Nehemiah 8:10 "The joy of the Lord is your strength".

These are the last few days of August and we are starting to make plans for coming home in the month of October. By then a year will have passed since we sold our house in Bismarck and got ready to move to Africa as full time missionaries. Our perspective has changed a great deal since then, as you would expect. We mean; it is much easier to see and respond to the challenge of taking the Gospel to all nations in view of the certain fact that God’s kingdom, although not come in power yet because our King is seated “at the right hand of the Father”, is surely ever so close. Then God will bid the Son to “rule in the midst of Thine enemies” (I am thinking in terms of Psalms 110 and what we are taught in the New Testament about its literal fulfillment). Resistance will finally be impossible and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. To most of us this is a familiar challenge but out here, many of the distractions which afflict us at home are absent; so we more clearly discern our Lord’s expectation that we should be wise stewards of what He has committed to us during His absence.

The two of us were laughing together as we went to bed last night when we rehearsed the day and added the comment of how blessed we are at our age to have the privilege of still being active enough to serve under these circumstances. One of our resident children asked Peggy again how old she was and she replied, “Why? Do I look old?” The child replied quite candidly, “Yes, you do”. And so I see my grandfather staring me in the mirror now clearly. We take the opportunity to thank all of you who have prayed for us and sent your support over the previous year. We also appreciate all of you who have taken the time out to serve with us for weeks or months. You have seen what compels us to keep on course. We can also say that it is with joy in our hearts which only the Lord can give.

The sidewalk project financed by a generous supporter is over half complete and the playground renovation is taking shape as the steel framework is being erected near the children’s cottages.  

Another term is nearly complete in the teacher’s training program called RICE (Rafiki Institute of Classical Education). I am looking forward to expanded interaction with medical students, medical officer trainees and teacher trainees at a nearby college. For this I enjoy the partnership of two Lutheran pastors who are helping me to expand opportunities to teach students about the identity of our Lord and what He expects in return for His incomprehensible love. Yesterday we had a ground breaking ceremony which included the youngest (she shoveled dirt with a small garden spade) and the oldest resident moving dirt as construction started on the largest building to be erected in the village-a multipurpose facility with a gym, a stage, music practice rooms and expanded classrooms which will serve the teacher training program. With all this going on we have been reminded lately during our regular Bible study in the Gospel of Luke about at least four elements of discipleship which our Lord made very clear was His expectation (Luke 14:25-33):

 1. v. 26, discipleship means loving our Master so much that all other loves are hatred by comparison,

2. v. 27, taking up our cross daily speaks of His absolute lordship in our lives even as a condemned man had to carry his cross publically to the execution site as a sign of submission to the power of Rome,

3. In the teaching about building the tower (vv. 28-30) we are confronted with the challenge that we must plainly calculate the cost of this kind of discipleship!  and lastly

4. (vv. 31-33) this calculation should include how we can use our resources for the maximum benefit of His kingdom.

We hope to rejoice with many of you during the time we are in the States in October. We want to remind everyone that there are so many opportunities for faithful service here in the lives of others even for older people like us (I spent the morning repairing security lights which have been out for months). Let us know if you would like us to come to your church or home group to talk about these opportunities. There is always plenty of work to share J.