News for End of September 2006

Dear Friends,

I am in urgent need of a volunteer willing to take over the operation of my Web page. My current website manager is overworked, and has recently fallen and injured his right (typing) hand. Any volunteers . please get back to me. (If you can't volunteer yourself, perhaps someone knows a way of doing this that is cost effective?)

I have now made the decision to make the trip to the USA early next year. Some may ask: 'Why go to America?' In short: I often feel that in my efforts at identifying with the Luo people, I have become more and more distant from my own (Western) culture. It thus becomes more difficult to communicate back without being misunderstood. This trip will be an effort at better understanding what people in the West are saying about mission, and development. Hopefully I may also get my message home a bit more clearly! I hope that I can convince others to consider reaching the African people with the Gospel from a position of vulnerability, using their languages and without large budgets etc.

It was very encouraging to recently have been able to attend a class by one of our YTC teachers. (We have a policy that junior and senior teachers in YTC are not considered differently, and that any one of us can at any time revert to being the student of another.) Without going into details - please rejoice with me at the strong commitment and desire to serve God in the face of difficult odds that at times becomes apparent in very challenging and encouraging ways in people whom one has known well for a long time!

Give thanks that I now have my sheep back. Pray though - as I am still required to go to court on 2nd October. I hope this will be a simple matter of withdrawing the case against the remaining accused. (One man has already been sentenced to 10 years. The other is pleading innocent.) Give thanks that we had a successful YTC board meeting which has resolved to make some helpful changes in our leadership structure. We have a new acting-Director, and will shortly be looking for a new clerk.

Best wishes,

Jim