closer track of patients who have chronic medical conditions by closely monitoring their status as outpatients to prevent deterioration and recurrent admissions.

So I hope to conclude this time with the addition of GOALS to the previously discussed vision statement. Just so you won’t have to look back I will give a concise review of the statement up to now:
VISION: to be Christ’s ambassador among my colleagues and the medical students at Kilimanjaro Christion Medical Center (KCMC), to have a servant’s attitude among my fellow workers at our mission station at the Rafiki village and to seek the best interests of Christ’s church in Tanzania.
MISSION: to know Christ and make Him known, becoming more like Him daily in my thoughts words and deeds through the power of the Holy Spirit and to seek relationships characterized by openness, vulnerability and mutual accountability.
VALUES: to seek the mind of Christ (the selfless mind, the serving mind and the sacrificial mind) and thus receive guidance as to right praying, right thinking, right living and pursuing holiness.

GOALS:

1. Establish personal relationships with the medical students and professors ASAP and combine
this with well thought out and artfully given lectures whenever there is opportunity

2. Begin the study of Swahili as soon as I can find a good mentor who is sympathetic with my
desire to reach as many of the medical students as possible-this is chiefly for social reasons
because all the instruction is in English
3.  Quietly find all those who are believers and discover ways in which they can be encouraged
4.  Help and encourage the older orphan boys and girls to conduct church at the Rafiki village so that on rainy (and very muddy) days we can have church for the benefit of everyone and for training Rafiki children and spiritual leaders
5. Find a church home ASAP and contribute to the life of that congregation. Normally on
Sundays one of the Rafiki staff must remain at the village and the rest drive into town
about five miles. There are several evangelical churches in Moshi which conduct services
in English.
6. Restrain the endless temptation to build and grow things. As we get ready to move I
think of all the time spent on making the house and grounds beautiful and pray that the
Lord will give us opportunities and a heart to build in the lives of believers
7. To show hospitality to the many friends and supporters who have told us they want
to come to Tanzania to see the work (and some have even hinted that they would like
to consider a future after retirement career with Rafiki)
8. To act as an intermediary for other churches in the U.S. for hosting individuals, young and
older, who wish to explore the possibility of long term missionary service
9. There is a big retirement community near our house in Florida full of believers (the Villages) who have all kinds of skills useful in the ministry of Rafiki. We hope to recruit some of them
by correspondence and personal visitation when we are in the States
10. To be active among our fellow workers at the Rafiki village to encourage them to exult
in hope of the glory of God, to exult in tribulation and to exult in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ (these are among the riches found in Romans 5).

This list sounds like we will totally exhaust ourselves but they include many of the reasons why we are attracted to this ministry! You can see there are so many opportunities and just not enough of God’s people who share in it. Please continue to pray for our ongoing preparations to leave, the sale of our house, the wisdom to finish my job in Bismarck as a physician administrator and the completion of our support for the future. As you read this blog we hope that you will be able to share in the excitement which we feel in being able to share in this ministry. “It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose” ESV (Gal 4:18), or the KJV, “But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing”.