Last week while Ruth and I worked on
categorizing two months worth of financial receipts from East Africa,
dealing with six currencies, and began to organize our pictures, we
allowed ourselves to ask the question, “is the outcome worth the
investment of energy and finances?” As we reviewed our time in East
Africa and discussed what we experienced, we, of
course, came to the conclusion that indeed, it was worth it. Among
others, these four stand out:
- Obeying God’s Great Commission work is always worth it! The Saviour is so worthy of our all. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) words come to mind, “I go out [to serve] with two propositions in mind, first everyone ought to give his life to Christ, second, whether or not anyone gives his life, I will give Him mine.”
- We were allowed, as only God could arrange it, to witness first-hand fruit from ministry back in early 2018. It was then while we were training Christian South Sudanese refugees to use the module on Purity as an outreach to their own people in the camps, that several men started weeping with conviction over their own personal failure to be legally married, including one of the leaders. On Feb.22 that leader, Peter and Hellen, officially were married and Beth and Laura were there among the guests!
- During the Arusha, Tanzania, training, one of the participants, a pastor, shared that he had arrived at the training with much bitterness toward another pastor who had mistreated him. But during the training, he chose to obey God’s Word, and do what he was being trained to teach others to do, by forgiving that pastor and releasing the injustice to God. During the closing of that training, he offered Scripture Union Tanzania free office space in a building he is connected to in Western Tanzania. Stellah, the National Director for Scripture Union Tanzania, later told us that she and her Scripture Union board had been praying for an opportunity to expand into that area of their nation. Just a couple of days ago, we heard that indeed those plans are moving ahead and that region is opening up to Scripture Union!
- After working closely with several Scripture Union Tanzanian staff and volunteers and walking with them through two 3-day VOICE Trainings, we left for Kenya. However, what had got started continues...the Scripture Union Swahili Training Team have already conducted, on their own, two more trainings for volunteers with plans that in June those who have been trained will begin teaching Values Classes in schools in the Tanzania Lake and Western Zones.
There’s more that we could list, but
praise God with us for what He, the Lord of the Harvest, is doing.
It’s marvelous that He chooses to use us, His imperfect servants,
to work with Him. THANK YOU for going with us back to East Africa
these last two months through your faithful prayer and financial
support...the results are also attributed to your eternal accounts!
