African Trip from August-September, 2008

We returned in mid-September from almost seven weeks in East and South Africa.  It was a profitable trip, though not without a glitch or two.  We have come to expect that with each trip on the continent!   Our time started in Kenya, where the Simonsen, Rains and Halstead families all serve.  The stay in Kenya included a side “survey” trip to Kigoma, Tanzania where we (Rick, Brent, and I) had the privilege of teaching for three days on Baptist Distinctives to a conference of about 100, including some 30 Pastors.  I was able to stand on the spot in Ujiji where Stanley uttered his famous line, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume.”  God is greatly using our three families in Kenya for His glory.  Martha and I then went to Johannesburg, South Africa.  Though we both fell ill, our time there was a great blessing to us.  The work of Calvary Baptist Church in Sunnyridge took a significant turn during recent months with an outreach into two massive refugee camps in their area (mostly Zimbabweans and Mozambiqueans).  The regular Sunday attendance has essentially doubled, and the Bible Institute is also swelling with refugee students who have made professions of faith and are growing much spiritually.  God is good!  The work at CBC is the primary ministry of the Kevin Brosnans, and Miss Saundra Smith (our hostess for the entire time in Jo’Burg).  The Brosnans are also working toward the establishment of a full-time Bible College.  The Stewart Overmillers have been overseeing the exciting work at Elandsfontein.  A garage belonging to a nursery school would seat probably 25 kids comfortably.  However, on a typical Sunday morning, it is “filled” with over 100 kids and 30+ adults meet in a small adjoining room!  They need another facility desperately.  This ministry is literally bursting at the seams.  Folks are being saved weekly and the congregation is growing spiritually as well.

 

The next leg of our journey was to be to Lubumbashi, DR Congo.  However, the airline had oversold the flight departing Nairobi by about 50 seats and we were not allowed to board the aircraft for the first of our planned four flights.  The bottom line was that we were forced to cancel our trip to Congo!  We have not visited the Curtis family since before they left Kinshasa in 2005 and we look forward to making that a part of our next trip.  We made the next flight down to Cape Town where the Eric Grahams serve along with Miss Amy Blackburn.  The work there in North Pine is small but growing.  What precious believers they are.  Martha stayed in Cape Town while I returned to Nairobi and Thika, Kenya to teach a grad course on Apologetics during the second week in September.  There were 16 Pastors who took the course, and it was a delight to both teach them and learn from them.  The training program in Nairobi continues to expand at all levels, including T.E.E. (Theological Education by Extension).

 

We have enjoyed giving update reports to a number of our 25 supporting churches this year.  It is always a delight to do this, and our sincere prayer is that God will raise up additional laborers for the fields of the world.  There is so much to do . . . and potentially so little time.  “Even so come, Lord Jesus!”  May we all ‘be about the Father’s business.’   We praise the Lord for each of you, and for your faithful intercession on our behalf!

 

Steve and Martha Anderson

 

East and South African Trip

The time since our arrival in Nairobi, Kenya on the 5th of August has been packed, including a week-long trip by Steve and two other missionary men to Kigoma, Tanzania. We are currently in Johannesburg, South Africa. Sadly, we have both been ill for several days but we are beginning to improve and plan to continue on to DR Congo this Friday evening. We GREATLY appreciate your prayers! Pray that we can be an encouragement and a blessing to both missionaries and national believers alike. Thank you so much for your faithful intercession!

Andersons' June, 2008 Prayer Letter

Andersons’ Friendly Reminders for Interceding Colaborers Abroad
June 2008

The term “colabor” does not appear in the Scriptures. The concept, however, certainly does. A number of texts speak of a working relationship between believers serving in different capacities, regions, or ministries. The word most often used to express this ministry cooperative is sunagonizomai, and it means, literally, to “strive (agonize) together with.” We cannot begin to express our most sincere thanks to you for “striving together with us” in this work. Many of you do so financially, and the Lord meets our needs through your faithfulness. All of you pray for us, and that is a priceless striving, which only eternity can repay. Thank you for “colaboring” with us!

It has been over 2½ months since missionary Don Winch suffered a perforation of his colon while serving in Douala, Cameroon. After his status was somewhat stabilized on the field, he and Karen flew back to the States for further evaluation and treatment. The shortened version of this story of God’s omnipotent care is that Don had, in fact, two resections performed on April 21, 2008. There were two needed because God had orchestrated Don’s small bowel to rotate around and “park alongside” the perforation in the large bowel and “attach itself,” preventing leakage, sepsis, and likely death, until the Winches were in the States. The damaged section of both needed to be removed. Praise the Lord for His goodness and grace! The Winches are both growing stronger each day and plan to return to Douala in early September. (Karen had some health challenges which were not as severe.) We also appreciate your prayers for the Hassmans, the Winch’s colleagues now working in Douala who, along with the national believers, are awaiting their return.

We had the special privilege of seeing our second daughter, Sarah, wed on Saturday, June 7 to Mr. Scott Hose. Scott is a deacon at our sending church, Faith Baptist Church of Davison, Michigan, and Sarah teaches second grade in the church’s Christian school. We rejoice in their desire to establish a Christ-honoring home for God’s glory. God wonderfully used many friends to help with the entire day, and the Lord Jesus Christ was greatly exalted. We will work at getting more of the photos on our blog page (see final paragraph). Thank you for your faithful prayers for missionary children! We want to encourage you to be in prayer, as well, for our son-in-law Glenn who is in charge of a busy airbase hospital in Louisiana. His load is extreme during these days, and we know he would greatly appreciate your prayers! We have had the opportunity to be in several of our supporting churches during this early summer, and that is always a delight for us. Our 25 churches are each very special to our hearts!

There are still “hot zones” in Africa. We appreciate your prayers for South Africa in particular. The missionaries tell us the military was deployed last month to quell the worst civil unrest since the fall of Apartheid. This violence was a reaction to the flood of refugees, mainly Zimbabweans, fleeing the starvation, hyper-inflation, and political oppression in Zimbabwe. If they return to Zimbabwe, they face possible detention and beatings. Many South Africans resent these “foreigners” who compete with them for jobs and resources (sound familiar?); however, South Africa has always been a multi-ethnic society and is thus known as the “rainbow nation.” Ironically, because of AIDS, South Africa actually has a negative population growth rate. The BWM missionaries there have passed out thousands of gospel tracts during this upheaval, and a number of people have made professions of faith in Christ. Fourteen walked to church on their own during a recent Sunday in addition to those picked up at the refugee camp. Pray for this unique opportunity to meet many needs, both physical and eternal.

We very much covet your prayers for us as we travel to the countries of DRCongo, South Africa, Tanzania, and Kenya during the months of August and September. Pray for fruit and encouragement. Steve will also be teaching a grad course on Apologetics in Kenya during this trip. Finally, we have a new blog page. Feel free to leave a comment, or read our updates at www.africaharvestfields.blogspot.com. We praise the Lord for YOU.

Steve and Martha Anderson

Biographical Information . . .

Steve and Martha Anderson - BWM

Steve Anderson was born and raised in the Flint, Michigan area. He married Martha Cook in 1972, and they now have three grown children: Rebecca [with husband Glenn Donnelly and two wonderful grandchildren], Sarah, and Ben. The Andersons spent three terms as missionaries in Togo, West Africa, from 1979 until 1991. In 1991 they took a leave of absence to get their children through college. During this hiatus in the states, Steve was 7 years on staff as the Music and Discipleship Pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Davison, Michigan. He and Martha both taught in Faith Baptist Schools during that period – he, part-time [Choirs, Bible, H.S. French] and her, full-time [1st grade]. Additionally, he served on the Board of Flint Crisis Pregnancy Services for 10 years. Steve and Martha joined Baptist World Mission of Decatur, Alabama in 1997 as Furlough-Replacement church planters*, serving anywhere in the Baptist World Mission family, which includes currently 53 countries. In April of 2002, Steve was appointed as BWM’s Field Director for Africa. They currently serve in both of these capacities. They have lived and ministered in, of course, Togo, as well as Quebec, New Zealand (three times), Italy and Kenya. Steve is currently pursuing a doctorate at Northland Baptist Bible College in Dunbar, Wisconsin and is an RN, graduating from Hurley Medical Center in 1974. Martha is a 1972 graduate of Eastern Michigan University.

Above is a simple biographical sketch. Below is the fleshed out “children” portion:

Our oldest, Becky, is 34 and is married to Glenn Donnelly. They both went through pre-med together at BJU, graduating in 1996. Glenn is a physician, currently paying the U.S. Air Force back for putting him through med school. They have lived in Dayton, OH, Abilene, TX, San Antonio, TX and last year (July, 2007) they moved to Shreveport, Louisiana for serving at Barksdale AFB. They have our two GRANDchildren, Kathryn (7) and Wyatt (1)! J
Our second daughter, Sarah (31), graduated from Maranatha BBC in 1999 and is in her 9th year of teaching 2nd Grade at Faith Baptist Schools in Davison. She lives in Grand Blanc, MI and will be married on June 7, 2008 to Mr. Scott Hose!
Our son, Ben (29), graduated from Northland BBC in 2000 and then with a Masters in 2003. He currently lives in Appleton, Wisconsin. He works with Spectracide as a marketer, covering over 20 Home Depot and Lowes stores between Iron Mountain, Michigan and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.