Friday, January 12, 2018

Ministry summation for 2017 & 2018 thus far . . .

Dear Colleagues,

Had a very interesting week. Here are some highlights. Bonnie (bless her heart) spent 7 hours at the visa office to "regularize" our 5-year multiple entry tourist visa, when she finished, on the way out, she peeked at the passports and lo and behold we have been given a multiple entry "business" visa. Go figure. So, suddenly we are in the education business. Nope, didn't have to submit any paperwork or documentation, other than what is included on a normal tourist application. As a matter of fact, less, since the clerk said, "Ah, don't bother filling out all that stuff, just give us pictures, address, passport, and we'll do the rest." Interesting. Very interesting. Either Jesus is working very hard behind the scenes or someone else is--perhaps both, who knows. Certainly not me. All of this comes as a real surprise to us. Looks like God is not finished with us, yet.

Now, on to another interesting development. Suddenly, our MACM program has taken off with new enthusiasm. Previously, all but about 2 had dropped out of the program. We contacted those dropouts and potentially new students, scheduled an orientation program for new and returning students, and 10 showed up. 6 of those will hopefully be finished by July 31, 2018. Primarily, the greatest obstacle is for 3 of them to complete their thesis projects on time. 2 of the others have already completed their thesis, but are awaiting the mentors to guide them through the Turabian thesis writing process. That should be a relatively easy process.

Now, on the undergraduate side. All of us were astounded at the number of new student. All we had promise of when we assessed our new block that was committed for the 2018 term was 4 new students. Today, the chapel was packed with from 35 - 40, new students with more (it looks like) on the way. Amazing to say the least.

Now, I am fully aware that critics will try and pick any improvement apart, and that there will be set backs, but this will only give us an opportunity to spend a little more time on our knees praying for the school and Sri Lanka in general. Personally, I believe that this is, together with our new AGWM team, a new day for Sri Lanka, and that we will someday step back and say, "This is the Lord's work, and we marvel in it (Psalm 118:23)."

Bonnie and I leave for the States via China on Friday. Veteran educators, Everett and Evelyn McKinney arrive on Tuesday night. Our future plans? Just let me say, my song and dance has always been, "One day at a time, sweet Jesus." I do feel, however, that with the McKinneys here basically through June, we have left our part of the graduate teaching load in good hands. I will, however, remain in title “Dean of the Graduate School" for stability in the program and ATA accreditation purposes. I will be using Skype to continue to mentor some of the graduate students, and to converse weekly with the Graduate School's Program coordinator, Pastor  Shehan Pereira. 

We have completed the request for bids and electricity bills for a solar panel project, costing about $43,000 (forty-three-thousand dollars). We do need, however, to come up with some form of matching fund for project, as the funding source (a parachurch organization that remains anonymous, at least to me) requires it.  So, pray with us regarding this.

Thanks for taking time to read this.

Blessings in God’s Amazing Grace,

JimR/-

P.S. By the way, we leave for the States on Friday, 19, 2018, next week, via China, Minnesota, then Texas. Keep us in you prayers for traveling mercies.  JimR/-

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