What a Ministry!

“As you look back, what comes to mind as the most satisfying part of your ministry?” I asked Dorie this question today at our farewell dinner for her out by the beach. She is leaving in just ten days for retirement in the U. S. after nearly 40 years of ministry in Brazil. Dorie didn’t hesitate. What gives her great satisfaction was what she noticed in a sizeable meeting of pastors recently. “As I looked around the room,” Dorie said, “I realized that through the years 90% of those present had been my students at the seminary!” What a ministry legacy! Dorie was obedient to God’s leading to a teaching ministry here in northern Brazil in the area of Bible and missions. We her colleagues will certainly miss her. And so will her students, not just for her clear teaching impact but for opening her apartment for them to watch videos Friday evenings. And for creating the first computer lab on campus. And for loving and respecting them and insisting that they indeed could learn from her and become better equipped servants of the Lord. Dorie’s ministry reminds me a phrase I heard many years ago, “Only one life, t’will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”