Mid-month news – April 2024

mid-month news April 2024

                                                                                      From Jim Harries, jimoharries@gmail.com

Dear Friends,

Just eight days to go to our next webinar, 18^th April 2024, by Tamie Davies, (for details; https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/avm-webinar-with-tamie-davis-tickets-749048904437?aff=ebdsoporgprofile )

Indigenous Churches

Much of my work in Kenya, consists of reaching out to indigenous churches. Here is a one-minute video I took of one of those churches a few days ago: https://youtu.be/rvmD0TUnGwY

New Bicycle

This is my new bicycle, that I have had for a few months now, which has made travel a lot easier, by having 6 gears. (Up to now all my bicycles have been of one gear only.) (It is much heavier than a mountain bike, so as to be robust for African conditions.)

So Very Grateful

I want to express my deep heartfelt appreciation to readers of this news, and to my supporters in general. I often ‘stop and think’ about the Lord’s leading on my life – and frankly I am amazed. I often feel incredibly privileged to be where I am, and to be able to do what I am doing. When I set out to be a ‘long-term-missionary’ in 1987, I could not have known that things could have gone as well as they have. I just wanted to give it my best shot. … I feel especially honoured, at having time to address many of the problems being faced by missionaries in Africa. Problems of missionaries in Africa of yesterday, turn out to be problems being faced by the West, by Europe and America, today. This makes my writing and research incredibly relevant for today’s world. It is a great privilege to have the time to do such writing and research. All of this is only possible because of your support.

A Day in the Life of … (Monday 1^st April 2024)

Today has been an office day. I cycled in this morning, about 50 minutes from home, with a lot of ‘up-hill’, to reach the office at about 7.20am. I went to work on an article on anthropology. I wanted to get it ready for submission for publication. It shows ways in which contemporary anthropologists realise, i.e., ‘confess’, some of the shortfalls of their discipline. (Anthropologists have taken over many roles from missionaries, but of course they fulfil them without sharing the Gospel.)

A sick child (15 years) from my home was brought to the hospital at 10.30am. I was responsible to make sure the doctor saw her, diagnosed, prescribed medicine, etc. She appeared to have a virus problem, making her weak. I took her and her sister to the road to board a bus to go back home, at about 12.30 midday.

It being a holiday, I cycled 2 miles up the road to get lunch – paying 50p for a decent meal. This afternoon I prepared another article for its initial submission. This article critiques ways in which Universities in Europe set up collaboration with Universities in Africa. The problem – because the whole system is oriented to poor people in Africa doing it ‘properly’ like rich people in Europe, using a European language, there can be near to zero opportunity to actually learn from African context. I wrote, that some cooperation should happen in African languages without European subsidy. That happens about zero right now!

At 7:00pm, I share a message on the resurrection by visiting ten wards in the hospital. It’s a ‘very powerful’ message, when one finds someone dying in the hospital. In another sense, not powerful – it makes one feel weak – there’s such a stretch of faith – God’s Word is amazing. We have five trainee sisters here, plus two sisters who train them. I lead a Bible study for them, usually 2x per week. The girls, being just 15, don’t have much concentration power. That was rectified today, by kicking-off with a drama that lasted a ½ hour. By the time all that was done, it was nearly 10pm.

Prayer

Please pray for my preparation for a seminar at which I and a Tanzanian colleague are to teach in the West of Tanzania, 1^st to 6^th May 2024. This is to be at a large Coptic Church.

A prayer group meets to pray for Jim monthly in Andover, UK. Please let me know if you would like to join them. jimoharries@gmail.com

For those interested, here is an article I recently had published, that looks at the role of anthropology in Christian mission work in Africa: https://www.academia.edu/attachments/112934415/download_file?s=portfolio

Here are some thoughts on sustainability in mission, from Jean Johnson of fivestonesglobal.org: https://missionexus.org/from-unhealthy-dependency-to-local-sustainability/

Yours,

Jim