3 Feb 12

At Mission Institute  3 February, 2012

     It seems that time flies but we have been kept busy at the Mission Institute with classes 8 hrs/day and about 500 pages of outside reading to get done and make reports on, etc.  There was lots of good reading material so some read up to 1000 pages.  We appreciate the notes that some have sent via email.  Oh yes, we are making new friends among the participants here from 13 countries and going to 14 different countries.  It would be helpful to know Spanish, French, Portuguese besides English but we get by.  We have had to take the Keirsey Temperment scale test which is more revealing about yourself than you might think.  We have also had to write up an 8 page report about the country we are going to and its dominant religion, ie. Chad and Moslem.  We have studied about security issues and how to handle conflicts esp if different cultures where something might mean one thing in one culture and very different in another culture.  All missionaries will be cross cultural workers and must be very adaptable.  There are 5 areas that especially are talked about during these 3 weeks.  They are growing spiritually, thinking Biblically, reasoning missiologically, serving incarnationally, and living wholistically.
     They have fed us very well with 3 large meals daily and plenty of mango, beet, and passion fruit juices.   The internet service is slow or not at all but manages most of the time if you keep trying to get on. 
     I keep watching the weather for home and it looks as if winter forgot to come this year.   I’m sure the spring flowers are beginning to bloom by now.   Here in Nairobi it is nice all the time on the equator and about 6000 ft elevation.  
     Last weekend we went to Masai Mara to see lion, elephant, gazelle (Grant’s and Thomson), baboon, sassaby, impala, cheetah, zebra, cape buffalo, giraffe, dik-dik, water buck, hippo, warthog, rhino, black backed jackal, spotted hyena,  ( got pictures of all except rhino that was too far away).  Also saw many different beautiful birds.   Got good pictures of some   In fact was able to identify some after I got back and loaded on the computer.    I won’t bore you with the names (Dolores says you wouldn’t know what they were anyway) ie. Heuglin’s bustard, Kori bustard, gray crowned crane, superb starling, sacred ibis, flamingo, hammerkop, African spoonbill, African wattled lapwing, lilac breasted roller,  and many others.
     We miss all of you and appreciate emails.   We will be in Chad after Sunday Feb 5.   There is supposedly a threat of a coup in mid Feb by part of the military but most people don’t think it will materialize,.    Pray that it will remain calm.   Once we get out to Bere Hospital it shouldn’t bother us anyway as it is a long way from N’Djamena (the capital).   Our big hurdle will be learning to communicate in French.   We haven’t had time to spend on it yet.   We have Rosetta Stone but one needs to spend time with it. 
     The most important thing is that there are many people that still don’t know Jesus especially in the Moslem world.   We all need to pray passionately for break throughs and mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the many unreached people of the world.  All the various branches of “Christianity” put together is still only a small segment of the World’s population.   Pray for us that we can used of God. 
     We had a very nice Agape feast and communion service tonight and rededication to God.  Tomorrow there is a dedication service at the church for all of the mission institute attendees.   
Love to all,
Rollin and Dolores