Chet and Dolores Return to Kenya in 2009

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,
December, 2008

ON OUR WAY TO NEGST NEW YEAR’S EVE

We are packing! We have been away from NEGST for over a year and a half and are a bit anxious about returning to a number of unknowns. We no longer have a house, furniture or car of our own. But more important than physical changes are the social changes at NEGST. Old friends have retired and left. Several new faculty members have come. There will be an almost completely new set of students except for the PhD students. We leave on New Year’s Eve and arrive in Nairobi late on New Year’s Day. Pray for grace to again make this long journey with a number of heavy bags full of books on the Gospel of Matthew.

OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY AND MATTHEW 14-28

Chester will have two sets of students for the second term which runs from January till the end of March. There will be a new cohort of students who begin with OT Survey. We are not sure just how many students there will be in this special cohort. OT Survey will be their first course. For more advanced students Chester will be doing an intensive study of Matthew 14-28 with 6-9 students, which is an ideal number for a seminar approach. The students will learn to dig into the Word of God and share their findings in class. If you have read Matthew 14-28 recently you will recall that it has some interpretive challenges such as
· Jesus’ “reluctant” healing of the daughter of the Canaanite woman,
· the keys of the kingdom being given to Peter the “rock” so he can “bind and loose”,
· the transfiguration,
· the long discussion about greatness and care for “little ones”,
· the matter of divorce with the difficult phrase “except for marital unfaithfulness”,
· the statement to the rich young ruler to “sell your possessions and give to the poor” and
· Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and his temple “activity” which led to his death and resurrection and the “Great Commission”.
Pray for all of us as we seek to hear God speak to us from Matthew’s story of Jesus.

LEAVING FAMILY BEHIND

Leaving family behind has always been painful, but this time is even more difficult. Chester’s Mom, who will be ninety-two on December 20th, continues to suffer with dementia. She has been at The Forum for more than four years. Everyday, usually at lunch time, Chester’s Dad who is 95 and in good health, visits Mom to feed and care for her. We are scheduled to arrive home July 21st, 2009. Pray that Chester’s Dad will continue to have good health and be able to care for himself and Mom. We are thankful that two of our four daughters, Ruth Abbey and Elisabeth and their families, live in Indianapolis and see Dad on a weekly basis.


CHALLENGING DAYS FOR NEGST

NEGST celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary this school year, i.e. 2008-2009. NEGST began with four students in 1983-84. Now with more than three hundred students and at times almost four hundred, NEGST faces a range of challenges. Over the years the most pressing challenge has been recruiting and retaining high quality faculty and especially administrators.
1. As we write this the Dean of the Faculty, an African, who has been at NEGST for only a few years, has decided to leave for a position elsewhere. Good Deans, and the one leaving was a good Dean, are hard to find! Much of the burden of recruiting a new Dean this time will fall upon Douglas Carew, the Vice-chancellor (what we would call the President).
2. We always pray that the LORD would send us high quality students who will spend their lives in ministry in Africa, especially in the difficult places among unreached peoples. A significant number of students have gone into ministry among Muslims and that number is increasing. Many NEGST grads are also involved in Bible translation among tribal groups.
3. Recruiting, training and retaining African faculty has been the special burden of Light of the World Ministries. We rejoice that a year from now the first cohort of PhD students should be very close to the finish line. Hopefully NEGST will be able to take four or five as faculty members.
4. Pioneer institutions like NEGST are always struggling to make ends meet. The last three years, which have been times of expansion of both the student body and faculty, have been difficult financially. Pray for wisdom for those in leadership.

CHALLENGING DAYS FOR LIGHT OF THE WORLD MINISTRIES

Light of the World Ministries, by the grace of God, continues to operate. At the close of the first fiscal year in 1986 we did finished with a bank balance of $10! God is faithful. Over the past two years we have been running a monthly deficit of $1,000 in our general fund. This fund is kept separate from grants and projects. Due to the monthly deficit and a number of major expenses such as airline tickets for travel to Kenya, and housing and transportation in Nairobi, we find ourselves about $20,000 behind. Thanks for your faithful prayers and concern! That is a great blessing and encouragement to us.

With deep gratitude we are your fellow servants in Christ,



Chester & Dolores

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“Light of the World Ministries.”
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Light of the World Ministries
825 S. Meridian,
Indianapolis, IN 46225.

LIGHT OF THE WORLD MINISTRIES, INC