The Journey Continues

It has almost been a year since I left Uganda. The sounds and smells of the city I lived in are fading away. But a part of me holds on to it all. I dream about the corner market where I would see my friend Tom and talk with him about the premier league soccer. I dream about Richard my friend who made rolex's(its food) for me. I then dream about my good friend Khan down at the Arua soccer shop, where he would buy me an ice cold coke. These memories are dear to my heart and I know my time in Uganda has impacted my life deeper than I ever realized. I also never realized what kind of impact I would have on the area. I met some men who were a mix of Muslim and Christian there connection to one another was their profession. They were motorbike taxi drivers and they were my main mode of transportation while there. These men ask me to teach them about Christ and I began meeting with them. Since I have left another man has begun to meet with them and the word I have received is that it is going really well. I had no idea that my small attempt to share Christ would keep going long after I left. The Lord blesses us with being able to partner with others to advance the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Just a few weeks ago two of the people I served with Jeff and Brigette got married and I was blessed to be able to partake in the service.

Since this time I have returned home to work with my family and do life in Flint, MI. I am still in college and working toward finishing in the Lords timing.

"Rise, Peter, Kill and Eat"

The vision of Peter in Acts 10 shows Peter that what is unclean is now clean. During my lecture today we began discussing this passage and many other ones as well. My mind began to wander a bit while we discussed this. A homeless man walked into Starbucks and sat very near me. The smell of dirt,and body odor filled the room and suffocated me. I felt anger or dislike toward this man coming to this clean good smelling establishment. I was quickly convicted by Gods word in Peters vision. This thought of Peter wouldnt go be with the Gentiles (the unclean people, due to what they eat) because it would make him unclean. This smelly homeless man was the gentiles and I am the Jew. I felt I would become unclean being around him. A woman was kind to this man and gave him a breakfast sandwich and a coffee. She saw a man in need and filled it. All the while I sat judging this man, and the Lords conviction is humbling. So I ask what in your life is "unclean?"

Foxes have holes and birds have nests

In Matthew 8:20 Jesus tells a man who wants to follow Him " Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head."

In my life I sometimes have to embrace these words that my savior said. Many years ago I told Christ "I wanna serve you and proclaim your name to the nations." Following Him is hard and there is a cost to a life that surrenders all to Jesus. Not saying I am great or better than the rest I fail all the time. In the past several years I struggle to have a place to call home. I have moved so many times and seem to never have a stable place to call home. Knowing this place will be where I live for a long period of time. Following Jesus has a cost, and having no where to lay my head seems very real to me. I know the cost has so many more things than just no where to live, but at the present time I have no where to live. I have some places to stay for just a short while, but no place of refuge, a place of comfort, a home, a place of love. I long for the day where I can one afford to have a home that is my sanctuary, my refuge and two to have someone to say I love you every day. I am loved, but there are days I struggle to feel loved. I "walk by faith, not by sight." I am Trusting in the Lord and know he has a purpose for his Glory. May we all way the cost of following the Savior of the world. Praise be to Jesus.

1 AM

I sit here in my room at 1 A.M. not able to sleep, and yet I felt a need to share my thoughts with, well anyone who might read this. I feel life has been one grand adventure with great times and difficult ones as well. Serving Christ is difficult mainly due to me failing to serve Him. I feel most the time I desire the Lord, but from time to time I feel I desire to worship myself. I become my own object of affection. I know that this is sin and I desire the Lord to be first in my life. I feel a war raging between my spirit and my flesh. I can hear the words of Derek Webb in his song "wedding Dress" ringing in my head. He says "I am a whore I do confess I put you on just like a wedding dress and run down the isle." Christ is our groom and when we sin its as if we are sleeping around with others, but we still throw the dress on and run to marry Him. Why would Christ wanna marry us? Why would God love people who turn from him? I believe He loves us deeper than we can understand and this love goes deeper than our failings. Like a father to a son, I know I don't have kids of my own, but I do have a younger brother who is 3. The love I have for him goes so deep that when he disobeys I still love him. If human love is like this then God's love is deeper, more intimate, and everlasting. I trust in Christ's work on the cross for my salvation and know only in him can I find any hope or joy. May I run the race with endurance and fix my eyes on Christ. Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace. May we be a generation who prays to the Lord.

The End is Near

As this trip to Arua, Uganda comes to an end there are many things I will miss and things I wont. I know the Lord has his reasons for everything and I have grown in my faith a great deal. I sit here wondering could I have done more, or have I been faithful to the call on my life. I know we can always question our ministry and wonder if we are being faithful to the Lord. At this point in my ministry I havent had any conversions, and I havent had anyone seem really interested in the Gospel. So in the worldly view I am unsuccessful, but in the Lords view I am faithful. I rest in that truth and feel I have planted many seeds into peoples lives here in Arua. Like I said there are some things I will miss like the students, the muslim men, the children, and the team I serve with. Things I wont miss cold showers, power outages, poor internet, bad food, and cultural clashes. I look forward to chicken nuggets, ice in my drinks, wearing shorts in public, and most of all seeing my family and friends.

Prayer Needed

I need your help and anyone you know whos a believer. I met a young man named Hasan he is a muslim and I have started talking with him and I need prayer warriors for me and for his salvation. I have never in my life felt a stronger call or feeling or whatever ya wanna call it to invest time and energy into a person. I have shared Christ with him several times and we have a good friendship. The time is short and the Lord can do miracles and I pray for this man to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Please be my warriors as I know I am heading into a battle I cannot win in my own strength. I need the Lords army and his power. I love and care for this man deeply and I desire to rejoice over one lost sheep brought back into the fold. Thanks

Fun in Africa

A few weeks back when it was late and the night sky was showing off Gods beautiful creation. My fellow hands on partners and myself decided to have some good old fashion fun. While looking up into the sky we began to spin as fast as we could and then run. We never seemed to run straight or even stay on our feet. With ministry and serious tasks at hand we seem to forget to have fun just simple fun. As we star gazed and spun round and round the guard on duty started laughing very hard. He found our silliness to be very funny and odd at the same time. The small excitement was a dear moment in our team. The time is moving and the days are getting short. Love life and the simple pleasures of it. Praise the Lord for His wondrous creation.

The cost

When we think about our faith in Christ and what it means to follow Him. I feel we do not fully understand the cost to follow Christ. Are we willing to die for Him? As he died for us. Will we go to the ends of the earth to share His name? I ask these question because just this past week a good friend of mine who was serving in Mozambique died sharing his faith. He loved life and inspired all who knew him. He was 21 years old and was on fire for the Lord. He drove two hours out to the beaches of Mozambique to share Christ with the beach bums as he called them. Nothing would stop him from preaching the Word. Are we willing to pay the ultimate price to share Christ like my friend Jeremiah?
"To live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21

Preach the Word

The deeper I go in relationships here the more I realize this world is lost. Not just Uganda, or the continent of Africa, but the whole world. Being a christian has become so cultural and we have lost the true meaning behind the word. I just read a great quote the other day that said "sitting in an oven doesnt make you a biscuit and sitting in church doesnt make you a christian," and I cannot express this truth enough. Its great if you have attended church, but if you believe you will be saved and enter heaven on this basis sorry to say it but you wont get in. I have been told by so many people well Ive been baptized, yet again sorry no dice on entering by this qualification. The reality of the world is we want the easy way out. I am reminded of the rich young ruler who kept all the laws and rules and asked how do I enter the kingdom of heaven and Christ told him SELL EVERYTHING and FOLLOW ME. This man walked away sad because he wanted to keep his things. So what can we do to enter heaven? Go to church, be baptized, donate money, all great things, but first we must confess that we are sinners in need of a savior and FOLLOW HIM. Are you serving the King of Kings? Are you sacrificing your life for the kingdom of the Lord most High? He sacrificed His life for you. I say all this due to the urgency of life and remember tomorrow may not be here. Share Christ with all and everyone you can. Sacrifice your comfort and GO PREACH THE WORD.

I realized that all this time I have been updating and sharing thoughts of my time here in Arua I have never fully shared what I do each week so this may help out with praying and just understanding what I am doing.

Monday- Student Ministry meeting to go over the past weeks ministry. Also prep day to learn the story I will be teaching and I generally use the rest of the day to do general street evangelism around town.

Tuesday- Team meeting for the whole team. Then I go to Crain Secondary school to teach the story for the week, and after telling the story we discuss it. Right now we are on the fall of man Gen 3.

Wednesday- Most the day is spent in town meeting with guys I have met and trying to share Christ more with them. Their names are: Francis, Khan, Robert, also a group of Muslim men who cook and sell goat meat about 6 of them. Then I have childrens bible study and we are working our way from creation to Christ we are now on Jesus and the centurion.

Thursday- I go to a vocational school in the morning and teach the stories and then I have Mandela secondary school where we have three guys who come to story group. They are the best and most engaged guys over all. Their names are: Andrew, Godwin, and Grishum.

Friday- This is our day off and I normally still make it a point to go to town and talk with people and see what happens. From time to time I will go to White Castle and go swimming and relax. Its a nice hotel resort with good food and a nice relaxing feel to it.

Saturday- I go to Ushindi Secondary school and teach the stories. This one is way out and takes about an hour to drive to it.

Sunday- Go to Church. I try to go with a national friend and spend time with them so I can have lunch with them and discuss the sermon. Most the sermons are way wrong and off point from the text, so this is a struggle to overcome bad teaching.

This is about how my week looks and after writing it out seems very simple yet walking 45 min to town and back and just the slowness of life here seems to wear on the energy. Our terms for school's end in April so I only have a few more weeks to teach stories and pray I can meet students during the holiday break. Thanks and God bless for all the prayers and thoughts.

Walking around

Another great day in Arua all starts with just walking around town. I started around 9:30 and headed into town while on my way I decided to talk some pictures of the local golf course. While doing this a woman stopped me to inform me that one must have permission to take a picture. I asked her must I ask the trees for permission. She then said oh no it is good we live in a free country, but people and their houses you still must ask. So I asked if I could take her picture and she agreed. I continued on my way to town and stopped here and there and chatted with a few friends. After all this I was figuring I had just one more stop to make and yet I was wrong. As I was walking a homeless man stopped me and asked me for money and when I informed him I did not have any money for him he became upset. It is sad but if you give money to one then you will be known as the guy who gives money and many people will ask. My day continued on and a man yelled to me “Hey Chuck Norris,” and so I stopped and discussed Chuck Norris and Jesus with the man. I then moved on but only a few steps and a group of muslim men stopped me to buy some goat meat. I stopped and tried the meat for a free sample it was pretty good. I kept on moving until I reached my actual destination and sat around with my friend Khan discussing Jesus and soccer. The time had now reached noon and so I headed to home, but on my way the muslim men stopped me again and so I sat with them and ate lunch. They asked me if I was muslim and I said “no I am a born again believer of Jesus Christ.” This caused the men to become upset and irritated with me. I asked them what did they believe and all they would say is” allah is the only god.” They then offered me marunge this is a local drug the men chew it is also called kat (it is similar to cocaine). I am not sure of the true spelling, but I knew it was not a good thing to take. After leaving these men I was heading home, but yet again I was stopped by a young man who asked what I was doing so I said heading home and he asked me to buy something from him. So I bought some Obama gum from the guy. So funny all the Obama stuff that is sold here. I finally made it to the bota guys (they are men who drive motorcycles for taxi), and I was going to be heading home and the men desired to talk some as well. So I shared Jesus with them and asked if they were believers. They responded with we are Christian, but not born again believers. Anyone who is not muslim is Christian, but this does not mean they believe in Jesus as their savior. After some time talking with them I went home and I was worn out ready for a nap. The day was good and encouraging, but the goat meat I think has caused me to be a bit ill again. Such is life in Africa.

Life and Death

Life in Arua is not all easy and fun. Day after day I am told of a death in the local grocers family, or a death of the man you meet in the market, or the death of .... The list goes on and on and on, and I am troubled and heart broken. I feel like my feelings toward death are becoming hardened. I want to have compassion and give comfort, but to the nationals it seems like this is just part of life. It is so sad and causes one to have more urgency in sharing Christ with the people. May we never forget that life is fragile and short. Share Christ at all times.

My comfort

The longer I am in Uganda the deeper the love of the Father has become. I feel as if this trip of coming to evangelize the Lugbara people is turning into something different. I came to share the love of Jesus and to share the hope we have in Him. I am teaching and leading and evangelizing to the people of this area. So why do I have an overwhelming feeling that God is growing my faith and renewing the passion inside me. It is as if we have our idea of what we are going to do. “I am going to save the world and tell everyone of Jesus.” We then arrive settle in and begin to see that God is doing a work in you that is great than the work you are doing. I praise the Father for teaching me the value of His word. I miss the comforts of America, but I see the overwhelming worth of sacrificing my comforts to share the love and Hope we have in Christ. May we never forget to Go make disciples of all nations. This includes America. Go share the Hope and Love of Christ today with someone.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I read this in the morning during my quiet time. I really feel that this passage can help us rest in the love of our Father. To know there is nothing that can take his love away shows his surpassing care for us. O how deep the fathers love for us. At times I feel words cannot express how deep his love truly is for us. Nothing can compare to the ultimate sacrifice shown in the work of Christ. May we give the due honor and glory to the one who paid the price for our sin. Father God I thank you for the love you have shown us and to know nothing can separate us from your love.

Life in Arua

Life in Arua has been an adjustment from life in America. I have been in Africa now for over seven weeks, and I have about 85 days left. The preparation time for the ministry has been long and at times has caused me to be frustrated. I am now happy that we have started the ministry, and now we can pour our time and energy into the people of Arua. Jeff my partner and I have a vocational school that we started today. We were able to share our testimonies with the men who attend there. We also presented the Gospel by comparing it to a cultural example. To be married the man and his family must meet with the girl’s family and agree on a bride price. With this cultural custom in place we used that example to show how God desires a relationship with us. He desired it so much that he sent Christ as the bride price to buy us. The men really connected with the example and one of them asked a question in regard to the bible. His question was why would God ask Hosea to marry Gomer. Why would God ask a holy man to marry a prostitute who always cheated on Him? We shared that God used Hosea’s life to show how Israel was to God. They always cheated on Him and He always was faithful to forgive them and take them back. This is the redemption story that we have through Christ. It was a great way to end our time with the men and I look forward to meeting with them again next week. Please pray for them. My life in Arua is starting to be great if I am able to share my faith with more people.

Great Fellowship

A small taste of home happens from time to time. Today we started out going to the slaughter house to buy pig. We bought two slabs of ribs and a shoulder. This put a large smile on my face because we do not eat meat all that often. Once we returned home I had the privilege of cutting the skin and fat away from the meat. After all this was finished we put them on the grill. Once this was done it was sit and wait for it to cook. It was great to just hang out and talk with my team all 19 of us. Once it was ready we sat down and piled on the meat and started the eating fest. We also had deviled eggs and potato salad. I ate three helpings of meat and gained back some of the weight I have lost. Once I finished Pam the long term missionary's wife brought out ICE CREAM yea that's no typo. I was in heaven it was so good and I have missed it so much. MMMMMMMM. After all the eating and resting and talking we played a game of volley ball to finish the night off. It was a great day of fellowship and fun. I am looking forward to tomorrow for church and soccer later in the afternoon. Be praying for ministry in the schools and for the relationships I have started with a man named Francis. The Lord is a mighty one to save.

Where's Waldo

I have a question to ask where’s Waldo? As a child I use to love getting a where’s Waldo book and I would spend hours looking for this man in a white and red striped shirt. He would be in many different cultures and places around the world. Today as I sat in church I felt like I was Waldo. I was not wearing a white and red striped shirt, but a green polo. I went to Central Catholic Church and I was the only Mundo (that is the local term for White person) , and the church was filled to over capacity. I had half a seat, but thankful to the catholic stand, sit, kneel I did not have to sit long. The service was around one hour and twenty minutes. You may be asking why I went to a catholic church, well I met a man named Francis at the post office. We had met up on Saturday for what he called “lazy time,” and this was a great time to hang out learn about culture. Francis invited me to join him for church, so I agreed and went with him this morning.
After church had finished I was not sure what would happen. As we were walking out of church my friend grabbed my hand (this is a cultural thing that men do who are friends). He then asked me if I had any plans for the rest of the day. I did not so he gave me a tour of Arua by foot. This was an exciting day for me. We spent several hours walking around meeting all sorts of people and then we went to meet some of his friends. I found out quickly that this place was an herbal healer place that was operated by a Muslim man. Just the day before my partner and I prayed at the mosque that is located across the street for an opening to share Jesus with Muslims. The Lord opened the door and I was able to discuss religion with the man. I am planning on returning to have more discussions with him. Over all my day was wonderful. Making relationships is the key to sharing Jesus with the people of Arua. They are a relational culture and it takes time to grow and share Jesus in a deep meaningful way. They will accept Jesus along with any other God if you do not take the time to invest and teach them Jesus is the only way. Be praying for my friend Francis and his Muslim friend.

One month in Africa

So it has been a month since I first step foot in Africa. Today was the first real day I felt I was in Africa. I went to church with one of my roommates Evan. He rides his bike to church every Sunday it is 22 miles of hard riding. Up and down his and mixed with extreme heat it can wear a person out. I struggled to keep up and even finish the journey back from church. The church is located in a place called Agia. The small village sits a the foot of a good sized mountain. Some people may call it a large hill, but I am from Michigan and so I say its a mountain. We arrived and chatted with the pastor and did a small bible study with him on John 6. After this was finished we were taken into his home and given tea and sweet potato. The strange thing was that everyone left us to have tea all alone. They feel this is honoring us by doing it this way. Once we were finished we then went to the church which sits under two mango trees no building for them. I felt this was so indigenous and reproducible I loved it. The pastor preached on the passage we had just discussed earlier. We sang and introduced ourselves and fellowshiped with one another it was true community. You would think we were done at this point but not in Africa. We taught bible stories to the people the one they are learning right now is the fall of man. We also had a drama to go along with it. We had fun with the kids doing this. Once church was finished they now insisted to feed us lunch. It would be rude to decline so we once again went inside all alone to eat. We had beans, rice, Goat meat, Goat liver, posho, and inya. To eat you use your hands no fork or spoon to use. At first I was not sure if I would like it, but it was not to bad the beans and rice were great, and Goat was not terrible. The posho and inya had no flavor at all. After we finished eating we then headed home on our 11 mile bike ride back. This is the part where I almost died, but I have made it home safe. The country side of Africa is a true beauty of God and how great His creation is. Now I have seen Africa.

Car Repair

SO when I signed up to serve overseas I had a job description and such. Little did I know that many other jobs would need filled. Today I changed a car battery and also the cable that connects to it. The terminal was broken and so, we changed it. After this was complete we then changed the oil in the truck. I felt at home while doing all this it gave me so much comfort to be useful for once. Other news from Africa we have met with several schools to discuss the presentation of true love waits. While at one of the schools my partner and myself have volunteered to help coach soccer. I do not know much about the game, but meeting school boys and talking with them is the idea. We want to make relationships and invest into them. We are praying for the ability to share our stories with them and learn about their stories. May the Lord use us in a mighty way to shine His light on these boys.