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Our month in brief 

Thank you for your prayers and the encouraging emails you sent me while I was in Nairobi, Kenya. I got back safe and sound about a week and a half ago. I was encouraged to find my family doing quite well, and yet also happy to see me. Many good things came out of the trip, including recording six messages and a panel discussion for the online Proclaim Conference (see links below), and a clearer vision of what our Master's program needs to look like so that it can serve the churches in Kenya as well as Zambia. I’m in the midst of applying to the  Zambian department of education for our Master’s program to be accredited. I’m also in the midst of a packed semester. And... we’ve decided that instead of returning for a visit to the United States in December of this year we are going to stay for another year. Keep reading for more details.

The Proclaim conference 

For the last several years, Emmanuel Baptist Church in Nairobi and a ministry of the church called Ekklesia Afrika have sponsored the Proclaim Conference. It draws pastors from east Africa. Unfortunately, the coronavirus has forced this year's conference online. The theme was Holiness: the Assurance and Ambition of the Bride of Christ

I did six talks on the passages in Paul’s epistles where he uses the metaphor of marriage to describe the Church’s relationship with Christ. I find it fascinating that Paul uses the metaphor in a variety of different ways, and each time it relates to holiness. If you are interested, you can listen to the messages by clicking the links below. 

  1. Ephesians 5:22-32 - The Purity Christ Purchased for his Bride
  2. Romans 7:1-6 - Bearing Fruit by Belonging to Christ 
  3. 1 Corinthians 6:15-17 - Glorifying God with our Bodies
  4. 2 Corinthians 11:2-3 - Ministering to the Bride of Christ  
  5. The Beatific Vision
  6. Q&A 

You can listen to the panel discussion here.

Progress on our Master's program 

For the last several months I’ve been meeting with a small team to develop the curriculum for our Master's program. In Nairobi I discussed our plans for the program with pastors and potential students (see picture below). Their feedback helped clarify my vision in a couple of ways. There was a desire for a very high-quality and academically rigorous seminary education. Sadly, traveling to the US or UK to attend an internationally recognised seminary is usually cost-prohibitive for aspiring pastors in Africa. But the aspiring pastors want a program that will lead them deep in theology and in understanding Scriptures in the original languages. I realised that if our program is to meet the need for theological education in Africa, we need to aim high. We also need to offer the program in multiple formats so it is not just available in Zambia, but throughout Africa. 

If we can get accreditation for the program quickly enough, we hope to offer a few classes in the spring. I hope to teach a class titled “Theology of the Christian Life,” which will build on some of the work I did for my doctoral degree. 

Our plans for next year

As many of you know, our original plan was to visit the States this coming December. A few factors have changed our minds. We are now planning to come back in the end of 2021. Part of the reason for this decision is the difficulty of traveling during a pandemic. We do need to return and raise long-term support. But, in view of the challenging economic times and the rising cost of travel, we thought it would make sense to save the money in airfare and make do with the level of support we have now. We have about 70% of what we need for long term support, but the money we save by not coming back after the first year will allow us to stay here for the extra year. 

What does the rest of our life look like? 

In many ways, we have the most consistent routine we've had in a while as a family. The average day involves the kids doing their homeschooling in the morning. Then they play with friends in the neighbourhood in the afternoon. We spend a good bit of time cooking, because most of our food is cooked from scratch. We do miss the convenience of steam-in-the-bag broccoli. (Hang on a second, I was just told that two of my daughters climbed too high in a tree and are stuck…Okay, I’m back now—see the picture below.) It seems Zambians don’t often schedule events in the evenings, which means that we typically spend our evening at home as a family. Our favourite evening activity is reading aloud. In the last few months, I've read Lewis’ Space Trilogy and the Hobbit to the children. Now I’m working on Lord of the Rings

How can you help support us? 

We appreciate your prayers and financial support. Our work in theological education in Africa is only possible because of your generous giving. Consider supporting us with monthly support of any amount. Or, if you know if someone who might like to invest in theological education in Africa, please fee free to connect us to them. All giving is through our our local church, Imprint Community

How can you pray? 

  • Pray for the students this semester to grow spiritually in their classes. 
  • Pray for that Zambia department of education will approve our request to add a Master's program. 
  • Pray that for our kids to be diligent in their school work. 
  • Pray that we would develop meaningful relationships with members of our local church. 
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