Praise Notes

1. Praise God for a wonderful December and for a year of progress in 2009! At the end of one year and the beginning of another our hearts are filled with both praise and great anticipation. And, . . . we owe much gratitude to many friends on both sides of the Atlantic who gave financially in December, enabling us to register our best month of the year. THANK YOU, . . . and THANK GOD!!
   
   
2. One of our greatest struggles in 2009 (and eventual triumphs) involved clearing not one but FOUR 40 ft overseas containers. Two of them went fairly smoothly, but the other two were EXTRAORDINARILY DIFFICULT. We thank God that all ended in triumph toward the end of December, with the clearing of the last one. We wish to THANK those of you who prayed with us about these needs and most of all we THANK GOD that we have sailed through with His help.
   
   
3. Praise God for the successful conclusion of another undergraduate semester in December. In addition, our Masters students were very busy. During the first and second weeks we welcomed one of our illustrious graduates, David Jatta, director of the Great Commission Movement (aka Campus Crusade for Christ) in his native Gambia, teaching a module in World Christian Movement. Pastor Sola Ajibulu led a module in Principles of Evangelism, Dr. Emmanuel Ogunyemi handled Educational Ministry of the Church, Kalu Okechukwu taught Mastering Biblical Greek, Dr. Ola Adeogun (LIFE Theological Seminary, Ikorodu, Lagos) taught History and Criticism of the Old Testament, and Dr. David Johnston (University of Pennsylvania) took eleven students through a module in Hadith, Qur´an and Sharia. At the same time, Oumar Coulibaly´s Hebrew students continued their multi-week introduction to biblical Hebrew. WOW! Praise God for these dedicated instructors and for the many Masters students who are seeking to excel both spiritually and academically.
   
   
4. Thank God for Dr. Ira Pence (Atlanta), who traveled to WATS after Christmas to continue on into January for at least two weeks. His earlier plans to be at WATS before Christmas were delayed because of difficulties in getting all of our materials in hand for the continuing work on the chapel.
   
   
5. The presence of the WATS provost, Pastor William Udotong, was extended about ten days into December as he continued to gather research for his PhD dissertation. He was also very engaged in WATS administrative work during his time in Africa. There is unanimous praying that he will complete his academic work in record time. The entire WATS family looks forward to his full return, together with his family, in 2010.
   
   
6. Both Emma Lou and I wish to express our deep gratitude for all who prayed for us during the illness and home-going of her beloved mother, Mary Norene Zink, whose funeral was celebrated on Monday, December 7. We enjoyed much interaction with Emma Lou´s family during our ten days in Idaho, and toward the end of the month we celebrated a joyous Christmas time in Alabama with our four children, their spouses and our seven grandchildren. We are truly blessed beyond anything we remotely deserve. Thanks be to God!
   
   
7. It was a first-time experience for me this week to cross over from one year to the next several times. Tim Powell and I took off from Atlanta not long before midnight on December 31 and then chased the clock eastward (eventually through six times zones) as the New Year caught up with us, . . . at least twice, and perhaps thrice . . . high over the Atlantic Ocean. We landed happily and safely in Lagos on the afternoon of January 1. Hey, it´s great to start 2010 in a wonderful place called NIGERIA (recent international rumblings notwithstanding). It´s absolutely AWESOME to be right in the center of God´s will. As my father-in-law used to say, "There is no promotion from the center of God´s will." I hope that´s where you are, too!