The Hand of God

 

 

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Romans 15:13 Contemporary English Version

¹³ I pray that God, who gives hope, will bless you with complete happiness and peace because of your faith. And may the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope.

 

A couple weeks ago I was visiting Solusi University in Zimbabwe. Dad had gone there in 1954 to turn this mission station into a university to train local leaders to take over the work. Adventists in the country now number over a million members—a witness to the success of this endeavor. As I stood in the church Dad built, the Dean of Students, Dr Ndlovu, asked me preach for the Sabbath service there in two days.

I should have said no right then. As a professional mathematician, I can’t make a sermon with an otherwise full schedule in the next 36 hours. But I let him twist my arm. I decided to simply tell the story of Solusi as I remember it. So, between all my other engagements, I stole a few minutes here and there to jot down the history on my phone. I was twelve when we went to Solusi. So I remember much of that famous African Adventist mission from that time forward. I concluded my talk with the great hope of Christians everywhere: Jesus died to forgive us our sins and cleanse us form all unrighteousness. I felt inadequate, to say the least. Adding to the stress, electricity went out Friday night and caused me several extra sleepless hours.

At 5:12 Sabbath morning the alarm on my phone went off. I got up to shut it off before it woke my wife, Sylvia. But the alarm shut off by itself in my hand. Then I searched my phone—I found no evidence that any alarm had been set. After about 12 more minutes, I said to myself: There’s no way that I’ll go back to sleep now. Furthermore, I need to go through my sermon, which I haven’t had a chance to do yet. It must have been set by the hand of God. He must want me to think about the notes I have written.

The electricity was still off. So I went into our bathroom, closed the door, and spoke out loud the message I wanted to deliver later that morning. Of course, the phone had its own power. I rearranged things, deleted some and added others. I thanked the Lord profusely for giving me this time. When I stepped in front of the believers later, I did so with confidence and enthusiasm.

I count this experience as a real privilege to deliver a message in the church Dad built over 50 years ago.

 

Lord, thank You that we can follow in the footsteps of the pioneers who served you so sacrificially.

 

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[1] Picture of me preaching in the Solusi Church that Dad built. ©Uni Clarke 2023

Christian Love for Fellows

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2 Thessalonians 1:3 Good News Translation

³ Our friends, we must thank God at all times for you. It is right for us to do so, because your faith is growing so much and the love each of you has for the others is becoming greater.

 

When I graduated from Andrews University, I married Sylvia, and we moved to the University of Iowa so I could get a master’s degree. Then we were already committed to go as missionaries to Africa. [Later we returned to Iowa City after a 5-year stint in Tanzania.] One of the first things we did in Iowa City was to find the Adventist Church. They had no building of their own but rented space to meet on Sabbath from the St. Mark’s United Methodist Church there.

The Adventist church had about 20 members. There were two families from the faculty of the University, both in the School of Dentistry. Some students attended who came and went as their education directed them, and there were several families who lived in the area and were not connected to the university.

Our pastor was also the pastor of a much bigger church in Cedar Rapids, about 25 miles north. He divided his time between the two churches, roughly by the different memberships. The most we saw of him was every second Sabbath. Usually, a church elder preached on the Sabbaths that the Pastor was not with us. I learned to give a sermon there quite frequently, and it was graciously received.

The church members organized a potluck every Sabbath. The food was always good. On one occasion, luck would have it that everyone brought desserts. I confess that it was a special meal for me. We learned to know each other and tried to help each other’s needs.

An older couple, Oliver and Geraldine Lien took us under their special mentorship. For most of the time we were there, he was the head elder and she the treasurer of the church.  I could expect a call every Sunday morning from Geraldine: “The amount you have written on tithe envelope differs from the amount on your check. What do you want me to do with the extra money?”

I would apologize. At the time I had no calculator and only bought one for myself as a graduation present when I graduated with a PhD in Mathematics, ten years later.

She would respond, “You would think a graduate math student would be able to add a few figures correctly!” We both laughed heartily.

We held a prayer meeting regularly every Wednesday evening. Some of the time it was at the Liens or one of the other member’s homes, and sometimes it was at our apartment. During Sabbath Schools, and at the prayer meetings and potlucks, we would have excellent discussions about spiritual interests. We often came with different opinions, and this led to interesting thoughts. Yet we never got so defensive of our own opinions that it divided the church.

Thank You, Lord, for providing us with a loving and caring church home while I was in grad school. I’m sure it fostered a loving home in our family.

 

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