An Example of Why We Go

THE EAFC OFFICE received the following letter this month.  I share it so that you can have an example of one of the reasons I am taking ANOTHER trip to Africa this year.


As Isaac reminds ME in this letter of the need for faith, I am challenged by that reminder. I ask you boldly  to help us give hope to the other Isaac's we will be meeting on this trip.

EAFC

PO Box 5303

Jackson, Ms 39296

Dear Friends who have supported me in my PhD studies,
I am writing to express my profound gratitude to you for the'risk' you took in investing in me.  The word 'risk' may not be an appropriate term, but when you choose to invest in someone you take a risk because you cannot tell with accuracy what the outcome of your investment will look like.  And so when EAFC happened to select me as a potential suitable candidate to invest in, you did it by faith.


By God's grace, what you have done has paid off...... I have been awarded a degree of PhD from the University of Manchester.


What next?.....  I am joining the faculty t the Shalom University of Bunia (DRC) as a theological educator.  I will also be joining the Brethren Church of Bunia, my home church, as one of the church elders. ..... The need for the transformation of the church in Congo and the Congolese society through Christ is massive........ We therefore badly need your prayers to help us fulfill this great mission.  One of the ten top prayer items on my list is this: that the biblical study I have done on the issue of interpersonal forgiveness will profoundly deepen my ministry and make it powerful for the cause of the gospel and for the healing of terrible wounds in my Congolese society and church.


Once again, thank you so much for what you mean to me, to my family and the church of Christ in Congo. You re among those who made my dream come true.
With sincere gratitude,
Isaac K. Mbabazi,
Lecturer at Shalom University of Bunia
DR Congo

PRAYER LETTER for UPCOMING TRIP

At the Betty Jonah Orphanage in Yekepa, Liberia

Dear Praying Friends,,

Thank you for your interest and your willingness to pray for my second trip to Africa this year.   October 18-Nov 6 Sarah Sullivan (EAFC's new Executive Director)  and I will embark on a 3 week visit to see friends in KENYA, UGANDA, and RWANDA.

We will visit current students, explore with church leaders who desire to enter into partnership with EAFC, consider with alumni and friends ways that we can build a stronger ministry, and we will attempt to find ways that we can link women in these three countries with Women of Purpose in America who we hope will pray for and help women regain the dignity with which they were created.

If you would like, email me, add comment on this blog or facebook me and I will attach an itinerary so you can follow our activities from day to day.

When my father and brother have returned in past years from a mission trip to Belarus, I asked a few questions and was genuinely thankful that it had been a successful venture.  When my friend goes to India in November, I’ll pray for her and will spend a little time when she returns catching up.. . So I ask myself what would make me expect any different reaction from my friends when I return from my trips to Africa?  What would make me drawn to this continent and expect others to care like I do? What am I hoping will be the fruit from this trip? 

Listed in bullet form are a few of those goals that I would appreciate your praying for:

• that the work God has given EAFC to do become clear to Sarah and that she develop ways of implementing her vision of carrying out these tasks when we return
• that we listen and learn from all those we meet, discovering ways that we can better work with the church in Africa
• that our visit be anointed by the Holy Spirit, and He allow us to be a blessing to others.

With Gratitude for your prayers,

Val

Getting Into Your World

Today I was reading a book ordered by a missionary that was delivered to me. I'll take it to him in Uganda next month. He doesn't know it yet, but it'll be a used book when he gets it. Ha! I am loving it; biographies grab me. In this book the man has been changed through trips to Belarus,, USSR, Italy, South Africa, Australia, and India. Does it take personal trips for us to be changed by a people? Is it possible for me to go back to Africa next month and report back in such a way that others are touched, even though they don't actually walk the paths I do? Today I wrote a "prayer letter" asking friends to pray for Sarah and me while we are gone, all three weeks. Those of you who have followed my blogs for a while know that I get brutally honest when I write. So here I go again, admitting that the quality of my prayers when "you" ask me to pray for your mission trips has often been lacking. Should I expect anything different from you, my friends? Are these "prayer letters" important? What is it I want? What is IT that I want? Do I expect others to care more than I do when you go to parts of the world unfamiliar to me? So, before I leave on October 18 will some of you pray for my heart? I have shared a part of it that I am not particularly pleased with. I want to enter into your worlds as much as I want you in mine. Will you help me?

Six times the size of U.S, a metaphor of sorts

October Sarah, my friend and new executive director and I will spend three weeks in Africa. We will fly to Kenya ( on the Indian Ocean) then on to Entebbe on Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake at the bottom of the Rift Valley that begins in Israel. "the Land of a Thousand Hills" ( and a million smiles) lures us next. That means we fly from Uganda to Rwanda. All thes flights between the East African countries are about an hour each in length. THREE weeks and still I don't get to show Sarah my beloved Malawi, special friends in South Africa, or the budding relationships in Zambia. And it would take us about as much time as flying from Jackson to England for us to fly from Kenya to Libetia, my latest favorite country. Why do I love Africa? In 1996 I thought Malawi was an island, part of Hawaii. My knowledge of the continent was "typical" of many Americans I know. I knew the Sahara Desert, monkeys, gorilla, lions, the savannah, the Massai Mara, and even Cape Town. Add to that knowledge the perceptions of AIDS, starving children and wars. Though much of my "knowledge" was based on many hard realities, it in no way pictured the continent. Now, recently friends have been sending me a series of pictures of "the other Africa" gorgeous scenes of placed peppering that vast continent. None of all this captures the TRUTH of Africa. And yet how presumptuous of me if I were to suggest that I can define truth about Africa. In these 15 years, I have gained impressions, have had numerous experiences that give me a small glimpse of insight, AND YET not even Africans themselves can grasp the enormity of their continent. Want to focus on lushious landscapes? Exotic animals? Varying cultures and languages? History? Economic matters? Health issues? Six times the size of America could serve as a metaphor for describing the complexity of problems to solve. No matter where on this tiny little planet we go, we all really find the same reasons for loving the places that capture us, the people! I wish I could explain what it is about my friends in Africa that make me want to write about them in blogs. In my head I know that all human beings have the same longings. I love my own family, my nation, my friends. I can't explain why Africa has so griped me that I am willing over and over to make this arduous journey. But not knowing the answers won't keep me home! I will keep going and keep using these posts to verbalize what is going on in me during the process of "figuring it out". Last week I met a young man from Rwanda studying here in Jackson. When he saw my Rwandan dress, his eyes lit up. We connected. When I get home from this trip, Joyce from Malawi will visit. Oh how I hope many of you my friends will want to connect with her. Will you contact me if you would like for us to consider that possibility?