October Prayer Letter - Truth

Heading into one of my last appointments for the week, I flicked a glance at the computer while my nurse brought Fluffy and Mrs. Smith into the exam room.  I noted that Fluffy was a three year old female cat and we had only seen her once before. Mrs. Smith and I chatted for a while as I sorted through the medical records Mrs. Smith had brought in for us.  Mrs. Smith mentioned how she had adopted Fluffy from a local shelter several years ago and that she hadn’t had any vaccines since then.  Fluffy was going to be spending a few days boarding at a kennel and Mrs. Smith wanted to make sure she was up to date.

We got Fluffy out of the kennel for her exam and she was a gorgeous, big, longhair orange tabby.  “Hmm, that is a bit strange,” I thought.  Most orange cats are male.  Just to be sure I took a quick peek under the tail and then, trying to be nonchalant, asked, “did you know Fluffy is actually a boy?”

“Oh, yes,” replied Mrs. Smith.  “But I had really wanted a girl rather than a boy so I just decided to call her a girl.”  We all had a good laugh.  The rest of the exam I stumbled through trying to decide if I should refer to Fluffy as male or a female.  As I left the exam room a few minutes later and changed her file, to reflect the true gender, I had to chuckle to myself, but also thought about how easy it is to convince ourselves that what we want to be true is actually true.

Watch a show like X Factor or So You Think You Can Dance and you will see hundreds of people in the initial auditions who are completely convinced that they have an amazing voice or special talent for dancing and refuse to accept any word to the contrary. 

On the spiritual side we tend do the same thing. As long as we tell ourselves we don’t have an issue with pride we can hide from reality.  Or we convince ourselves it was just a little white lie so it’s OK.  Or maybe we just ignore certain verses in the Bible that we see as inconvenient or decided they actually mean something different than God intended.

While Mrs. Smith was fully aware of the truth about Fluffy’s gender and willing to admit it, many of us have so completely deluded ourselves that we refuse to see the truth even when it is staring us in the face.  As Peter writes in I John 1:8 “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”  Instead, we should seek God’s truth in all things; ask him to strip away the blinders we have created to hide our own faults and wrong thoughts. Deceiving ourselves may seem easier and more pleasant than confronting the truth, but in reality it limits our growth and imprisons us in our own minds.  Jesus said, “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

These thoughts were echoed beautifully in a note I just received from one of the University of Florida veterinary students who came to Mafikeng in August on a Short Term Mission Trip. It is exciting to share how God honored her prayers to better understand His truth of our equality in Him.

She writes, “In preparation for the trip, I had been praying for our time and for God to change me, my heart and just completely let Him work for the plan He had for me and the team. I couldn't have even fathomed how much my simple prayer would have done for me. God totally opened my eyes and showed me that I must love everyone as He loves me, to view them through the "lens" that He views me...through the lens of love, grace, forgiveness and mercy. This was so important because I know I am guilty of viewing people through a judgment, jealousy, or anger lens at times and it just hit me. "Who am I to view anyone that way?! And how dare I?"...if Jesus can love me unconditionally through all I have done in my life and has already forgotten (and forgiven me) my sins from yesterday, what gives me the right to judge anyone for anything? I need to love them through all they do, no matter what, forgive them, pray for them and just emulate God's love.”

Please pray with me as David did in the Psalms (25:5) “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”  

August Prayer Letter

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

- Psalm 118:24

The summer sun is shining in Sedro-Woolley and I have plans for enough outside projects to keep me busy for years.  And yet, I won’t be here for years.  The thought is bitter-sweet.  I love our little farm with its barn, horses, chickens, garden, fruit trees and endless projects, but now as I plant each flower I think about the fact that I probably won’t be here next year to see it grow and bloom.

It will be hard to leave all I have worked for and created at home, but I also look forward to moving to Mafikeng with great joy and excitement.  Last year at this time, leaving still seemed like the distant future and now it is so much closer.  My goal is to leave by this time next year at the latest, although I still have a ways to go to raise the support I need to do that. 

Whenever I think about how difficult it will be to leave home and move halfway across the world I try to remember those who went in the early stages of the Protestant missionary movement.  They left home on a ship traveling for months, expecting minimal to no contact with their family and friends back home, and didn’t expect to return.  They often shipped their belongs packed in a coffin because over 80% would die within two years.  Would I have had that courage?

In contrast, I’ll be in Mafikeng within 36 hours of leaving home, have constant access to friends and family by phone and over the Internet, and can be reasonably certain I’ll return home in one piece. Nonetheless, my life is in God’s hand and only he knows my future.  Maybe I’ll love South Africa so much that it becomes my home or maybe I’ll be back in little ol’ Sedro-Woolley in three years.  I’m so excited that you can join me as I uncover each new twist and turn on this path.

For now, I enjoy my time at home, tend my garden, work with my horse, and thank the Lord for His goodness and mercy.

Prayer request: Over the next few months I am hoping to develop relationships with other churches in the US who are willing to support me on this journey.  Please pray that the Lord would open doors for me to get involved in churches around the US and prayerfully consider if your church might be one whose door God would open.

September Prayer Letter - Fear

What do you fear?  What worries do you have?  As I write this, Ebola is spreading its way through West Africa and the two infected American doctors are still under strict quarantine in Atlanta. Just one year ago, Dr. Kent Brantly and his wife Amber were joyfully preparing to serve the Lord with Samaritan’s Purse and attended the same medical missions training conference that I am currently attending in Virginia.  Perhaps we sat in the same chair? Now Dr. Brantly is fighting for his life. Who among us ever knows what the next year will bring.

Thankfully, the Ebola outbreak is farther away from Mafikeng, South Africa than Seattle is from Orlando.  However, even if it was right next door, I know the Lord is trustworthy and his plans for me are better than my own.  He says over and over in the Bible that we are not to fear what can happen to us in this world, but instead trust in Him. 

However, no matter how well we can recite Bible verses telling us not to fear, for He is with us, we are still human and fears will raise their ugly heads.  So with what fears do I struggle? Have I understood correctly what the Lord wants me to do? What if I go to South Africa and get so caught up in the job at the hospital that nothing is accomplished spiritually in people’s lives?  What if I say or do the wrong things and turn people away from Christ rather than to Him?  What happens when I see pets I don’t know how to treat and there is nowhere else to send them? What if something happens to my family in the US while I’m gone?

Whenever I start to think along these lines it is easy to get discouraged.  Then it is time to pray for the peace He has promised His children. Here are some of my favorite verses about His peace.

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. - Psalm 4:8

The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. - Psalm 29:11

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. - John 14:27

‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’ - John 16:33

I’ll leave you with a Psalms that speaks directly to the issue of fear.  Consider praying with these words when your fears raise their heads and please pray it for me as well. 

When I am afraid,

I will trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,

In God I trust; I will not be afraid.

What can mortal man do to me? - Psalm 56:3-4

July Prayer Letter

“The best laid plans of mice and men…”

Have you been waiting with baited breath to hear about my recent 2 week trip back to Mafikeng, South Africa?  I’m certainly excited to share our experiences with you!  We had a great time!

Our team, of four vet students from Purdue and myself, arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa eager to spend the week interacting with and ministering to Animal Health Technician students on rotation at the clinic at North-West University.  We picked up our rental car (our Tetris expert successfully fitting in all our luggage) and drove four hours through the North-West Province to my future home of Mafikeng, arriving after only one unplanned detour through the town center taxi depot. 

We met up with Dr. Emery, our host, at a local AWANA program and, after playing with the kids during game time and listening to them recite their verses, we sat down to discuss our schedule for the week.  You can imagine our surprise when we found out the university had recently decided to change this term’s dates so all the students were going to be home for their reading week (a study week between the end of classes and the exams) rather than being on rotation in the clinic. 

Although discouraged by this change in plans, we were excited to still be able to spend time at the outlying village of Lokakeng for an evening worship service on Sunday.  As we followed the pastor out the dirt tracks to the meeting location we passed donkey carts, bottle shops (liquor stores), and an enthusiastic game of football (soccer).  The service is currently held in the open air outside the home of believer so we set up the speakers, microphones, and keyboard and jumped right in to worship.  As our praises to the Lord carried though the village, people gradually wandered over and joined in with joyful singing and dancing.

After a time of worship, Pastor Obakeng and Pastor KG (local Tswana pastors) both gave short messages (in the local Setswana language) and then it was back to worship again.  This time, many of the local kids joined in and quickly warmed up to our team, and we were soon energetically dancing together.  We knew no more than a couple words of Setswana and they knew little English, but the music transcended language.  When it was finally time to leave we could hardly get into our vehicle for all the kids clinging to us for hugs.

During the week, we spent time seeing patients at the small animal clinic, going out to the university farm to observe goat castrations, practicing spay and neuter surgeries, and helping with a cattle health day for rural farmers.  We were also able to organize a vaccine clinic in the village of Lonely Park and vaccinated over 50 local dogs for rabies.  These dogs were also dipped in a product to kill and repel ticks to help protect them from Ehrlichia and Babesia parasites.  We all had to laugh when we saw this tiny car pull up with 6 people and five large dogs inside.  I can’t imagine how they all fit!  It was like a real life circus clown car.

Perhaps our most important ministry for the week was spending time with and pouring into Dr. Emery and his family.  We enjoyed fellowshipping over dinners and braais (BBQ), playing many rousing rounds of Euchre and other card games, and spending time with neighborhood kids.

As our week in Mafikeng closed we all wished the time was longer and leaving was bittersweet. We were reluctant to leave our new friends, but also looked forward to several days of safari and sightseeing. 

For myself, as I continue in deputation (raising support) to return to Mafikeng for three-years, this trip has me even more excited!  I truly feel this is where God has placed me and can’t wait to get started teaching in the clinic and getting to know the students.  I’m also excited about what other opportunities God will bring along to do His work in the outlying villages.  What exactly this will look like is still an exciting mystery, but one I look forward to unraveling.   I’ll make my best laid plans, but I’m eager to see how He exchanges them for His own.

The Team Visits Lokaleng

Well, I mentioned in my last letter that I'd have additional stories on this blog from my recent trip to Mafikeng, but of course never got them posted before the letter came out.  Sorry!

My letter briefly mentions our trip out to Lokaleng, but as that was probably the favorite part of our trip for the vet students I'll tell you a bit more about it.  The Baptist church in Unit 6 in Mafikeng has been working on planting a church in the outlying village of Lokaleng for a while now and we were invited to go along for their Sunday service.  We followed the pastors and worship team out from Mafikeng to the rural areas north of town and were quickly off the paved roads onto dirt and gravel roads, and then simply following trails through the village.  If we hadn't been following someone I would have been totally lost and you may never have heard from me again :)

The village itself is quite spread out and really more like lots of little cement block or dirt houses sporadically placed over a large area.  No real central area or roads although there are a few bottle shops (alcohol stores) and a football (socar) field at one location.  While we were driving in there was a football game in progress with lots of enthusiastic supporters standing around the field.

Once we pulled into a little dirt yard with two small houses we started unloading the vehicles and setting up for the service. As we set up we were entertained by goats, chickens, and scrany little dogs wandering through.  Speakers are used, strange as it seems is such a location, so people around the village can hear the worship music and start making their way over.  In true African fashion there isn't really a start time, but once everything is set up we just go for it.  The worship songs were mostly in the Tswana language, but that didn't stop us joining in to celebrate.

Within 10 minutes we probably had 10-15 people dancing and singing so the pastors gave a message in Tswana (during which most people wandered away) and then the worship started up again.  By this time the football game was over so a good size crowd was drawn by the music including quite a few kids.  It didn't take long for the kids to warm up to our team and soon everyone was dancing and singing and having a blast.

We must have worshiped together for 30-45 minutes before it started getting dark and we had to pack up the gear and head home.  One of the vet students on our team gave a closing prayer and we tore ourselves away from the kids.

I'm really looking forward to getting back to Lokaleng on a weekly basis once I move down and can't wait to see what the Lord does there over the next few years.  For now, I'll leave you with a few more photos of those we met in Lokaleng.

June Prayer Letter

Dumelang! O tsogile jang? (The literal translation is – Hello!  How did you wake up?)  You have probably never heard of Setswana, but it is the language spoken by over 60% of the people in the North West Province of South Africa where I will be living.  About 6 million people in Southern Africa speak Setswana and most are in northern areas of South Africa or in Botswana (where it is the lingua franca).  Although I can get by quite easily with English, I hope to learn a fair amount of Setswana while I’m in Mafikeng. By the time you read these ramblings I’ll just have returned from two weeks in South Africa with four vet students from Purdue University.  As I write this letter, I’m somewhat frantically trying to make sure I have everything I’ll need and that it will all fit in my suitcases.  You should see the pile of bubble wrap I’ve accumulated from work to be able to bring gifts and goodies home to share. A craft stall along the Panorama Route in South Africa There is quite a cottage industry in Southern Africa making and selling traditional crafts and carvings.  Almost every view point or waterfall you visit will have several stalls and the tourist areas all have little shops and venders.  The selection includes many soapstone items painted in lovely colors, wooden carvings of all types and sizes, stone carvings, painted wooden platters, and much more. I can’t wait to tell you more about all the Lord does during our trip so look out for my July prayer letter for all the details! In the meantime, please pray that the Lord would use this short trip to encourage those we will be serving and allow us to be conduits for His love. Learning about aquaculture and hydroponics at ECHO On a different note, in late April I flew down to Florida for a conference on Health, Agriculture, Culture, and Community held at ECHO, an organization that works to find and develop sustainable agriculture options for 3rd world countries.  My favorite sessions were those pertaining to ECHO’s work.  We learned about how to improve soil conditions and crop yields, improve nutrition for subsistence farmers, purify water with easily obtainable objects, build water pumps, and harvest methane from manure to fuel a cook stove. One plant that ECHO works with extensively is Moringa, a shrub/tree from Asia and Africa with amazing nutritional qualities.  The leaves contain almost 10% protein along with very high levels of vitamin C, B vitamins, vitamin A, iron, potassium, and calcium. This plant is easy to grow and a few teaspoons of dried leaf powder can prevent malnutrition in babies and children.  I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to use all this new knowledge in South Africa, but I can’t wait to find out.  Thanks to all of you who are supporting me, I’ve now reached the 50% mark! To give you a better idea of what more is needed, just 27 more supporters giving $50 a month would meet the rest of my budget and send me on my way. Till next month….

May Prayer Letter

It's May!  By the time you receive this letter I'll be deep in preparations for my next trip to South Africa and I can't wait to get back down there. Last May I spent two weeks in South Africa, but was only able to spend a short time in Mafikeng and at North-West University.  This time, I'm going for two weeks again, but will be spending about nine days in Mafikeng.   I'm meeting four vet students from Purdue University in Johannesburg where we are renting a car and then driving the four hours out to Mafikeng.  Thankfully I have plenty of experience driving on the other side of the road from my time in Scotland!  

Once we arrive in Mafikeng we will be staying in an apartment owned by a member of the local Baptist church.  Throughout the nine days we are there we will be spending quite a bit of time at the Dale Beighle Center for Animal Health Studies small animal hospital to get to know the Animal Health Technician students on rotations, teaching, sharing about the Lord, and helping with staff Bible studies.  We also have a great opportunity to participate in a local AWANA program which is just getting started.  Finally, we will be spending time in the outlying village of Lokaleng assisting with the Sunday church service, going door to door, and hopefully showing the Jesus film. 

There is also a chance that we can get out and do a couple vaccine clinics for dogs and cats in the rural villages and maybe host a cattle health day for deworming, vaccines, tick control, and general check-ups.  These types of events not only help control disease in animals, but also help reduce disease risk for the villagers, since many diseases, such as rabies, are spread by animals.

After we finish in Mafikeng, I'll be taking the vet students on safari for a few days so I thought I'd share a few photos from my trip to South Africa last May so you have an idea of what the area is like. 

Please pray for us as we travel that we would all stay healthy, that we would form beneficial relationships with those we meet, and that God would use our hands and our words so share His love and good news to everyone we encounter.