Latest from David and Terri Wegener...

Vine and Branches
Volume 7, Issue 4
November 2007
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

SINCE WE LAST WROTE…

David (Theological College of Central Africa) …
· killed a black mamba, one of the world’s most dangerous snakes. See below.
· taught four Saturdays of Historical Theology at the Preacher’s College of the Reformed Baptists in Lusaka.
· negotiated difficult waters at TCCA as a severe conflict broke out between the staff of the college and the board that supports and oversees our ministry.
· was saddened to learn that one of TCCA’s missionary lecturers will have to leave Zambia due to health problems.

Terri (wife, mother, homemaker) …
· taught 1 & 2 Timothy to TCCA Wives and joined David’s Doctrine of the Church class.
· reveled in the wonders of Mac/Skype technology whereby we can call Lizzie in the States, from computer to computer, and see her on our screen.
· started a MEG for women: Missionary Encouragement Group. They meet each Friday morning. She’s picked up the Zambian affinity for acronyms.

Lizzie (Senior, Bloomington South High School) …
· planned a trip to visit her family in Zambia over the Christmas holidays.
· enjoyed buying Christmas presents for her family on the other side of the ocean.
· finished making a drawing of one of Monet’s paintings for her drawing class.

Mary (Sophomore, Simba International School) …
· made the school volleyball team after learning how to serve.
· began her Friday afternoon Bible studies with other teen-age girls. Terri leads the SPRITZ group.
· didn’t grow taller. Ha, Ha, sweetie. Love, Dad.

John (Grade 8, Simba International School) …
· welcomed the return of fruit bat migrations over our house on late fall evenings. They’re big, like a squirrel with wings.
· started to grow his hair a bit longer, using old pictures of his father in high school as ammo.
· dealt with a painful injury to his foot. It is healed now but he had to forego soccer for a few weeks.
· grew taller.

Sarah (Grade 6, Simba International School …
· was named one of the prefects at her school. That is a position of leadership wherein she oversees younger children and keeps them in line.
· shrieked when she discovered a gecko lizard riding around on the back of her shorts.
· enjoyed swimming during our 90-100 degree days this hot season.

Please PRAY for the Wegeners, serving in Zambia with Mission to the World:

That the current tensions at TCCA would be resolved in a way that will strengthen the school’s future ministry of training Christian leaders.

For persistence as we ask those responsible for damaging our home while we were in the States to be financially accountable. This is still unresolved and we are hurting financially.

For God to use this year’s graduates of TCCA to build His kingdom in Zambia.

Graduation and After …

TCCA was turned over to an African board of directors over two decades ago. Tomorrow morning (Saturday, 1 December) we will have our 24th graduation ceremony.

The ceremonies are always fun though a bit long. We use the local Anglican Cathedral about a mile from our campus. The ceremony is probably similar to a lot of graduation exercises you might find in the USA, except that the students, when they march down the aisle, don’t march; they dance, and not to music like Pomp and Circumstance.

A few years ago, I was sitting up on stage next to our graduation speaker for that year, Pastor Conrad Mbewe. As the students danced down the aisle, I leaned over and said to Conrad, “do you know why American students don’t come in like that? … Because they can’t.”

What will some of this year’s class be doing after they graduate?

Eddie will be moving to a large city in the eastern province of Zambia, near Malawi. It is almost a pioneer mission work he’ll be doing for his denomination since there are a lot of Muslims in the area and they make things difficult for church-planters like Eddie. My students also tell me that Satanism is very prevalent in the area as well. Eddie’s wife, Greeness, was a key leader for the wives on campus and we often referred to Eddie as the “village headman.” They will be greatly missed.

Grant is an Australian Anglican (Sydney diocese, for those who might be interested) and he will be returning to Australia to do a master’s degree in Biblical studies and raise prayer and financial support so that he can return to Zambia as a missionary and teach in a small Bible school in the northwestern province. Grant and Melanie came with two young boys and they leave with three. Wonder how their youngest, Timothy, will make it through the ceremony tomorrow?

Stella will be teaching evangelical Christianity in a public school about an hour from here near the border with Congo. Her husband, one of last year’s graduates, is a pastor in that border town.

I could go on, but this will have to suffice. It gives you an idea of where our graduates will be going and what kind of work they will be doing.

Do pray that God would use them to build His kingdom.

Snake Story:

While driving back from Lusaka several weeks ago, we were going through a section where there was knee-high grass on either side of the road. All of a sudden, I saw a large snake rearing its head up about a foot and a half off the ground. It was moving its head back and forth as if it was looking to cross the road.

As we passed by, I turned to Terri and said, “Did you see that snake? It looked like a black mamba. Should I go back and run over it?” So I turned the car around on the highway, drove back about one hundred meters, turned around again, made sure all the windows were rolled up and headed toward the snake.

As I ran over it, Terri screamed and the kids shouted when they saw it writhing around on the ground. I had to run over it two more times and then some passersby finished the job with a make-shift spear, a reminder that someday, “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).

CONTACT INFORMATION

David and Terri Wegener

Mission to the World
1600 N. Brown Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30043
(678) 823-0004
Please make checks payable to: Mission to the World. Our account # is 018178.