Greetings all,
Well it hasn’t been the easiest week, but there have been some great times. I found out Monday night that my dad’s best friend from England, Ken, passed away from cancer. They were best mates growing up together and graduated together. He was one of the groomsmen in my parents’ wedding. We’ve kept in touch and stayed with them for a visit every time we have visited England as a family, and they came and stayed with us in the States for weeks at a time. He was an English policeman, a bobbie, until he recently retired. He gave me his old bobbie helmet when they got a new design, as well as police patches and clip-on tie, badge, etc…when I was a little girl. I included a picture of me wearing one of the police badges and clip-on police ties he gave me. So I was a bobbie for Halloween as a kid. Ken was like an uncle to me.
He didn’t know he had cancer until June 10, which was the day that dad died (in the England timezone)…and when they discovered it, the cancer had already spread to many parts of his body so it was too late to medically stop it. Then, just under 40 days later, he passed away.
We are of course, very thankful and comforted knowing that, as his wife Glenda put it, “Ken found God” a few years back. He had written me a few letters in the last couple years, sharing about how he had come to faith in Jesus Christ and was really growing in his faith. He would also sometimes call me on my cell phone just to talk. We talked at Christmas time.
I received a letter from Ken here in Botswana in early April in which he was so pleased to hear how things were going here. “God be praised!” he’d exclaimed in true British fashion :). He told me they were really getting involved in their church and in mission work. Not only have they been supporting my mission work, but they have been supporting a school in Ghana and helping to provide motorcycles for teachers/pastors. Ken was planning to go on a mission trip there to teach them how to ride the motorcycles. In the letter, he also included pictures of himself, his wife, sons, and grandkids. I am now especially thankful to have those.
Just minutes after Mom had told me the news on the phone, I realized that now dad and Ken were together again in heaven. This came to mind: “the old boys are reunited again…forever!” I pictured how great it must have been for dad to be part of the welcoming party for Ken.
In a few emails I sent out the next day, I used that same terminology – that the old boys were back together again. One of those emails was to mom, and she wrote back asking if I knew that the school where dad and Ken had attended and graduated from called themselves The Old Boys…and when they have reunions they call them The Old Boys Reunions! Nope…I didn’t know that, but pretty cool that I had thought that, eh?
The next day, Tuesday, the reality and emotions of it finally caught up with me, I think compounding with dad’s death, so the tears came and I had a ‘good’ cry here at the office. Thankfully there are many people around me here who are supportive. I’ve been doing a lot better since then, but prayers are still appreciated—especially for his wife and family, and for mom, Ryan, and me (and other family friends who miss him). I’ve learned that grief comes and goes in waves.
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”—John 11:25-26. Dad and Ken just had a setting change in their story…from living on earth to living in heaven…and they are LOVING it!
“If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” –Romans 14:8
Alright, so on to the more positive things of the last week. As I mentioned last time, we have a team of 23 short-termer volunteers here from YFC Canada. Last Thursday, I drove 6 of them to a school to help lead the Scripture Union club there. It is not a school where I’ve worked before, but they needed me to drive them so I went and led worship with guitar. Maruping, the YFC staff guy who works there regularly, said they usually have about 15-20 students who come to the club. I think the handful of white people (makgua) was intriguing because we had about 85 students cram into the classroom for our hour-long club, at some points upwards of 100!! It was the biggest turn-out ever at that school! For the teaching portion, we acted out the story of Daniel 3 (the three Hebrew young men who were thrown into the fiery furnace instead of bowing down to an idol, and then they were not burned at all).
This week the schools have vacation, which means we provide holiday programmes for the youth. So in the morning all this week, we invited the Scripture Union club members to come to the office every morning from 10 am – 12:30 pm for singing, teaching, small groups, crafts, and games. The Canadians essentially ran this with our guidance. I still led the worship with guitar, but that was my only official role. We also ran a Kids Club simultaneously for elementary-aged kids, so Canadians led worship with them. It was great to get to spend much more quality time with some of the students at the school where I help lead Scripture Union. Several students started or deepened their personal relationship with Christ this week! It was exciting to be a part of that and to have the opportunity (that the Canadians don’t) to continue on with these youth in the weeks and months ahead and help disciple and encourage them.
Last Saturday, then Monday through Thursday nights, we opened up the Coffee Bar drop-in centre for the youth of Mochudi from 7-10pm. As usual, each night we take about 10 minutes to share something meaningful with the youth. Most of the nights, the Canadian team has shared some dramas. This often served as a springboard for youth to talk to us afterwards and ask questions. I spent the remaining time (1.25 hours) Wednesday night talking with two twin brothers about spiritual things. These are the same two that asked me questions for a few hours a couple months ago. They brought their bibles Thursday night and right away started talking to me again…they didn’t even want to play the games/sports. So we talked for a couple hours again, and they told me to have a Bible passage ready to talk to them tonight when we’ll have Coffee Bar again! So that’s an encouragement, and I’m now praying that God will guide me in which passage to discuss with them and will keep revealing truth to their hearts.
Another exciting thing is that I was able to meet the guidance/counseling staff member at the Senior Secondary School here in Mochudi, where the Face the Nation (AIDS Prevention Programme of my church) volunteers just finished teaching their 5-week abstinence curriculum. I was able to reunite with the three Face the Nation volunteers for whom I was a prayer partner, and we all held hands and prayed with this guidance/counseling teacher to end out their time at the school. The guidance/counseling teacher is the entry point into a school, so it was great to have met her, prayed with her, and exchanged contact info last Friday. I will be in touch with her next week about leading a follow-up club at the school with True Love Waits curriculum that I was briefly trained in just before I left for the States. I’m not sure whether to create a new club, like an abstinence club or True Love Waits club, for the hundreds of students who committed to abstinence before marriage…or if I should just team up with the Scripture Union club and teach the curriculum in that setting…or both. There were well over a hundred students who made commitments to follow Christ as well and it would be great to follow them up.
YFC has not worked with a club in that school in recent memory, so it’s something for which I would appreciate prayer, that God would give wisdom and guidance in how to proceed and have ongoing ministry in that school. It is the only Senior Secondary School in the whole large geographical district called Kgatleng; thus, many of the students are boarders living onsite. There is such a great need to reach and support these students, many of whom have troubling issues going on in their lives.
So I am grateful for all the opportunities that have arisen and the ministry that has gone on in this last week. I have been typing up the tribute of memories of my dad, and will share that soon, as well as more emails and witty writings of his.
Blessings,
Em
P.S. “In the end, everything will be all right. Nothing can harm you permanently; no loss is lasting, no defeat more than transitory, no disappointment is conclusive. Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement, and death will be part of your journey, but the kingdom of God will conquer all these horrors.” –Brennan Manning
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