Spring, 2013 ~ Our Current Prayer Letter ~

What about all the rest?

The Son is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation.

For in him all things were created:

things in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones or powers

or rulers or authorities;

all things have been created through him and for him.

He is before all things,

and in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and

the firstborn from among the dead,

so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 

and through him to reconcile to himself all things, 

whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace

through his blood,

shed on the cross.

-from Colossians 1

So… what about the rest… all that stuff that remains after the best or most important or loudest or highest priority or most prominent or easiest and least resistant has been cared for and/or dealt with?

It could be those two or three dishes that somehow find their way to the sink after everything else is washed up? Or the bit of food that is left after dinner which gets portioned into Tupperware, shoved into the back of the fridge and then forgotten until it starts to either grow again or stink really, really badly? There’s also the junk that remains laying around our girls' bedroom (6 girls in one room really is recipe for a most of the time natural disaster-sort-of-mess). We daily hear: "I've cleaned up my part. THEY can do the rest."

And then we hear or read or even say words like these: "Do your best and then have faith that God will do the rest." Those words are inherently wrong or bad words to say. They do leave us uncomfortable... for we know what they also imply, in our hearts.

They can indicate that what we accomplish is the key and critical part. They can reveal that we’ve set the picture topsy-turvy and that somehow we are in focus in the foreground while God is relegated to the blurry background- maybe interesting or even possibly worse, distracting, scenery. Those words point a finger at our generally unrecognized arrogance - until it smacks us full force in the face.

What God does is never just (just as in by a narrow margin, barely, merely...):

• a less than whole or insignificant remainder,
• a picking up of the bits and pieces we decided we were too tired or disgusted or frustrated to deal with,
• less important or noteworthy or commendable,
• the bit that will later be forgotten and spoil and thrown away because no one wanted it,
• gathering those never ending pieces that otherwise convince the job can never be complete...

Easter unwaveringly proves that He is and does so much more than “the rest.” The truth is: “He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.”

3… 2… 1… and… another recording starts

...but the end of many of the following projects IS in sight!

Tim is putting all of the pieces into place for the continuation of our radio program, “L’heure de l evangile.” Radio technician and colleague Rabo Godi with Pastor Soumaila will continue to record, edit and produce this weekly Hausa/French language program which is airs on the national government station.

Drafting a studio use agreement also occupies a chunk of Tim’s time. This agreement with another missionary will ensure that there is a knowledgeable someone to maintain oversight of the studio rather than simply renting the place to work on their own individual projects.

Yesterday, he worked with the men in the photo below to record a Tamajeq radio program. It is exciting to be a part of Nigerien church (versus missionary) initiated projects and programs....

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To read the rest of this prayer letter, please head on over to our ministry web page... Make sure you are up-to-date with all of our family and project news as well. A list of current prayer requests is also included.