Wednesday, March 28, 2007

My Itinerary

Here is a copy of the most recent Itinerary I've received. It's hard to believe that I'll be in Africa in just three weeks! If you have Google Earth, type in these cities and you can get some perspective as to where I'll be traveling. My boys thought that was great fun.

April 19 LV Dulles

20 AR Joburg, South Africa ~ overnight stay in Joburg

21 LV Joburg for Pemba, Mozambique

Meet Jake and Nancy Shenk, Youngson the interpreter

22 Pemba – Meeting and seminars with Mozambique church leaders

23 Return to Beira for meetings with land group

24 Day in Beira – Drive to Milanje at the Malawi border

25 Meetings in Milanje. Depart for Blantyre, Malawi.

26 Meetings in Blanytre visit Theological College

27 LV for Mangochi and visit the Yao mission work

28 Overnight in Lusaka, Zambia at the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) guesthouse. Brief meetings with MCC workers.

29 Drive to Macha Mission for Missionary Retreat

30 Retreat - and visit Macha Mission

May 1 Retreat – visit hospital and Malaria Research Centre

2 Retreat – visit secondary schools , church, etc.

3 Private plane to Lusaka from Macha Airport

LV Lusaka 14:35 – AR JNB 16:45

LV JNB 17:55

4 AR Dulles 6:00 a.m.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Mozambique Visa

I got my Mozambique Visa today. Greg Funk ran to Washington DC to the embassy in order to ensure that we received them before we left. Here is a copy of the letter from the Mozambique church leaders that Greg used with the government officials in order to get the visas approved quickly. Reading it will help you get a better sense of what we will be doing on the trip.

I

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

What Will I Be Doing?

Why go to Africa? That is what my daughter is wondering! She can't figure out why I would leave my family for two weeks and not even be able to talk with her over the phone. (She is slowly coming to accept the trip--but you can still pray for her). I'm going on what is called a Pastor's Vision Trip. The purpose is to expose North American pastors to the mission and relief work in the 3rd World. I'll also have some teaching input at the African churches.

I'm still waiting for a finalized itinerary, but here is an outline of where I'll be traveling. We leave from Washington-Dulles airport on a direct flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. This is a 15-hour flight going over, and 18-hour flight coming back. After an overnight stay in Jburg, we fly to Pemba, Mozambique. Pemba is an Indian Ocean coastal town in the far northeast corner of the country. We've been told that the beaches there are some of the best in the world. Hopefully we'll get a chance to experience it! From there we fly to southern Mozambique to the town of Beira. On April 25th, we begin to experience the African roads. Traveling overland we will visit Milanje, Blantyre, and Mangochi. All of these cities are in Malawi. We then go west into Zambia and end our trip at a two day missionary retreat at the Macha mission near the city of Choma.

The places we are visiting have a rich history. This area is where much of the earliest Brethren in Christ mission work took place. It was also the region were the famous David Livingston spent much of his life. I am convinced that I will receive much more from this trip than I will ever contribute to our African friends. Since I have never been to Africa I know very little about the culture. But what little I have been told, I will share in my next post.

Thanks for the various ways that many of you have supported this upcoming trip. I know that many of you are praying and so I would like to give you three specific prayer requests. First, pray for my family as they are paying a price by not having a dad and husband around for two weeks. Second, pray for safety in travels. Third, pray that God would speak to me throughout this trip and that somehow he would use the opportunities I will have to encourage our African friends.

Monday, March 19, 2007

The "Big Ask"

This all began in January when I had lunch with my good friend, Greg Funk. (Greg is the pastor of the Manheim BIC Church and the father of our Youth Director, Kurt.) As we left my office on our way to enjoy the lunch buffet at New Chinatown Restaurant, Greg said to me, "I've got a big ask for you." We had a great lunch but no "big ask". I thought maybe I had missed it. When we pulled into the parking lot back at the church Greg said to me, "Well, here is the big ask." That was when he invited me to join him and John Brubaker (Director of BIC World Missions) on a two-week trip to Africa.

The decision was an easy one. My wonderful wife gladly supported me (as she always does) and I quickly agreed to go. It's interesting, when I was a teenager I had absolutely no desire to visit Africa. There was a song back then titled, Please Don't Send Me to Africa. It could have been my theme song. But over the last two years God has been stirring something in my heart for the needs of the 3rd World--and in particular--the needs in Africa. I'm increasingly convinced that if I am to be faithful in following the call of Christ on my life, I will need to do more to make a difference in this part of the world. God has a heart for the poor and in our modern world the poor in Africa are my neighbors that I must care for.

I'm really grateful for this opportunity and for the many ways that people are supporting me. The church leadership has been very affirming and I know that many are praying, giving, and some are even planning ways that they will encourage my family while I'm gone. My prayer is that God can somehow use me in Africa--but more than that, I pray that I'll hear what God wants me to hear while I'm in Africa.