My Dear Friends and Family,

The last time many of you heard from me, I was preparing to move to the DC area for an internship with the Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN). Now here I am, eight months later, writing from a coffee shop in Arlington, VA. I do hope this letter finds you well. If you have time, give me a call or shoot me an email (603.520.0626 or jen@awayinafrica.org). I’d love to hear how you’re doing!

My internship with AFJN ended in May and I returned to NH for a short time to graduate with my degree in Family Studies. It feels good to have finally closed the academic chapter in my life — not to say I won’t be heading back to school at some point, but for now I’m content to enjoy life apart from academic pressures.

Since moving to DC, my desire to work directly with children in Africa is only stronger. These past few months have been a time of honing my focus, reevaluating, questioning and seeking God. I’ve been corresponding with a friend on the whole “missions thing”. I love this excerpt from one of his emails:
…God puts [these] things in our personalities and then waits for us to get it, or get so unsettled that we seek out that which will settle us… I don’t want to merely go to a people group with skin darker then mine (and therefore in “need” of my pity) and preach the gospel… I think Jesus meant us to go to a place and be/do/show/live the gospel of the cross, but also the empty tomb, equally…The Gospel is more then a sinner’s prayer … it’s justice, care, education, protection, etc. The cross is just the beginning; Jesus was all about life, and newness, and healing, and looking out for people who couldn’t look out for themselves… and believing/doing the impossible in spite of ourselves…

I love the last line in my friend’s email so much: “…believing/doing the impossible in spite of ourselves…” Honestly, I think that’s what a lot of this thing we call “missions” comes down to. This is where I find myself these days: unsettled, longing to be/do the impossible in spite of myself, and believing that, as Lilla Watson suggests, our liberation [as Western Christians] is bound up with our brothers and sisters in the developing world.

I have, for some time, felt a pull to return to Africa (some of you will remember my short term trip spent working with the Zulu people in South Africa in 2000). Honestly, I’m not sure if I’m cut out to live and work in Africa long term, but I feel compelled to go and see. I’ve decided to start with a six month commitment in Tanzania, January-June 2008. Tanzania is a country of 35 million people located in East Africa. I recently learned that in 2004, less than 15,000 young people graduated from high school in the entire country. With this dire need for education in mind, while in Tanzania I will be working with Village Schools International. This is an organization whose mission is to “send missionary teachers to small villages in Africa to get so involved in the lives of their students, that sharing the Gospel is the natural result of loving them.” I love this approach!

God is working in Africa. One of the vehicles he is using is Village Schools International. I desire to be a part of this work. If you, too, are interested in getting involved, here is a list of ways in which you may want to contribute. Please take a moment to look these over and consider if/how God may be calling you to act.

We are all called to serve Christ in different ways. Some of us are called to GO to another place (perhaps overseas) to live out the gospel there. Others are called to stay put and live out the gospel right where we are. I truly believe that God has given us different gifts, passions and abilities that he intends for us to use to further his kingdom during this short sojourn of our lives. I know many of you share this conviction. If you’re receiving this letter, it’s because you have touched my life in a special way. Thank you. It is such a joy to be on this journey with you!

With Gratitude,

 

Jennifer Way

P.S. I’ll be back in NH October 10 – November 7. I’d love to connect with you while I’m “home”! Shoot me an email if you’d like to get together (jen@awayinafrica.org) and we can set up a time.