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January 2001
Dear Friends,
Greetings in the precious name of Jesus! Many of you heard from
us at Christmas time, but we wanted to share our news and causes
of joy with everyone on our mailing list.
The trauma of last year’s Christmas fire has eased in our
hearts, minds, and bodies. A beautiful garden has been planted
at the school in memory of Damalis, the 10-year-old girl who died
as a result of the fire. The other four children that were badly
burned, while having to face a future of regular surgeries as
they grow, are all doing well in school and are enjoying all the
normal activities of childhood. Several families came to know
Christ through the experience, and we rejoice that God brought
good out of the tragedy.
Alifa is growing and developing very quickly. It is like watching
time-lapse photography, as she has gone from being an infant to
a toddler in the space of three months. She took her first solo
steps just after the new year, and her vocabulary expands daily
as she mimics her older brothers and sisters. Bananas and peanut
butter remain her favorites foods, and she has more than doubled
her weight of three months ago. She is turning into a beautiful
little girl and is such a wonderful addition to our family. None
of you will be surprised to hear we are pursuing her adoption.
It appears to be very straightforward in this particular case,
since Social Welfare has been involved from the beginning and
the family formally released her into our care. A lawyer will
petition the court on our behalf in the next week or so. Then
we wait for a date to be set for a hearing. Please pray that all
will go smoothly.
Our other five children are doing well. We had a wonderful time
together over the Christmas holidays. It was a joy to watch the
"big boys" establish a special relationship with their
new little sister. We camped out at a beautiful game park in the
north for a very unusual and memorable Christmas. This particular
park had a stable full of horses for horseback-riding safaris.
The horses were let out at night and were free to run with the
zebra and eland and to roam throughout the park. They seemed to
particularly like our camp and wandered through each night leaving
deposits of fresh "poop." So one way in which it was
a memorable Christmas was that it smelled like that stable of
long ago! Nathan and Moses have now returned to boarding school
in Kenya, and Jessie, Katie, and Andrew have returned to school
locally. We are back into a routine, i.e. as "routine"
as our life gets.
Meanwhile, Frank’s new year is looking full and challenging.
One addition he would like to make to his health coordination
activities in Malawi is to organize regular times of retreat for
caregivers—doctors, nurses, clinical officers. These colleagues
deal with death and trauma on a daily basis and rarely have the
time or opportunity to process or grieve adequately. We have seen
this lead to "burn out" and discouragement. We hope
that these retreats will provide needed perspective and an opportunity
for sharing and for spiritual nurture. We would welcome the input
and leadership of anyone with pastoral gifts. Let us know if you
would be free (willing and able) to come and minister to such
a group on an occasional basis.
Four years ago, our children said farewell to their school friends
in Georgia with the words, "See ya in 2001!" Well, it
is hard to believe, but 2001, our furlough year, has now arrived.
We will be packing up in July to return to the U.S. and will again
be located in Decatur, Georgia. We will be a available to speak
most weekends throughout the fall and spring. So let us hear from
you. We would love the opportunity to share about God’s work
and faithfulness in this part of the world.
Our prayer for each of you is found in Ephesians
For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from
whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according
to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened
with might through his Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ
may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted
and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all
the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that
you may be filled with all the fullness of God
(Eph. 3:14-19).
What a joy and privilege to be adopted into God’s great
family with the responsibility to bring others to the loving Heavenly
Father. Be strengthened. Let Christ dwell in your hearts. Go out
in power to share His love. Have a great New Year!
Very sincerely,
Frank and Nancy Dimmock and family
The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 41
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