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Wednesday, March 05, 2025

Dust & Ashes, Cloud & Fire

 Today, Ash Wednesday, begins the season of Lent, a 40-day attention to our mortality. God knows we gravitate towards denial. Towards comfort, health, wealth, ease, youth . . . all good things but stale centers to a life purpose. Humanity that denies mortality risks a selfish, world-destroying grab. Whereas a life lived in the boundaries of mortality clarifies the great commandments, loving God and loving neighbor as central seeds that blossom into true joy. 

Even Jesus lived for a defined journey on earth, that ended with the cross.

A helpful exercise to stem our self-promoting greedy slide away from love is to intentionally mark the 40 days with habits of discipline, with a voluntary fast from something good.

In 2025, we are "giving up" our last 31+ years of normal life for Lent. Scott was diagnosed just over a month ago with metastatic Stage-IV prostate cancer, spread into lymph nodes through his abdomen and looking dangerously aggressive on biopsy. We scrambled to get into expert care given his advanced disease and relatively young age, which as missionary workers means leaving behind for now our home, our work, our community, our day-to-day life, in Africa and relocating for an indefinite period within range of medicine and testing and care. Dust and ashes mark this day, and this year for us. He began his first injection two weeks ago, but we see the months and hopefully years stretching ahead dimly, holding onto sober reality and faithful hope at the same time.

Dust and ashes are the residue of drought and fire, a reminder that our shiniest works have a temporal vulnerability. 

Dust and ashes keep us humble, realistic, grounded. 

But dust and ashes are not the end of the story. We have needed the 40 days from late January into March to re-orient our life from East and Central African edges of good hard work, to supporting all that through others' hands as we continue at distance.

This lent we've moved from resident in Bundibugyo focused on CSB, team, BundiNutrition, church, Bible translation and more . . . .  to resident in America working by internet. From on-continent hourly investment in our Area's holistic cadre of 80 workers, and many more partners, immersed in education, Bible, medicine, youth, sports, arts, business, residency programs, research, film, the myriad of ways that we inch good towards overcoming evil, to doing all that a step removed. From hands-on presence, to mentoring and writing and zooming. From an equatorial yard of palms and mangoes and banana trees where we have a half dozen visitors any given morning chattering in Lubwisi, to bleakly cold days with hours at a computer. And from an unseen horizon of aging and retirement to one that catapulted us into cancer care. From mortality in the unseen background to mortality as a present reality.

By faith we know: Dust will be reformed by resurrecting rain; ashes fall but leave behind a tested core that can't be consumed by fire. 

God chose the cloud and fire to represent his presence in the wilderness. As we walk into the next 40 days and the wilderness beyond, join us in praying we would see God's presence. That the obscure cloud of how-long, how-much, would shine with the glory of his mercy. That the night of our sorrow would be lit by the fire of his truth.

The path to care at Hopkins, the path to Jesus' hard call on our lives.

And pray for our Area, our work that continues, that is not all dust and ash. So many wonderful people 10-30 years younger than we are, doing way more than we could and way better. We are still team Serge. Cancer is part of our story for now, but not the whole story, so we will try to keep the complex story lines going here.


21 comments:

Anonymous said...

❤️

Anonymous said...

Jennifer & Scott, each of you, your work and family will be in my prayers.
Love you, Jo Ann Wiese

Anonymous said...

❤️❤️❤️

Anonymous said...

Praying and thinking of you both. Love you, and sending hugs.

Anonymous said...

Praying for y’all.

Anonymous said...

Prayers and love for you and your family during this time of change and challenge. May The Bless you in ways you never imagined.

Anonymous said...

Oh, Scott and Jennifer, we are praying for you both as you change your ministry location and step into the cancer world. We have been there this last year… not an easy journey. But God is faithful and you are both needed wherever you are to point people to our gracious Savior. Feel our love from Colorado. oxoxoxox sherwin and pat❤️❤️

Anonymous said...

Scott and Jennifer, Praying just now that the light of His merciful Presence will be near, today. Love from Rob and Nancy

Anonymous said...

I am Tom Johnson,director of the Uganda coalition of northern California churches and I met Travis Amy at the house in nyauka 2012. Praying for you both. Ugandacoalition.org

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear this update but knowing that God will love you through this…praying from San Diego. Ryan and Heather Murphy

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear this news. Praying for you and Scott. May the Lord give you his grace and healing.

Anonymous said...

Our family is praying for you, Scott and Jennifer. Praying 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. Love, Scott and Jane

Eileen Lass said...

Continuing to pray for you all. We love you!

Susan Stocksdale said...

I’m so sorry for this journey you're on during this season but thankful for good care and perspective. Praying for you.

Anonymous said...

Oh...Scott & Jennifer. How amazing to have met you at the Grand Junction hospital last fall. Continuing prayer for your wisdom, rest, joy & assurance in the Lord and His promises in this next phase of your life. And for your family. Love, Loretta Roberts

mercygraceword said...

Continuing to pray. Deborah

Anonymous said...

Sending love and prayers for the Lord’s presence and upholding on this path He has set X

Anonymous said...

Scott and Jen,
Praying for you both from Kijabe.
Jon M.

Anonymous said...

Praying for the Myrhes . May God see you through and may you see his goodness in the land of the living!.
A mentee based in Meru,Kenya

Anonymous said...

sending love and prayers. Craig & Maria

Anonymous said...

Just learned your news. We're praying for you and holding on to God's love through these trials. With love: Joel, Carol, & Kirabo