|
Dear family, friends, and
supporters;
T minus 2 weeks
Two
weeks from today we will begin our journey back to Chad
after 6˝ wonderful months in the USA. As we prepare to go, we are again
torn between the joy of ministry in Chad, and the attachments we feel to
our family and many dear friends here in the USA. Saying goodbye is
surely one of the more difficult aspects of a missionary’s life. We
expect that this term will again be
2˝ - 3 years.
 Support
You may recall from our last email that we were lacking
$700/month in needed support. As this email goes out, we are grateful
to have seen that number cut in half. Thank you to all who have
joined us. However, we still need about $350/month in additional
support. If you have been thinking that you might want to help out, now
is a good time to do so. You have the following options:
1.
You
may go to team.org/give
Click on “Give Now” (right-hand side) and type
“Vanderkooi” in the search box. You may contribute once or
recurrently by either credit card or electronic funds transfer.
2.
You
may send a check payable to TEAM along with a note designating
it for us to:
TEAM
PO Box 969 Wheaton, IL 60187-0969
or
in Canada: TEAM #372-16 Midlake Blvd SE Calgary, AB T2X 2X7
Video report on these past three years
If
you are interested in our ministry, but have not viewed the video
summary of its progress over the past three years, please do so. It
is only 17 minutes long and will give you a good feel for the work you
are praying for and/or supporting. To view it, go to:
chageen.teamchad.org/video.htm
What lies ahead
As
you will be aware if you watch the 17-minute video report, we are in the
process of organizing a Kwong pastoral training school which we hope
will kick-off two or three years from now. As we return to
Chad, our priority will be preparing the materials which the Bible
school will need. That will mean, at a minimum, translating the
pastoral epistles (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus) and the book of 1
Corinthians. It will probably also mean writing the missing “Volume
3” of our Kingdom of God discipleship materials in Kwong, entitled
“Israel: Prototype of the Kingdom”. We will also be welcoming
four young people for a 7 week internship in the month of January and
February. Pray for us that we would be able to resume our work quickly
and efficiently.
Ebola and Islamists
Chad
is 2000 miles from the Ebola epicenter, but the longer the epidemic
drags on, it is more likely that it will come to Chad. Our colleagues in
Chad have drafted a contingency plan, the general gist of which is that
we will stay in the country as long there are only limited cases in
controlled environments such as hospitals, but we will likely have to
evacuate if the disease begins to spread through the general population.
Keep praying that the epidemic would be dealt with at its source.
The
radical Islamic agenda has never been a serious threat in Chad, and is
not, so far as we know, a threat at this time. However, we are conscious
that it only takes one person with a jihadist bent and a
charismatic personality to change all that. There is no question that
the rapid rise and success of ISIS has raised the stakes around the
world. But for now, we are not aware of any danger in Chad. Pray that
these groups would be suppressed and defeated.
Your fellow servants,
Mark and
Diane
|
