Dear Cherished Interested’s, May 14th 2024
Stupid truck is back.. While driving from Maji Ya Chai to Makumira
Secondary School, late Saturday with four, University Students, wachungaji, in
the back seat, to deliver Sunday messages for the children at the school; I
tested for the very first time ever, working four wheel drive, high range. Still no low range nor diff-lock.
However, it is so good to have four wheel
drive at all. Because, I can now stay in
first gear through water crossings and mud washes and through ruts that leave
us laying on the inside of the door, on
one side or another. Traction at all
tires is far superior to speed through hazards that would leave us stuck without
recourse or help.
When I was logging, I had a radio and cell
phone that, even if I had to walk to where I could get signal, would bring
people and equipment to assist in getting going again. Not so here.
I’ve been part of teams, here, that have used backs and hands to drag
vehicles out of trouble and back to where they can move, but those teams are
not likely where you need them, nor when.
So, hooray for four wheel drive. I was able to go so gently, we even took
someone out from the school to the big road, riding in the open bed.
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Two unusual things to report that have
given tremendous goodness to our hearts.
The young expectant mother being cared for
by her mother and Hilda, admitted that she had been near to doing what the
illegitimate-non-father was demanding of her.
She was literally hours from terminating her unborn child and praying
for an answer when she met Hilda. Hilda,
who cared enough, to teach her how to overcome her morning sickness and other symptoms. The brutal cost to this young mother’s
conscience, and the conscience of her mother too, has been erased with the
on-going life within her.
This other thing is amazing too.
One of our editors has a close pastor
contact in Dar es Salaam. That contact
is a young Pentecostal Pastor with two children who started a church with his
wife, just a few years ago, and now has a congregation of about 100 people,
four of whom are he and his family.
Upon hearing about Hilda and I, that young
pastor chose to respond to deeply felt Spiritual prompting, and insist that we
receive a donation from him. Not an
American. Not a Lutheran. Not anyone from a mainline North American
tradition. Not a European, nor wealthier
one from anywhere.
A Pentecostal street Pastor of East Africa,
now having services in a beautiful tent, identifies with us older missionary ones
from across the Atlantic enough, to donate to what we are doing. Sight unseen.
No face to face contact. Simply
hearing about us from others.
This is unheard of. Even local Lutherans here, whom we serve
among, tend to invite us to fund raising events so our participation can
potentially include monetary donations only, from, us. Prior to this, the only local Christian
donation we have received was about 40 cents from a young man who responded by
giving, what he had, to me while I was speaking to a gathering at an engagement
party. I was not talking about fund
raising, nor, money at all.
We are part of something good and
hard. To have this unbelievable
affirmation, from literally out of nowhere, is amazing and must be told to you
who pray for us.
Your hearts and minds faithfully work
miracles, your praying is part of that!
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Another week and South Africa has not sent
the water pump we need to try. We need
that water pump to try fixing the only source of electric power at an
Evangelist College serving people of the bush in Oldanyosambu.
Please pray for this again. That the parts come. That we can afford them, when they
arrive. That they will fit, fix, and
work to serve the college.
Your prayer again. Thank you.
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The book, which is completely the fault of,
and doing for, local Mama’s; is being edited in two languages and we pray that
it will be affordably printed here before we, likely, head back to the states.
I know, absolutely crazy to think we can
afford a printing, but we have to try.
I’ve started to work on the English Worship
book for the Cathedral. Not an impossibly
priced English worship book from somewhere else, but updating the East African English
Worship Book as it already exists here.
I say East African as the Lutheran lectionary used in Tanzania, is also
used by Kenyan Lutherans who hold the Tanzanian Lutheran Church as a mother
church which sent missionaries to help them get going. I don’t know how far this quiet work for the
Cathedral will go, but trust some will find faith building through it.
As a part of this work, one of the options
I plan to offer is the inclusion of minor festivals and commemorations from the
larger and older global church. These
include stories of people we know from scripture who served alongside Jesus and
lived lives like ours as we too strive to serve and model Jesus.
Our Editors do not yet know, and only God knows
if I will get through, but two messages for two sets of readings associated
with two festivals have been written.
These are readings from the older global church. What I write may still challenge many, often myself
too, but nothing goes to the local editors without having first receiving affirmation
from Hilda.
Last weekend another gift, in the form of
work coming from me, erupted through the computer into another score. A piece of music intended for more than one
language. I think it is to be a gift for
that young pastor who donated to us. He
loves music and praise.
I have not put a single note to page since driving
across America to see people, after selling the house in 2021. I was at my sister’s church in Renville, Minnesota,
Ebenezer Presbyterian. The piano there
is likely the most pitch accurate piano I have heard for a very long time.
Long way to go. Your prayer deeply sought for this work
too. Thank You.
------------------------------------
We may live dangerously, but we are
alive. Thank you for praying us the
courage to live this way, if dangerously.
We don’t see it that way.
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You who read
and pray and suffer along with us.
Please believe what we get to see.
Thank you for praying our strength and guidance for each moment with
each face. Folks like you are beyond precious.
Really blessed
while deeply under attack.. all of it is
spiritual.. I wish I could teach that to
everyone so they could truly know it. I
didn’t know it for far too long.
Please keep
crumpling us up and throwing us at God.
That is where we need to be. God
will sort us out.
One day at a time. Just like how you each live. Just one day at a time.
Thank you, each of you.
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What to Pray for:
Our armed forces families, our leadership,
our people, whole world round, all of Gods kids -
All the tough and blessing expressed above
–
The love of folks –
Whatever is on your hearts and minds for us
–
For our children and grand-children who
miss us..
For Makumira Secondary School looking to
share stories and partner in some way with a foreign school, Great leaders,
teachers, students, programs, strong backs, minds, and hearts –
For our health to stay ahead of whatever is
before us –
Pray for YWAM, YWAM families, Tanzanian
families who choose Joy, over and over in defiance of death -
For those who have braved the donate button
to discover Kajun Crofton, our daughter who helps getting each one of your
donations to us and every blogpost to where you can read it -
For each and every one of you –
Each and every one of your prayers, your
precious conversations with God –
Prayers, Your Prayer, Even your groaning
prayers makes all the difference..
Vern W
May life be as Music to your Heart – May Music be as Heart to
your Life – May Heart be as Life to your Music
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