Sorry it’s been a while since I have written. I have thought about writing a few times, but for whatever reason I have not. The lack of writing is not because I haven’t been experiencing new things; in fact just the opposite. There’s so much going on I’m not sure where to begin. I’ll just use this entry to inform you about the interesting dynamics of finals week at an African school.
Currently it’s the second to last week of the term, which means most of the students are in panic mode. However, compared to the majority of the students, I have little to worry about. My greatest fear is over booking myself as an “English tutor.” Native English speakers here are a hot commodity. I’m probably asked to proof read (dare I say write) two papers every day. I guess if I was at another school my help would be classified as a job, here I look at it as a ministry. I see helping my fellow classmates as advancing Christian education and ultimately the gospel across the world. It’s exciting to think about where my classmates will be and have already taken the gospel. Let me briefly tell you about two of my friends serving the Lord.
Anson A. Titus (picture) comes from South East India (Kerala). His father pastors a small church in one of the poorest parts of South East India. Before Anson arrived in Nairobi he had never left Kerala. The longest he had been away from his home was two days. He’s now been in Nairobi for three months. He’s the only Indian student on campus, so as you can imagine life is not always easy for him. He’s hoping to receive his MDiv in theology before he returns India to do ministry. His current plan after school is to do children’s ministry in Orissa, one of the neediest places in India. Please pray for Anson as English is his third language. He’s also not sure where the finances will come from the duration of his stay. The other friend I wanted to mention is Joshua Lasattu (picture) from Tanzania. Joshua, like many students at NEGST, has to leave his wife of two years and baby daughter at home in order to attend school. The financial cost is just too high to bring his family along. Once Joshua is done with school he’ll be going home to be with his family and continue in ministry. Joshua is in his late thirties and has plenty of ministry experience. He’s looking at doing ministry in one of poorest parts of Northwest Tanzania. He’ll most likely be engaging Muslims, as 50% of the Tanzanian population is Muslim. This term has been difficult for him as he’s been fighting malaria on and off. Lift him up in prayer too as I know he misses his family a lot.
That’s all I have time to share, I hope you are doing well.
Aaron
