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> Our {brief}Theology
of Missions
Dear Family
and Friends,
Africa was amazing. The six weeks Laura and I spent in rural central
Kenya were some of the most eye-opening weeks of our lives. I taught
Hermeneutics, Life of Christ, and Old Testament at the Bible school
that was a part of the small mission station in the bush. Each of
the six students were responsive to the classes and I only hope
I helped the students as much as they helped me by the reinforcement
of material and the experience of teaching. Most Sundays I preached
at one of the local churches, the majority of which were built out
of sticks and had straw thatched roofs. After church I would be
graciously served a Christmas dinner of goat soup and tortilla-like
chapates and then given a gift of a papaya or a warm coke.
The second week we had the opportunity to be involved in a nation-wide
measles campaign in which the clinic staff gave over 4000 vaccinations
in one week. I helped draw the vaccine into the syringes and Laura
gave the injections.
Because we were there for more than just a few weeks we were able
to develop relationships with the people, the Bible school students,
the clinic workers, and some of the local people in the church.
We flew from Nairobi to Paris; met with our brother, Sam; then all
together flew to Corsica, an island southeast of France in the Mediterranean.
We worked for two weeks with a missionary near the city of Bastia.
We went out during the evening into the small villages located up
in the mountains and played gospel songs-- Sam on the accordion,
Laura on the guitar, and me on the violin. The hesitant audience
would quickly leave if they sensed that they were getting a sermon,
but Andrew, the missionary, was able to give 30 second gospel-saturated
introductions to each song.
What is my response to the trip? There are three things that impressed
me.
1. I am thankful that I could go. The plane ticket cost the lifetime
earnings of the people we worked with. I certainly didn't deserve
such a chance to see missions and the front-line work. It was a
gracious privilege from God, through your support, to be able to
see the many different peoples, both in Kenya and in Corsica, and
to return home with so many fond memories.
2. The excitement of missions. Where we were in Kenya was an area
that has been well reached with the gospel. But it was not always
that way. It was exciting to see the change- witch doctors leaving,
new churches starting, more people seeking Bible training. God's
plan for the nations has not stopped and Kenya gave us the success
of yesterday's mission work while Corsica gave us the challenge
and promise for the future. Many shall come from the east and the
west (Matt 8:11)… World missions is unfailing!
3. The importance of solid, passion-filled missionaries on the field.
The cause of world missions is at stake in our churches and our
schools because how well the next generation (whether is be the
young or the retirees) is grounded and filled with a biblical God-centered
passion for the nations will determine how strong and influential
we will be in continuing to carry the gospel message. If those that
go are not willing to lay down their lives, and instead complain
when life gets hard and need a life that is padded with American
comforts, the light that carries the gospel will be weak and feeble.
Thank you for your sacrificial support of prayer and finances without
which I would not have gone.
Awaiting the coming dawn,
David
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