Dr. Chet's Wood's April Prayer Letter

NAIROBI EVANGELICAL GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY

"A School in the Heart of Africa with Africa on Its Heart"

9441 Haddington Drive West, Indianapolis, IN 46256
Tel.: 317-595-9850 Email: Chester.wood@att.net, Dolores.wood@att.net

Dear Friend, April 6, 2008

LESSONS TO LEARN FROM THE KENYA CRISIS

It would appear that Kenya is back to “normal”. At least there is a measure of tranquility just now. But most of the underlying problems that gave rise to the recent crisis have yet to be addressed in any significant way. One deep underlying issue is injustice that goes back at least to the time of the colonial powers and perhaps further back. The apparent injustice in land distribution after the departure of the British is certainly part of the issue. Apparently the better lands were given to the more powerful tribe(s). And there are problems with the current constitution.

INJUSTICE AND ETHNICITY

If injustice is one of the fundamental underlying causes and if this injustice is along tribal lines, then NEGST needs to continue to take seriously both justice and ethnicity. Perhaps you will recall that the first fifteen months of the joint PhD in Bible and Bible Translation focused upon the topic of ethnicity starting with Genesis and going all the way to Revelation. This is a biblical theology approach to the topic. The PhD students have been called upon to speak publicly on radio, TV and in churches, universities and seminaries on this topic. What makes this all the more powerful is that the PhD students from Kenya represent some of the conflicting tribes. We thank God that He guided the PhD team several years ago to the topic of ethnicity. You may also know that each year from January to July Chester teaches OT and NT Theology at NEGST using justice as the integrating theme for the course.

One of the lessons to be learned from all of this is that we need to keep training more and more pastors like Pastor Oscar Muriu of Nairobi Chapel who will stay in Kenya for their graduate education, will take courses that speak directly to their local situation and consequently will be in a position to have a significant impact on the church and society in Africa. There are scores of NEGST grads in Kenya who have been and are seeking justice, reconciliation and peace in the months since the presidential election last December and are proclaiming the love of God and forgiveness through Jesus.

CONTINUING AND EXPANDING THE PHD PROGRAMS

The first cohort of twelve PhD students are now well into the dissertation writing phase of their work. The goal is for them to finish by the end of 2009, although the recent troubles in Kenya were a major interruption to their work. Pray for health, stamina, courage and wisdom as they write. This summer many of them will be traveling abroad as part of the program’s requirement
· to access a world-class library,
· to meet, if possible, with their international mentor, e.g. I. Howard Marshall, Karen Jobs, and
· to attend a major professional meeting in their area of focus.

The goal of LOWM has always been to assist in recruiting, training and sustaining African faculty members at NEGST. Currently we have been working in four areas to achieve that single goal. First, we want to help the first cohort of PhD students finish well. Several of these will become faculty members at NEGST. Most of the PhD students doing Bible will be going to Tyndale House Library at Cambridge, England which is one of the finest biblical research libraries in the world. Several years ago we (Dolores and Chester) spent twenty-two very productive weeks there. Although a great deal has already been invested in the PhD program, Light of the World Ministries (LOWM) is seeking to assist NEGST’s PhD students with a gift of $24,000 to help with trip expenses. NEGST needs these funds by June.

Second, LOWM plans to encourage the formation and launching of a second cohort in Bible and Bible Translation, a first cohort in Missions and perhaps a first cohort in Theology. All of these have faculty for NEGST in view. This requires seed money. We have set a goal of $6,000 to help start new doctoral cohorts. Third, we are continuing to sponsor the housing rent of one of the PhD students in this first cohort ($4,000). Fourth, from the beginning LOWM has assisted NEGST’s graduates, such as Douglas Carew, to be part of a post-MA/MDiv program known as the MTh which is a one year program that prepares students to do the PhD. We would like to invest another $4,000 in this area.

In addition to this goal of faculty development, we also undertake to give NEGST $3,000 each year for benevolence to help students who have had a death in their family or an illness that is not covered by the required health insurance program. Finally, we would like to make a special gift to NEGST as soon as possible to help them with preparations for celebrating NEGST’s 25th anniversary, which begins this September (1983-2008). In sum, we are asking the Lord to help us raise at least $46,000 in the next few months. We invite you to invest in African Christianity led by leaders trained at NEGST who are able to speak about and act according to God’s Word in matters such as ethnicity and justice. Please indicate that your gift is for “grants” rather than “general support”.

TAKING A BREAK

Four years ago we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary, but we were just too busy to take more than a day or two off at a time because for the last ten years we have focused all of our energy on launching the PhD. Now that it is in orbit, we have handed over that responsibility to younger men and women. Now we can take time to celebrate by going on an extended holiday in Italy and explore some of Dolores’ roots (near Naples and Palermo) along with seeing the ancient Roman and Greek ruins, places St. Paul visited, the beautiful countryside and the coasts. An anonymous friend has made this trip possible for us for which we are most thankful. We are both rather tired. Pray that we might returned from Italy refreshed and ready for another period of writing and then back to NEGST at the end of 2008 for two terms of teaching. We leave for Italy Wednesday April 9th.

We also invited you to consider visiting NEGST during this special 25th anniversary year. There will be at least two special trips to NEGST, one in late January 2009 and one at graduation time, i.e. July 4th 2009.

With deep gratitude we are your fellow servants in Christ,

Chester & Dolores

Gifts toward this ministry are tax-deductible. Please make your check payable to “Light of the World Ministries.” Mail to Light of the World Ministries, 825 S. Meridian, Indianapolis, IN 46225.

LIGHT OF THE WORLD MINISTRIES, INC.