April 9, 2006

Dear Friends,

A group of eight chitenje-clad women danced into church this morning, each carrying a gift of thanksgiving. Three carried pumpkins, one a bag of sweet potatoes, another a bag of groundnuts, and yet another a tray of eggs. They were members of the “mothers’ union” of a tiny Baptist church, whose members had benefited from four months of food support from our larger city church during the worst of the famine that has just passed. The young pastor said, “Because you gave us food and hope, we were able to work in our fields, and now we bring the first of our harvest to say thank you.” It was a very moving, humbling moment. We were brothers and sisters in the Lord, sharing within the Body of Christ “as any had need.”

God has called us, once again, to do that within in our nuclear family as well. The “witchcraft baby” of our last newsletter was sent back to his home village in January and almost died there. (His mother had disappeared again in early December. He was given over to a maternal uncle.) The child protection officer for Lilongwe District went to get him last Wednesday and brought him to us. The Lord had been preparing us to take him if he needed us by giving us no peace and urging us to pray for him while he was away. He was brought in sick with malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea, and he had dropped a considerable amount of weight. He has been with us a week now and is starting to perk up. He is 15 months old. His name will be Jackson Albert Dimmock, and we would appreciate your prayers for all of his paperwork to come through in the next three months before our departure from Malawi. It will take several miracles.

A friend recently shared an interesting passage of Scripture. Jesus prayed for “those whom you gave me.” He was entrusted with 12. We have been entrusted with 8. He has given Jackson to us as surely as he gave Nathan, Moses, Jessie, Katie, Andrew, Alifa and Isaac.

In the passage, Jesus also prayed that “the love you have for me may be in them.” God entrusts to us those to whom we can express His love. What a privilege! He has been so kind and gracious to us to entrust another precious child to our care. We pray for Jackson as Jesus prayed: “Holy Father, protect them…. Protect them from the evil one.”

We have been asked many questions recently about our plans for furlough and the future. We want to clarify that we are not leaving mission service and returning to the United States for good. Beginning in mid-2006 is our regularly scheduled furlough, which occurs every fifth year. Following one year of “home assignment” we will be returning to serve the church in Africa, and expect to continue doing so until we retire or until the Lord calls us Home, whichever comes first! Frank has been asked to give more time to his regional work, and we have also sensed a call to move “south,” where the epicenter of the AIDS pandemic has moved, and where the Church is looking for effective ways to respond. We have been encouraged by others to consider sharing our gifts, experience, and ideas there. The details of our new assignment have yet to be worked out, but we will certainly keep you informed as they are clarified. This means a complete packing-up here in Malawi, and a tearful goodbye after 14 years of service. We would appreciate your prayers for that process, which will be ongoing over these next three months.

We will be leaving Malawi in mid-July and flying to Kenya to attend our daughter Jessie’s graduation from Rift Valley Academy. Then we will travel a bit as a family, getting to the United States at the end of July. We will make our home at Mission Haven again, residing at 167 Inman Dr., Decatur, GA 30030 (Phone: 404-373-3733). We have already been approached by a number of churches and are fully booked with speaking engagements in the fall, but still have open weekends in the spring. We really look forward to visiting many of you, to renewing friendships, and to sharing about some of the wonderful, amazing things God is doing in this part of the world.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

With love,

Frank and Nancy Dimmock and family

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 337