Regents Alumni Serving God in Africa

Regents Alumni are a pretty diverse group of people.  We have schoolteachers, bus drivers, landscape gardeners, business executives, professional actors, youth workers and nursery nurses, to name but a few.  And then we have missionaries.  As you will read in this newsletter, we recently visited Africa to spend time with three former students working there as missionaries.  They are doing an amazing job in very challenging circumstances.  But there is one thing they and all of us have in common.  We are all servants.  We serve our families, and many serve their church, their customers, or their community.  Jesus must have surprised his disciples when he told them “I am among you as one who serves”.

Remarkably, there was only one occasion when Jesus gave them a specific instruction to follow his example, and that was when he washed their feet – that most astonishing act of service. So wherever you are, and whatever God has called you to do, just keep on serving!

Earlier this summer, Helen and I spent a month in Africa, visiting three former students who are all working as missionaries – Verena Schafroth and Katharine Bosch in Mozambique, and Jackie Griffiths in Malawi.

Verena hails from Germany and was a student at Regents from 2003 to 2006.  Having worked initially in Sudan linked to Elim Missions, she is now working with SIM at their base in Lichinga, north Mozambique.  Verena shares the leadership of a Bible School and supports her students in local churches. We spent a week with SIM missionaries from across Mozambique on their annual retreat, where I had the privilege of taking the daily Bible studies.

Katharina also came to Regents from Germany.  After graduating in 2007, she returned to Germany and prepared for missionary service with the AoG. She has been in Chimoio in central Mozambique since 2011, undertaking various roles including taking a leading role in running a large school.  More recently, she has been developing a Bible School, which opened earlier this year.  It was a privilege to spend time there, address the students, and preach in her local church. 

Verena and Katharina are making a huge impact for the Kingdom in a nation which is very challenging to work in.  Not only did they have to become fluent in a third language – Portuguese – but they have also had to cope with a less that sympathetic government and with a rise in Islam, especially in the north. Please pray for them.

Jackie was a student in Capel in 1984-5 and then worked on the staff of the College in Capel and in Nantwich.  Many of you will remember her friendly face in the Faculty Office when you handed in your essays!  Since 2007 Jackie has served as an Elim missionary in Malawi and we spent about a week with her in Blantyre.

Jackie leads a busy life.  Most weekends outside of the rainy season she will travel to regional church gatherings with Elim Malawi’s GS, where she will do much of the teaching. Jackie also leads weekly Bible study groups and children\’s meetings in nearby Elim churches, and we had the joy of accompanying her in this work.

We were inspired by the commitment of these three wonderful women!  Please pray for them as they serve God in these two challenging countries.