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Some things are clear: we remain committed to support the daily needs of 40 of the orphans in the village as our share of the village's operating expenses. We are also committed to providing ESTES the budget help they need. But other, new directions and major projects are still to be determined. We want to help both ministries become selfsupporting, while at the same time increasing their effectiveness and the scope of their influence in Chad for the kingdom of God. So please pray for us as we seek the Lord's guidance in consultation with the leadership of
the village and the bible school. Our annual board meeting September 26-27 will be important in this regard.
The excitement of this new crossroad also brings some concern. Africa in general, and Chad in particular, pose difficult challenges, culturally, historically, politically, personally, and spiritually, for those who seek to help from the West. The landscape is littered with the ship-wrecked remnants of ministries that meant well. So again, please pray for us as we look forward. We want to honor God and help his people in ways that do both well.
So as we face this crossroad, I am reminded of Jesus' surprising command in the Sermon on the Mount: "Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matt 6:34). Unexpectedly, even though every day has enough evil to keep us occupied for the present, Jesus' warning is not a call to disregard the future! Rather, as the "therefore" indicates, Jesus' words are based on his call in the previous verses to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," confident that our heavenly Father will provide everything we need to accomplish his will (not our wants!) (Matt 6:32-33).
But "seeking," by its very nature, demands future-focused plans and actions and risks and sacrifices to attain what is not yet a reality. As God's people, we are called to seek the fullness of God's righteous rule in our world, with its faith and justice and peace and provision, the same fullness for which we are taught to pray ("thy kingdom come . . ." Matt 6:10) and to anticipate in our mission (Matt 28:18-20). For Mission: Chad this has meant Christ and to train leadership for his church as manifestations of God's kingdom in one of the most troubled places in the world.
This is the tension of faith. We are called to seek the kingdom of God in ways we have not yet even seen, even though for all of us every day is already filled with enough trouble of its own. We cannot be satisfied with what we have done thus far. Moreover, though we may be tempted to extrapolate from today's trouble that tomorrow is hopeless, we are warned not to be worried
about tomorrow as we go forward, since our calling is simply to be faithful in the midst of today's trouble – confident that as we take one daily step of faith at a time, we will find the kingdom of God we are seeking, though we almost never know where our seeking will take us. So again, please pray for our faithfulness as we represent you in Chad. There is a lot of trouble today, but, by God's grace, we are committed to tomorrow.
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