Reviewing the situation

Back in Tasmania, we enjoyed having our children and grandchildren around us again. Medical tests revealed no further damage to my heart, and I regained my energy. What should our next movements be? We entered into the process of transferring our SIM associate membership from the UK to Australia, but that proved more difficult than we had imagined. After a lengthy period of negotiation, it became clear that the kind of ministry that was opening up for us, that is, short term blocks (a medical precaution) of intensive teaching in theological colleges in various countries, was not the kind of ministry that was easy for SIM to coordinate, and so it seemed good to part company with SIM and begin charting our own path following God's leading. That path has opened up amazingly.
Meanwhile, I taught some introductory Greek for Tabor College in Hobart, and Kathleen began teaching Hebrew to a small class of enthusiastic students in our own home.

Through a surprising series of email communications (God moves in mysterious and wonderful ways) we received many invitations to teach modular courses in a range of colleges overseas. We believe that God has called us to share our education, our gifts and our experience in proclaiming his Good News ‘among the nations’ of the world, particularly in countries that need assistance in the development of theological education and the training of Christian leaders. In preparing to walk that path, we set up a new organisation that will help us to fulfil the mission we've been given. We are now International Teaching Partners. We are blessed with a small number of representatives of four local churches in the Kingston-Hobart area who provide on-going support for us as we minister in teaching.

For this new phase it seemed appropriate to discontinue this blog and begin a new one. So I'm inviting you to click over to SandKRochester.blogspot.com and continue reading about where we are what we're doing. There you'll also find information about how to support us.

An unexpected move

For a variety of reasons, it's been more than a year since I updated this blog. I must continue the story where I left off. Kathleen and I were enjoying our teaching at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology. In the rainy season (June-July) I taught an intensive eight week course in introductory Greek. This was difficult for most of the students, because (a) most of them worked during the day, (b) the course was, as I mentioned, intensive, five nights a week, and so it was hard for them to keep up, and (c) the course was required by the college (for those who would continue with Biblical Studies) but could not be counted towards a degree. However, I enjoyed teaching the class, and the students worked as hard as they could.
The following semester I started to teach both Advanced Greek Exegesis and a survey course of the Gospels and Acts. About six weeks into the semester I suffered a sudden abdominal pain and was taken to hospital with a suspected cardiac problem, since I had had cardiac surgery ten years previously. Although no definite diagnosis could be made, and I spent only one night in the hospital, I could not continue teaching my classes, and the SIM doctor insisted that I return to Australia for more thorough testing.
It was with very mixed feelings that we said goodbye and were farewelled warmly by the students and staff. Many of them expressed gratitude for our teaching, and hoped that we would be able to return to Ethiopia some day. We hope so, too.