September 1, 2008

Dear Friends,

Hello from Cambria, Wisconsin! We are getting near to the end of a busy home assignment which has taken us to supporting churches in 12 states, and we’ve had precious family times in between speaking engagements. It’s been encouraging to see the keen interest and concern about the situation in Sudan as well as the prayerful support of the work of RECONCILE. We have been intentional about learning how these congregations are engaged in mission and service in their neighborhoods, and we have heard many inspiring stories. Let me share one with you.

Steve and Sally Bolte and son John Deng.

Sally and Steve Bolte are members of Three Chopt Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia. We had the pleasure of staying with them recently. Sally is an ESL teacher and Steve is a pharmacist. In 2000, Three Chopt sponsored a Sudanese Dinka refugee family that immigrated to the United States. The Deng family was not typical by U.S. standards—it was headed by 21-year-old Daniel, and included his 17-year-old sister Rebecca and 11-year-old brother John. The Boltes quickly became connected with the Dengs, not only through the church, which did a great job helping this young family, but Sally was also their ESL teacher. It soon became clear that young John needed some extra “loving,” and Sally and Steve invited him to their home on weekends.

Eventually it became clear that John needed more of a home than his older siblings were able to provide, so the decision was made for John to go into foster care. When the Boltes learned that due to a shortage of foster families John was slated to enter the Children’s Home, which did not seem like a good placement as, unlike John, many of the children in the Home had had encounters with the legal system. So the Boltes, who had recently become “empty nesters,” opened their hearts and became John’s foster parents, and it was clear that a very strong parent-child relationship has formed. John is now 6’4” and is a handsome, personable, athletic young man, who has just begun his freshman year of college and, although he towers over them, he affectionately calls Sally and Steve “Mom” and “Dad”and they are immensely proud of their son.

But the Boltes love needed to extend even farther. With the help of the church community and Sally’s tutoring, John’s sister Rebecca completed high school, was attending community college, and was actively involved at Three Chopt. But in May of 2007 Rebecca was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. She quickly became quite ill and needed a place to stay. So the Boltes responded by again opening their hearts, and Rebecca moved into their home. For eight months, with wonderful support from the Three Chopt pastors and church family, they provided intensive, loving care for Rebecca before she went to be with her Lord in December.

I was moved to tears when the Boltes shared this experience. Sally recently wrote me, “I was afraid I had overwhelmed you all with my revelations of our past two years, but you know what? For us it was just life. Steve and I often said we had never really faced any adversity in our very blessed lives, and so when it came to Rebecca (and to some extent, John) we just said it was time to be shepherds. We knew God would support us along the way, and that is exactly what happened. One important lesson we learned was that a person doesn’t really need any special talents, resources, or training to be a shepherd, they just need their faith. It was a real leap for both of us, but now we are fearless. Rebecca and John have taught us (and others) so many important lessons. We were the ones blessed with their entry into our family.”

The kind of sacrificial love the Boltes shared with Sudanese refugees has been repeated over and over in the lives of people, such as former Reformed Church of America missionaries, Arlene Schuiteman and the Reverend Paul Hostetter, as well as well as pastors Lucy Perkins and Harvey Heneveld. We have fallen so in love with the Sudanese that it warms our hearts to see people reaching out to them as they make the difficult adjustment to life in the States. And it reminds us again that you don’t have to travel overseas to be engaged in mission—God provides countless opportunities to share the love of Christ wherever you are! Thanks again for your prayers and support and for the warm hospitality that many of you have provided for us as we have visited your congregations this summer.

Daniel, Del and Debbie in front of "Old Main," North Park University.

Please keep our family in your prayers. Del and I head back to Sudan, where we will live full time now, on September 18. We have a very busy fall ahead of us as we get ready to launch the opening of the RECONCILE Peace Institute in February. Please keep our Stateside family in your prayers as well. These are tough goodbyes for all of us, as our four parents are getting up in years (81 – 90) and experiencing health challenges. Our kids and grandkids all seem to be doing well; please keep Daniel in your prayers as he makes the adjustment to life in the United States and is beginning his studies at North Park University in Chicago.

In Christ,

Del and Debbie

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 10