perry eric melodie 1993 kenya

8/17/2019 Perry Eric Melodie 1993 Kenya

1/6

Melodic Coniey

Literacywork

among

he aasaiTribespeople

of enya

Rt.

2 Box

57E

Johnson C i t y ,TN 7601

CHRISTIAN

MISSIONARY

FELLOWSHIP

P r a y e r N e w s l e t t e r

upon

a

{and

not

so

v e r y

long

a g o ) . . .

there

wasa youngman

and

h e r e was

a o u n g

woman.

o o d

beginning

to any tory, i n my pinion.

M e l o d i e Coniey

E r i c

Perry

^ T h c y o u n g m a n s

name

was

r i

M o s t

of

y o u w i l l have already

gu e s s e d the

identity

o f

the y o u n

woman ince

y o u

are r ead i ng th

n e w s l e t t e r . Hername as

Melod

T h e r e

are

n o

frogs,

w ick ed

stepmothers,

or talking mirrors

this s t o r y , in case y o u w e r e

wondering....)

Eric

and

e l o d i e met

t

N o r t h w e st Christian College an


2/6

became

fnends

another good part

in the t o r y ) .

They laughed

t o g e t h e r , encouraged each o t h e r ,

and spent

o u n t l e s s

l a t e - n i g h t

hours deep

in

c o n v e r s a t i o n .

C o C k g t

d a y s

c a m e

o

a n

e n d

T h e

young man, oving God ery

muc h,

began

to serve in the

Church.The

young

woman, l s o loving God,

prepared to

serve

o n the

mission

f i e l d .

Through the

years,

ric

and

Melodie

pursued o p p o r t u n i t i e s

that

took

t h e m ever a r t h e r away f rom

each o t h e r .

F i n a l l y ,

when

Melodie

journeyed

to

Kenya,

h e

and

he

y o ung man were halfa

world

apart....

t H o i V C V e r t h e r e s h o u l d a l w a y s h e

a

owever

in

any

good a l e .

Especially a f t e r t hat

sad part about

being e p a r a t e d ) ,

the

long

conversations

were not o s t ; they

continued

in

late-night telephone

c a l l s and, ventually, n a onstant

exchange

of e t t e r s .

Across he m i l e s , through the

years, he iiendship between

Melodie

and ric grew deeper.

They hared dreams and

disappointments, music, books,

laughter,and h e i r love for God.

They escribed in words

th e

experiences that

shaped

and

defined t h e i r

everyday i v e s .

moved

o Tennesseein

1989

to

attendEmmanuel chool of

Religion. Melodie

continued

h er

l i t e r a c y work

with MF n

Keny

The

e t t e r s kept flowing, and

ti

went

by.

returned o

the

States

October

1992

with

many

emori

of her

time

among

he Maasai. A

she prayed about the future,

wondering where God would lea

the

echo

of

her

heart kept hring

up

ric's name.

S l n c C s t i l l t h e f r i e n d s h i p g r e w

between the young man

nd

the

youn g

woman.

ong

ours,

at e

into the night, were spent o n t h

telephone.

One

ay and t h i s i s t

part that happened not so long a

December

6,1992,

o

be

exac

Eric

a l l e d

Melodie,and hey

be

t o

talk

and

laugh,

ust i k e alwa

Then, h e

conversation

t o o k

a

u

(as conversations w i l l do),and t

young man

was

sking the

youn

woman

o

mar ry h i m After

nine

years, and a iiendship that h ad

most certainly become love,

he

young woman eplied with an

en t h u s ias t ic

"Yes "

"happily

ever

f t e r " part

s

r e a l l y only a eginning f t e r a l l .

For

Eric

and

Melodie,

i f e

togeth

w i l l be a ontinuing

story

that

began (br^ g o ,

onu

upon a i m e ,

yorI

t f i e p C a t t s

I a v e o r o u . . . C

t o

p r o s p e r y o u and

o t

t o t a r m y o u , C a n s

g i v e

you

a o p e

and u t u r e . '

^ ^ r e m i a f l 2


3/6

Thank you f o r your i t h f u l prayers

for both

my

ime in Kenya and t h i s

furlough. Ple ase continue to

pray:

•

ur edding

w i l l b e

on

April 3,

1993,

at my

home hurch

at

McKenzie

Bridge.

•

or our i r s t

year of marriage

Eric w i l l

be

finishing his studies

and

h e s i s

atEmmanuel il l

be continuing

to v i s i t

supporters,

churches, c a m p s , and

VBSs n

the Midwestand on the

West

Coast. We'll i v e in Johnson City,

Tennessee:

Rt. 2, Box57E

Johnson

City,

TN

7601.

Take

note

of he new address

Please Write

CK

A

•

here

r e exciting opportuniti

for ministry in the fdture. P r a

f o r wisdom and i s i on as we

e x p l o r e

where he Lord woul d

have

us

serve together.

• or the

Maasai

Literacy Prog

as

t

continues

in

Kenya:

teachers,

new eaders,and

opportunities to share

f ro m Go

Word.

Next

im e y o u hear

f r o m

me,

l

Melodie

Perry

For

the

Kingdom,

Melodie

Conley

Eric

P e r r y

and Melodie

Conl e y


4/6

E r i c

and Melodic

P e r r y

MinistryWITH

the

Narok Church

LiteracyWork

among

he MaasaiTribe

of

Kenya

769W th

Avenue

3

E u g e n e ,

OR

/402

503-485*6152

October

1993

CHRISTIAN

MISSIONARY

FELLOWSHIP r a y t r N t w s U t t e r

The Wedd ing

Was

a

u c c e s s

Our i r s t y e a r of

a r r i a g e :

An

d v e n t u r e

i n M o v i n g

I n

my a s t

n e w s l e t t e r ,

w r o t e t h a t

' h a p p i l y

e v e r a f t e r ' s

r e a l l y

o n l y

a

b e g i n n i n g a f t e r

a l l ,

and o ur b e g i n n i n g was o n t h e r o a d As n

a n y

a d v e n t u r e , t h e p a s t

f e w

months

a v

h a d

t h e i r

s h a r e

of u r p r i s e s , d e t o u r s , a n

b l e s s i n g s . H e r e ' s

a n

u p d a t e

on

som e of

t h i n g s y o u ' v e

b e e n

p r a y i n g a b o u t . . .

APRIL:

3-11 —

el's and r i c ' s f i r s t move cro

t h e

c o u n t r y

a . k . a . , " t h e

h o n e y m o o n " ) .

s e t up

o u r

n e w h o m e

n Johnson

C i t y ,

Tennesse e,

w h e r e Eric attends Emmanu

S c h o o l

of

e l i g i o n .

2 1 - 2 8 ~ e l e t u r n s

t o Oregon f o r c h u

r e p o r t i n g

a p p o i n t m e n t s ; E r i c

works

o n

h i s t o r y

p a p e r .

29~ oy,

s

E r i c

g l a d t o s e e

h i s n e w

i

a g a i n

MAY:

2 - 4 ~ he n e w l y w e d s a t t e n d

CMF's

S p r i n g

B o a r d

M e e t i n g

i n I n di a n a p o l i s .

Here,

w e mak e

an i m p o r t a n t

d e c i s i o n

about o ur future:We i l l be Short-ter

A s s i s t a n t s w i t h t h e CMF enya t e a m

en d

o f

h i s l e t t e r

f o r d e t a i l s . )

Back t

t h e r a n c h ,

f u r l o u g h work

and

school c o nti nue.


5/6

JUNE:

1 - 4 —

s y c h o l o g i

c a l assessment

exams orCMF

a f f i l i a t i o n

( a f t e r

much

offee and

l i t d e s l e e p ) .

10 19 We o

t o

I n d i a n a p o l i s

( a g a i n ) o r

m o r e

M o v i n g p i c t u r e .

p s y c h o l o g i c a l

t e s t s ,

E r i c ' s

a f f i l i a t i o n interview

with

CMF

s t a f f ,

a n d

a

S u p p o r t

R a i s i n g O r i e n t a t i o n

w o r k s h o p .

B e c a u s e

we r e b o t h n a t i v e O r e g o n i a n s , w e

d e c i d e

t o r e t u r n t o Oregon o r s u p p o r t

r a i s i n g

and p a r t n e r s h i p

b u i l d i n g . A

t e n t a t i v e p l a n

t o move n

December

s

made

n d

i m m e d i a t e l y

r e v i s e d t o A u g u s t .

( T h i s w a s

one of

h e s u r p r i s e s we

mentioned.)

1 1 — r i c o r d a i n e d

b y

t h e c o n g r e g a t i o n of

Weber

i t y

C h r i s t i a n

Church n V i r g i n i a .

17 —

Mel

u r n s 3 0 . E r i c ( a g e 28) a u g h s .

1 8 - 2 2

—

et

another

return

to

I n d i a n a p o l i s . Mel

who

h o u g h t s h e ' d

s e e n

e n o u g h c a m p i n g

i n

Kenya) s t h e

m i s s i o n s

s p e a k e r a t

a

j u n i o r a g e " J u n g l e

Camp," n d

E r i c f r a n t i c a l l y w o r k s on i s m a s t e r ' s t h e s i s .

Back t

t h e r a n c h ,

p a c k i n g b e g i n s .

AUGUST:

M i s s i s s i p p i s t i l l f l o o d e d

( r e v i s e d

m o v i n g r o u t e

r e v i s e d ) .

—

ifteen

foot U Haulan

c a r tow

o l l y

s e c u r e d

f o r

i m m e d i a t e

d e p a r t u r e .

P a c k

c ontin ues.

5 — r i c

and

Mel

i n a l l y

l e

Tennessee.The econd

c r o s s - c o u n t r y d r i v e

b e g i n s .

5 - 1 2

—

i s s i s s i p p i f l o o d s

a v o i d e d ,

downtown h i c a g

s u c c e s s f u l l y

n a v i g a t e d ,

and

a r e

d e l a y e d

when

100,000

m o t o r c y c l i s t s f l o o d South

Dakota

o r

a

a l l y .

E v e r y

motel

in

the

t a t e w a s

u l l . Our oute tu

s o u t h

t h r o u g h

I o w a , w h e r e w e t a y a t a

area

w it h

the r e s t of he truckers... we

o u r

f u e l c a p

a n d

t r u c k

k e y i n

Wyoming.

13 —

We

r r i v e a t our

new

home

p l e a s e

n o t e

o u r

new d d r e s s a n d phone on h e

f r o n t )

i n

E u g e n e ,

O r e g o n

L o o k i n g

t o w a r d t h e

f u t u r e . . .

The

Ad v e n t u r e C on t in ue s

The o u g h d r a f t

of

r i c s

t h e s i s

i s i n

t h e

mail,

a n d we

r e

a t

l a s t

s e t t l e d for a

whil


6/6

Our ocus

for the

next

few months s

to

e s t a b l i s h

a d d i t i o n a l p a r t n e r s h i p s a n d

f u r t h e r p r e p a r e

f o r

o u r

f u t u r e

m i n i s t r i e s i n

Kenya.

The

inistries

in

which

we

i l l

be

involved

a r e

a

b l e n d i n g

of

l d

a n d

new

o r

u s .

We

w i l l

b e s e r v i n g

w i t h t h e Narok

Church of

Christ. This s

a multi-tribal town

hurch

b e g u n b y MF i s s i o n a r i e s i n 1 9 8 7 .

M i s s i o n a r i e s

Don nd am

ohnson

have

s e r v e d w i t h

t h e

c h u r c h f o r

f o u r y e a r s ,

d e v e l o p i n g

l e a d e r s h i p

a n d g u i d i n g t h e

church

in

the

construction

of church

b u i l d i n g , e d u c a t i o n b u i l d i n g , a n d a p a s t o r s

h o u s e . The

o h n s o n s

b e g i n f u r l o u g h

a t

t h e

b e g i n n i n g of 9 9 4 , t h e n

w i l l

r e t i r e . Our

work s t o c o n t i n u e t h a t

m i n i s t r y .

E r i c s

r o l e

w i l l b e

i n

l e a d e r s h i p

d e v e l o p m e n t

a s d i s c i p l e r ,

p a s t o r , a n d

e n c o u r a g e r f o r t h o s e i n p o s i t i o n s o f

l e a d e r s h i p a n d f o r t h e

c o n g r e g a t i o n .

P r e s e n t l y , t h e r e

a r e f i v e d e a c o n s , s e v e n

deaconesses, a n d four elders

in

the Narok

Chur ch. This

m i n i s t r y

i s

one of

h e

" f i n a l

s t a g e s " n e c e s s a r y f o r t h i s Church o become

a n i n d e p e n d e n t , m a t u r e c o n g r e g a t i o n .

The o a l

of a t u r e

c o n g r e g a t i o n s

i s k e y

i n

M e l o d i e ' s m i n i s t r y a s w e l l . She w i l l be

c o n t i n u i n g

t h e

l i t e r a c y

work

b e g u n

d u r i n g

h e r p r e v i o u s t e r m i n Kenya.

She

i l l b e

s e r v i n g

c o n g r e g a t i o n s

of a a s a i b e l i e v e r s

b y t r a i n i n g l o c a l l i t e r a c y

t e a c h e r s ,

t e a c h i n g ,

a n d

d e v e l o p i n g

new

e a d e r

m a t e r i a l s .

I n

a d d i t i o n , s h e p l a n s

t o

s e r v e a l o n g s i d e

E r i c

i n

t h e

Narok

Church

m i n i s t r y .

P l e a s e

Pray o r :

m i n i s t r y p a r t n e r s f o r

t h e work

n

K e n y a

• r i c a s he o m p l e t e s and d e f e n d s h i s

t h e s i s .

on nd am ohnson a s t h e y

r e t i r e

f r o m t h e Narok

Church

p o s i t i o n ,

a n d

f

t h e c o n g r e g a t i o n

d u r i n g

t h e

n e x t f e w

months

f

r a n s i t i o n .

•

l a r i t y

a s we h a r e our i s i o n w i t h

churches.

Your e l l o w s o j o u r n e r s .

E r i c

and Mclodie P e r r y

P . S .

We d o v e t o

t e l l

you

more

about

w

w e ' r e d o i n g P l e a s e

w r i t e

o r c a l l .

Our

i n i s t r y

i n Kenya w i l l

b e

w i t h t h e

Narok C h u r c h of h r i s t ,

a s

w e l l

a s

i n

Maasai

i t e r a c y .

Individuals a n d

churches who i l l

be our

perry eric melodie 1993 kenya

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