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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Wisdom from the Grey Fox

There are times here where I can get overwhelmed or frustrated by serving others. Sometimes, I 'grow weary of doing good.' There is so much than can be done in a place full of people with genuine needs and of course others with not so genuine needs. You have to sift through the requests and determine which people to help and which ones you have to say no to. But there is a never ending line of people who 'need' something. It can often significantly cut into the time I have set aside for work/ministry/chores, etc. Then I just get frustrated and just feel like an errand boy or servant, I am jealous of my own time. I was reminded today while getting water for a local elder about the words of a former mentor, the "Grey Fox" Dr. James Shields. He was my preaching professor back in University. A great man of God, he was a country preacher who was more concerned with your character than anything else. But he helped me to adjust my attitude about a lot of things and whenever I start complaining to myself about serving others I remember what he taught us. He said, "Ministry is NEVER convenient. Preaching, teaching sharing the gospel, etc. These are your responsibilities, but it is something you do, plan for and execute on a regular schedule. But true ministry happens when you are too busy to serve, when you would rather be doing something else but you stop to serve someone in whatever way the Lord gives you opportunity to do so. If it works within your schedule...it is not ministry." [paraphrased]

I think this plays out as you look at Jesus life, because he always seemed to know how to handle people in need. He knew when to say no but he always seemed to minister, especially when it was inconvenient. I thank Jesus for this example and I thank Dr. Shields for teaching it to me.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST


Many of you have been following the saga of Longolomoe and Moses and his desire to take her land (that officially belongs to the Baptist Mission) Well I am asking again for urgent prayer as we continue battling for this woman and her wellbeing, as well as the wellbeing of all of our neighbors. Tomorrow we will be having a very important meeting about the land. Moses and his wife have been gathering a group of people who they have bribed and promised everything from roofing materials to houses. We will also be present with the Elders of the area, the Police Chief, the mayor, and practically everyone who has a stake in this dispute.

The documents are very clear that the property belongs to the mission, but the survey of the land is stopped until this is resolved. once the survey is complete we can get the final land title and this should be over, for good. So I am asking everyone to pray! Pray that we will prevail and through this act we can further establish our place in the community and earn the right to speak to them about Jesus. Pray also that Moses and his wife will repent and turn their hearts from wickedness.

The meeting will be at 11am Uganda time. I believe that is 2 am Central time in the US. God knows what is going on and he hears your prayers whenever you say them so please lift us up and pray fervently for this situation. We sincerely thank you!

Monday, January 14, 2013

Life, Death & Ransom: UPDATE



Well, we have made it several months and had very few problems. Longolomoe has been sick a few times but overall she has been doing okay. For several months Moses was no where to be found, we just went on about our lives and ministry.

Then last week I recieved word from Longolomoe that Moses had returned to her garden and was cutting bricks from the soil and drying them there. The intention was then to stack the bricks and cook them with fire. So there are obviously several problems with this. 1) Moses and his wife are making another play to steal this land. 2) By cutting away the top 10”-15” of the top soil her garden is going to struggle for several years. 

The police were called and now we are dealing with the authorities. On Friday, as two of our friends were walking down the road, Moses wife and her workers began to verbally attack them and threatened to have them killed. Another police report was filed. Please pray for a quick and positive resolution to this situation. It could not have happened at a worse time. We are recieving 28 people for a 2 and a half month missionary training and I don’t have time to deal with all of this. So, Please pray fervently that we can get this solved and move on.