The Car Drama

A few weeks ago I mentioned that we found a suitable car for our time in Kenya. Well, it's been a bit of a waiting game since then. We've had to wait for the relevant authorities to finish processing the car's log book and send it back to the dealer. We put a down payment on the car to reserve it but were advised to wait for the log book to be returned before paying in full and bringing the car home. Today Nate found out that the log book was sent to the wrong address and is currently lost! The car dealer is now trying to chase it down through the postal system. Please pray that he'll locate it and that we'll be able to bring the car home soon. It will be really helpful to have it so we can go and see the accommodation out at the seminary and also as my prenatal appointments increase in frequency over the coming weeks.

By the way, Nate has been officially accepted to his M.A. in theological studies program! We look forward to moving out to the school and to attending orientation at the beginning of September.

Sowing Seeds of Peace

                The swirling winds now gust from the southeast.  Dark clouds gather ominously and greet the arid landscape with flashes of lightning and claps of thunder.  Rainy season has descended upon South Sudan.  Almost every day brings fresh rainfall.  The farmer that has faithfully sown will await his harvest.  Through the veil of raindrops, our eyes perceive another kind of sowing done by farmers with a very different goal.  Theirs is a deeper, more glorious labor and, therefore, brings anticipation of spiritual fruit.

                This gospel farmer sows seed widely into the soil of human hearts.  And as he labors, he does so with the acute awareness that his character creates the environment in which the quality of the seed is evaluated.  The Word of God tells us that, “The seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:18).  The work must be done by the peace-maker; it must be done with gentle admonition, a soothing embrace, and by comforting, healing hands.  It is only then that he labors confidently, knowing that he distributes the seed whose “fruit is righteousness.”  This is increasingly evident in South Sudan, where clouds of desperation are being pierced by the blazing sun of spiritual life and groves of righteous fruit are being cultivated. 

                It is our hope, despite the difficult field, to emphasize the effectiveness of those who faithfully sow Gospel seeds into communities where a tenuous peace hides massive suffering.  It is our goal to exalt the Lord Jesus, by whose Word alone does true peace exist.

Celebrating Independence

                Early in the morning, a high school marching band will lead a glorious processional of bright red fire trucks, marching war veterans, flag-bearing horseback riders, candy-throwing circus clowns, and a roaring convoy of army tanks.  The warmth of the summer sun betrays the fact that it is early July.  As morning becomes afternoon, children with painted faces will bounce through inflatable castles.  They will enjoy pony rides, snow cones, and sugar-coated “elephant ears” of fried dough.  And fathers everywhere will struggle to light a charcoal fire for the evening cookout.  The summer sun will finally fade into the West, and the “rocket’s red glare” will be our nighttime amusement.

                If this scene on the landscape of your mental horizon seems very familiar, it is probably because you’ve spent seemingly endless summers celebrating your national Independence Day this way.  The first days of July bring to most Americans a deep sense of patriotism.  To live in a nation that values liberty, gained at the great cost of battles fought and lives lost, is a great privilege.  For many, knowing independence has been a way of life.  In our work, our family lives, our vacations, holidays, and our daily routines, we breathe the air of freedom without knowing it. 

    On July 9^th, the people of South Sudan will observe the first anniversary of their own Independence Day.  The scene will doubtless be much the same.  Parades will march down city streets, celebrations will hold sway over the daily grind, and young and old will sit around charcoal fires to tell the great patriotic stories.  But certainly the day’s events will not be taken for granted.  The newfound freedom will be like a refreshing breeze in what has been a stifling political atmosphere for many years.

    It is here, in these very moments of celebration, in America, South Sudan, and throughout the world, that the Christian must be wary.  For if anywhere we bite temptation’s apple, in its oldest, most deadly form, we do so in regard to our independence.  Man’s great sin has been described by Saint Augustine as “the result of Pride, of the movement whereby a creature (that is, an essentially dependent being whose principle of existence lies not in itself but in another) tries to set up on its own, to exist for itself” (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, Chapter 5).  To have political independence is a wonderful gift.  To have spiritual independence is to inherit Hell.

    As we reflect on our own spiritual condition, binding our soul to the Savior as if sheep to a Good Shepherd, let us reject the notion of spiritual independence and plead for the strength of submission.  Let us embrace our creaturely role: to seek living water from a source of everlasting abundance and thus be liberated from our slavery to corruption. 

    Prayer for the fledgling Republic of South Sudan is still a desperate need.  Alongside their momentous gains, there exist the birth-pains of a newborn nation.  Much of their infrastructure was tied to the North.  And with the severed channel of supplies, there are dangerous food shortages, overwhelming sickness met by small stocks of medicines, and life-threatening conditions among refugee populations.  On July 9^th, South Sudanese will celebrate the joy of political independence.  May they also know the glorious freedom of the sons of God (Romans 8:21).  This is our prayer.