ONWARD Page 2 July/August 2003

EXCERPTS FROM PROPSOM’S NEWSLETTER
Greetings! When you read this we will have started our three-month Home Assignment. John is busily finishing his schoolwork and playing outside with his thigh rubbers on as this year’s massive snowfall melts. According to my records, we had a snowstorm the second week of June last year, so we are not expecting all the snow to be gone by the time we leave. John loves this time of year for heaving rocks and all the other boy stuff that Labrador offers.

Debbie is busily working ahead to make sure that all our business is taken care of while we are gone for the summer. She is also working with the women’s group and thinking through how to best meet the Sunday school needs for next fall. One of her goals is to settle John down for his homework every night. Her biggest job is not John, but me. I guess picking up the pieces and filling the gaps that I leave as I plow through my ministry is a full-time job in itself. I thank God for Debbie.

I am trying to prepare Hopedale and all the communities for our departure June 1. I may be wrong, but I think that this will be the first time since 1771 that there will be no resident ordained Moravian minister in Labrador. The lay chairperson of the province and two lay-pastors are stepping up to the plate and have agreed to cover all the ministerial needs that arise during my absence. In addition to them, our acolytes and chapel servants in each community handle most of the preaching and worship responsibilities already, so my leaving should be no big deal. Actually, I am excited about the Labrador province taking over all ministry tasks, ending the unhealthy reliance on outside help. Because of a few setbacks in Hopedale, we’ve had to recruit more help, but at least four young men (ages 35-44) have either held services already or have agreed to in the future. The thirty-five services held between Palm Sunday and Easter Monday lovefeast offer plenty of opportunities for people to try their hand at being “on table” (conducting a worship service).

We’ve had many good things happen in Labrador since the start of the year. We had an Alpha class in each community. We used it for confirmation training. The 10-week Alpha course comes from the Anglican Church and is a powerful tool for recruiting and discipling people. We also have plans for future Bible studies and more Alpha courses.

Rev. Olaf and Rita Andersen also spent a month in Labrador encouraging, teaching, training and supporting our ministry efforts here. Their presence was extremely beneficial. Since losing Rev. Edmunds last year, I’ve been thinking about recruiting an ordained pastor to support Debbie and me from Advent through Easter for the next several years. Now, with what the Andersens were able to accomplish, I am convinced this is how we need to proceed in the future.

I will need to continue as I am doing and I fear that I will soon burn myself out. I hope to be able to bring my students to Hopedale and reduce my heavy traveling schedule. Also, I would like to have the flexibility of sending several students to Bethel, Alaska, for a few months of training at the indigenous training centers there. There are so many things to do, so little time and funds. Sound familiar?

[An extended story about a dangerous trip to Makkovik follows. It has lots of exciting details, but most important was the aid of his Global Positioning System equipment in saving their lives.]

What’s my point? I know my limitations and I use every means available to compensate for my shortfalls. I have a satellite phone (donated by a congregation in North Carolina), so people would have known we were safe in the storm, even if my GPS and compass and maps had let us down. Again, my point is that I use every available means to compensate for my shortfalls. Traveling in Labrador is hard, my friends, but traveling in this life we live, anywhere in the world, is hard. Without acknowledging our shortfalls and leaning on God for guidance, life is intolerable. I speak from experience. Never forget that Christianity is not about being good or not being bad. It is about admitting to God that we have shortfalls that the Bible calls sin. It’s about trusting that Jesus came to save us from our sins. It’s about asking Jesus to live in our hearts and to become our divine GPS, guiding our every path. It’s about allowing the goodness of Jesus to penetrate our hearts, minds and lives. Only then will we find our way through this life we live, for Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life! (John 14:6)

Aksunai! (Be strong!) John, Debbie & Sam