Acts
2:17
King James Version (KJV)
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour
out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream
dreams
This weekend the Fellowship of Adventist Missionaries to
Africa (FAMA) held its biennial meeting in Cicero, Indiana. I had been planning
to be there for two years now, but my cancer treatments nixed that possibility.
I have been leading FAMA for most of the last 4 years but left it in the very
capable hands of Charles Schlunt. Imagine my delight when Dr. Russell Staples
phoned me Sabbath afternoon and gave me a firsthand report of the meetings.
In 1954 my father, C. Fred Clarke, was called to Solusi
Mission, then a 10 grade high school to convert it into a 4 year college for
the training of Africans to prepare them to be leaders in the Adventist Church.
He overcame almost insurmountable obstacles, and in due course they graduated
their first four students. When I was in Tanzania, I had the privilege of
working very closely with Thomas Lisso, one of those first four graduates.
Dr. Staples, Professor of World Mission, Emeritus, at
Andrews University is a pioneer Adventist missionary both from Africa and to
Africa. He started teaching at Solusi with Dad. Then he became the second
president of the university and set it on its very successful course. It is one
of the major universities in the country of Zimbabwe and was the only
university to remain open during the worst of that country’s tragic financial
collapse. Solusi has had as many as 5,000 students from many parts of Africa. It
is practically at the center of the Southern Africa—Indian Ocean Division of
Seventh-day Adventists, apparently the largest division of the Adventist
Church.
Dr. Staples reported that of the close to 22 million Adventists
in the world, 11 million live in Africa, and of those 3.5 million are in the
SAIO Division. This success can be traced back to the far sighted leaders who
yielded to the leading of the Spirit to prepare for this vast need and
tremendous growth.
Last summer Sylvia and I stopped by the Staples home where
we were hosted for several days. I encouraged Dr. Staples to give a
presentation at the FAMA meetings. At the time he turned me down, but I was
delighted when Charles visited him, and he agreed to do it. He gave an overview
of the history of missions in Africa, and his presentation was well received.
If you would like to be placed on the mailing list for the FAMA Newsletter, please contact me by
responding to me on this blog.
Lord, thank You for
the Outpouring of Your Holy Spirit and for those willing to follow Your leading.
