Missions are experiencing a time of growthas the need to re-reach many peoples in Namibia becomes apparent. Pray that they would minister in the power of the gospel, but also with sensitivity. Major missions are:AIM,YWAM,AoG,SIM.
Forty years of almost constant war(1962-2002) have devastated Angola. Innocent civilians suffered the most – 90% of the casualties were civilians, millions were uprooted, their homes and churches destroyed and hunger was used as a bargaining chip in the power play for aid. One in 350 Angolans is a victim of landmines, 70-90% of the population live in poverty, and the length of roads destroyed or damaged amounts to nearly twice the circumference of the planet. Greater than the physical damage are the psychological, social and spiritual wounds, which will require years to overcome. Pray for:
a)Those seeking to alleviate physical sufferingby clearing landmines and rebuilding infrastructure, homes, hospitals, schools and churches. The six million landmines are being cleared – but over 80,000 people have already been crippled by them. Early signs of progress are promising. Many agencies are involved, including WVI, Tearfund and several consortiums of churches and agencies such as Church Action in Angola.
b)Healing of the invisible wounds.Reconciliation is a painstaking process, and the sheer number of those hurting means that more counselling and training are long-term needs.
Luanda and other major citiesattracted the displaced but had no capacity to shelter them properly, so squalid squatter camps rapidly sprung up. A large proportion of the rural population fled to urban areas due to food shortages and lack of security. The government is accused of failing to care for these unwilling refugees. There are large numbers of orphaned and abandoned children; many are falsely accused of witchcraft by relatives as a pretext for getting rid of them. Others are forced or sold into prostitution to feed themselves. Pray for those working with the urban poor and the children at risk.
We will be working in seven countries…from upper left anticlockwise: Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Mozambique. St Helena is off-shore to the West. South Africa is divided up into several Provinces.
Please pray for us as we seek to build a larger support base.
We are in the States for an indefinite period of time seeking opportunities to engage with individuals and churches. Let us know if you would like to hear from us!
Students preach in chapel twice a week, and to help them refine their sermon preparation skills, we read their sermons and give feedback prior to delivery. Last week, a student brought me her sermon, and it was in rough shape. I confess I was a little less than gracious with her; she had waffled on whether she would be the one to deliver the sermon, so my patience was already a bit thin by the time she brought the text. So we talked, and she went to make corrections.
She brought her revised sermon, and it seemed as though she neglected to do a proper exegesis on the text. Since I taught her that course unit, I have to confess that I was more than a little annoyed. So we talked about the passage, what was happening, and how it applies to us today.
When she came into the vestry Sunday evening, she greeted me with a warm smile and said, “Reverend, today someone gave me some avocados. Would you like some?” What a gift. I had been hard on her, and she responded by offering me some of what was given to her. Then in her sermon, she said that I had helped to open her eyes and broaden her thinking about what the passage means.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
