10 POINT VISION OF SHEPHERDING AFRICA GREAT LAKES DIASPORA AS MISSIONARIES

1.      God gave our family the privilege of 19 years of church planting as adults in East Africa.    The Lord grew that gift to include a deep well of relationships and experiences.

2.      Our people, the Diaspora (a people dispersed from their original homeland who form community http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Diaspora.) from Africa’s Great Lakes (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda) are clustered in many major cities in North America.     They are doing very well professionally and academically yet some have spiritual struggles in their adaptation.   Their children are Third Culture Kids (TCK’s) just like our own children. 

    3.      We have a solemn pastoral responsibility to shepherd the Diaspora from Africa’s Great Lakes.    We have spent a year praying and listening.    Our intent is to begin a monthly fellowship in Chicago land to shepherd the Diaspora in the fall of 2013 called Great Lakes Fellowship.

   4.      Christianity’s influence in North America has experienced a rapid decline in the last 20 years.

   5.      The greatest growth of Christianity in the 20^th Century was in China, Korea, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

6.      The children and grandchildren of some of the previous century’s most effective

church planters are Diaspora now in North America.

7.      The United States ethnic composition is rapidly shifting.   Caucasians will soon be a minority.

8.      Diaspora esteem deep held American ideals such as faith, knowledge, freedom, ingenuity, and perseverance.

9.      We believe one of the most crucial tasks for Christian influence in North America is to church plant among and with the children of Diaspora peoples.

10. Thus we conclude we have a sacred responsibility to shepherd Africa’s Great Lakes Diaspora through their transitions to become missionaries who plant multi-cultural churches in North America (James 4:12-17.)   We intend to begin a new multi-cultural church in Chicago called Nations Chapel.

AUGUST PRAYER BULLETIN

Dear Family and Friends,

The start of our transition last summer in Wheaton

Last summer we transitioned from Rwanda to Wheaton, IL.   We spent a year living in Missionary Furlough Homes.   Last month we moved out of the furlough home.   We have now spent a little over a month visiting family, friends, and supporters in Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.   We are beginning plans to move to the north side of Chicago to church plant.   These seasons are always ones of faith and mystery.   

Our season of homelessness may be near an end.   Several have given some financially significant contributions.   One of the most encouraging was from a Christ’s Church of Rwanda member who relocated to another African country.    We continue to believe the Diaspora of Africa’s Great Lakes are a very capable people, and we are very thankful to share the missionary task with them.  

Dave and Ethan are currently couch surfing in Chicago as they try to find housing.   Jana, Ruth, and Timothy are in Wichita with Greg and Debra Carr.   Sophia and Caleb are beginning the fall semester at Wheaton College.  

We ask your prayers for the following matters:

Caleb with College of DuPage Cru

1.    Our kids.   Tomorrow will be Caleb’s 19^th Birthday.   It will also be the start of Wheaton College’s freshman orientation.    We are immensely thankful for the resilience Caleb has shown this last year (To see more details of Caleb’s journey see http://www.jenkinsinrwanda.blogspot.com/2013/05/caleb-jenkins-definition-of-mk.html.)  

                              

Ethan is enrolled at Chicago Hope Academy.   We are still in process of discovering the school options for Ruth and Timothy.   God continues to remind us of His care for our children.   We trust Him. (Jana guest blogged for Tara Cole about Ruth’s entrance into our family at http://www.overacup.org/2013/07/gods-story-jana-jenkins.html.)

2.   Our new missionary calling.    As we have prayed and studied God’s Word we have concluded that the spiritual gifts are not removed due to location.    They are taken away when one acts disobediently   (1 Samuel 13:13, 14; Romans 11:11.)   God has called and gifted us as church planting missionaries.   Now the task is to obediently use those gifts in the United States.

We have seen an affirmation of that call in a unique way as a new book by Kathryn Joyce called The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking, and the New Gospel of Adoption has been released.   The book takes a critical tone toward international adoption and many American Evangelical political and religious leaders.   Yet our Rwandan community and our family are spoken of in a positive light.    We see it as an indication our Africa Great Lakes community is uniquely positioned to teach and live the Gospel in the United States (For more reading on the conversation see http://hekimagreatlakesmessenger.blogspot.com/2013/08/missionary-reflections-on-kathryn.html.)

Christian, Mutoni, Aisha, and Ethan in our furlough home

3.   Our new home.   Our missionary journey has taught us heaven is home.   Everything else is temporary.   It has also reminded us of God’s care.  He has always given us places that were full of guests, coffee, tea, meals, parties, joy, laughter, and shared wisdom.    (To see Jana’s reflections on our past homes and current situation see http://jana-joyinthejourney.blogspot.com/2013/08/looking-for-home_13.html.

We trust He will continue His nature of providence.  May we have the wisdom to see how to most give Him glory.

Mungu akubariki (May God bless you),

Dave and Jana