Newsletter Home
October, 2003
Dear Saints:
Thank you so much for praying for us while we were in Malawi. The trip was successful. There is pastor named Howard who oversees about twenty other pastors in Malawi. He will be made into a Bishop next year and the fellowship of pastors from the U.S. (Greater Immanuel) has decided to pay for a church to be built in one of the villages where we ministered. The cost to buy the land and build a church is $250.00. Not bad to build a church in the place where they have been worshiping out in the open with only a few bamboo sticks strung together for shelter! So next year some of the pastors from Greater Immanuel plan on going back to ordain Pastor Howard as a Bishop over the Malawi churches and to dedicate the church that is being built. To God be the glory, here is a fellowship that before this trip had nothing to do with missions, now they are excited about returning to see the work grow in Africa!
It was a long flight to Malawi going through London then on to Nairobi Kenya, and then finally reaching Malawi. As you know when you travel and arrive at your destinations, the pilot of the plane will always tell you what the weather is outside and what the time it is at the place of your arrival. Everybody usually changes their watch to the appropriate time, everybody that is except me. While we were in Africa I never set my watch ahead the seven hours I was supposed to. You see when it is midnight here in St.Louis it is 7:00 in the morning in Malawi. Even though I changed my routine to Malawi time as I went to bed and got up according to their time, I never changed the time on my watch. I had to live in "Malawi time" because that is where I was. My body began to adjust to the new time schedule as I became used to the new time zone, but there was one part of my body that never quit functioning to St. Louis time. It was my heart. You see I never changed the time on my watch because I wanted to know what time it was back home. I wanted to know when you guys were up and going to work and when your service time was starting on Sunday morning and on Wednesday night. My heart was still at home with you. Not setting my watch to the new time of where I found myself living temporarily, reminded me that there is another watch that I have refused to change. That is my spiritual man’s "Timex". There is an awareness that we have as Christians that tells us that the time we have here is short and that Jesus soon will be returning to this earth to take us home to be with Him. Many things in this world would dull this sense of our heavenly home and as Peter says in II Peter 3:4 "Where is the promise of his coming?...." The world would try and force us to change our heart’s time to theirs, but we can not because our hearts are not here but they belong to God who’s home is in the heavens and it is there that He is preparing a home for us. So, while we may function according to the world’s time our hearts are still on heaven’s time. Every time I looked at my watch when I was in Malawi I knew what time it was back home and every time I look into His scriptures and pray I know what time it is at my real home in the heavens, and that clock says soon and very soon we are going to see the King!!
Don’t forget the Bible study this Friday at 7:00 at the church. We have something for everyone and the kids are more than welcome! It’s great to be home and I look forward to seeing God’s blessings abound toward you.
On Heaven’s Time,
Pastor Rick
