I especially spent a lot of time on the African Continent this past year because of all God is doing there.  The Twenty-First Century is already being called the “Century of the African Church” because of the incredible growth of the church there – as well as the counter-challenges of radical Islam.

And as many of you know, I also spent 5 days in the hospital in September from Falciparum malaria – which is the number one killer of people in the world today especially children.  I apparently contracted it in Sudan – where I will be traveling again in mid-January.  Even though I have had malaria several times before, this was by far the most serious case – which almost took me home to heaven!  But because of the prayers and intercessions of friends and partners in America and around the world, God was pleased to raise me up to continue to “fight the good fight of the faith” (I Tim. 1:18; 6:12).  And He did the same for my friend, Kelly Cantrell, who had a far more serious case than I had – and spent 15 days in ICU.  Both of us are now back to our full schedules – well almost, as a result of your prayers and God’s sovereign grace!

During my recovery from malaria, Stuart Briscoe wrote me an email of encouragement which said: “J.L., think of it as being laid aside for stillness rather than laid aside by illness!”  Only Stuart could express it that way!  So Patt and I thank all of you for your prayers for both of us this past year.  Because of God’s incredible grace and goodness, we have now experienced our 65th and 66th birthdays respectively – as well as our 43rd wedding anniversary!  God is good – and marriage is too!

This has also been a strategic year of ministry transition for me as I have moved from being “Founder and CEO” of NDI to being “CMO,” or Chief Ministry Officer.  My son, Joseph, is now the CEO and has capably been at the helm of NDI since last January 1st – leaving me freer than ever to travel and minister as God leads.  And I have been ANYTHING but retired – which my travel, preaching, teaching, writing and mentoring schedule shows!  That word is not in my vocabulary!  I intend to keep traveling and preaching as long as God gives me health and strength.  I feel as intently as ever the words of the Apostle Paul: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (I Cor. 9:16).

At the beginning of this New Year I want to remind you that 2008 is another historic year for us because it is our “40th Anniversary” as a ministry.  We are awed and humbled over God’s graciousness to us for these 4 decades.  As I have pondered these many years of ministry, God’s words to the Children of Israel that I shared above echoed over and over in my mind.  I have chosen them as my theme verse for this anniversary year.  While it is only one verse, it is pregnant with implications for the Children of Israel – and for us at NDI.  Let me unpackage that verse with you word by word and phrase by phrase…

1. The Person of God: Moses begins by reminding them of the Person and nature of the God who was leading them.  He uses the word Eloheem, which is the first word of God in the Bible (Gen. 1:1).  It means the Supreme God…the Creator God…the Covenant making God – the only true and living God.  So the most crucial question for all of us is: “Which God or gods are we believing in and following?”  Are we being deceived by the “god of this world” who has “blinded the minds of the unbelieving” (II Cor. 4:4).  Or are we following the One true and living God?
2. The Providence of God: Next Moses reminds them that they have believed and followed a benevolent God who “has blessed you…” The very first book of the Bible reminds us that God is a God who delights in blessing His people.  Immediately after creating Adam and Eve, “God blessed them” (Gen. 1:28).  This is the same God who said to Abraham: “I will bless you…and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:2-3).  Through your partnership with NDI this same God is continuing to bless needy “families of the earth.”  What an exciting confidence for ’08!
3. The Purpose of God: But Moses goes on to remind them that God “blessed you in all the work…”  Since God is a God who works (Gen. 2:2), we are to be like Him in constantly doing “good works” just like Jesus did (Acts 10:38).  So while we can never be saved by our good works, we are saved for good works that God created for us to fulfill (Eph. 2:10).  I trust that ’08 will be another fruitful year for you in fulfilling the good works that God foreordained just for you!
4. The Partners of God:  Moses then reminds them of their partnership with God and with each other.  He says that God has “…blessed you in all the work of your hands.”  The word ‘hands’ here is plural and not singular.  Just like we have two hands to work with, God calls us to put our hands into the hands of other like-minded people to accomplish His good works.  And all that NDI has been privileged to accomplish over 4 decades has not been the exclusive work of my hands but our hands – yours and ours together.
5. The Protection of God:  And as they carried out the multifaceted works that God raised them up for, Moses reminds them that God has protected them.  They have not had to ‘go it alone.’  God has “watched over” them.  In like manner, God always watches over those who are His (Ps. 1:6; 33:14; 121:3-5; 145:20).  What security it gives each of us as we enter ’08 to know that nothing ever touches us that does not touch Him first because He “holds us in His hands” (Jn. 10:28) we are “hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3:1-3).
6. The Plan of God:  But note that Moses reminds them that God had “…watched over your journey…”  This reminds us that the Christian life is not a destination but a journey.  That’s why we can never totally “arrive” spiritually in this life!  God always has much more for us if we will just keep “pressing on the upward way,” as the songwriter said.  The plan of God for all of us is that we stay on a journey for His Kingdom and glory.  And the greatest journey of all is the Great Commission that takes us from “Jerusalem to Judea, to Samaria to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).  The only question for each of us is this: “Am I actively involved in that journey?”  Just like the Apostle Paul had faithful and generous Christians who “helped him on his journey” (Rom. 15:24), you have done the same for me.
7. The Place of God:  Contrary to the false doctrine of the Prosperity Preachers, God’s journey does not always take us to the lush green valleys of delight.  No.  The Children of Israel’s journey took them through a vast and dangerous wilderness.  And as you study the Bible you will see that God led almost all of His people into a wilderness experience – Moses, Joseph, Elijah, Paul, Jesus.  So don’t try and avoid the wildernesses of life.  That’s God’s Bible School and Seminary to teach us – just as it taught them (Deut. 4:5-15; 8:1-2).  Certainly the Lord has led me and NDI into some of the most difficult wildernesses of life – slums, ghettoes, refugee camps, to minister His love and compassion.  So don’t avoid the wildernesses because that is where God is at work!
8. The Period of God:  Moses reminds them that God has led them “…these forty years.”  In the Bible that was generally considered the time of a generation of people.  After that there would be a transition from one generation to the next.  Tragically one whole generation fell in the wilderness because of their unbelief and carnality (Num. 14:29).  The majority of the Jews of Jesus day, just like the ones Moses led out of Egypt, were an “unbelieving generation” (Mark 9:19).  As a result, they never entered into the rest God has for His people – even in the wilderness (Heb. 4:3).  My highest desire is to faithfully serve him all the days of my generation here on earth – and then finish strong for His Kingdom and glory.
9. The Presence of God: Moses reminds them that they have never been alone because “…the Lord your God has been with you…”  Here is where you and I have an advantage over them – and over the disciples when Jesus was with them.  He said that when He would go back to heaven after His death, resurrection and ascension, He would send His Holy Spirit who would not just be “with them” but rather “in them” (Jn. 14:17).  I can certainly testify that the Lord has not only been “with me” these past 40 years of ministry – He has been “in me” through His Holy Spirit empowering me for service.  That is my sole confidence for ’08 – knowing that He will never “leave me or forsake me” – even to the “end of the age” (Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5).
10. The Provision of God: Lastly, Moses reminds them that because of God’s gracious presence “…you have lacked nothing.”  We can certainly say the same thing at NDI.  That’s why I love the promise of Psalm 34:9-10: “fear the lord you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing…those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”  So while God does not always meet our greeds, He does always meet our needs “according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:3; Phil. 19).

So beloved, we look forward to our continued “partnership in the Gospel” in ’08 (Phil. 1:3-5).  We believe this “40th Anniversary Year”  will be our greatest year of ministry for His Kingdom and glory yet!  And we thank God for the part you will play in everything we do!

In His Faithful Love,

As a result of this African spiritual vitality, many Christians in old line Church traditions in America are withdrawing from their declining denominations because of the “leaven of liberalism.”  And they are doing something unthinkable a few years ago.  They are putting themselves under African Bishops and joining African Episcopal confessions.  This is an unprecedented spiritual and ecclesiastical phenomena in Christian history!

Also, Christmas is inseparably connected to Africa.  It was the “flight to Egypt” that saved the Christ Child from the murderous intent of King Herod.  And all of this was in fulfillment of the ancient prophecy about the Messiah that Matthew related to this event when he quoted the prophet Hosea: “Out of Egypt I have called My Son” (Hosea 11:1; Matt. 2:15).  So if it were not for Africa, we would not be celebrating Christmas!  We Christians then, owe an eternal debt to the African Continent for sheltering Joseph, Mary and Jesus when they were political refugees from their homeland.

So Africa and Christmas have a lot in common—especially spiritual growth.  You see, the Christmas Story does not end when the shepherds and Magi return home and Mary and Joseph relocate from Egypt to Nazareth.  It transitions into the childhood and adulthood of Jesus with this telling verse that is pregnant with implications for each of us: “And Jesus GREW in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52).

Certainly there is a great mystery here!  How can the incarnate God who is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent grow?!  It is a mystery too deep and profound for us to fathom.  But we know that since God took upon Himself the limitations of our humanity during the years of His incarnation, He grew.  And His growth was to be a pattern for our growth.  He grew in “wisdom”—which means mental growth.  He grew in “stature”—which means physical growth.  He grew “in favor with God”—which is spiritual growth.  And He grew “in favor with man”—which means social growth. 

As history and personal experience clearly reveal, Jesus Christ is the only human who has ever lived who perfectly modeled this kind of holistic growth.  All of the rest of us fall far short of this growth pattern because of our sinful and selfish nature.  But it is still the kind of balanced growth that we should all strive for.  And Christmas opens to each of us the possibility and potential of that kind of holistic growth from infancy to maturity.  The Apostle Paul called this “mature manhood,” or “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).  That’s my constant prayer for myself—and the Christmas present I want to give to God, to Patt, to my children, grandchildren, NDI staff, national partners, friends and supporters!

This African trip that I just returned from this past week stretched me more in that Christ-like direction.  I believe it also did the same for the men who were with me.  So I hope you will be blessed and encouraged by the following pictures.  Each one represent some area of Kingdom Growth that your prayers and support have helped make possible over the past year.  So God bless you for growing in Christ with us through local and global missions for His Kingdom and glory in 2007!

Growing in Christmas Love,

PS:  As this year ends we will enter our “40th Anniversary” as a ministry.  We are awed and humbled by God’s graciousness to us across these past 4 decades!  And each year He has been pleased to grow us as a ministry and increase our influence in many countries.  We believe that this next year will be our greatest year of growth for the Kingdom ever!  And you can help that ministry and mission growth through a special “Christmas Gift” as well as a generous year-end gift.  So may God bless you as you continue to grow with us in depth and breadth in this next year.

My associate Daniel Newby, with some Samburu tribal school children we have a growing ministry with in northern Kenya

Wells Thompson, professional Soccer player from the New England Revolution, enjoys time with some Samburu children at our Sports Center which has a growing ministry with children, teenagers and young adults.

Here Wells teaches Samburu children soccer skills—and soccer is a national passion in Kenya.

NDI alumni, Steve Allen, plays with a cripple child.  As a Physical Therapist, Steve knew just how to help this child who has only been able to crawl his entire life.

Daniel meets some Samburu Morans or warriors, who regularly enjoy the Sports Camp which has a growing ministry to this formerlly unreached group of young men.

NDI partner, Andrea, preaches and teaches to remote tribal people using Bible Story telling.  He is also the cook for the Sports Camp.

Our growing drip irrigation garden at the Sports Camp where we are introducing pastoral people to farming for a better diet

Here one of our two gardeners plants new seedlings in the garden.  He was trained at the Genesis Farm in Ethiopia that NDI has been involved in for several decades.

We thank God for Stakwell Yurenimo who heads the Samburu Sports Camp and has an ever-growing ministry in northern Kenya

We praise God for this Samburu Church which was the first NDI project in this area among these pastoralists dating back to the early 1990’s.

Our team visiting a remote Samburu village with Stakwell—African safari style on the top of the Land Rover

Our team with Stakwell and Francesca Yurenimo before our departure from South Horr and the Samburu people for Korr and the Rendille Tribe

Preparing to fly from Samburu country to Rendille country to meet with our partners in Korr

Dr. Bill Kern from Columbus, Ohio, and Steve Allen visit with Grant Swanepoel at the Korr Church built by NDI partners.  We are now seeking funding the roof of this latest addition to the church.

It is always a joy to meet with this Rendille sister who was one of the first converts to Christ among the Rendille tribe in this area.  She literally radiates the love and joy of Christ!

We are thankful for the growth of this Bible School and feeding program in the slums of Kenya.

Our team visiting one of the several NDI sponsored feeding programs for slum children in Nairobi.

Wells enjoys some sports moments with the young men from Victory Tabernacle in Mutare, Zimbabwe, founded by NDI partner Bishop Trevor Manhanga.

Wells divided his time between sports seminars and sharing his faith in Christ with the youth of Victory Tabernacle.

It is always a joy to preach at the Victory Tabernacle in Mutare, Zimbabwe, that NDI helped fund

Bishop Trevor Manhanga is one of the great servant-leaders in Africa today and a treasured partner of NDI since 1983

After I preached on Joseph from the Christmas Story, Bishop Trevor calls men for commitment.  What a joy to see men give their lives to Christ and deepen their commitment to Him

NDI is so privileged to be in partnership with Victory Tabernacle, one of the great churches of Zimbabwe and Africa.

We thank God for the growth of this Bible College in Hwange, Zimbabwe that we have just added two new classrooms to.

Our team tours the new buildings with Pastor Simon Mkolo who has been an NDI partner for over 3 decades

Taking a “walk on the wild side” with lions—which is a real adrenalin rush!

Wells enjoys a personal moment with a young male lion

I never had a course in “lion taming” in seminary—so I love this on-the-job-training!