Picture is of Calvary Road Ministry leadership. David and Renee in foreground
see www.calvaryroadministries.com
My wife, Renee, and I lived for almost 23 years in East Africa. We accepted an early retirement offer in late 2015. The company was forced to ask its personnel who were 50 years of age and older, and who had at least 5 years of experience, to consider retiring. Given the health of our parents, we choose to accept. Given all that has happened since that time in our parent's lives, the timing was divine.
However, as we pondered the retirement offer, we realized that while we had accepted the fact that we would no longer serve in E. Africa, we did not believe the Lord wanted us to quit working with the Baptist Convention of South Sudan (BCoSS) in its attempts to minister to its countrymen who are now refugees. We recognized that during our years of service, we had developed a large relationship network both among S. Sudanese, and with the Americans who had prayed for and supported us. How to continue leveraging all that for the glory of God, and for continued effective, strategic service on behalf of people whom we had come to love?
At that point, we turned to our old friend and president of Calvary Road Ministry (CRM), Alan McAlister. We asked Alan if we could raise funds via CRM so that we could continue to supply BCoSS leadership with the scripture resources, theological education and leadership development we felt we could offer. Alan and CRM's leadership accepted our request, and we officially became a part of the CRM family beginning in January of 2016.
John Shepherd and Dr. Bob Calvert developed the first "Kanga Story Cloth," in 2004-'05. It was developed for use among the Maasai. It is a discipleship tool which is now literally used all over the world, see www.Historycloth.com. Years later, John worked with the same graphic artists to develop a second cloth for teaching the Book of Acts. It is proving to be as effective a means for teaching Primary Oral Learners as the first cloth. We use both cloths, and their attendant teaching materials, in our ministry with the BCoSS, and the results have been very successful.
Who could have known in 1998 when John Shepherd and I formed a partnership agreement that Renee and I would one day serve on a full time basis with CRM? Well of course God knew! And it is our hope and prayer that as He orchestrated our meeting John Shepherd in 1997 (another story), He will also guide all of us now involved with CRM to even greater heights of effective service, for His own glory and honor.
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