The last week

This past Sunday I was the preacher at St. Stepehens, Luanda. There are five congregations in this parish and they all gathered to hear me preach. Since it was July 3 I preached about freedom, especially about Jesus's freedom from the expectations of all the religious leaders of his day. As I had also preached about sin and freedom from it as part of God's gift in Jesus about 70 people came up for me to pray over as they offered their sins up to God. It was a very moving part of the service.

We fixed hamburgers and hotdogs for the seminary students and the gahtered Amercians, about a dozen. Most food here is boiled, very little is roasted or fried, so the students enjoyed the American food, as did we.

I taught a four day class on Richard Hooker in the mornings and in the afternoons worked on tying down details on the development projects and on starting a little enterprise selling snacks to the UNiversity students right next door. We will likely have to go to Nairobi to find gas run ranges and ovens and deep fryers, but since I will be there next week, it is on my list.

Tomorrow is a funeral for one of the Rural Deans who has been most supportive of the Mother's Union projects. It will be an all day affair. Sunday I preach again and Monday will go up to spend the evening with Bishop Oketch before addressing all the clergy on Tuesday. So they are keeping me busy up until the last moment here.

The village across the road from us has had five deaths in the three and a half weeks I have been here. Every Saturday has been a funeral day, as it it all over the region. It becomes part of life. In the US Saturdays are chores and sports. here it is for funerals.

The Mother's Union ladies send their greetings. They have cut out material for 200 mice. I don't know if I am to reveal what sort of mice they will be, but they will be COOL. I told them to make more.

Sooooooo till I get on from Nairobi next week, keep all of us in your prayers.