Do you want to know how God works? I am going to try to give you a glimpse at the way he weaves the stories of his people together.
Picture this:
- In the 1980s I went to college with a guy named Randy who would later go to the Seminary. At the Seminary he would meet a man named Mandla Khumalo; both would become pastors — one serving in Michigan, one serving in South Africa. Randy and his wife, Jen, would found a mission outreach to Muslims in the Detroit area and then begin a church near Ann Arbor. Mandla and his wife, Lindiwe, would plant a church and later a school in South Africa.
- Before Randy and Mandla even met, Mandla was invited,through connections that I’m quite sure I don’t fully understand, to a mission festival in Arlington Heights, IL where he met Pastor David Maier and his wife Pat. Pastor Maier encouraged Mandla to go to Concordia Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There, Mandla met Randy. In 1989, Manda founded St. Peter Confessional Church in Middleburg, South Africa. When St. Peter’s first church building was finished, he invited Pastor Maier to South Africa to dedicate it.
- In the 1980s I met my husband, John. We served in Lutheran schools and congregations before heading to Seminary in 2004. There, we became involved with a missional church — Crave Coffeehouse. While serving there, we met a young couple, Drew and Lindsey, who were also on a missional path.
- Drew and Lindsey met in Guatamala in 2006. Lindsey was doing long-term mission work there, as a nurse. Drew was there as a short-term missionary. They fell in love; they got married. They moved to St. Louis, MO where Drew went to the Seminary and Lindsey completed her studies and became a nurse practitioner. They also welcomed their first child, who John baptized. They worshipped and served with us at Crave until John was called to Concordia Ann Arbor.
- At Concordia Ann Arbor, John became friends with Dave Maier. They became partners in mission as their goals and paths often overlapped. One day, John invited Drew to come to Michigan to meet Dave. The three couldn’t believe how much they had in common — how much vision they shared.
- When I moved to Michigan, I was introduced to Pat Maier who quickly became a dear and close friend (remember this?). Pat and Dave often worshiped at Randy and Jen’s church; John and I worshiped there often, too! We three couples shared a Christmas Eve and a Maundy Thursday. In fact, we were joined by Drew and Lindsey for a Mother’s Day right before Drew and Lindsey moved to South Africa to serve with Pastor Khumalo.
- Are you getting all this?
- You see, right before that Mother’s Day, Dave and Pat, Randy, Drew, and a few others traveled to Middleburg, South Africa to explore possibilities for further collaboration between the Michigan District, St. Peter, and Concordia University. While there, Drew, who has a business background, saw both the need for his expertise and for Lindsey’s medical knowledge. Several conversations and some fundraising later, and they were packing their bags and moving.
- The following fall, Randy took a position at Concordia as the Director of Campus Ministries. Last summer, he took several students to South Africa so that they could complete internships at the school that Pastor Khumalo founded, as part of St. Peter’s now extensive ministries, in 2006.
- Drew and Lindsey have visited us two more times at Concordia to share with the students here, to foster partnerships, and to renew our friendship. Last March, Dave and Pat, Randy and Jen, Drew and Lindsey, and John and I all shared dinner again.
- And guys, guess what? Two weeks from today, John and I will be in Middleburg, South Africa to help Pastor Khumalo and Lindiwe and Drew and Lindsey celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of St. Peter! And, while we are there, we are expecting Lindsey to give birth to their second child, who John might have the opportunity to baptize!
- It is beyond my comprehension — all of it. I can’t keep the details of my own life straight, but God has orchestrated the lives of all of us — all of us — into a beautiful cohesive story that expresses his love for all people. Nothing we have done has made us worthy of this honor — in fact, many things I have done should exclude me from these privileges. Nevertheless, God is gracious to include us in His story. He makes His story our story.
I can’t wait to share with you the next few pages of this chapter.
Psalm 107:2
Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe
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