Dsl? 128k, 56k, 2.4k, 2k

I had eight file attachment that I wanted to send to my brother Mike by email. By the time I got them sent I seriously could have flewn on a plane from Uganda to London and then boarded another plane and been half way across the Atlantic. After `12 hours I was still trying to send, resend upload the same set of files.
I tried to down load the wedding march song... I could not do it! if I try to download a whole song it times out.
As the song tried to download I checked the speed. It was downloading at 2 kilobytes per second! I got excited when it shot up to the blazing speed of 2.4
That really is 2!
If you are able to fly around the internet at supersonic speeds do it! Because in comparison we are walking down a dirt trail.

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas

The tree is up and decorated.
The stockings are hung on the book case with care
The plastic snow flakes are hanging in the door way.
Isaac ran up wearing a Santa hat and asked, "can I be an elf?"
The song "Emmanuel" is coming from the kitchen.

I love Christmas time.

Here there are some unique challenge, however.
In Uganda this is the time when everyithing goes up in price.
A bag of charcoal that was 5,000 shillings last week is 13,000 this week and will go up to 20,000 by Christmas day.
Everything goes up in price dramatically.

Christmas is also the time of stealing.
We had to add security lights as thieves were seen at night twice checking out our place.
We had a large metal sign post made to block the spot where the thieves have been watching our home.
It was suggested that we paint a verse on it,,,"the wages of sin is death." :-)

Dick's mother's shop was robbed recently in the trading center. Their compound at home was robbed last week. Thieves again went to the shop to rob this family for the third time but were chased and caught by security.

Doug's church building was robbed last week and their speaker system was stolen.
There are so many stories around town of thieves.

So many people do whatever they can to force bribes or get a little extra cash for Christmas.
It doesn't seem to matter what their job is.


I don't pay bribes.

Christmas in Uganda is a religious holiday where many people get dressed up and go to church. They eat a meal after church at home. There may be an article of clothing given as a gift but it is usually very limited.

Santa is called "Father Christmas". One of my friends said, "Father Christmas doesn't come to Uganda!. Maybe the weather is too hot here!"

It is strange to me that the day that the world remembers the birth Christ can also be the day of great selfishness.
Ironic, isn't it?

For my family we love to celebrate the wonderful gift that God gave us in his son Jesus. There is no great gift that has ever or will ever be given.

What's your favorite part of Christmas?

Mike

Do you have people in your life that you just enjoy talking with on the phone or hanging out with?
I have a friend like that..It's my brother Mike.
He has the gift of encouragement. I think he could be standing in the middle of a house fire and still try and make me laugh on the phone.
One of my favorite memories was when we climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. We brought too much gear but what do you expect from two Eagle Scouts? We carried our packs when everyone else used porters. We were prepared!

Freeze dried cheese cake at 15,000 feet sure is good!
We laughed with our friend Pablo all the way to the summit. I can't imagine a funner climb than that one.

I talked with Mike on the phone for two hours. He told me about the families plans for Thanksgiving.

Sounds fun.

One thing I'm thankful for ...My brother Mike.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I thank God for my wonderful wife and beautiful children.
I thank God for my friends and family.
I thank God for Glenwood, Metro and everyone who supports this ministry.
I thank God for Africa, and all of her beauty.
I thank God for stretches of pavement and electricity.
I thank God for pumpkin and apple pie
I thank God for milk fed turkeys from south Africa.
I thank God for his love, mercy, grace and friendship.
There is so much more that I am thankful for...

What are you thankful for?

It's a God thing.

Ronald preached on Sunday and shared the following story.
He was ridiing his motorcyle up the hill near the Seventh Day Adventist church building when all of sudden "Boom". His engine made a terrible noise, died and would not start again. He pushed his motocycle to a mechanic who opened up the engine and gave him the bad news.
"Your engine has seized. Many of the parts are broken. It will cost over 800,000 shillings ($400+) to fix."
Ronald shared the last time he preached how his motorcycle really doesn't mean anything to him. It is just a machine. Even if it were taken away. It doesn't matter that much.
Well, now it has been.
He prayed about it and decided not to share with all of his friends. He repented for trusting money and friends to solve his problems instead of the Lord.
He went with us to Kampala but we did not know about the motorcycle. He returned to Fort Portal and prayed some more about his problem.

He recieved a phone call from a friend that he had not heard from in three years.
"How are you doing Ronald?"
I'm fine!
How is your motorcycle?
Well I had some trouble with it this last week.
"What's wrong with it?"
The engine siezed.

"What kind of motorcycle do you have, Ronald?"
It's a Honda XL125
Really?

We had a motorcycle that was in a wreck and it was destroyed. .. everything except the engine. It works.
It was a Honda XL125
You can have it if you want!

Ronald's friend sent the engine and it was worked on and installed. I rode on it today!
Ronald spent 30,000 (a little over $15)
It's a God thing!
Praise the Lord.
Ronald told us this story after reading from the book of James about "count it all Joy."

It was a great sermon!
(I was convicted about the airplane engine. Thank you Ronald, Thank you Lord!)

Ronald was not even scheduled to preach but Dick was stuck in Kampala so Ronald filled in at the last minute.
The entire church was moved by what the Lord had done! Wow!

Men in Black

This last week I was in Kampala teaching two different courses on Integrity and Finance.
The first group was for village church leaders that we brought from Fort Portal. For two of the men this was there first time to go to Kampala! It was really fun. I took them all to the market and bought them suits. One of the leaders preached a funeral but felt embarrasssed about his clothes. You should have seen the nine of us get out of the LandCruiser and walk into a chinese restaraunt. For most of them this was their first time to eat Chinese.
The staff at the restaraunt jumped to attention as we approached the door. We were all wearing black suits. It was a fun experience.
The two men who had never been to a city before are both over 60.

Wed-Friday we had class from 1-6 PM for 15 leaders from the Kampala church of Christ. The course was for credit from Messiah Theological. I stayed up most of the night on Friday to grade their test and projects. I drove back to Fort Portal on Saturday.

Less of me

As I have talked to some older more conservative brothers in the church of Christ, there seems to be a fear of change. One common idea that came out was how we were the fastest growing church in the late 50s and early 60s. It was as though the restoration movement, especially our branch of it, reached its peak in 1964. Anything new would jeopardize the perfection that was achieved.
If that is the case then we are now in a "post-restoration" period.
I appreciate anyone who works for the kingdom and anyone who shares the love of Jesus. But who were we trying to reach?
As one person said, “We were the fastest growing church because we were converting people from other churches!”
What is that?
For those who were alive in 1964. You were blessed. I wasn't there. This was the era of Jewel Miller film strips, Debates, real potlucks, Sunday drives, the space program and rock and roll, hippies long hair, drug and so on

Since I wasn't there I may not be the best judge but in my humble opinion...
I think the best is yet to come!

The church of Christ is not dead in the water. We have so much to offer the world. We need to reach this generation.

I understand that change can be scary but we need to remember a common theme through out the Old Testament was how the Lord dealt with each generation and how they followed HIM.
This generation did evil in the eyes of the Lord and there were consequences. Another generation repented and fell down before the Lord and the Lord raised up someone to save them. (a judge, a king, etc..)

Each generation must follow the Lord.
Let's not judge others or each other...let's love them and love each other.
Let's not exclude others ...let's do everything we can to make others feel welcome.
It would be better for those who think they are strong in the faith to be a little uncomfortable if this can bring others closer to the Lord.
Paul said that he became all things to all men so as to win a few.
Christianity at its very core is selfless.
His body must be selfless!

Our church growth statistics in the states do not look very good right now. But that can change!
We can learn from the zeal of the door knocker, the patients of the joy bus driver the endurance of the memeograph turner and the care and love that went into every homemade potluck dish.
We are not throwing out the past we are learning from it. We are growing from it and becoming wiser because of it.


I heard a missionary once say, “If you do the same things you will get the same results.”
We are having a hard time keeping our very own kids let alone others.
Some want to act as though it is still 1964.
It’s not. There is a new generation that must step up. They have to take off their ipods and listen to a new voice ...that of the Lord.


There are some changes that need to be made. And that should start with me.
Maybe we could grind up our golden calf (What ever it may be)and look beyond ourselves.
There are so many who need the love of Jesus.
So many decision seem to just add cushion to pews and expanding the borders means wider parking spaces.

How about sacrificing that comfort for those who need the Comforter.

Missionaries should do all they can to bring others to Christ. That only makes sense.

This is something that we are trying to practice all the time!
Cross-cultural, cross-economic, cross-generational evangelism needs much flexibility (ie less of me) and more Cross.
To be effective the receiver of the message becomes more important than the message sharer. Let me give you a few examples from here…
In the name of Jesus we sucked the brains out of fish so as not to offend our drunken host.
In the name of Jesus we have eaten pig brains and thanked our Congolese friend who gave them to us.
In the name of Jesus we have sat on hard wooden benches until our backsides are numb.
In the name of Jesus we have been out on a lake in a boat during a storm so we could share the love of Jesus with those on the far side.
In the name of Jesus we have sat in terrible traffic.
In the name of Jesus we have driven across flooded rivers.
In the name of Jesus and Because of where the calling has taken us, we have had ak47s pointed in our faces.
We have been in danger from rebels.
In danger on the roads
In danger from disease and sickness

I and most missionaries I know would do it all over again and again
I don’t know very many missionaries who think they are sacrificing anything!
It is an honor to carry the banner of Christ into battle!

Why would we allow ourselves to be put in these situations?

Jesus set the ultimate example of love and sacrifice. The meager efforts we make to share His love does not compare to the real thing.

For me to step across the keyboard and say I'm sorry for how we treated you is Nothing compared to what Christ did for me.

For me to walk across the church parking lot and down the street to that other church and humble myself and try to share the love of Jesus with those people is Nothing compared to what Christ did for me.

For me to help a witch, an alcoholic or the guy hooked on drugs is nothing compared to what Christ did for me.

For me to share a message of love with a prostitute trying to sell what the world “calls love” is nothing compared to what Christ did for me.

For me to try and break down the walls between those with light skin and those with dark skin is nothing compared to what Christ did for me.

For me to risk what God gave me for His Kingdom is nothing compared to what Christ DID for me.

What we did is nothing... What Christ did means everything.

The less of me… the more they can see…Jesus

Rejoice in the Lord

With Faith Quest approaching the first week of January. Maybe you could help me. The theme is Rejoice in the Lord.
I want to find some good songs that fit the theme.
Do you have any suggestions?

Fads

A friend shared a book with me and I looked through it. I don't want to critise the book or author in a blog so I am not going to name names. As I read through the book.... it seemed like a fad. A Christian fad.
That got me thinking. What Christian fads do you see right now?

Living in Fort Portal with limited internet leaves me out of the loop.
So what "Christian fads" am I missing?

God is the same yesterday today and tomorrow. We are the ones who are fickle.
I'd love to hear you thoughts.

For those of you who do comment on this blog. I want to say thank you. You have encouraged me many times.
I love to read your comments!

From the veranda

We are in Kampala for the quarterly missionary meeting. I'm sitting on the veranda at the American Club using the Hot Spot wireless internet connection. Cheryl is talking to one of her friends and the kids are watching cartoons.
I thought I'd say "Hi!"
Thursday through Sunday is a DAI 10 year celebration. This is the group who wrote, organized and are teaching the masters program that I have enjoyed being a part of. I have't figured out how I am going to do all of this. They want me to share with the international group on Friday. This is a short little talk.
I'll have to drive back with the family becasue
I'm preaching in Fort Portal Sunday.

On Monday a group of village church leaders are traveling to kampala and I am teaching them a seminar.
Wed-Friday I am teaching "Integrity and Finance" to a group of church leaders who are studying with Messiah Theological from the Kampala church of Christ.

We sure could use our airplane this week!

I got an email that the engine is about ready to ship to Tyler! Praise the Lord.

Missionary Maintenance Service has been so good to us. They found another engine and completely rebuilt it for us! All we paid for was the parts and of course the used engine. thanks MMS.

To those of you who have helped to support CROSSWIND. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!


In eight weeks is Faith Quest Uganda. I recieved word that the team from the states who was doing the teaching has fallen through. None of them are able to come.
That's dissappointing. We were really excited about the team coming.

So do you know any good youth workers, worship leaders or speakers who would be interested in a mission trip to uganda?

Jeff

speed control

The police force got new radar dectectors that they have enjoyed putting to use.
They one in Fort Portal was destroyed though...
the police truck was driving too fast, lost control and wrecked ...breaking the new radar gun.

What were they think?

Pepsi has a new slogan in Uganda. They have plastered it all over the place. It is on billboards, Tshirt and even the radio.
Their new slogan...


DRINK AND DRIVE!

What were they thinking?

With all of the potholes in Kampala, do you know how to spot a drunk driver?

He is the one driving straight!

I think I'll drive a little faster.

"Daddy, isn't it dangerous to have a bon-fire like that one at a gas station? Why would they do that?" Kinley asked.
There are signs posted to turn off your vehicle and switch off your cell phones at gas stations forget that my muffler and engine are blazing hot...they don't want the static electricity to possibly spark and cause a problem. What are the chances of blowing yourself up at a gas station from your cell phone?
I have seen gas stations attendant ask someone to turn off their cell phones and then walk ten feet away and light up a cigarett. It's the same mentality... we are worried about your cell phone...but a large camp fire five feet tall thirty feet from the pumps is OK. Maybe they should post a sign not to build large fires. They could post it next to the sign of the cell phone with the red circle and line through it. Or they could put on a tshirt like Pepsi's new slogan...

God's amazing grace

Tonight was really fun. There is a new couple in town... Brandy and Lou Johnson. Yesterday we went to their house and helped them unpack their furniture. Cheryl sent them dinner as they have not been able to hook up their stove. They came by tonight and had dinner with us as well. They are nice people. We were expecting visitors who weren't able to come so we had plenty of meat and potatoes!
We had fun talking about Tooro culture, ministry and some of the silly things our churches have done. They are sent by the Baptists Mission.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I believe that the fighting and division that has taken place between churches is terrible. I have seen members of the church of Christ be down right nasty to Baptist and I have seen Baptist be down right nasty to church of christ folks. All in the name of Christ.
I was reading the other day how Alexander Campbell was immersed by a Baptist Minister. And how the churches from different denominations came together and were unified. One of the early restoration motos was "Christian Only,,Not the only Christians" I like that.
"They will know you are my disciples if you love one another."
It seems strange to me that there is more division on Sunday morning than any other day of the week. God forgive us for dividing over...worship, communion, salvation, how we sing, what we sing, kitchens, color of carpet. drinking fountains, community centers, basketball goals, Instruments or accappella, money, power, parking lots, building projects, mission societies, what we call ourselves, praise teams, old verses new, song books, women's roles, sunday school, one cup or many, North verses South, white verses black, language, culture, economics, clapping, elder appointments, preachers, hermanutics, institutional verses non institutional, preacher training schools, orphanage support, Christian colleges, dress code, which translation of the Bible to use (King James?), overhead projectors, Baptism, praise teams, child dedication, promise keepers, when some says they are saved, Not using the name church of Christ, using the name church of Christ, steaples, putting a cross in the building, celebrating Christmas, fellowshipping believers from outside our group. (maybe you could add a few more to the list)

Lord, forgive us. We don't know what we are doing.
We are sinners...

Saved by Your Amazing Grace.

Trick or Treat?

Several men watched as the old woman approached. I smiled and greeted her. She asked me for food so I gave her something.
This old woman was chased out of her village for being a witch and eating her very own children. When ever she sees my truck she comes. I feel sorry for this woman and the choices she has made. Her sin has nearly killed her. She lives on the street and struggles to survive.
At dinner time, when I got to our table full of food and my family was gathered around I noticed the date on my watch. It's Halloween!
I didn't even know it.
I thought of the old witch. I thought of the three witches who asked me for work years ago but I didn't give them any because of other reasons. I thought of my friend Tinka. He used to be an alcoholic. His father was a witch but lost his power after we prayed. I remember his back covered in flies. He died not long after that.
I thought of the three witches who were hired to curse me at Faith Quest.
I thought of the witch in Jinja that I shared my beliefs with. He asked me not to pray for him.
I thought of one Mathew's sister who was burned by her village for practicing dangerous witchcraft.
I thought of the woman who was killed last week. She was found practicing witchcraft with a recently decapitated human head.
Over the years I have met many people who practice witchcraft. None of them are like Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or the lady on Bewitched. I feel sorry for people who are in bondage to the evil one.
What these people need are not carmeled covered apples,jack-0-lanterns or bags of candy They need the followers of the God of love to share His goodness with them. This is the kind of treat that we should all share.
So let your "spiritual porchlights shine" and share His treats that last.

For those who come knocking remember that what you see may only be a mask. Don't fear.
Freely share.