July 2022
After MANY weeks of traveling, dozens of flights, countless adventures, and joyful reunions with longtime friends, faithful missionaries, and dear relatives in South Africa…we’re back in the States at last! I believe, as with childbirth, we’re going to have to allow the memory of our l-e-n-g-t-h-y return, during the time dubbed “Travel Apocalypse,” to fade a little before tackling more international travel!
Our transit back included not only delays, connection cancelations, and unanticipated layovers, but began with the baggage compartment door ripped off our plane right in front of our eyes! However, we were blessed and protected indeed to make it back in 5 days, whereas many travelers had far longer and more painful interruptions.
And our trip? I’ll admit it; I had concerns about returning to South Africa where we first began full-time work for the Kingdom 8 years ago, and I’m still having difficulty wrapping my head around the contrasts in that beautiful country.
After being acclimatized to sizzling climates like Thailand, the DR, (and Texas summers!)… it was a shock to arrive in Johannesburg, which is 5,751 feet above sea level, in the dead of winter. The houses don’t have central heat, so we wore our puffy jackets, long underwear, layers, and heavy socks all the time. But the warmth of the people? Oh my! Everywhere we went we were met with friendly and helpful South Africans of all races, anxious to help, thrilled to have visitors, going the extra mile, proud of their country, and hopeful for the future.
This welcoming hospitality was a sharp contrast to the lack of safety in the country. The police warned our friends, missionaries who’ve been hijacked at gunpoint more than once, not to drive into the local town as their Volkswagen was a prime carjacking target. We didn’t stop at stop signs, rolled carefully through red lights (which, if during the regularly scheduled daily periods of load-shedding, didn’t function anyway), and chose gas stations for their exposed location and known protection. The country’s unemployment rate for 18-25’s is greater than 50%; there is a carjacking every 25 minutes in Johannesburg. Violent crime is commonplace and rarely reported as it dampens tourism. Peter’s sister and family live in the area where the looting last year after Zuma’s inditement was greatest, and which was declared a national disaster area after the recent flooding.
Nothing, however, stops the advance of the Kingdom! It was truly exciting to catch up with missionaries in person, hear their stories, and share with friends, relatives, and missionaries our passion for training disciples who train disciples. Everywhere believers, especially children, responded with a desire to learn how to be obedient to the Lord’s command to spread the Good News. We’ve had invitations to return to both South Africa and Swaziland to train. We’re excited for these opportunities as we’ve repeatedly witnessed how trained disciples train other people, multiplying the work as in the early church.
We were blessed to have our children handle our finances while overseas, ensuring that support to the missions we’ve established and/or supplied in Asia and the DR continues without interruption. Here’s a rundown of prayer requests and reports from them:
1) In Myanmar, the military conflict continues without ceasing, making safety a constant concern, particularly for Christians, and driving up the cost of all supplies. Our Children’s Rescue pastor there who looks after 40 plus children, is faced with a crucial decision; remain in her isolated, safe(r), more affordable compound hidden in the mountains where she has no transportation, or relocate to a more vulnerable (read here, also more expensive) location closer to “civilization” to meet the educational needs of her charges. As her high-risk children range in age from 4 to 16, personally teaching them all appropriately has proven to be an exhausting and unattainable goal. It’s an unenviable choice, but God is in charge and He is our source.
2) In Northern Thailand, the school for Burmese immigrant children and the discipleship training of their parents is growing by leaps and bounds. Two missionary partners, one Brazilian couple and one Burmese, have combined their considerable ministerial talents and teaching skills with great success to help educate and bring the Good News to nearly 70 Burmese refugee children. They have freshly painted and moved into a larger school facility, a part of which also serves as their home. Their prayer is for the border to open so that the nuts which they use to feed their chickens can be procured again; the chickens produce both food and revenue from the sale of their eggs to support supplies for these children.
3) In the Dominican, Jaime and Jackie are continuing the Discipling courses among the Haitian churches. The chapel, thanks to the Wisconsin mission team of young and enthusiastic workers, is complete enough that the pastor is now in residence. Vacation Bible School kids in our home church in North Carolina raised an incredible amount of money to help with school supplies for the Haitian children in Jackie’s Saturday Bible School; as the pastor says, “Amazing from kids who have no salary!” Just as soon as we have pictures, we’ll send them.
So now we’re back in the States, thrilled to be visiting with our son and daughter-in-law whom we missed when we first arrived some months ago, as they themselves were on a mission trip. Now it’s time to get all the medical “tune-ups” we’ve neglected before heading, God willing, to Thailand in early September.
I apologize for failing to write an update in June, but reliable and/or secure internet access was unpredictable. How spoiled I am by modern technology and how quickly I chafe at connectivity issues! When I think of missionaries even a couple of decades ago who were out of touch with their loved ones for years at a time…well, I am chastened!
Please give thanks with us for God’s incredible provision and protection on our travels and pray with us for direction and discernment as we ponder future training opportunities.