Last Wednesday night at Bible study for all the ABC missionaries we discussed the Parable of the Sower and the Seeds in Matthew 13. The part that stuck out to me was “the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matt 13:22). I thought coming to a developing nation (one of the poorest in the world) would help me not be so enticed by the cares of the world, but with globalization, Lilongwe has plenty of things that can detract my attention from the God of the universe. I long to have a single passion after God through Jesus Christ, but it is a daily struggle. Please pray for a focus on bringing glory to God and not being drawn away by the cares of the world.
Now for what has been happening at ABC and in Lilongwe. The football team played in the championship game of the Don Boscoe Cup. It is the first ever championship game that the football team has played in at ABC. We played in a stadium rather than on the ABC field and it was quite an experience. The coach, Kellen Hiroto, was out of town on a trip with some Academy students, so he asked me to fill in for him. The other team went up 1-0 on a questionable call. The ABC Lions fought back and scored to make the score 1-1 at halftime. ABC then went up 2-1 midway through the second half, but Don Boscoe scored to even the game up at 2-2 a few minutes later. It looked like the game was going into shootouts to determine a winner until Cosmos received the ball at midfield, raced past a defender and beat the goalkeeper with about 3 minutes left in the game. The players and crowd went wild (video to come soon). We celebrated the victory for about 30 minutes and the team and student supporters sang praise songs as a part of their celebrating. I think it is the first victory I have been part of that the winning team sang praises to God on the field!
I have a week long break from the Academy this coming week. Pastor Brian asked me to attend a conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, with him and 8 college students this week. We will leave Tuesday morning and return the following Tuesday morning. The conference is from Thursday to Sunday. Oh, John Piper is the main speaker for the conference and it has been planned for 2-3 years. Piper is one of the leading pastor/theologians in the world right now (and maybe one of the leading ever). This is a true blessing that we are able to attend and take 8 college students. You can check out the conference website at http://www.rezolution.co.za/HOME.html. I also did not mention that it will be a roadtrip in a van that seats 10, and we will travel through Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa. We will camp in a tent somewhere in Zimbabwe. I am totally excited about getting to spend some quality time with some of the college students and feel blessed that we are all getting to sit under Piper’s teaching for 4 days. If you would like to help with some of the student’s expenses, please let me know. It will not be crazy expensive since we are driving but it will be a few hundred dollars per person. It is an opportunity that the students may not have again in a long time, if ever.
Things are going well here. We are both adjusting well now and feel like we are having an impact in what we are doing. Carson is starting to figure out her role at the Clinic and is being a great example of how to actually care about patients and not just do a job. It is exciting to hear stories and other talk about the work she is doing. I am starting to build relationships with the college students as well as the Academy students. Classes are becoming less stressful to prepare for and I feel like I am actually influencing the students in a positive way now rather than trying to keep my head above water.
Prayer Requests:
Travel to and from Johannesburg
Carson as I am gone
Money for the students tuition which is due for the semester
Money for the 8 students going to Johannesburg
God to be glorified through Carson and me in everything we do
Thank you for the prayers and support! We love you guys more than you know!
Because of Jesus!
Jeff
3 comments:
I was just looking at that conference dude... I was so excited about it until I realized it was not in the states! I'm pumped you guys get to go though... should be awesome!
WOW! What a post :) Love reading about all the exciting things going on in Africa. I'd love to be at the stadium when the praises broke out...how wonderful!! Piper in Africa, camping along the way to hear him -- doesn't get much better than that. Thanks so much for sharing! Blessings to you and Carson. Eddie and Dede
Your post reminded me of my trip to Johannesburg. We went via a local bus all the way from Lusaka, Zambia to Johannesburg. All I can remember is a load of dust in the bus and Bob Marley playing for about 20 hours! What a great ride...Would love to hear John Piper speak. We will pray for your safe travels.
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