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In fact, due to those increasing sensitivities my friend Teresa travelled with me from Ireland this time and we started in Mumbai, India, at the end of August. Since we were traveling on tourist visas we had a great time touring, shopping and drinking tea in various locales. Just two cheerful old ladies enjoying the local attractions! Then as I’ve done so many times before, I got to spend the month of September doing biblical hermeneutics with another new crop of emerging leaders in a first-tier theological training institution in the Majority World. I was curious to see that this year’s students trended somewhat younger and more urban than before. Which meant stronger educational backgrounds, so I was able to challenge them a bit more academically. But I also missed the village-based experiences and ministry contexts that the older students so often bring with them. Still, a great group of thoughtful South Asian believers committed to taking their place in God’s mission in their own contexts. One of the privileges of visiting annually is that I get to track with them from year to year, as well as catch up each September with former students and with friends from the local church I attend. Precious relationships! I'll include below a few of the sweet thank you notes I received from this year’s class.
I left South Asia to fly to Wilmington, NC, in time for the quarterly meeting of my EPC Mid-Atlantic Presbytery. A rare treat for me to get there. I invited them – and you're invited, too! – to come to Ireland next summer to join me for Serge’s Irish Prayer Summit, July 25-Aug 1, 2020! As you’ve probably heard me say, the Republic of Ireland is considered the least evangelized English-speaking country in the world. The percentage of evangelical believers is something like 2-3% of the population. Irish church planters and leaders often work in challenging and isolated situations. We’d love for you to come meet some of these leaders on site in and around Dublin and Cork. You’ll learn what God’s doing in the Irish church as you intercede for and encourage our Irish partners.
And then finally, finally, last weekend I arrived at my new townhouse in Richmond, VA. So exciting! No, I’m not moving back from Dublin, just establishing a homebase in the US near family with an eye toward eventual retirement. After 30+ moves in my 60 years as a Navy child and then international worker, I’m awed to think that, God willing, this is my ‘forever house’ – specially chosen to grow older in comfortably. If your life is even somewhat as mobile and transient as mine is, you can imagine how good that feels. There are boxes everywhere to unpack, walls to be painted, and an endless ‘to do’ list, but it’s really HOME.
I plan to be in Richmond until mid-January, punctuated by visits to partner churches in VA, NC and SC, along with a trip to Thailand, November 4-14, to help with a theological education program that brings groups of pastors from a less-accessible country for training. A little later in November I’ll be in San Diego, CA, representing Theologians Without Borders at overlapping meetings of three big academic theology organizations, SBL, IBR and ETS. If you’re planning to be at any of those, message me and let’s meet up! I’m also teaching New Testament Introduction online this fall for Fuller Seminary, which fortunately I can do from just about anywhere. (And fortunately the Verizon guy installed my wifi this morning!) But mostly this week I’m just excited about unpacking those boxes, getting ready to paint a few walls, and starting to work my way down the new-house ‘to do’ list…
As always, a deep and sincere thank you to all of you who join me on these journeys though prayer, encouragement, and financial support. “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God” (2 Cor 9:12). I'm looking forward to catching up with many of you in the coming weeks and months!
South Asia highlights
Playing tourist, elephants that suddenly paraded by, classroom time, and hanging out with my church home group
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| Sweet memories with these students! |
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