12/21/2006
Dear Family and Friends,
To God's glory, the BSF classes in Ibadan are ready for Nigerian leadership.
The work we were called to do in the men's and women's classes is completed.
All that remains is for the Nigerian Teaching Leader candidates to go to
San Antonio for training and they are scheduled to leave January 9.
The Teaching Leader candidate for the women's class now has a visa to go
and men's candidate has a visa appointment scheduled for January 3.
We continue to pray for his visa and it appears that God has put His people
in place to help the process along. The Nigerian Substitute Teaching
Leaders of the classes have each given a lecture and done fine jobs, and
the class leaders and members are now prepared for the change.
Although Tom missed Joan's presence a good deal, leading both classes these
past 2 1/2 months can be characterized as work and joy. It was particularly
satisfying to get to know the Women's Class leaders better and to become
more aware of the impact Joan had made while she was there. And when
Tom needed to leave 1 1/2 weeks early because of his father's poor health,
everything was in place for the classes to continue the final week before
Christmas break. As soon as he returned, we went to see his Dad and
found him very weak but stable and he is slowly improving. And we are now
praying for God's direction for where we are to settle in the U.S. and serve
Him.
We are grateful for all God has done in Ibadan and for His care for our family
while we were gone. And we are especially thankful for your faithful
prayers. We are keenly aware of how important prayer support is in
accomplishing God's will, so we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for
your partnership.
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him."
(1 John 4:9).
May you and your family experience the joy of His presence in this Christmas season and the new year.
Our love,
Tom & Joan
9/11/2006
Dear Friends,
We have been back for a couple of months, but being extremely tired, we crashed
and have been laying pretty low. Our time has been spent in resting,
adjusting to our strange new environment, medical checks, and visiting family.
We had some time with our son Scott in Colorado, and are presently staying
with our daughter Kelly, her husband Scott and our granddaughters in Oklahoma
City.
At the end of August, on our visit to BSF headquarters, a new development
surfaced. TOM IS RETURNING TO IBADAN, NIGERIA TO TEACH BOTH THE
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S BSF CLASSES!!! The classes were not going to be able
to start since the national teaching leader candidates have been unable to
get visas to come to the States for training. So, Tom will be leaving
around the 18th of September. He will be there until Christmas break.
We need your prayers......
that all preparations for Tom's return will go quickly, and smoothly
that he will have a proper, safe place to stay
that God would protect him from evil, harm, sickness
that Tom and Joan will cope with being apart for this period of time right in the middle of adjusting to being back in the U.S.
that Joan will have peace of mind over being unable to go with him at this time
Thank you for keeping us in your hearts and prayers for a little while
longer. It would be a frightening thing to go without your faithful
prayer support!!! We both need you!
Thank you!
Our love,
Joan and Tom
12/9/2005
Greetings,
I just got back from seeing Esther's new accommodations, the usual one small
room w/ one window. She is moving from another one room place, because
her older son has some bad influences in their present neighborhood.
Neither place has electricity, running water or toilet facilities.
This new room has a flimsy door for which she will buy a pad-lock (when she
gets the money). This will be home to Esther and her 2 sons, 10 and
12 years old. As I'm sure you remember, Esther is one of our past Rafiki
widows w/ whom we have kept in touch. When I arrived home today after
seeing her place, I was feeling a tenderness toward her, as I thought of
some of the things she will never experience in this present life.
Esther will probably never experience the love and support of a good husband...a
position in her society that people will respect...the wise counsel and unconditional
love of her mother...a good friend she can trust...buying something just
because she would like to have it...jumping in her car and going some place...baking
a birthday cake for her boys...renting a good book from the library...electricity....a
fan...air-conditioning...taking a trip to some place she always wanted to
visit...buying a newspaper to catch up on the news...going to the dentist
for her 6 month check...going into the doctor for a physical exam when she
is NOT sick...the luxury of a well-balanced diet...taking vitamins to supplement
her diet...hearing her own phone ring w/ someone calling just because they
wanted to talk to her...having light, other than a candle, after dark...screens
on her windows...having her pastor ask her to teach a Sunday School class....having
someone at work, in the chain of command, to complain to when she is mistreated,
a toilet indoors that flushes..... and the list goes on.
She told me a couple of weeks ago that some of the managers in her office
where she works order her around, mistreat her and constantly threaten to
"sack" her. This saddened me, since I know from experience that she
is bright, hard working and a young woman of character. She told one
of these managers..."I am not afraid of being sacked. After my husband
died I thought me and my boys would die too, because I had no way to
care of us. But God took care of us and we are alive to this day.
You can sack me from work, but you can't sack me from Jesus." She then
told me that this manager "treats me like she is God and I am an animal w/
no feelings ." I told her no, she does not treat you like God, because
God would never treat you that way!!! Esther and I have learned a lot
from each other, but I'm sure that I have gained much more of lasting value
from our relationship than she has. I am blessed to have her in my
life.
Mary Clark is back and so I am no longer the Teaching Leading. I did
2 lectures and 2 leader's meetings and yes, that was a sigh of relief you
heard. Thank you for your prayers, I couldn't have done it without
you! Jay is still in the States, as his dad is near death.
Let me tell you about our BSF class night a week ago. The Clark's were
both gone, so Daniel drove me to class and Tom drove our other car to his
class. Our classes meet in two different churches. Tom was sick
and had a fever, but went to class because there was no one to fill in for
him. When Daniel dropped me off at my church I told him to go and get
Tom some Cipro, (antibiotic), since I was suspecting he had Typhoid.
As I was going about my BSF duties (we had an early leader's meeting before
class, as did Tom) little did I know that Daniel was being stopped by the
police and taken to the police station for not having certain papers in the
car. They then impounded the car. So Daniel had to take transport to the
church where Tom's class meets to get the car he was driving, so Daniel could
come back and get me after my class.
When he picked me up he told me about the car, but since Tom hadn't been
feeling well, we hurried over to get him instead of going by the police station.
When we got to Tom's church, many men were still milling around which was
unusual. Then several men walked out of the church holding Tom up,
looking ghostly white, as they slowly walked over to us. We then learned,
that with 5 minutes to go in the lecture, Tom had collapsed and Francis our
guard, who is in the class, knowing Tom well and seeing it coming ran up
and grabbed him and eased him down before he hit the floor! His fever
was at least 104 and it was a HOT evening. His body just said, THAT'S
IT! Thankfully Tom responded to the Cipro and after a few days in bed
he was much improved. We don't know for sure whether he had Typhoid,
but he is taking the Cipro for 10 days just to be on the safe side.
Of all of our Tuesday evening class night adventures, this was the most exciting
yet! We're hoping not to top it...EVER!
If we don't get a letter out before Christmas, we hope your Christmas is
filled w/ the LOVE of Christ as well as family and friends!! MERRY
CHRISTMAS to all!!!
We thank God for:
- His tender loving care
- His faithfulness in enabling those He calls
- Being born in the "flesh" in a humble stable, so that we may be born in the "Spirit"
- Each one of you, who support us behind the scenes
We ask God for:
- Rest over the Christmas break
- Safe travel to Obudu and back by car, (eastern Nigeria) Dec.23-27
- A blessed, safe, and healthy Christmas for our kids and grandkids
Our love is coming at you!
Joan and Tom
9/15/2005
Dear Family and Friends,
We are thanking God for strong starts for both Ibadan BSF classes last week.
The men's class has placed an additional 37 men as a result of our first
class meeting and now has a small waiting list. And the School Program
attendance more than doubled from last year's start. It's a great encouragement
after the loss of class members incurred last year as a result of changing
host churches to another part of town. Of course, it also means we
need more leaders.
At home, one of our cars (a small '89 Nissan) is undergoing a complete engine
overhaul. It had become so unreliable that we really didn't like to
use it. We are praying that our mechanic can get good parts (new or
used) so we can drive it around town. As soon as it is back, our good
car (an '88 Toyota with 175,000 miles) will go with him for transmission
and suspension work. We are trying to keep it in reliable condition
so we can confidently use it for necessary travel.
One item we are asking you to pray about concerns our Visas. For some
time, there have been "paperwork" problems with our work permits, stemming
mainly from major changes to the "system". But the Immigration officials
knew us, why we are here, and that everything was legitimate. So they
simply told us to be patient and they have taken care of everything as necessary.
However, their office has just undergone a complete change of personnel.
And our Visas expire the 29th of this month. Would you pray with us
that all the details come together as needed?
We praise and thank God:
- For His majesty as the One who created and sustains this world
- That He has put the desire to know Him better in so many hearts
- For His persistent protection and provision
We ask that He:
- Provide leaders so more can study His Word
- Open the way to complete our Visas
- Strengthen and comfort Joan's sister who is hospitalized and in serious condition
- Protection for the Clark's and us....our children and grandkids
We are grateful for your prayers and rejoice in the fruitfulness God has provided through them.
With our love,
Tom & Joan
8/31/2005
Dear Family and Friends,
We pray that the God of all creation strengthens you day by day as He continues
to sustain us all. We are grateful for your continued prayers even
as our communications have been lacking. In late May, we started having
computer problems which culminated in complete failure. The computer
experts we took it to were unable to detect the problem so they erased the
hard drive and we started over again. Unfortunately, the back-up e-mail
files were corrupt and could not be read, so we lost our e-mail addresses.
On return to Ibadan, the computer was working fine but the phone was out
of service for a week and then our Internet server went down for better than
two weeks more. We are thanking God that all seems to be working now
and those distracting nuisances are taken care of. We continue to be
grateful for this means of communication, even though it is somewhat fitful.
Although Tom was in the U.S. only a short time, it was good to see those
family and friends we could meet with. We are thanking God for our
daughter's successful surgery and steady recovery. And we are grateful
for your prayers.
Tom returned through London the day of the second bombings and Joan's flight
left London for Lagos less that 30 minutes before the British Air strike
caused all flights to be canceled. After a summer mostly on different
continents, it is good to be together again. Things have moved quickly
since Joan has returned to Ibadan. We enjoyed hosting an open house
for all the BSF leaders. it was good to be together again. The
next weekend, we traveled to Jos for a workshop with all the class staffs
from West Africa and that was followed by workshops for our leaders in Ibadan.
BSF classes start next week, just as they do in the U.S.
Wednesday of this week, classes at American Christian Academy resume.
Our teaching schedules will be about the same as last year, but with more
students. Many potential new students have been turned away but 190
have been registered, an increase of 31 over the end of last term.
A significant fraction of them are from Israel.
As God has given us the privilege of serving Him here another year, we are
looking forward to what He will do through BSF and at ACA. His word
does not go out in vain. Please pray with us:
- That many men, women, and children will be eager to study the Book of Genesis
- For the additional leaders we need for the BSF classes
- For effective witness to the many non-Christians who are students at ACA
- For wisdom, strength, and stamina as we serve the risen Christ in Ibadan
We are grateful for your faithfulness in prayer. May God richly bless you with an awareness of His presence.
With love,
Tom & Joan
5/3/2005
Dear family and friends,
Are you still there?
Well, the American Christian Academy's annual ART SHOW is over! Yesterday
was the big day and it was a great success! My kids had drawings, paintings,
jewelry, collage, painting w/ markers, and mobiles. The assistant art
teacher had pottery and silk screen. The parents seemed thrilled with
the quality of the art work and I was very proud of the kids and the progress
they've made! Literally hundreds of hours went into the preparation and display
of their work. I came home from leader's meeting this morning, had
breakfast and crashed until 3:00 this afternoon. I was shocked when
I woke up and saw the time!!
Stamina is a factor in our work here. I am convinced that since life
is rather hard in Ibadan that the Lord takes whatever food we eat and enables
our bodies to utilize every last nutrient fully to keep us strong.
In the States we frequently go to the doctor for this and that.....but
here, where health care is below par, it's the LAST thing we want to do.
So, if we get something in our
eye....we use eye-wash and clean it out.... an ear infection, alcohol on a cotton swab does the trick......skin infections, we
treat with ointments and they get better. Since antibiotics are over
the counter, we get Mary's advice (co-worker and nurse) on what antibiotic
to use for certain things and treat ourselves. We also have learned
to recognize malaria symptoms and treat for that. When you don't have
an option, relying on the Lord becomes more of a reality and His faithfulness
has been an awesome experience for us!!!
It is clear here that we have nothing to boast about. He provides the
light......He provides the rest.....healing.....protection....wisdom.....courage.....stamina......clean
water......food. When we come to the end of our rope, He lengthens
it. We do things we have no innate talent for and it comes into clear
focus that even our talents HE PUT IN US. Everything points to HIM.
We are as weak as new born kittens, yet He provides the strength to do His
will. I pray that
we will never forget this when we move back to the land of plenty!
Tom's last lecture for this year is Tuesday evening. He is extremely
tired, but is sad to see the study come to an end. There is nothing
he would rather be doing than teaching God's word. The eagerness of
the people and their openness to the truth makes teaching very exciting.
At the recent Homiletics seminar, we had 30 from the men's class and 46 from
the women's!
We have mentioned before that the BSF leaders are impressively committed,
so I want to close with a story about one of our leaders in the women's class.
One mode of transportation here is ocadas (motorcycles). They are for
hire
and the driver will take you to your destination for a price. However,
they are notoriously reckless and it is not recommended. Several weeks
ago, Ruth, a Supreme Court Justice and discussion leader in the women's BSF
class had her car break down on the way to leader's meeting. Ruth is
in her 60's and very dignified and respected. Rather than miss leader's
meeting (this
is early Saturday morning around 6:30 a.m.) she flagged an ocada, hiked her
skirt and jumped on the back and roared into the parking lot on time for
leader's meeting!!!! Everyone was impressed and amazed and we all had
a good laugh, including Ruth. Her comment: I am just thankful
that I wasn't too proud! In this culture people are very aware of keeping
to their position in society, so this was a courageous step of non-conformity!
We gratefully acknowledge that every good thing points to it's source......The Lord Jesus Christ!!!
We ask you to pray that:
- God grant us stamina to finish strong in BSF and school
- All BSF members (including us) will put into action the lessons we
- learned in God's word this year
- All would have a restful summer and be eager to return in September
- Families and students at A.C.A. would see a quality of life in the Christian teachers that they want for themselves
- Kelly's surgery is permanently successful with no complications
- Joan would be sensitive to her needs and take very good care of her
- God would increase the number of children in the men's BSF class school program
- That the BSF seminars (3 consecutive 2 hour seminars) would be well attended (Saturday, May 14)
- Joan and Jay presenting the seminars would be led by the Holy Spirit
- Healing for Tom's cough
Our love to all,
Joan and Tom
3/24/2005
Dear Friends,
You have heard us speak of Esther many times. Esther was one of our Rafiki
widows. To refresh your memory, she was in her early thirties with
2 small boys. Neither Esther or her boys spoke English and her boys
were NOT attending school (someone has provided schooling since then).
To keep them out of trouble while she was at Rafiki, she would lock them
in their tiny,
rented, room. It was a desperate situation. Esther is the only
one in her family who has EVER gone to school. When Esther graduated
from Rafiki, a woman in BSF got her a job as a cleaning lady for the Federal
Government in one of their offices. She had gained some English by
then, through her contact at Rafiki. If she hadn't been able to speak
English, she would not
have been qualified for this job.
Government jobs are considered "good jobs" and look great on paper, with
benefits, vacation and retirement, but there is a BIG problem. You
may wait 2-4 months to get paid and then may only get one month's salary.
You may never receive your retirement. In spite of this, the government
workers are expected to get more education, in order to progress, so Esther
has been working on a teaching certificate. These past 2 weeks she has been
doing her student teaching.
Now here's the part I've been wanting to share. Esther just stopped
by with pictures, and "beaming," handed them to us. There Esther was standing
in front of the class teaching science! There Esther was teaching
P.E.! Thisyoung woman whose entire family is illiterate! Wow!
She was so proud she could hardly stand it and we were proud along with her!
She sparkled as she told us all about her student teaching and it was a wonderful
time of rejoicing. Whether she actually teaches or not, she will be
promoted for increasing her educational level, if she passes the 2 big exams
coming up. God is at work in Esther's life and we have no words for the gratitude
we feel.
We thank the Lord that:
- He is a personal, intimate God
- His eye is on the sparrow
- Believer's names are engraved on His palm
Please pray that:
- Esther will pass her exams
- We will remain faithful
- God would provide healing for our daughter, Kelly
Our love is coming at you!
Joan and Tom
3/18/2005
Dear Ones,
We have a break coming up this month for BSF and school.....not any too
soon......we are exhausted! The BSF classes are chugging along and American
Christian Academy is going well! Our electricity has been out...over 8 days
with zilch. It is back sporadically, but still not what we would like it to
be. We have been pouring money into our generator trying to keep it
running, but we finally realized the "bald truth".....we need a new one! So
Thursday we drove to Lagos and looked, then came back and bought one here in
Ibadan. We pray that it lasts for as long as we are here. We can't run
air-conditioning on the generator, but we can keep our food cool enough, run
fans and lights.....for which we are very thankful, since the temperatures
are still running in the high 90's and 100's.
Joan presented the Seminar on "Sharing the Gospel" for the second time this
year last Monday evening and 31 women came. We had about
the same number the first time, so that is over 60 women who have
attended this seminar this BSF year. The women really do
get into it and it is very enjoyable for Joan. It is good timing
for this seminar, since we are studying the early church and Paul's
missionary journeys and the "spiritual riches' we have in Christ!
Tom is upstairs preparing exams for his physics classes and Joan spent
much of the week-end matting paintings and drawings for our Art Show
coming up. I give them the primary colors....red, yellow and blue and
black and white. From these they mix all of their own colors.
They love it! The children are really worming their way into our
hearts for sure! Some days are better than others, of course!
We hope that you are doing well. We love you all!
Joan and Tom
We are grateful that we belong to the one, true, living God.....
- Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- The creator and sustainer of all of life
- The source of all true love
We are grateful that "in Christ" our sins are forgiven..
- We are cleansed
- Given the Holy Spirit to live in us
- And given a certain place in heaven
- Forever
Please join us in prayer for:
- More BSF leaders in both the men's and women's classes
- More children for the men's school program
- Christ-like wisdom and love
- Complete healing and wisdom for our daughter Kelly who is making some medical decisions
- Protection for the Clark's, us and our children and grandchildren
Thanks for being there!!!!
Odaro (bye for now) |
