For the past few years, I have been trying to find a recorded version of a song that the youth worship bands in middle school and high school used to play. It always touched my heart and reminded me of who I am in Christ. This song has and continues to be an encouragement to me especially in my current situation.
For those that have dedicated their lives to being a disciple of Christ, I want to encourage you to stand with your face to the wind, and your back to the world...don't turn around to follow the things of the world. For those struggling with the back and forth tug-o-war between surrendering your life to Christ and living for the pleasures of this world, I challenge you to turn you back to the things of the world and follow Christ at all cost....HIS WAY!
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:24--27
Stand
Here I am still waiting
For how long I don't know
It's a long way back from where I've been
And there's no where else to go
So I'll stand with my face to the wind
And my back to the world
I'll follow you
I'll go where to tell me to go
No I don't be afraid
No I won't be afraid
I feel your wind is moving
I'm not sure where it's going
But I'll let it carry me away
Cause I'm not staying in this place
So I'll stand with my face to the wind
And my back to the world
I'll follow you
I'll go where to tell me to go
No I don't be afraid
No I won't be afraid
And I won't turn around
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
You're a missionary TOO!
I often get the comments from people about how awesome it is that I have moved overseas to an unknown country to serve as a missionary. I never really thought of it as much of a sacrifice. I was only trying to listen and obey the calling of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you've seen where I live then you know why I think I'm not sacrificing much. I have most of the comforts of home here in my little house/apartment. But I can't deny that my life has changed drastically in the eyes of most people. In my eyes, my life is pretty much the same apart from the fact that I am far away from most of my family and friends.
While in Uganda, I enjoy listening to podcasts at home from speakers that I am familiar with. My favorite is not that of my own home church, but a church that is not far away from where I had lived in the US. That church has committed millions of dollars to support different ministries around the world. But it wasn't the fact that they were donating millions of dollars worldwide that recently caught my attention. Instead it's the words of their pastor who challenged the people of his church to be a light in the community in which they live.
You might be thinking that this is nothing new. You've heard pastors speak about the importance of being in a small group or a smaller community within the framework of the church. You've probably heard over and over how you should "love your neighbor". You've probably heard that you should preach the gospel to those who live around you. I too had heard all those things, and to be honest, most of the time I ignored those pleas. It's only as I've moved to another country that these things really hit home in a recent message. The pastor said something to the effect that if you can't be a missionary in your own community, how can you be a missionary to the rest of the world. You can see how that hit home for me. I had never cared to share with those in my community while I was in the US. However, it's easy to go door to door in Uganda to share the gospel with anyone on the street. I mean who cares what those people think about me. It's much more difficult to share with people in the US who will judge me: the guy next door to me that hates my dog, the people on the other side of my house who are constantly partying, the couple across the street that is co-habitating. I distinctly remember my grandma to hide when she saw some Christians approaching her door.
You might think that it's awesome that I'm overseas trying to disciple young people to be the next generation of leaders in Uganda. For me, I think what I am doing to serve the Lord is easy. Instead, I look up to that remnant of people in the US who believe so strongly in our Lord Jesus Christ that they will preach the gospel to their neighbors in the US no matter what those people might think of them or how they might judge them. If you are one of those people, I pray that you will continue the good work the Lord has put before you. If you're a believer and like me didn't do this very well, I pray that the Holy Spirit will give you "power" (Acts 1:8) to witness for Christ. After all, if you call Jesus your Lord and Savior, you're a missionary too.
While in Uganda, I enjoy listening to podcasts at home from speakers that I am familiar with. My favorite is not that of my own home church, but a church that is not far away from where I had lived in the US. That church has committed millions of dollars to support different ministries around the world. But it wasn't the fact that they were donating millions of dollars worldwide that recently caught my attention. Instead it's the words of their pastor who challenged the people of his church to be a light in the community in which they live.
You might be thinking that this is nothing new. You've heard pastors speak about the importance of being in a small group or a smaller community within the framework of the church. You've probably heard over and over how you should "love your neighbor". You've probably heard that you should preach the gospel to those who live around you. I too had heard all those things, and to be honest, most of the time I ignored those pleas. It's only as I've moved to another country that these things really hit home in a recent message. The pastor said something to the effect that if you can't be a missionary in your own community, how can you be a missionary to the rest of the world. You can see how that hit home for me. I had never cared to share with those in my community while I was in the US. However, it's easy to go door to door in Uganda to share the gospel with anyone on the street. I mean who cares what those people think about me. It's much more difficult to share with people in the US who will judge me: the guy next door to me that hates my dog, the people on the other side of my house who are constantly partying, the couple across the street that is co-habitating. I distinctly remember my grandma to hide when she saw some Christians approaching her door.
You might think that it's awesome that I'm overseas trying to disciple young people to be the next generation of leaders in Uganda. For me, I think what I am doing to serve the Lord is easy. Instead, I look up to that remnant of people in the US who believe so strongly in our Lord Jesus Christ that they will preach the gospel to their neighbors in the US no matter what those people might think of them or how they might judge them. If you are one of those people, I pray that you will continue the good work the Lord has put before you. If you're a believer and like me didn't do this very well, I pray that the Holy Spirit will give you "power" (Acts 1:8) to witness for Christ. After all, if you call Jesus your Lord and Savior, you're a missionary too.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Summerteams...not really summertime
We're halfway through what is called summer in the US. (In Uganda, we don't have four seasons, only 2: rainy season and dry season.) Summer for us means teams. We have had a barrage of teams visiting us since the middle of May. Let me give you a short description of where each team was from and what they did while they were here.
Westmont College sent 5 students our way. I was very close to this team as they shacked up in my small two bedroom guesthouse for 6 weeks. During their stay, they blessed me most with their company. It was a blessing to have Americans to joke around with and talk on the same level. While they were here, they busted their butts painting, digging, carrying bricks, preaching the gospel in the community, teaching chapels and Sunday school, and much more. Most of all, they got to see all the challenges that can occur in a 3rd world country...no water or fetching water from down at the well and carrying it up 5 flights of stairs...no electricity...eating posho and beans...and having their freedom to go anywhere at anytime taken away. Hopefully they learned valuable lessons from their time here and come back to visit soon.
Liberty Christian School from the Dallas area was the next team. They have been the team that over the past two summers I have never met, yet I always see tangible things left behind by them that impact the school. This year, their focus was on our new land for the high school. Although things didn't go quite as they planned, they were still able to make a huge impact there clearing much of the land and helping to grade the plot that will be used for the high school. At the primary school, they played with kids, taught chapels, put up our much needed basketball hoop and built a new swing set for the children. I can't wait to see what they'll accomplish next year.
Oaks Christian School from Westlake Village, CA was next to visit. They spent their first week in Uganda with us and the second at another ministry. While here, the teachers continued to work with the teachers at the high school. From what I hear, our teachers at God Cares High School were blessed by the resources they brought and the discussions that took place. The students and other leaders were at the primary school completing between 30-50 single student desks for the high school. 
I was especially blessed by this team as my "adopted brother", Connor, was here with that team. He received rave reviews as a hard worker while here. We were able to have one night together at my house, but I wish it could have been more like a week together!
Hillcrest Christian School from Thousand Oaks, CA came next along with some board members from Buyamba, Inc. Their focus was also making desks, but while Oaks focused on varnishing and assembling the desks, Hillcrest started from scratch. It was a lot of work, but they were blessed with some skilled men to help organize everything that needed to be done. They also were able to bless both schools with books and supplies as well as a special meal of meat for the students at both schools.
While Hillcrest was still here, we received 24 people from the high school group at Calvary Community Church (my home church). Because of their visit, I am now stocked with hopefully enough chocolate chips, peanut butter, jam, and pancake mix to last me through much of 2010. I was blessed to have many students visit whom I have known since they were in middle school. It was amazing to see the Lord working in many of them while 
they were here as they focused on preaching the gospel in a poor area called Bukasa (We have many students at our school from that area) They also taught Sunday school and chapel at our schools.
After a week off with no visitors, a team of 8 arrived from Houston. The team consisted of half teachers who worked with teachers from both schools. The pastor led a 3-day conference in the village on the "kingdom of God" while his wife and two other ladies taught a women's seminar at our church and another church in Kawempe. There was also a carpenter on this team and he decided that while he was here he would make some things for us. The final output was more than we could have imagined: 2 bookshelves and a storage closet. These would be used at our high school.
This last team just left tonight. We receive a family of three tomorrow, but then we're done until the end of August when we host a team from Dallas that will be integral for the children's camp we will be having.
As you can see teams blessed us in many ways. I'm sure I forgot to list many of the things that these teams did while they were here, but you get an idea of how much has been done so far this summer through the blessing of visiting teams. The best part of it all is that in May before all the teams came to visit, we needed approximately 250 sponsors for children at God Cares Schools, but the latest numbers reflect that we need only 61 sponsors as a result of teams and Pastor Dongo's visit to the US. Would you also consider sponsoring a child's education? It's only a dollar a day. Contact me if you are interested.
Westmont College sent 5 students our way. I was very close to this team as they shacked up in my small two bedroom guesthouse for 6 weeks. During their stay, they blessed me most with their company. It was a blessing to have Americans to joke around with and talk on the same level. While they were here, they busted their butts painting, digging, carrying bricks, preaching the gospel in the community, teaching chapels and Sunday school, and much more. Most of all, they got to see all the challenges that can occur in a 3rd world country...no water or fetching water from down at the well and carrying it up 5 flights of stairs...no electricity...eating posho and beans...and having their freedom to go anywhere at anytime taken away. Hopefully they learned valuable lessons from their time here and come back to visit soon.Liberty Christian School from the Dallas area was the next team. They have been the team that over the past two summers I have never met, yet I always see tangible things left behind by them that impact the school. This year, their focus was on our new land for the high school. Although things didn't go quite as they planned, they were still able to make a huge impact there clearing much of the land and helping to grade the plot that will be used for the high school. At the primary school, they played with kids, taught chapels, put up our much needed basketball hoop and built a new swing set for the children. I can't wait to see what they'll accomplish next year.
Oaks Christian School from Westlake Village, CA was next to visit. They spent their first week in Uganda with us and the second at another ministry. While here, the teachers continued to work with the teachers at the high school. From what I hear, our teachers at God Cares High School were blessed by the resources they brought and the discussions that took place. The students and other leaders were at the primary school completing between 30-50 single student desks for the high school. 
I was especially blessed by this team as my "adopted brother", Connor, was here with that team. He received rave reviews as a hard worker while here. We were able to have one night together at my house, but I wish it could have been more like a week together!Hillcrest Christian School from Thousand Oaks, CA came next along with some board members from Buyamba, Inc. Their focus was also making desks, but while Oaks focused on varnishing and assembling the desks, Hillcrest started from scratch. It was a lot of work, but they were blessed with some skilled men to help organize everything that needed to be done. They also were able to bless both schools with books and supplies as well as a special meal of meat for the students at both schools.
While Hillcrest was still here, we received 24 people from the high school group at Calvary Community Church (my home church). Because of their visit, I am now stocked with hopefully enough chocolate chips, peanut butter, jam, and pancake mix to last me through much of 2010. I was blessed to have many students visit whom I have known since they were in middle school. It was amazing to see the Lord working in many of them while 
they were here as they focused on preaching the gospel in a poor area called Bukasa (We have many students at our school from that area) They also taught Sunday school and chapel at our schools.After a week off with no visitors, a team of 8 arrived from Houston. The team consisted of half teachers who worked with teachers from both schools. The pastor led a 3-day conference in the village on the "kingdom of God" while his wife and two other ladies taught a women's seminar at our church and another church in Kawempe. There was also a carpenter on this team and he decided that while he was here he would make some things for us. The final output was more than we could have imagined: 2 bookshelves and a storage closet. These would be used at our high school.
This last team just left tonight. We receive a family of three tomorrow, but then we're done until the end of August when we host a team from Dallas that will be integral for the children's camp we will be having.
As you can see teams blessed us in many ways. I'm sure I forgot to list many of the things that these teams did while they were here, but you get an idea of how much has been done so far this summer through the blessing of visiting teams. The best part of it all is that in May before all the teams came to visit, we needed approximately 250 sponsors for children at God Cares Schools, but the latest numbers reflect that we need only 61 sponsors as a result of teams and Pastor Dongo's visit to the US. Would you also consider sponsoring a child's education? It's only a dollar a day. Contact me if you are interested.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
New Blog
If you're reading this that means that you've figured out that I changed to blogger from livejournal. The livejournal site was just too slow for me to log in and post things. I hope that I will find myself blogging more now that I'm on this site. Enjoy reading up on the coming adventures.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Back Again
Sorry that it's been a month since my last post. Been very busy with teams, but Saturday, the Calvary team leaves and I'm not sure when the next team arrives after that. Don't have time to give a good update here, but just letting you know I went to a safari with some friends on the Hillcrest team and we had some cool adventures. Stay tuned.
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