Hey JP,
I've been meaning to write to you, but, I keep waiting for time and it
just doesn't come. I am busy and I'm going to get really busy really fast.
Jill and I have a conference in South Africa next week and then I
start teaching at the Pastor's School and working at the church in
earnest.
My work at the Pastor's School will be the same as last term. I talked
with Glen and the director of the school and they need me to do the
same classes as before. That's good, because I don't have to re-invent
another wheel...but I do have to start working on the classes pretty
soon.
The hard part is going to be the church. I've discovered that I'm
really slow at preparing sermons. It's ok if I just do it once a month
or something. But, now I'm going to preach every week but one per
month. I'm looking forward to all the time I get for studying the
Bible. It will be good for my faith. But, I have to say right up front
that I don't have all the food that folks need for week after week
preaching. God is going to have to give me stuff to pass on. I think
He will...but I feel like I just jumped out of the plane and I won't
know for sure if the chute will open until I pull the cord.
The cool part of this deal is that God has provided for us again! We
didn't have a car and I didn't have a lot of funds left to continue
traveling to Kikongo. The two things we really needed, the church just
"happened" to offer us. So, while I don't get paid for pastoring the
church, the church is helping where I really need it. So, that's way
cool.
We just got the car last night. It's a Chinese brand called "The Great
Wall Motors". They probably don't even sell them in the States. This
car belonged to a family in the church that moved out of the country
and left the car to the church. So, we get to drive it for a while.
It's a pretty good 2004 SUV type car. So, no complaints here.
Pray for us. I really want to be a good shepherd. The church
especially wants me to reach out to the non-Americans that attend.
These folks don't have a whole lot of support here compared to the
missionaries. So, I'll try. God will show.
Pray for God's protection as we drive and as we face spiritual
warfare. That's what we need now.
Thanks for your love and support.
MEL