Joel Belz: Who will finish the story?

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Wednesday, March 14th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from member-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

KENT COVINGTON, HOST: And I’m Kent Covington.

JOEL BELZ, FOUNDER: I used to think that nothing brought me more delight than to hear someone respond to something in WORLD by saying: “I didn’t know that.”

COVINGTON: WORLD founder Joel Belz with a special request.

BELZ: Now I take it farther. Real gratification comes when someone reads, agrees—and then changes his behavior.

Thirteen years ago, I told about my friend Scott Brinkerhoff. He had taken seriously what he read in WORLD about the needs of widows and orphans in Africa. Scott had been a school teacher and athletic director. Now, at 52, he was a widower looking energetically and sacrificially for his next assignment in God’s kingdom.

Scott spent months exploring the details of where he might best serve. After reading in WORLD about a ministry in South Africa, he committed himself to a difficult term there. But it wasn’t a good fit, so he moved north where he learned of a tiny mission outreach on the northwestern side of South Sudan.

Two or three families had banded together under the title of “Cush for Christ,” and had planted a handful of small churches. They wanted Scott’s help in launching a radio station, and then a school—both as keys to strengthen the churches. He could help widows and orphans along the way. Scott started by building his own little tin cabin—as mosquito-proof and monkey-proof and snake-proof as possible.

Scott had never in his life worked in radio. But he’s the kind of fellow who thrives on tough assignments, and “Redemption Radio” has now been on the air for ten years.

So next, the school. No plan, no curriculum, no staff, no building, no tables or desks. And no experience. About 30 students showed up for the first day of school six years ago. Some had no schooling at all behind them; those who had a little became his teaching assistants. 

Government-issued report cards showed superior performance by the students—boosting this year’s enrollment to 174. Scott desperately needs another qualified teacher.

So I ask you: Was Scott Brinkerhoff’s early response to that column in WORLD wise or foolish? Is there among WORLD’s current members someone ready to spend the rest of 2018 helping this fledgling school in the middle of nowhere get its feet on the ground?

The qualifications are tough, Scott says. This person, or married couple, has to be in good physical shape. No medical conditions. A tough climate. An adventuresome eater, ready for an unusual diet. Someone ready to learn quietly and not make a big splash. Spiritually and emotionally strong.

Here’s an admittedly unusual job posting. But many thousands are listening to this. The people of South Sudan need only one to say: “I’m ready!”

If that person is you, please e-mail me at jbelz@wng.org. That’s j-b-e-l-z @ wng.org.

For WORLD Radio, I’m Joel Belz.

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