Dale

Classes began for my second semester this year of teaching in the Christian university here. I had delayed slightly beginning my first classes because of the seminars we were offering in teaching children with a learning disability. But as soon as we had finished with those seminars, I checked in at the university and set up my teaching schedule.

This semester I will be teaching three classes at the graduate level and one class at the undergraduate level. My classes will include Worldview, Old Testament Survey, and Hermeneutics, which I will teach at the graduate level. Then at the undergraduate level I will be teaching a class in the Pauline Epistles.

Normally to teach nine hours at the graduate level is considered a full work load, but I will be adding the class at the undergraduate level at the Suba church, one of the largest congregations we have here in Colombia. The graduate level classes will be open to any of the students in the Master’s program. We have two students who are preachers in our churches who are in that program. The rest come from different evangelical churches here in Colombia. It is an enjoyable job as I try to share pure and simple New Testament Christianity with students from our own churches and also with those from many different church backgrounds.

My first class met last Friday and the rest will begin this week. I will be very busy keeping up with preparing for my classes and grading papers. But on top of that I continue to keep a full schedule teaching and preaching at our churches and working with our Christian school. One recent visitor expressed shock at the workload I keep up with down here. I only smiled as I actually lightened the load a bit while he was here so as not to wear him out too much.

The Bible tells us to “make the most of your time because the days are evil.” Certainly there is much evil in this world and it is we Christians who hold the solution. As Paul encourages us, we should “work while it is day because the night will come when no one can work.” So we are working to make the most of the time and opportunities that the Good Lord provides for us here in Colombia.

Besides, I enjoy my work and there is nothing else to do here but work; so I use every available moment to see that God’s kingdom progresses here in Colombia. But if you should come down for a visit, be prepared for a time of intense activity that may well leave you gasping for breath. There is no time to lose as we do “our utmost for His highest.”