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From
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March 8, 2010 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. (1Co 12:14) Dear Faithful Prayer Partners, Forgive us the delay in sharing with you, much is happening here in Southern Africa. We enjoyed working with First Baptist Church, Perryton, TX (Feb. 7-18th) doing “Child Evangelism” quotations because we ministered to as many adults as children. FBC Perryton is a gifted body of believers who have a special rapport with children (and adults). This is their second visit to Lesotho and while I didn’t think it could get better than last time, I now believe it did. The six villages we went into with the children’s program had all been worked before…mass evangelism with the Bloemfontein Team, Babs and I did follow-up, sharing the word Team, working to get bibles into the villages, Bloemfontein Team again with The Jesus Film and now with Perryton doing child evangelism and finally strategically placing the Proclaimers (Bible Recorders) in each village…Do you see the trend? We have discovered over the years that prayer and more prayer, repeated visits, relationship building, trust development, scripture (bible storying)… God sees them and they understand their need for a Savior. We trust and believe that God in His economy uses a mixture of gifts to reach the lost, that teams coming from America, South Africa, Ireland, providentially bring different skills and abilities to reach each man, woman and child. Babs and I wish we had all the “right stuff” but find that only God working through the Holy Spirit can provided just what the Basotho need. What a joy to work with men and women who love Jesus and are faithful to share His Gospel. We have been and are blessed beyond words.
Things are busy at the Dial house on the little dirt road behind the peach orchard where the creek spills over into the rock pool (basic directions to our home)…I omitted the part about turning left at the dump. The house is full of boxes and labels for shipping, selling or giving away. There is a definite atmosphere of excitement and even one of sadness. We are finishing our time here in this neck of the woods and know that God has another plan for us, in another place…we await His pleasure. At the same time we realize the emotion of having poured into a people and now leaving them for a season. We depart for America on the 15th of April…arriving the evening of the 16th….about let’s see; 18hr flight, 10 hour layover…please pray for a coffee shop at Dulles International, two more flights and then Tallahassee. We will speak our first Sunday home at our home church…to our favorite people, the Senior’s Class – faithful in caring, praying, giving and loving – they have indeed loved their neighbor as themselves, as has the church. The boys are excited, believing that every trip to America involves Disney World and their Uncle Mark spoiling them shamelessly…Aunt Tammie and all their uncles, aunts brothers and sister (she may be the worse) contribute gleefully to this process. We have a multitude of concerns for our families health issues and somehow know that seeing them will make things right…at least make us feel better. Please continue to pray for our family. |
Our team here in Southern Africa is awesome…most could be used as “recruiting poster” models for missionaries. Gifted, passionate, sold-out to the Savior! For you Southern Baptists that are reading this, be assured that your sacrificial giving through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and through the Cooperative Program is reaching the lost, shouldn’t say it this way, but it is a lot of bang for the buck. Good stewardship because of good leadership, our IMB Connecting and Southern Africa Peoples Affinity Group leaders, K2 and other Cluster leaders, logisticians, strategist, treasurers, hospitality (ask those teams from America that come and go through Jo’Burg about the great folks at the BIMS guesthouse) medical, media, IT, security…see, all of Gods folks using all of their gifts to reach a spiritually poor man, women or child living in a remote village or maybe in the middle of Johannesburg with the facts that will change their life. Your giving goes through a long process to get to that village…but, it gets to that village! Your prayers are a lot quicker. God hears your petitions and in His foresight and wisdom has all the pieces in place that will put your missionary – at the right time, in front of a stone, mud, straw, brick house sharing about Jesus. Maybe at a funeral, maybe on the side of the road, in a church, under a tree, leaning against the kraal (animal pen) They got there by 4X4, horseback, hiking, bicycling, small airplane (thanks MAF), small car, canoe, “taxi” (30+ people in a 15 passenger van), Some of your missionaries are in the roughest part of town in the roughest towns in the world, protected only in their assurance in God. Some live in apartments, some in farmhouses, some in stone or mud huts…there is the ever popular bathroom suite and the less popular bathroom walk. But that Sunday when you sit in the pew of your family church or on your knees at the family alter, praying for your missionaries…God heard your prayers and God doesn’t waste a thing. In 1845 the Southern Baptist Convention was organized for the purpose of efficiency in the conduct of missions…we can do more together than we can do on our own. Nothing in that equation has changed! The Great Commission has not changed! Oops, had to erase a line or two…getting a little preachy. What’s that old saying …”your meddling now preacher!” Anyway we are blessed. You are blessed! We counted mission teams visiting and working with us over the last six years (seems like only yesterday) and we have had teams from twelve different states, four different countries and many came multiple times…averaging about 9.3 teams a year…we worked with the worlds’ best…young, old and in between. Men, women, boys and girls…American, Irish, South African, Indian… a couple I’m not so certain where they came from. All of them loving Jesus, all of them wanting to share what He had done in their life, lives. Some of them discovered that it snows in Lesotho in April, some that mosquitoes don’t live in the high mountains, most that when you have a “Basotho Meal” you get ALL the sheep, some that running from hut to hut and slamming the Mosotho for a decision is a poor way to evangelize. Some came looking to be Peter at Pentecost, most willing to be used of God sacrificially…more Stephen than Peter. They got up early, packed a lunch, rode in a packed out truck or on a horse or in a plane and shared. Most of them couldn’t sleep on the plane over and couldn’t stay awake on the plane back. They came from small, medium and large churches. The winter missionaries (our winter, your summer) mostly from Baptist Collegiate Ministries with Texas A&M winning the “who sends the most race” and University of Georgia a close second, living an incarnate witness and sharing their lives…that is the common denominator - - -sharing! The only thing that separates us from the lost in the world, is that we now know Jesus; as the son of God, crucified, buried, resurrected for our sins, standing at the right hand of the Father…coming again. The only thing in this life that is worth having, is worth sharing! Thanks folks, for everything.
Stay tuned as we play “Where in the world are the Dial’s?” Thanks for loving us, and allowing us to love you.
In His Name, Alan, Babs, Mohau and Daniel Dial Lesotho and the Free State of the Republic of South Africa |
