All My Bags Are Packed, I’m Ready to Go

This has been the fullest week we’ve been through in a long time. It began when I (Henry) turned 70 on Sunday, then my father passed away on Wednesday, and it will end tomorrow night as we wing our way over the Atlantic on the way to Brussels and then on to Yaounde.

We think Dad would have wanted us to go on as scheduled, and he said almost as much when we told him I was planning to stay with him. He had outlived all of his other family and friends, and his descendants are scattered all over North America, so there are really few people to gather for a good African “die” or even a typical American funeral service, at least not right away. The nurse at his senior center told us that the staff and many of the residents would appreciate a memorial service there even after our return. So that’s the plan.

Africans value things like certificates of participation and workshop handouts more than Americans tend to because they are not constantly bombarded with such things as magazines, flyers, and bulletins. So we have spent a lot of time over the last few weeks putting together certificates and handouts that we hope will be not only useful but tangible evidence of our love for them and the value we place on their culture.

We value your continued prayers, and we will be posting here as we can to let you know how things are going. We are here to equip God’s army to fight with song, though not quite like Tom Lehrer’s song from the 1960s:

We are the folk song army
Guitars are the weapons we bring
To the fight against poverty, war, and injustice
Ready, aim, sing!

Rather, God wants us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, take every thought captive to Christ, and keep in mind that we will give an account for every idle word, whether spoken or sung. This will be a fight for us as much as for those we go to serve.

We are so grateful for those who have made this trip possible financially and who have encouraged us by promising to pray for us. To God be glory in the church both now and forever!