Returning to the Rift

Eighteen years ago Lilli and I stepped off a plane in Kenya, East Africa with our seven-week old daughter, Hannah. We were headed to Rift Valley Academy (RVA), a missionary boarding school an hour outside of Nairobi, where we would spend two years serving as dorm parents.

We came back to Minnesota in 1999 and had three more children for a total of four – Hannah (18), Tiana (16), Joshua (12), Sophia (11). Lilli has had seasons as a homemaker, homeschool mom and registered nurse. I’ve been serving as a pastor since receiving my M.Div degree in 2002, and am currently the associate pastor at Oakridge Community Church, a wonderful gospel-centered church in Stillwater, MN.

Life is good. Things are stable. And then God calls us back to RVA. What’s going on? Well, it’s not quite as unexpected as it seems. We knew there was a good possibility we would return to Africa one day. We just didn’t think it would be right now. There are two main reasons we feel called to return.

First, our love for the people of Africa and their need for a Savior. Lilli’s parents served as medical missionaries in Madagascar for 40 years. She was born and raised there and graduated from RVA. I’ve had a love for Africa since I can remember, fueled by a missionary family that came to our church and reinforced on a missions trip to Kenya in college.

We’re intrigued by Africa the continent, but it’s the people we’re in love with. And yet, there are still 1,000 people groups in Africa that are unreached by the gospel. By supporting the work of RVA, we could allow missionary parents of school-aged children working among the hardest places of Africa to stay and serve those unreached peoples with the good news of Jesus Christ. That’s what excites us!

Second, we believe God has been preparing us for these roles for the last sixteen years. Several times since coming back from Kenya we’ve asked each other if we would consider returning. Our answer has been that God would have to make it really clear and provide a nursing role for Lilli and a spiritual shepherding role for me.

Last October, as we were talking with friends whose children attend RVA, we became aware of two staffing needs at RVA – a staff chaplain and a student health nurse! As we looked at each other in that moment, we both had the sense that everything God had brought us through in our lives and ministry to that point, had prepared us to return to RVA in these roles.

We have now been appointed by our sending agency, Africa Inland Mission, with a planned departure date of July 12, 2016. As you can imagine, there are so many things to be done before that time. But only two things are absolutely necessary. If we have these, the rest will fall into place. First is our dependence on God. We trust that if He has truly called us to go, He will be faithful to send us.

Second is our need of you. We can’t do this on our own. We are praying that God would raise up more than one hundred individuals, families, and churches to share our heart for the peoples of Africa by joining our ministry team by providing prayer, encouragement, and/or finances.

Can I ask you to do something right now? Would you simply take a few minutes wherever you are and pray for three things:

1. Jesus to be known and adored in all of Africa,
2. God would raise up our ministry support team and whether you are called to join it
3. He would work in our hearts and the hearts of our children as we prepare to return to Kenya

Knowing each of you prayed this for us is already a great encouragement!