Africa trip

We decided not to write anything until after the fact, but Deb and I just spent three weeks in March in Africa traveling with one of our elders and another staff couple! She has had a burden for Africa for several years now, and my recent job change to Minister of Missions necessitated a visit to five of our missionaries in order to acquaint me with their work and to communicate to them about recent changes at RHCC. It was obvious that the Enemy did not want us to go, as we had several health issues/obstacles to overcome the week before our trip, and at times thought that Deb would not be allowed to go due to vaccination requirements and dangers for her, but God saw us through all that and made sure that she got to go and that was good, because she had some important touches to make with some women along the way. Halfway through the trip, we parted ways with our wives, they to help lead the Come Before Winter Women's Retreat for 60 African missonary wives held in Kenya while we three men went to South Africa and Zambia. It was an amazing experience for all of us and a blessed one.

How does one summarize a three week trip to visit: five African nations; five outstanding missionary families; meeting scores of African church planters; witnessing the birth of a church with 14 baptisms and true celebratory worship; experiencing poverty and famine in the African bush while eating the best they had to offer; seeing the ravages of AIDS through the eyes of orphaned children and their impoverished caretakers; being amazed at how much missionaries can accomplish with such limited resources at their disposal; catching the vision of a Christian university in Africa; seeing the power of the spoken word of God transform lives; feeling loved and accepted while preaching in 3 prison churches; preaching multiple times (until midnight) during a four hour worship service with 200 brethren praising God; seeing the wonderful impact that interns (like Laura Beth Chapman) have on a great mission effort; seeing Jacob mentor and train orphans to be evangelists; getting to teach a group of Mozambican preachers for a week while brushing up on my Portuguese; all this while experiencing another part of God’s creative genius in flora, fauna, fellow man, beautiful water falls (including Victoria Falls) and the source of the Nile River? We stayed in tents at a lodge on the Zambeze River near Victoria Falls and one morning watched an elephant swim across the river! That was incredible.

Suffice it to say that I return to the USA a changed man. I am more grateful for what we have and more determined to lay up treasure in heaven by sharing what we have here with the less fortunate. I am humbled by the high quality of the five missionary families who are all superb and doing great works for Jesus Christ by impacting their respective nations with the gospel. They are making amazing differences in those diverse cultures. RHCC is blessed to have great missionaries in the field. We were blessed by being with them. They are lights in a dark world who give a new zest for life to those who know them or are impacted indirectly through those whom they train for ministry. They truly shine like stars in a dark sky.

We will see Deb's oncologist Thursday the 5th for the latest on her condition.