May Prayer Letter - Peace

Thank you so much for your prayers!  I am very pleased to report that there has been no further violence or student action on campus.  We have had three weeks of peace, so far, and there is no indication that we should expect any differently for the future. 

It has been wonderful having the students back in the clinic again.  I truly enjoy teaching them the practical aspects of small animal medicine, even if the students occasionally push me to pulling my hair out.  The last group of eight was the most frustrating so far, but they finished up well on their rotation quiz. 

At the end of each two week rotation I write a one page quiz based on what we covered and what I taught.  For example, they are expected to recognize two tick borne diseases on blood smears (Ehrlichia and Babesia), be able to focus a microscope (a difficult tasks for them to master), understand vaccine protocols for cats and dogs, be able to do a brief physical exam on a pet, and understand some common medications. They also get points for punctuality, involvement, and professionalism during the rotation.

Although few of the students will go on to work in small animal medicine, many of the skills they learn from in the clinic are universal.  Drawing up vaccines, syringe handling skills, giving injections, dispensing medications, taking a history from owners; these are all skills they will use in any veterinary field.

As we enter the last 6 weeks of the semester, please continue to pray for peace on campus.  The vast majority of students really do want to study, learn, and graduate.  They have worked hard for the opportunity to attend university and deserve to do so without protests and riots.

On a personal note, the family leasing my horse has canceled the lease, leaving me with no one to care for him the next two years.  Please pray for peace for my heart as I struggle to find someone to keep him, while living half way across the world.   Please also pray that the Lord would provide the perfect home for him.  If you or anyone you know might be interested in leasing him, please let me know.  

April Prayer Letter - Riots

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

- Unknown Author

Can you believe it has happened again?  I guess it isn’t too difficult to believe after all the trouble the past few months.  At the end of February, students started protesting again and this time things got really violent.  Somehow, one of the security companies or the police ended up shooting live ammunition rather than rubber bullets and two students were injured.  That night, the students set fire to two buildings.  The Science Center was completely destroyed and one wing of the administration building was severely damaged.  The fire department actually refused to come on campus to fight the fires due to the student riots and potential risk to the firefighters. (for news coverage of the event visit https://youtu.be/HTST2tcmS44)

The next day, the university shut down the campus once again, but this time the students were sent home for a month.  Thankfully, I only had to move out for a couple of days and have been able to return to my home on campus.

The semester is scheduled to start again March 29^th.  To make up the missed days, the Easter break has been shortened by one week, a testing week as been eliminated, and classes will be held on Saturdays.

However, as none of the issues instigating the riots have yet been resolved, I can only foresee further problems once the semester is restarted.  The university has noted, “Any further disruptions to this already tight schedule will compromise our quality and leave us with no option but to lose the first semester and subsequently the whole year.”

In light of these events and difficulties, prayer is critical and your support is invaluable.  Please pray for:

I assume the clinic will still be open if the university shuts down long term (it has been open this last month), but without the students, my ministry opportunities fell drastically reduced.

In light of these events and difficulties, prayer is critical and your support is invaluable.  Please pray for: 

• Peace and safety on campus for staff and students. 
• Wisdom for administrative and student leadership as they work through the student body complaints/demands. 
• Direction in ministry should the worst happen and the university close for a prolonged period.
• The women’s group I am currently leading at Calvary Baptist Church. For the next few months, we are studying how to share the gospel and disciple new believers.  This can be a difficult and spiritually challenging topic.  Please pray that they actively put into practice the techniques and skills they are learning.
• The 120 kids in AWANA at Calvary Baptist as they start up again after Easter break.  Pray that they will clearly hear and understand the gospel and hide God’s word deep in their hearts.

March Prayer Letter - Starting First Term

Registration is finally complete!  If you recall, in my last prayer letter, I asked for your prayers regarding registration at the University for the new academic year.  Thank you so much for your prayers!  Although there was some disruption the first day and the university shut down for a week, things got back to normal the second week of registration and there has been no further strike/protest activity.  Praise the Lord!

Over the two week registration period, ten students from the witnessing training group, as well as Wes Gestring from the US, came back to campus early to participate in an outreach.  The plan was to have a table in front of the Great Hall, where registration takes place, to strike up conversations with students using an interesting set of photos called Soularium, get contact info, and have a sign up for Bible studies. Everything was set up to go the first Monday of Registration when the returning students disrupted the registration process and even had a sit-in at our table!  Campus closed that day and didn’t reopen for seven days.

During that week, even those of us who live on campus were not allowed to enter campus after 6pm on weekdays or at any time on weekends.  Frustrating, but not unbearable except they forgot to tell anyone the first day and just locked down at 6pm.  I was off campus that evening meeting with the students and, after standing around in the rain for an hour at the university gates, finally had to go stay with friends that night.  The university absolutely refused to allow entry even for resident staff.  That weekend, I convinced the department to reserve a room for me at a guest house so I wasn’t trapped on campus for 60 hours.

During that week campus was closed, we all met at Dr. Gestring’s house for Bible studies, prayer, and witnessing training.  Although it wasn’t what we had anticipated, it was a great chance for the students to grow spiritually and to instill some new concepts regarding reproducing discipleship.

The second week, campus opened for registration and we were able to set up the table and proceed as planned.  Many wonderful conversations were had with new and returning students and 60 students signed up as interested in Bible studies. 

. Since five of the witnessing training students are willing to host Bible studies this year we will have plenty of room for all who are interested.  In the past, the Gestrings and I have led the Bible studies, but this year we have encouraged the students to lead.  We have a leaders Bible study on Monday so the students will be familiar with and confident in the passage and then they get to lead the same study during the week. 

Over the next month, please pray for the students leading Bible studies.  This is a big step of faith for most of them and they are very nervous.  Please pray for confidence, peace, and grace from the Lord, for deep relationships to form within their groups, and for the Word of God to shine brightly on this campus.

Please also pray for continued peace on campus throughout the semester.

Finally, please pray for strength and energy for me as I transition out of the holidays and back into the somewhat organized chaos of the new term.

Again, thank you so much for your prayers!  It was a blessing to know you were praying and to see the results!

Feb Prayer Letter - #feesmustfall

Registration at North-West University is set to begin next week, God willing. You may remember last November when the students protested/rioted over anticipated fee increases at universities all across South Africa.  After two weeks of protests, the government promised a 0% fee increase for 2015 so the protests were called off and the students were able to finish their exams.  The ultimate goal of the protesters, however, was completely free university education and now students around South Africa are again protesting and interfering with registration for the new academic year in an effort to obtain that goal.  NWU’s registration process begins next week so we will soon know if our university will once again be involved in the protests.

Rumors are rampant among the students and staff with some saying that protests/strikes during registration may close the university until next term (July).  Thankfully, I can rest in the knowledge that no matter the outcome, it is all in God’s hands. Sadly for me and the evangelism students I work with, if registration is affected then our planned outreach will likely be canceled.  Several students are coming back a week early to help with the outreach to first-years and Dr Gestring is flying in from the US to help as well. We are praying that registration and orientation continues as planned.

If the protests do occur please pray that they will stay peaceful this time.  Pray that no students, police, or staff will be injured, that no property will be damaged, and that I will be able to stay in my on-campus housing. 

If the protests do not develop on our campus, please pray for the students participating in our outreach.  Pray that incoming students will be prepared by God to hear of his love and salvation.  Pray that strong relationships will develop between the incoming students and those students participating in the outreach. Pray that the outreach students will be bold in sharing God’s word to those around them.

As usual, up to the minute details will be posed via my Facebook page.  You can also follow along with the national protests online by searching for #feesmustfall.  Please keep us in your prayers.

Jan Prayer Letter - Botswana

Happy New Year!  Have you made any New Year’s resolutions?  I’ll admit, I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolution although I greatly admire those who make them and manage to keep them. 

Christmas here just didn’t feel like Christmas with the weather in the 90’s and 100’s, but I did manage to do some baking and candy making.  I put up a tree and a few decorations and broke out the Christmas music, but kept expecting Christmas in July car sales advertisements on TV.  In traditional South African style, the clinic went to half days in December and was closed for over a week during the holidays.  Many of the businesses here shut down or run minimally during the month of December, which can be very inconvenient.  We even had difficulty getting our medical supply orders as those companies also shut down for several weeks.

Thankfully, everything else is getting back to normal on campus.  The students finally finished their exams about 3 weeks late (due to the protests) and are now home for summer break.  They should be arriving back around the end of the month, but until then, the campus is very quiet.  While they’ve been gone, the security gate by my house has been repaired (it was severely damaged by the student protests) as has the main university gate. 

            One goal for the free time I had during the holidays was to practice my evacuation route into Botswana.  I took the opportunity to visit friends in Lobatse, just across the border, for a weekend and managed to survive the border crossing with minimal hassle.  A bit different than the US/Canada border!  On arriving at the South African side of the border you park and enter a building to have your passport stamped and car registration details recorded.  After finishing there you go through a car inspection and then drive to the Botswana side to go through it all again.  Stand in line, get passport stamped, stand in line, record car license and registration details, stand in line, pay a fee, etc.  Thankfully, I am now familiar with the process in case I need to leave South Africa quickly.

The area across the border is much more beautiful than Mafikeng with rolling hills and lovely scenery.  Sadly, my friends there are leaving this month to move back to the US so I won’t have a good excuse to visit in the future.

Please continue praying for the new student outreaches that will be going on the last week of Jan and the first week of Feb.  Please pray for open, prepared hearts and willing spirits.