Sunchild News - September 2009

www.arcticoutreach.org e-mail rinker@arcticoutreach.org

Dear Friends, (For those who read our print letter the first paragraph is repeated)

Our greatest need is prayer, and I will give you an example of last Sunday night. Since we moved back to the Mission we have been experiencing some difficulties concerning vandalism. This area is building up fast with new homes and the three years we were gone, along with losing our house, some of the young people didn't know us very well, so everyone has been adjusting to the new situation here. The church hasn't been touched since we fixed it up and started using it again in 2005! However, we have recently had some tires slashed, and our shop was broke into with several hundred dollars worth of items taken and before that we lost some tools, and of course our Outreach truck was taken. At 4:30 A.M. Monday I woke up and while I was laying there awake I remembered that I forgot to secure the shop door with the new secret locking system I made. I'm sure the Lord put that thought in my mind. I got up and went out and locked it. It also has an old fashioned padlock that serves more as a distraction since I rigged up a secret locking system on the sliding door made of 2 ½" thickness of plywood and no windows in the building. It frosted heavy and was cold, so I jumped back in bed where I am sleeping in the kitchen tent. As I was laying there warming up it was just a matter of "minutes" and I heard a car. We hear cars all night long and I wasn't sure where this one was but then I heard a noise which was someone prying the padlock off. So I jumped up and went out in my bare feet and caught two people breaking in the shop. They also had a stolen car they were driving. They had stole the car in Rocky Mt. House. I wouldn't let them leave in the car, which took some persuasion. They were using a knife for a key where they had torn out the ignition, and they did attempt to drive off but I was able to stop them. The owner was happy to get his car back. I was very deeply impressed that God woke me and put it in my mind to lock the door just minutes before the thieves got there. It was one of those 'encouraging' miracles that God is on our side! As the word gets around it also works to deter such things as people see that God is openly working in our behalf.

In July we had a team come from Pennsylvania to do our VBS's. They were sent by an organization called Priority 1, which is associated with the Brethren In Christ. There are other organizations with similar names and this is not to be confused with them. When I went to pick them up at the Calgary International airport I had been given the wrong time of arrival. So after a couple hours they went off to a waiting area to relax. When I walked into the terminal from parking, almost the first person who walked past me in the huge crowd of people, had a Priority 1 logo on his shirt. I had only heard the title briefly in past communications and I was comatose from driving 3 ½ hours. So the Lord had to knock me on the head and get my attention, after which I looked up at the "tall" young man and said, "Hey"! All this happened in just one step as we passed.

The team consisted of: Riley (who got called Wiley by some of the kids), who is about to graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in December...Holly, the 25 yr. old team leader who has amazing musical talents...Megan, an athlete (and Princess) from the California desert on her way to college...and Elise, a High School student who has the sweetest spirit of any person on earth. The amazing thing about this team is how much they wanted to be "here". They loved these kids "fervently", to borrow from the King James. They never wanted to go to town. They just wanted to be with the people here. The first week we had the Sunchild VBS and it went very well. The enrollment was close to a hundred all together. The second week we had VBS over in the mountains at the Big Horn Stony Reserve where the enrollment was good and mostly teens. The team was here 2 ½ weeks. When they had free time they would go to the homes to spend time with the kids. They carried a real burden for them and tearfully prayed for them.

After many years in ministry, there is one thing that my dense brain has finally recognized. The people who come from the Eastern Appalachian mountains have a special God given talent to minister here on the mission field that people who come from other areas don't seem to have naturally. Anyone can learn, but they just seem to have it by nature.

We want another team next year, and any of you who are looking for a good organization to train and send out your young people on mission trips, we highly recommend this organization from Chambersburg, PA .

In May we had a 25 year old lady come all the way from Germany and was here all summer. She just left on September 9th. Gabriele had trained for a career in medicine but ran into issues that was against her conscience and decided to leave her job. She felt the Lord leading her to come here for the summer. Her father is a Lutheran pastor in Germany. Gabriele had never really worked much with children before, but she fell in love with the kids here. I can tell a personal story to show Gabriele's dedication, although I may get in trouble for telling. Recently there has been a rash of head lice in this area. Both Karen and Gabriele found that when they held some of the children the tiny parasites would end up on them. So the ladies spent a lot of time fighting the good fight on their heads! This didn't hinder Gabriele from loving and being close to the children at all. The last house she stopped at when she left was with one of the families that she especially loved. She was explaining to the Grandma that she was leaving and the lady has a difficult time with English. When she understood Gabriele wouldn't be back she cried. Now she is applying for her passport and wants to go to Germany to visit Gabriele! In all our years on the field I've never had hair bugs because there is just something about me that they don't like. I've always hoped that its the same with the bears, and it does seem to be, that they just don't like the way I smell.

This week we have a Japanese fellow who is coming to help until December. He is a Bible College graduate who has wanted to work on the mission field. So the Lord has been answering prayer for workers and we need all the help we can get. Update: Max is here! Just arrived and we will be posting pictures soon.

After much agonizing we finally replaced the Outreach truck that was stolen. We found a Dodge Diesel in Rocky Mt. House that had only 30,000 Km on it and has an extended warranty that will last for several more years. We used the Insurance settlement, that was less than 1/3 of what we had in the truck we lost, plus about $4,000 that had been sent in to help with this, and then Karen & I had to make up the rest but it is paid for. We still have to put a canopy on the box and I have to have the arctic engine heater installed which runs off diesel fuel. This very much reflects our long range commitment to this ministry. The Arctic, where we do our Outreach, is a very hostile environment. We have learned over the years that it makes a huge difference if we are using adequate or inadequate equipment in ministry. When we are trying to operate with inadequate equipment we spend so much time and energy in the logistics that we often can not accomplish much of our intended purpose plus the detriment to ourselves, and we have a lot of stories to tell on that. This truck is a very long range investment that is the most cost effective that we can get and we are thrilled at the prospect of what we can do with it.

Now we have to deal with replacing the Student Ministry van that is kept at Three Hills for the Bible College students to come here every Sunday. The current van they are using is a 1985 Caravan. It is often overloaded with as many as 8 students for the 3 hour trip up here. As long as the College students are willing to give their entire Sunday to come here and minister we are committed to providing their transportation. Friends have offered to sell an excellent low mileage 2005 Caravan at a reduced price. Our plans are to use that for our mission travel van (not to be used on the Reserve dirt roads), and Karen & I will take the current van ( we paid $10,000 for about 3 years ago) we have been using for travel and donate it for the Three Hills team. We have to personally borrow the entire amount to do that but we don't want to miss this opportunity and feel it is the right thing to do. So this will cover our vehicle needs for several years into the future. We will continue to use older donated vehicles to take the rough wear and tear of the horrible dirt roads here on the Reserve to extend the life of the newer vehicles as much as possible.

Over the years we have had so many short term workers come from Europe and they almost always invite us to come and visit them. So this week Karen is leaving to do just this for one month - Sept. 18 to Oct. 16. We dread trying to run the Sunday School that long without her. Two weeks ago we had about 90 here on Sunday, so please pray for a large team of help each week. All the expense of her trip is coming from the O'Chiese Education Authority. Karen has been helping them part time and it has opened many doors for ministry and been a means of connecting with the families on O'Chiese.

This wouldn't be complete without a report on the housing situation next door. This has been a great, merciful answer to prayer. No one has been staying in the house all summer, giving us a break from that situation. Please pray that we can soon get this facility back and be able to move on with that project.

These next several months we are meeting with church leaders and striving to increase the mission finances to handle the growing aspects of the work. Karen & I no longer do the actual hands on teaching and leading services. The Three Hills team does all the classes on Sunday and the music. We have had two families from Rocky Mt. House come the last year to do our teen event each week. They will continue to do this weekly and the Alliance church will hold one teen event each month, and the Nazarene church will also come a few times, plus we take a van load of teens to the Nazarene teen service in town. And some other churches are in the planning stages to get involved. The Tabernacle church in Three Hills will continue to send a team one Sunday each month. The Rocky Mt. College is coming to minister to the youth and teens for one week November 9-13.

We built a 16x24 Gazebo to use as an outdoor facility for VBS, picnics etc. We recently had to replace the submersible pump in the well, and the Crossroads church is making plans to add a 12 x 14 Sunday School room onto the Church.

I haven't been able to make a trip to visit Mom for nearly two years, so as soon as Karen gets back I hope to travel to Cumberland for a couple of weeks. Reuben and Jennifer are expecting their new baby this month also.
(Update: Jennifer had a baby boy Sunday Sept. 20.)

Perhaps this is too much information for most people to get through? Some feedback will help us to know if most people really want to know all this? Maybe we should just post a few pictures? I know I have trouble reading a long letter unless I'm "really" interested.

We have also posted a letter that just involves finances. So if you are interested in that aspect of the work it is listed along with our current newsletters.

In His Service, Rodger & Karen Rinker

November 7, 2007  started out as any other day at our high school in Ghana. But, unbeknown to the students, teachers and administration, all that was about to change.  Representatives from the Ghana Ministry of Education came, unannounced, to inspect our school.  They checked out the dorm rooms,  the class rooms, the cleanliness and discipline of the students, along with all the other items on their inspection list.  

 After their surprise inspection, they rated our school as among the best in the region and approved our school as a center for the West African Examination Council!  With this certification, our students can now write the final secondary school external examination on our campus. 

Rev. John Adams, the Director of our school in Ghana, called to give us this news and added that the Ghana Ministry of Education is referring students to us!  Right now we have around 200 students with the goal of 1000 students in five years!

God is doing some exciting things in Ghana and this is wonderful soil in which to sow some seed.  A great harvest is coming!

Monday October 8?Travel to Owerri, Imo State ? Nigeria

Most of today was spent on the road.  We left about 7.00 a.m. and arrived Owerri, Imo State at about 3.00 p.m.  We had a service at 6.00 pm

Tuesday October 9?Village

I traveled to the village to see my mother.  Then we visited my parents-in-law.  Diane prayed for my father-in-law who has been sick for many years.  We had a church service  at 6.00 p.m. and Dr. Kilpatrick spoke.

Wednesday October 10?Owerri

A friend of mine invited us for lunch.  Diane spoke at their church while I spoke at our church.  The service was well attended and the message well received with many coming forward for prayer.

Thursday October 11?Travel to Ghana

We left Owerri, Imo State for Lagos.  Our flight was delayed for 2 hours so we got to Lagos very late.  When we went to the Virgin Nigeria Airways to pay for the ticket, we were told that we had to pay for a round trip.  We talked to them about why we should not have to pay for a round trip, but to no avail.  If we did not pay, we would have to stay overnight in Lagos, pay taxi and hotel bills, etc. and miss our meeting in Ghana.  Considering all that, we decided to pay for the round trip. The devil stole that from us but we won because we were not crushed, and we had our meeting in Ghana.

Friday October 12?Leadership Conference

We had chapel service with the students.  We now have over 180 students and are still growing.  It's very impressive!  We also had a Leadership Conference in Ghana with over 100 in attendance.  The people listened well, took notes and asked meaningful questions. 

After the meeting, John Adams, our host, took Dr. Kilpatrick and me to see the Atlantic Ocean.  It was awesome!  Later that evening, I had a meeting with the Field Executive Council.  Reports were given and we made decisions on a number of administrative issues.

Saturday October 13

While Dr. Kilpatrick meet with the students, I spent most of today meeting with the Board of Governors of the Atlantic Wesleyan College.  God has blessed the school with men and women of caliber who are assisting us in charting the course for the college.  After the meeting we visited the Castle in Cape Coast.

Sunday October 14?Worship and return to USA via London.

We had a combined service.  All four of the EBM Ghana churches came together and worshiped on the campus.  It was a time of rejoicing, worshiping and hearing the mind of God.

Saturday October 6, 2007

We woke up very early, drove one and half hours to the Okpafulo village for our meeting.  On the way we had a little car trouble, which we suspected was caused by a bad spark plug.  Here again we taught the people, and the teaching was well received as evidenced by the questions asked.  Dr. Kilpatrick and Pastor Joshua went back to Makurdi for the services on Sunday, while I stayed back for the Dedication of the church clinic.

God's Care Clinic.  I had the honor and privilege of talking to the villagers about the Great Physician and praying a prayer of dedication to mark the opening of the Church clinic in Okpafulo.  The community leaders expressed their appreciation for what the mission is doing in their land.  The clinic will be a means to minister to the physical needs of the people in the community as well as pointing them to Christ, the Great Physician, for both physical and spiritual needs.

Sunday October 7?Okpafulo

The church service was well attended by more than 150 people.  God helped me to preach and the people responded very well with many standing up for prayer.  A man was traveling by, and not knowing why, stopped to worship with us.  Afterwards, he testified that God designed the service for him and ordered his steps to be at the right place at the right time.. that the message was relevant to him.  He said, "It was all for me. ?God used the message to speak to my heart, and my needs." 

Friday October 5, 2007

 Today we were invited to a Christian Radio Talk Show by Dr. Prince Ebgene, who is a pastor and the Host of the Radio Program, to share more on the topic of our Leadership Conference; "God's Design for Multiplication."  Dr. Egbene had attended our full day Leadership Conference and felt that this message needed to be heard by a larger audience.  So, this morning we went to the studio and produced two programs which will be aired in four days.

Later in the afternoon, while I was at the War on AIDS office counseling with and praying for people, Dr. Kilpatrick and the host pastor's wife went to the market to experience Nigeria bargain-hunting.  I was told that she did well and successfully purchased two items. 

Tonight, Dr. Kilpatrick spoke to over 50 women who had come to the church to hear a special talk just for them.  The women received the word very well.  Afterwards, many of them came for special prayer.  It was late by the time Dr. Kilpatrick finished praying for the seekers one by one.  Then we went back to our hotel rooms and retired for the night.

 Thursday October 4, 2007

Today is our first day of ministering in Nigeria.  The Leadership Conference was well attended.  Dr. Kilpatrick and I spoke for 6 hours and answered questions from the participants.

Naming Ceremony:  After the Conference, we were invited to participate in a naming ceremony for. ?Success.'  It was quite an experience.  A Brother and Sister had been married for a long time without a child.  They met with the pastor and expressed their need, and the pastor prayed for them.  Later that year the Sister conceived and had a baby boy, so the parents used the naming ceremony as an opportunity to share their testimony to the invited neighbors.  The pastor preached the word of God to the people and Dr. Kilpatrick and I had the privilege of dedicating the baby, Success, to God in prayer.

This is just in from Dr. Akaji!  He flew out of The United States on Monday, October 1, 2007 and has made it to Africa safely.  Praise the Lord!

Dear Friends,

We made it to Nigeria safely after long hours of waiting in London.  Then we drove 4 hours to Makurdi, Benue State where we are to have our first meeting.  

Today, Thursday, we had six hours of teaching between Dr. Diane Kilpatrick and myself and the meeting was well attended.    The people learned very well as evidenced in the questions they asked after the teaching.

Tomorrow, Friday, we will be featured in a radio program to talk about the topics we discussed at the seminar.  Then we will have another session at night for women only.  On Saturday, we will be sharing all day on what I call "Heart to Heart Talk" with ministers.  Then in the Afternoon we will be dedicating a local clinic built by our ministry. 

Sunday, we will be ministering at two different churches.   Monday we will be in another city.  

Pray for anointing as we share with the people.

His blessings on you!

David Akaji