Friday, May 1st 2009

Today i planned on heading up to Barefoot Republic to spend some time prepping for a work day that is happening there tomorrow.  However in the middle of the night storms hit our area, and stuck around, which ended my desire to go walk the campus of Barefoot dreaming about camp this summer. With a healing broken foot, walking around in the mud of the campus, just did not seem like the best choice i could make. 

Speaking of this summer.  In June i have the honor of helping Grassland Heights Baptist Church (Nashville, TN) put on its summer camp, and we have invited a few other churches.  I get to plan much of the camp with its youth pastor Jerry Davis, and the week of camp not only get to help direct the camp but have the honor of preaching during the worship services as well. This camp will occur June 22-26.  Then in July i get to be a part of an actual barefoot republic camp.  This is the first senior high week and should be awesome.  At that camp, i have been given the honor of MC and camp director.  If you don't know much about Barefoot, i highly recommend that you check it out www.barefootrepublic.org . 

The rain caused some extra time today studying.  I took my normal routine of a chapter of proverbs, and another NT or OT passage.  And added on a bit.  I really chomped on the first 9 verses of Chapter 31 of proverbs today.  Also, took some time to consider what Paul was up to in the 14th Chapter of 1 Corinthians.  Lot many who lead people towards Christ as part of their call, i have spent a considerable amount of time looking at the text of Corinthians in context.  However, chapter 14 has some very interesting turns and considerations when it comes to the power of tongues, and the gift of prophecy.  Then as if those 2 subjects don't turn your head enough, then Paul brings in what seem to be some personal thoughts about women in the church.  what's odd about these thoughts is not that Paul said them, the time and culture would point to such things, but instead my memory of the number of times in other letters to other areas of the world where he admonishes how wonderful many of the female followers of Jesus are.  I will have to consider how early in ministry Paul wrote Corinth after his radical conversion to get more perspective on how he finishes the chapter.

Our day finished with an evening with the girls from Jess' life group from our days at Christ Church.  It was still raining, and storming quite heavy, so we spent about 2 hours in Pie in the Sky, yummy pizza for all.  Then headed up the road to Tusculum Lanes, where 8 of us, including Justus, bowled a game.  It was a good night for all.

As we are finishing the evening, Jess is in the other room devouring "Wild Goose Chase - Mark Batterson.", one of my latest recommended reads. She continues to yell to me from the other room with quotes that are rocking her.  So i will close with one she just gave me.  "You want to make God laugh, tell Him all your plans."

May the King of the Universe reveal His heart for the redemption of His Kingdom on earth in the moments to come. PEACE.

WOW What a day

Today was quite a day.  As many of you know Jess and I were facing the fact that our little man was headed to the dentist to have one of his front teeth removed, however everything changed very quickly.

In order for you to get the full understanding i will give you a little of the back story.  This past weekend, Justus was playing in our Master Bathroom while i was also in there.  At one point he fell off the tub, flat on his face, he came up crying, so we checked him out and all seemed well.  When he returned on Monday from some playtime at the park, he commented to Jess that he had hit his tooth again, and it was loose.  This tooth was news to us, so Jess took a look, and sure enough his tooth was loose, and the gums above the tooth, were really black and blue.  So we made an appointment for him to see the dentist on Tuesday.  When Jess took Justus to the dentist on Tuesday, she called me to confirm that what were concerned about was true.  They had x-rayed his gums and tooth, and he had broken the root leading to the tooth, and he would need to have it removed.  As i took in that sentence, i heard a voice in my heart of hearts, say these words.  "Do not let the doctor take that tooth today, tell Jess to come home".  So very quickly i called her back, relayed what i believe was the spirit of God, and she agreed she would not allow it to happen.  So we made an appointment for Thursday, and she brought him home.  That night we did as all good parents would and made sure that what he ate was appropriate to protect him from any pain that might come from biting down wrong on his tooth.  As i put him to bed, i centered him beside me, and told him i believed God could heal his tooth.  I then layed my hands on his face and we began to pray. During our time of prayer, Justus laughed and giggled non stop, my hand on his face was tickling him, but we continued to pray.  When we were finished we went about our normal routine, and as i tucked him my heart raced in belief that God might be up to something.

Wednesday, again we protected his tooth as best we could, and prayed again for his healing.

Fast forward to this morning, Jess called me on her way to the dentist, and i spoke with Justus, preparing him for the morning ahead.  As Jess arrived at the dentist, she asked the dentists assistant if they planned to take x-rays again to be sure.  The assistant said no, the x-rays from Tuesday were enough, if the root is broken it is broken, nothing can change that, haha (but you don't know my God...).  So they put Justus in the chair and began to put oxygen and laughing gas into his system, then they numbed his gums.  However, as the dentist entered the room, she took one look at his mouth, and said to Jess, i want another set of x-rays, his gums look amazing, as does that tooth.  So with Justus being goofy thanks to the gases, they took x-rays, and wouldn't you know it, the next words from the dentist were, "I can't remove this tooth, its healing, the gums are tightening up and the root is fine."

Jess called me after all that happened, crying harder i believe from those words, than she had been before worrying about the pain we was going to feel if they had to pull it.

So the question at hand, do i believe God healed my son's tooth, YEP!  Not a doubt in my mind.  Why he choose to do that, i will leave to Him.  Why he chooses not to heal other times, again i will leave that to Him.  But bottom line in either circumstance to God all the glory.  So our family will celebrate the goodness God has shown us through a very simple front tooth.  And continue to train our son to use one of the gifts that God has given him for God's glory. For it has been said about Justus by more than one person "he has a smile that just seems to light up the room when he comes in". 

So many other things happened today worth writing about.  A new podcast from Marshill (congrats to Rob and his wife for their new little one Violet), and a Catalyst podcast from the Hillsong United team (one quote "together we're better"), top all that off with SLOWBURN worship (Thursday evenings 6:30pm Cool Springs YMCA) this evening, Jess and I getting the blessing to serve the little ones, and God using His people to radically challenge each other in their pursuit of the Kingdom of God here on earth, for Kingdom is now my friends.  If you normally come to this, and you had to miss tonite, from what i hear it was also full of WOW.

However nothing compares to the WOW Kingdom moment we walked in with our little man, Justus.  Thank you Lord....

May His Peace, His Grace, His Love, and His Glory chase you in the moments to come. PEACE.

Today I was Challenged

For a good period of time now i have been reading and digesting BLOGS. I have even contempleted working on one for my boys so they can know their adoption stories from our perspective written not just oral.

With that said, in the last day i have listened to a Catalyst podcast from a few years back with an interview from a man that i respect highly Mark Batterson (Pastor of National Community Church and Author of Wild Goose Chase) and been involved in a Youth Pastor Interview with Jeff McGukin (exec pastor of Valleydale Church in Birmingham Alabama). In both conversations, both of these good men have talked about the purpose and usefulness of a blogs, especially in the days to come. One last comment propelled me towards this decision.  Mark, took a moment and said, man bottom line, if no one ever read it again, i would its good for my soul.

So I am challenged.  Challenged to consider what it looks like in my life to add another discipline to my pursuit of Jesus.  Like blogging, journaling has never been one of the disciplines that i have found very consistant in my life.  It has never been the lack of desire, more the lack of good penmenship when it comes to journaling.  And who wants to write a journal to read and reflect on later, that they can't even read themself.  However, blogging brings new possiblities to this action, and i am for things that are good for my soul.

So i will begin today.  My first gut is to really tackle why calling it Vision Passion Faithfulness.  However, i believe that subject will be better explained a little later in my blogging career. Never the less there is a rythem to my madness, so i will share eventually.

Today i have the privlidge of listening to a Catalyst podcast previously mentioned on my drive to Huntsville, AL.  Included in it was references to a couple of books that i plan to add to my list to pick up off amazon in the future.  The first is a book by Mark, also previously mentioned.  It is called "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day" - taken from the passage in 2 Samuel 23 : 20.  The basic premise is that at the end of our lives it will not be the things that we tried and failed that we will regret.  But instead the things that we never tried at all, most often because of fear of possible failure.  I am moved by Mark's consideration of this thought, especially with all of the circumstances that our family faces right now.

The second book is called the Fred Factor, by Mark Sanborn.  Now i must warn you i know nothing about Mark, only that this book has sold more than a million copies world wide.  So it is at least worth consideration for my bookshelf and possible reading list.  Admittedly, i am a Catalyst fan (first and foremost of Chad Johnson) so i take many items they suggest for granted that they will be incredible.

Just to touch on Podcasts right now, on the regular i am devouring Francis Chan's Stuff from his church, Catalyst, Rob Bell from Mars Hill Grand Rapids MI (Not Seattle... sorry that's an inside joke for Brad and John should they ever read), and an obscure one called The God Journey, by Brad and Wayne.  I am plans to add a few more Bill Johnson out of the west coast peaks my interest, and if SLOWBURN Nashville ever gets theirs up and running, i plan to add that as well.

My next discussion today, surrounded a man name Jeff McGurkin.  Jeff is the executive pastor at Valleydale Church in Birmingham, AL.  They are in search of a Senior High pastor to join their staff, and so after a short phone and email discussion, Jeff and I decided to have lunch at the halfway point in Huntsville.  Jeff has been in ministry for over 30 years.  Serving with a few mutual buddies of mine in the First Priority world.  He gave mad love to Chris Lane, the exec director of FP in Miami FL.  In our conversation Jeff impressed me, he was kind, genuine, authentic, seemed to really love the opportunities lying ahead with Valleydale and the struggles that would come with its new leg of the journey.  We talked alot about my background, both in life and ministry.  It was a really healthy conversation for me to consider ALL that God has done in strategically maneuvering me along His path throughout my life.  It also reminded me how much i love the possibility of serving a local church again.  Its funny, heading farther south was never on Jess and my radar, however going where Jesus has called us to is.  Our heart's content, "Here i am Lord send me" so we will see.

Anther point of conversation to day was with my Iron Group buddy, Doug.  Doug serves the youth division of the Assembly Churches in OK.  He is a good man, still trying to get into the rhythm of his new gig.  Doug and I had a great time sharing and praying for one another while we both were on drives.  We discussed one major thought, and that was as a minister of the gospel, "I have chosen not to major on the minors".  Bottom line being that i will not be split from my brothers and sisters in Christ over issues like, the use of tongues, the terms three persons, predestination or not, etc. At first look this sounds like a theological excuse.  And it has caused some self examination for how clearly i see what i believe biblically.  At the same time it also is a freeing belief that allows me to keep my heart, mind, soul, and strength focused on the main thing.  That is to love my Jesus with all of that, which causes a natural flow of loving my neighbor the same.  For Doug and I, the realization that the church has come light years on this subject brought much life in each of us.  In John 17:20+, it states that it is by our unity, my opinion majoring on the majors, that will cause the world to know us?  To me the minors cause splitting, which begins to look alot like religion.  Of which admittedly i run from.  So many more details and thoughts on that subject, but i will digress from there for now.

The day came to a close, i had the good fortune of running into a couple of young men who i have had the pleasure of ministering beside it the past.  First was Los (Carlos) whom is so in love with the Lord that he challenges me in my walk everyday.  Los will graduate from ministry school on the 21st of May.  If he only knew how proud i was of the man he is being molded into. The next was my buddy Jeremy.  He is a youth minister at Christ Church in Nashville.  He was in YP mode big time getting ready for a cool night of celebration with students and families concerning their latest grads from the purity classes offered there.  Its funny Jeremy has been with me since he was 17, and now he is 28 i think, its been fun to watch him grow into a man all these years.  Next i spent some time with my replacement at CC (twice over as a matter a fact) Michael Alfred.  Michael is the truly of a man of Character.  The kind of guy that a rattle snake would bite, and would blame himself for walking in his territory.  You know the type.  Loves God, Loves his wife and family, Loves the world.  He does not know it but i am a big fan, and miss our days of working together.  Finally, i got to spend a few moments with Sara Johnson.  Sara is piratically Jess and my daughter, however now she is an adult and too old to be my child :<)  I got caught up on her world as she drove me home from pee wee soccer practice, and asked her to consider a few ministry school options that i have relationship with for the year to come.  Only time will tell what God is going to do with that child, but i will enjoy watching her journey, as Jess and I pray for her.

Finally, let me take a moment to ask you to pray for my little man Justus.  A few days ago he fell while playing around and hit his mouth pretty good.  Yesterday we noticed that it was bruised and his tooth very loose.  The dentist has said he must have it out.  However, i believe i heard the Lord today clearly. So i called Jess and told her don't let them take it out yet, i need some time with him praying for its healing.  So tonite Justus and i prayed, my hand on his little mouth, he laughed all the way through, said my hand was tickling his face.  But he and i believe that God can heal this tooth, the root, and all that surrounds it.  I hope you will believe that with us.  We'll watch God and go see the dentist again on Thursday to make a final decision.

Thanks for reading, even if i am the only one.... HA!

07.10.07 0 CC Uganda Blog #7

Well it has been some time since our last blog. With travel from Africa, the festival with over 5000 teenagers attending, and the reality that at most moments when we attempt to get on the Internet the power fails completely, or at least the internet is down at the time, it has been an interesting task to try to get you updated again. But now as i sit in the London airport, i have a moment, and great internet connectino to do so.

For a brief catch up, on Friday the 6th we got the great opportunity to visit the Orphanages that our contact church Gaba Community oversee where over 600 children are taken care of on an island on Lake Victoria. So we arrived about Noon, and took 2 boats over the Lake for about 45 minutes (which was truly amazing) before finally arriving at the Orphanage. Once there we were greeted by the Bethany staff and began to see what a top notch facility this was. This island had very little electricity, however all other resources were simple, but extremely clean and from what we could see a very compassionate enviroment was provided. There were still needs for children to be sponsored for their monthly needs, so ELEVATE youth have taken on a young lady who is 8 yrs old, that we will support with $30 US dollars a month. This will be a process for us, where as we raise more on a monthly basis, we will take on more children in partnership with Gaba Community. We had a great time playing with the children, and seeing the heart of the leadership that works with them, as we left it was amazing, we were not nearly as broken for these kids as we were for the random ones we met on the street. The way the orphanage was managing their resourses, so encouraged us for the possibility of their quality of life in the future.

That evening was a great fresh breath for our team as we practiced dramas and got ready for the festival the next day.

On Saturday the 7th, se arrived at the Festival at 9am, and began the process of greeting all the friends that we had made from the week prior. Now this is not an exageration, while there, i was asked no less than 100 times where a member of our team was, by name, so that one of the teenage youth who came looking for them could say “hello” and “chat”. It was truly incredible how impactful each of our team members had been on the youth they spent time with in their short time together earlier in the week.

We carried out our task of sharing the gospel through music, drama, teaching, and so much more for about 8 hours. While there litterally 20-30 teams of folks took part in sharing these items with the crowd attending. Obviously for us one of the highlights was seeing the children again, but there was another that was unexpected. As we had finished our second time on stage, a group from Freedom Church in england came on stage and did a very cool dance/drama, and then led the people in 2 worship songs. This breath of fresh air was amazing, most of what we sing in ELEVATE comes from the great move of worship leaders in England and on the rock side of the US. And they did one of each. Our team went crazy, we knew their songs, which inspired them to rock out even more. It was a very cool heaven moment as we saw a see of multicolored faces in front of the stage going wild to worship their Savior together with a music that was unfamiliar to most of them.

Saturday Night we were exausted. So we decided to rest and hang with one another. All together in the week we had been there we have presented the simple gospel of Jesus to over 20,000 high school students. 10,000 of those rose their hand to respond to the call we were presenting, that is the simple gospel of Jesus; Accept the reality that they like all mankind are sinners and need a redeemer to deal with their separation from God, Believe that Jesus paid that sacrifice as a perfect redeemer for their sins and is the only one that can bridge that gap, and Confess that he is Lord of their lives with his mouth. It was an awesome experience to celebrate those decisions, pray for many, many of them, and encourage them to get plugged into their new relationship with Jesus and get to know Him.

On Sunday the 8th, we were asked to partake in 2 services at Gaba Community church. In all comparisons, you could very easily say that Gaba is to Kampala, as Christ Church is to Nashville. They are a rather large community for that area, with a school attached, health clinic available, day care also attached, and job skills training center also in their midst. This is a church that is plugged into its communities needs. The first service was in English, and we shared the gospel again through our dramas and music, then in the second service was in Luganda (one of the many Ugandan languages) and so we translated all the way through the service.

On sunday afternoon we received the real treat of going to one of the local markets, and shopping for our gifts for family and friends that had supported us through this trip. The amount of God given talent in these markets was truly amazing. Sunday night as we finished dinner our friends from the Kenya team and Uganda team arrived to say their final goodbyes. There were many tears, but not as many as you might think. See as i have stated in my blog before these youth and these East Africans made a connection deeper than “wow it was great to bond with you, make friends, hope to see you agian some day” no instead what has happened is that we became part of each other’s spiritual families, and most on this trip are utterly convinced we will see most of those folks agian many more times in our life time. So this good bye was celebrated, because we all believe it will have a “hello, again” not far around the corner.

We flew out early Monday morning and arrived in London. Once at our Hotel, we met up with Pete Rizzuto and his 8 students that will be joining us for Jubilee in 2 weeks. We ate at Pizza Hut together and had a blast. Once again, your youth, your leaders have show some much maturity. And immediately embrased these 8 students as one of us, it was an astounding moment. For those of you who know Pete he has done an amazing job creating a youth ministry in a church where they did not know how to have one. His youth are great kids, with a love for him that is hard to explain.

After dinner we all jumped on the Tube and headed to Westminister, Big Ben, the London Bridge, Church of England, parliament, and a few other very cool, very old spots that had some much historical signifigance for the brief moment we spent at each it seemed quite over whelming.

We have since returned to our hotel, gotten a little rest, and are getting ready to board our flight to chicago, which is where i will leave you. There is so much more to tell, but at this point in order to get “the rest of the story” as Mr. Paul Harvey would say, you will just need to join us on Wednesday in Elevate and on Sunday PM in the main sanctuary.

Til then, as our friends from London have taught us - “cheers”

Pastor Steve

P.S. Baby i am coming home and can’t wait to see you in a few hours - Love - Steve

07.06.07 - CC Uganda Blog #6

So as we reach the middle of our 5^th day in

Africa we have a lot of things running through our minds. We have now been here long enough to have a handle on the way our days work, the time difference, the food and what we are doing here. We have been running so hard over the last 5 days we are all completely drained. Both spiritually and physically. We pour out and pour out of ourselves and have really enjoyed doing this but it sometimes leaves us not just tired at the end of the day but emotionally drained. We as a team have been in over 18 high schools in that time. Visited with over`5000 students and led countless people to Christ. All of have been amazing and new experiences. We have all appreciated the people of

Uganda and the way they welcomed us to their country. It has been very refreshing to see smiles on faces everywhere we go. Everyone waves and is genuinely happy to see us. We found out late last night that today was going to be a treat of sorts for us. We were allowed to sleep in a little and wake up around 8am, which is awesome compared to the 5:15am mornings of most the other days. The rest of the treat will leave me CHANGED forever. We boarded the bus and went to

Lake Victoria where we boarded small fishing type boats and drove for 40 mins or so to an Orphanage run by the ministry that we have been working with here in the country. Once we heard this is what we were going to do today it made all of us excited. After all this is something that we all had been looking forward to the whole trip.

We arrived and began to tour the massive facility. We found the youngest kids of the trip all around us and overjoyed to have us at their school and orphanage. Hundreds and hundreds of young Ugandans surrounding us. Their clothes torn and dirty and all just wanting attention. This was a very hard thing to see. To see kids just like my 5 year old brother in this way. Without parents or any family to speak of, all living in conditions that are good for Uganda but nowhere near the way we live in America. We are in a country where 95% of it lives at or below the poverty level. A city with a population of 21 MILLION people. A city where a group 19 times the size of

Nashville’s population live in the worst conditions I have ever seen.

As a 26 year old man working for a Church I thought I knew what poverty was. I had NO idea. No idea how to live without running water or proper sewage systems. No idea that everyone doesn’t eat 3 meals a day. No idea that poverty is not just adults. It is a 5 year old just like my little brother Matthew. I look into their faces and hold them and I see him. I see kids that laugh and play just like him and go to what they call a home late at night hungry and thirsty. POVERTY has become real to me these last days. It has a name, Ashley, it has a face just like you and I, it has a country,

UGANDA. It has a beating heart looking for something - something more. We walked through an orphanage where it cost $30 a month to feed, clothe, and put a child through school. $30 dollars!!! I stand in the sponsorship office and ask how many kids still need sponsors and I am appalled by the answer of too many to count. And this is a NICE orphanage.

We all see on the news about problems in places a world away from ours and think it is somebody else’s problem. So I shed some tears and have parts of my heart tugged in ways it has never been before. Get on the bus to go back to our guest house, take out my Ipod and find myself taken back by all of this. All the faces, all the poverty, all the emptiness around me. Then I turn of my IPOD after it hits me. I walk away from kids who lack so much only to turn on the luxury of an IPOD. What are we doing? What am I doing? We are blessed with so much and take the simple things for granted. These kids don’t even know what an Ipod is and I am on my 3^rd one since they came out years ago. How many sponsored kids have I wasted on a ipod? Well I now can say at least 3 years for a child. Now don’t get me wrong I understand the differences between our countries and that I do not need to beat myself up for the things I have and others don’t. But after the last week I will tell you that from here on out this week will cause me to question where and how I spend my money.

Uganda has forever changed my way of thinking. I hope it changes my way of acting and I pray as I close this blog it does BOTH to you all.

Humbled,

Jeremy Carlson, Campus Minister

COMMENTS

Lisa said,

July 6, 2007 at 7:33 pm

Thanks so much for the updates! I rush home each day to see if there are any new ones posted. Of course selfishly I hope to see one from Savannah–so I can see how she is. I honestly can’t imagine what you all are seeing and experiencing–what I have read has brought tears to my eyes.

I think what you all are doing is amazing! Each and every one of you are in my prayers!

I can’t wait until you all get home so I can hear all the stories.

Please send Savannah my love and tell her that we miss her terribly and pray that she is okay.

Lisa

Cassie Johnson said,

July 6, 2007 at 1:42 pm

Great job Jeremy!!! I can truly feel your heart for these people. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO proud of each one of you and what you are sacrificing on this trip. You guys all get an extra jewel in your crowns!!!
Sara it was so good to hear your voice, miss you LADYBUG!!
Cassie

07.05.07 - CC Uganda Blog #4

It feels as if my body is going to collapse on itself. Every bone, joint and muscle wanted me to lie down and sleep. With four to five hours of sleep a night and a sweet crash going through my body I would usually agree, but I couldn’t. With 1500 Ugandan and Kenyan children wanting to accept God, it was a sacrifice that was worth every second. To see them rise from their seats and dance for the Lord. Every time I step off the bus for another school, a switch is flipped. All aches, pains, and drowsyness are washed away.

The energy starts to flow, the room become brighter, the felling is impossible to mistake for something other than the Holy Spirit. The sight of all the children smiling and having a good time, it’s a wonderful sight. For the first time in my life, I’ve witnessed what true poverty looks like. We wish we could all fix it now. Make their lives better, fix their homes, give them the shillings they need so that they cold all have a hot meal, but with the short time we’re here it’s just a wish, but God will do something with our wishes. He always does, God has blessed us. God gives us humility. He forgives and loves. Amen.

Love you mom, dad and sis – John Colley

07.04.07 - CC Uganda Blog #5

Well today was Day 2 of getting up extremely early to prepare for our days events. No matter how we spin it, getting up at 5am Uganda time could be tough on all of us. But then it happens. The youth and leaders arrive around 5:30 or so (mind you it is still pitch black outside) and their excitement for the days events are overwhelming.

Admittedly on my way to Africa I had set in my mind, that I would be lucky to get 1 good meal a day. However our hostess (Sarah) has made sure that all of our teammates are getting an incredible hot breakfast, and dinner each day. So besides just needing more food than normal to sustain our active days, no one has lost the 10-15 pounds we thought we might in Uganda.

We started our day at the 2^nd nicest High School in Uganda. 1300 students greeted us as we began our time with them. To my surprise, 1299 were Native Ugandans however they did have one student who appeared to be from India. As we shared our testimonies, Skits, songs, dances, and gospel with these youth, we had a euphoric moment, we came to the realization of what a significant moment this was in time. In front of us, by statistics sake alone, were standing a very large percentage of Uganda’s future diplomats, lawyers, doctors, administrators, government officials, etc. And God provided a moment of incredible significance by allowing us to share the gospel of Jesus and his love of their lives. Wow, so many responded, so many lives were touched, again all we can say is wow God!

As our team split into Alpha and Bravo (12 Americans, 3-5 Kenyans, and Ugandans on each team) for the day to begin ministering in different high schools all over the city. I want to give you some perspective on what we see as we travel through this huge city of Uganda. First of all a few disclaimers,

1 – no words that I put on this computer could begin to adequately describe what we truly walk and drive through each day, you must experience it to truly understand it

2 – Though the description I am about to give you of this city is going to have many things that seem as negatives to us Americans. I want to be sure to communicate to all that Kampala is a beautiful city, and the Uganda’s are a beautiful and deep people that love their city and country.

Ok, so we leave on the bus, and as we pull out, I look to the left of the 3 lane dirt streets we are traveling on. Africa’s incredible red clay is piled everywhere, as are the people of Uganda. I am yet to be out at a time where the streets were not packed with people. Take a moment if you will to see wood, metal, concrete shacks all the way down the road we are traveling. On the street is trash in every direction, there is about 20 feet of red clay that serves as a front yard area. Self proprietor businesses of every kind are mixed with small wooden shacks, that serve as homes for any number of human beings. As we drive down the wrong side of the road, I am stunned by the way the vehicle system works here. There are almost no street signs and even less street lights.

People pretty much use the road as they please. Cab style mini vans are all over the road, and our bus glides past these vans, coming on and off the road without a hitch. The drivers in Uganda are extremely skilled, and patient. When asked about traffic accidents the Ugandans say there all most none. Instead they are so used to dealing with the gigantic pot holes on each road, the speed bumps that are as big as a Volkswagen, and drivers coming through from every direction. Again, words cannot explain the number of times that our bus is almost hit, or we have almost run over 2 or 3 motorcycles cabs at once, or that we move into the middle lane to allow a taxi out, only to have a car coming at us from the other direction. Now here is the amazing part, everyone just slows down. Instead of like America where we say “this is my lane, get out of my way” and we speed up. They simply slow down, gently honk their horn to acknowledge each other and then like a well oiled machine, work their way back into what my brain considers the wrong lanes.

Now for the deepest part of what we see. People everywhere. Entrepreneurs that are selling goods of every kind. Men discussing the rate of a taxi that they are jumping into with 5-7 other Ugandans already inside. The women carrying items of every kind to their homes and business, some on their head others on bikes or with both arms packed. Everywhere I look little children playing, elementary and highschool children walking to their schools as the sun begins to rise. There is truly activity everywhere, people are working on beds, selling prepaid airtime cards, cutting up sides of beef, laying out the fresh produce, and selling the days newspaper and so much more. I am struck by the interesting feel of unity that is active in peoples actions as I watch them, and their conversations with one another. If there is a single word to describe Ugandans it is “gentle”. And it is carried out in so many ways as they live together all day long, truly amazing!

Back to this days events, we eat our sack lunch on the way to our next round of schools. Team Alpha has our new friend Bishop Ben Bahati from Kenya with them as they head into their two schools for the afternoon. Team Bravo has the Ugandan dance team, and Jimmy Earle joining them. Each school is its own monster for lack of a better term. As we enter into the school we come with a basic plan of what we will present. However within about 10 minutes we need to be in the room that we are going to use, and have the AV set up, and depending on the number of students, and actual time we get 20min-2 hours, we then adjust our schedule to meet the needs of that school as best as we can. Then we set our teams loose, and the response of love given back to us for our efforts is overwhelming. And then it happens, in a room of 200 students, 35-50 respond to the gospel message, and we rejoice with the angels of heaven as that many more young people are ushered into a relationship with Jesus, and their assurance of life eternally with Jesus. Truly awe inspiring moment for all, each time our response is “Glory to our God in the highest”. So far we have presented the Gospel and its message to groups as small as 60, and as large as 1400 at a time. More than 5000 students thus far.

It is about 5:30pm by this time and we are making our way to tonight’s crusade. As we arrive there are 400 folks standing everywhere around a tall stage area. This meeting is in full motion as we arrive. Once again the Ugandan team, Kenyan team, American Team, and Keith Cook are doing their thing in a local neighborhood. Our folks are swarmed by all the Ugandan Children and that is exactly where we want to be.

As an adoptive father, obviously I have gone through the natural reaction of wanting to take all of them home with me. Our team loves these little ones for that short couple hours like they were their own. Many leave each night with tears feeling those same emotions.

We finally make it back to our home in Africa at about 10pm, sit down together as we enjoy a hot meal once again. Then we begin to share. Our victories, our defeats, the hopes and dreams we are facing, all the areas that God is growing us. These are good team moments. Moms, dads, family, cc community, words are not adequate to express what kind of folks that you have shared with us for this trip. Their integrity, drive, compassion, appropriateness to culture, has been so amazing. If you could be a fly on the wall here with us, each of you probably cry at the incredible growth your young person or adult counterpart has gone through in this short period of time.

We finally head to rest about 11:30pm, and most are asleep by midnight ready for our next 5am wake up call. As you can see by the amount of time we have at our home, and the reality that most nights electricity is cut between the hours of midnight at 4am to conserve in Kampala, blogging has been tough, but I hope that you have enjoyed this extra long update to keep you in the loop.

We love you all, and thank you for your prayers. All are well, and besides our issue with the luggage, there has not been a hitch in the trip yet.

Family and friends on a personal note i wanted to thank you all for praying so hard, giving so much, and trusting us so deeply with your most valuable asset. And i want to warn you, this group of 24 radicals all have in their mind that we are coming back and soon. There is so much to do, to be, and to become here, and we plan to bring you with us next time, so be prepared for such hopes, dreams, and actions as we return.

Peace – Pastor Steve

COMMENTS

Cassie Johnson said,

July 6, 2007 at 9:40 am

Loved getting this exciting update. Thanks so much. It helps to know how to pray for your needs.
Love and blessings to all,
Ms. Cassie