Training to Go with GO

The Global Outreach International (GO) office

Well, I have had two days of missions training - full days. Yesterday's topics included Global Outreach's (GO) core values, its history, missions finances and communication.

In the foreground is where we have gathered for the training sessions, with meals shared at the round tables in the background.

Today was another packed day, with presentations on purity, spiritual warfare, insurance, creating a budget, hosting teams and volunteers and taking care of such legal matters as writing a will, etc. I didn't realize there were so many details and preparations to be done in planning to be a missionary. It is not as simple as packing your bags, catching a plane and taking off overseas. Yet, I know these are important details that will help us be more effective on the field. And, I know the Lord and the Global staff will help me sort out everything I need to do in the coming weeks.

"Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance." - Psalm 2:8

(Sign in the Global Outreach lobby.)

My favorite part of the training so far is becoming acquainted with my fellow trainees and the Global staff, especially in between sessions and during meals. There are 10 of us attending the training and we have been or are planning to serve in the following countries: Uganda, Kenya, Haiti, China, Ethopia and France. Some have made multiple trips to where they intend to return after the training. Others are already established in the country. Some of us are pretty "green" to missions - like me. We are learning from people who have spent from several weeks and months to 10-27 years on the field. Their testimonies and stories are such a blessing to hear.

Tonight at dinner, one of the longtime Haitian missionaries shared how her husband was one time wrongfully imprisoned. Someone had been caught stealing on their compound, but the missionary husband opted to show mercy and let the man go. The thief, however, turned the missionary in - wrongly accusing him of mistreatment. In Haiti, where you are guilty until proven innocent, the missionary was taken into custody. He was nearly put into solitary confinement cell, but a guard stepped in and placed him instead between two other guards, promising he would not be hurt. That same guard then heard the Gospel and accepted the Lord. The missionary was released the next day, but invited the guard and his friends to dinner at the mission compound. As they later sat around the missionaries' dinner table, a fellow woman policeman (who was not a Christian) identified the newly-saved guard as a believer - he was already shining his light.

Some time later, the same woman policeman was hurt (in an accident, I believe) and required extensive surgery. However, she refused to receive the anesthetic for the surgery until the missionaries came so she could accept Christ as her Savior. The woman policeman came through the surgery fine and as she recovered in the hospital, was discipled for three weeks by a nearby pastor. I wish I could remember all of the details of the story, but I know multiple lives were touched from that missionary's one night in prison. As his wife pointed out tonight, her husband would not likely have intentionally gone to that prison to share the Gospel, yet God orchestrated the whole series of events. And, souls were touched for eternity.

I know each of the missionaries could recount story after story of God's provision, miracles and evidences of power. After many years of service, they continue to be enthusiastic about missions. They are truly an example and a blessing. I look forward to "soaking" up more during the rest of the week. :)

Carving in Global Outreach lobby

P.S. Before I close, I just have to share something humorous. Since I am in Mississippi and a number of the people I am with are from the south, I have been hearing a lot of southern accents. However, after only a few days, I am beginning to "think" in a southern accent and almost feel like I am starting to talk with one, too. I was born in Texas and spent all of about two years of my young life there, but didn't realize an accent would come back so easy. ; ) Ah, y'all, perhaps it's all in my imagination.

Howdy y'all!

Me in the comfy Global apartment.

Greetings from the Magnolia State - Mississippi! After leaving Portland shortly before noon today, I arrived at the Tupelo Regional Airport (the smallest airport I have ever flown into) around 9 p.m. (7 p.m. west coast time) and am now at a Global apartment.

All of the traveling went really well today - aside from picking a seat near the engine on my last flight and vibrating the last hour of my travels. ;) Oh, well, it kept me awake.

I am the first one to have arrived for the training and am looking forward to meeting the others hopefully tomorrow. One of the Global staff members is taking me to their church tomorrow, so I am looking forward to that.

The apartment does have wireless Internet, so I will try and update this week. But, for now, I am going to head to bed.

Thank you for your prayers!


P.S. The answer to the poll is...

"For God and My Country" is the Ugandan motto. Good job for the person who voted for it!

A Plane, A Plan, A Seed and A Young Man

I can hardly believe it, but my missions orientation training (MOT) is almost here. In a little more than 36 hours, I will board a plane and head southeast to Tupelo, Mississippi. The training is from Monday, Oct. 5, through Friday, Oct. 9. I have the incredible blessing of being able to stay in lodging provided by Global Outreach International and will be sharing an apartment with a couple who is also bound for Africa.

I look forward to visiting a part of the country I have never before been to. I am excited about meeting the other missionaries at the training (there will be 10 of us) and hearing their stories. I am also anxious to meet the folks who have been so kind and helpful over the last couple of months - the staff at Global. I am not sure what all the training will entail, but am trusting God to help me soak in all that I need to. I would certainly appreciate your prayers in the days ahead.

I am kind of a mix of emotions right now - excitement, nervousness, uncertainty, some timidity, yet boldness, and a measure of inadequacy. Yet, I believe God knows what is ahead and am confident He will be with me each step of the journey.

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As I read a missions book yesterday, I was reminded of the tiny mustard seed. It is one of the smallest of all seeds, yet as Jesus said in Matthew 13:31-32, "it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree." This illustration shows me that God delights in using the insignificant, the obscure, the weak, the handicapped, because His power is all the more evident in these lives. So, I may find myself lacking in courage or skills or experience, but in the big scheme of things, that does not really matter, because the all-powerful, loving God overshadows all of those deficiences with His all-sufficiency.

If He can take a tiny seed and grow it into a tree, or use the cowardly to lead a nation or win a battle (the examples of Moses and Gideon), then He can certainly use you and I. May you rest in His all-sufficiency today.

Before I close this post, I thought I would share some photos of a cute young man I met today...

Meet David Andrew Smith!















For those of you who don't know, David is the three-and-a-half-month-old son of Andy and Karina Smith, whom I will be working with in Uganda. I was excited to finally meet this little guy after only seeing pictures for the last few months. I can attest that he is even cuter in person!

I am not sure if I will have Internet access during the training, but will try and update before I return home on Oct. 18. Oh, and after the training, I will be spending about a week with my sister, Leah, in Pennsylvania. Yay! I am so looking forward to seeing her.

Thank you for your prayers and support! : )

Face the Facts

I read the following the other day in the "Streams in the Desert" devotional by L.B. Cowman. It struck a chord with me and I hope it ministers to you.

"We live by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7)

"As believers, 'we live by faith, not by sight' - God never wants us to live by our feelings. Our inner self may want to live by feelings, and Satan may want us to, but God wants us to face the facts, not feelings. He wants us to face the facts of Christ and His finished and perfect work for us. And once we face these precious facts, and believe them simply because God says they are facts, He will take care of our feelings.

"Yet God never gives us feelings to enable or encourage us to trust Him, and He never gives them to show us that we have already completely trusted Him. God only gives us feelings when He sees that we trust Him apart from our feelings, resting solely on His Word and His faithfulness to His promise. And these feelings that can only come from Him will be given at such a time and to such a degree as His love sees best for each individual circumstance.

"Therefore we must choose between facing our feelings or facing the facts of God. Our feelings may be as uncertain and changing as the sea or shifting sand. God's facts, however, are as certain as the Rock of Ages Himself - 'Jesus Christ...the same yesterday and today and forever' (Heb. 13:8)

"When darkness veils His lovely face

I rest on His unchanging grace;

In every strong and stormy gale,

My anchor holds within the veil.'"

See the rainbow? Remember, God keeps His promises! It's a fact!

Just a note...

...about the "Snapshots of Uganda." In case you didn't know, if you click on the photos at left, you will be taken to flickr.com where you can view them in a larger format, as well as see any captions I may have added. Enjoy! :)

"To whom are you loyal?"

Worshipping in a Lingira Island church with drums and voices as the only instruments.

Loyalty is a quality I admire. But, determining at whose feet your loyalty lies is of utmost importance.

As I was reading up on Ugandan culture a few weeks ago, I came across a remarkable story that I knew I wanted to share with all of you. It is the story of the "Ugandan Martyrs."

Before Uganda became a British protectorate in 1894, it was known as the Kingdom of Buganda, which was ruled by kings or "Kabakas." As Anglican and Roman Catholic missionaries from France and England began coming to the kingdom and evangelizing, they found success in converting members of the court of King Mutesa I.

"The Christian religion was received with much excitement by the converts but it came with its own requirements. It denounced all the native religious behavior and practices as heathen and satanic. Therefore joining it meant a commitment to break away from the old life style, make and adopt new alliances, and adjust to new moral and religious standards, adherence and allegiance."1

Although King Mutesa himself never turned to serve the King of Kings, since he would have to forsake his pagan ways, he did not prevent the spread of Christianity among his subjects. But, just a few years after the arrival of the missionaries, the king died in 1884. The kingdom was left to his young son, Mwanga II. As a prince, Mwanga had been enthusiastically supportive of the missionaries, but he did not emulate his father's tolerant ways when he assumed the throne.

King Mwanga became "an intolerant and vicious persecutor of Christians"1 and other foreigners. He believed he was losing a grip on the loyalty of his subjects.

"The converts had diverted their loyalty to some other authority and their allegiance at all costs could no longer be counted on."1

Perhaps most humiliating to the king was that his pages, the least of his servants, rejected his immoral ways. It was simply unthinkable that a page would reject the wishes of a king.

Not even a year after Mwanga assumed the throne, he ordered the execution of the first three Christian martyrs, who dismembered and burned on January 31, 1885. Later that year and in the following year, many others, including a senior advisor to the king, were killed for their newfound faith.

This time of persecution climaxed in May 1886. No longer willing to suffer the divided loyalties of his court members, Mwanga demanded they make a choice - either completely obey his orders or continue with their faith and so choose death. Approximately 33 Ugandans, Catholic and Anglican converts, including 12 boy pages, chose the latter. They collected the bamboo sticks that would be their means of execution and were burned on June 3, 1886, feet first over a slow fire to give them opportunity to recant. It is recorded, however, that instead they sang praises to God as they died. In the following months, other Christians were also burned or speared as they chose the Heavenly Kingdom rather than that of King Mwanga.

The spark from these martyr's faith ignited the spread of Christianity in Uganda. Those who had observed the martyr's deaths sought out instruction in the Christian faith and thus the followers of Jesus multiplied in Uganda. Hundreds of loyal Catholics and Protestants suffered horrible deaths. However, "...conversions outpaced executions as the church went underground." 2

The Ugandan Catholic martyrs were canonized as saints in 1964 and June 3 is observed nationally as "Uganda Martyrs Day." It is estimated that 80% of Uganda's population is Christian, including Catholic, Anglican and Protestant believers. This small east African country has the largest percentage of professing Christians of any country on the continent.

Pastor Moses shares with a small mainland church. (It had three walls and a tarp for a roof.)

I wish I could say persecution in Uganda was limited to the reign of Mwanga, but Muslim dictator Ida Amin murdered some 500,000 of his countrymen, among them 300,000 believers, during his reign of terror from 1971-1979.

I imagine that those loyal Christians of more than 100 years ago had no idea how the spark of their faith would ignite a nation. For me, personally, I am grateful for the sacrifice of these souls for they helped lay the groundwork of what is occurring in Uganda today. There is much Christian activity in this nation. When I was there in 2006-07, I was so blessed as I met and became aware of many missionaries and nationals dedicating themselves to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Uganda.

So, before I wind up this post, may I ask "To whom are you loyal?" You may or may not ever have to face death for your faith, but if you did, what would you answer? May I note that the Ugandan martyrs were killed not just for a verbal profession of faith, but because they lived loyally to Jesus. They would not have necessarily been a threat if they had only been followers in word, but not in deed. Are you living loyally to Jesus today?

1. http://www.buganda.com/martyrs.htm
2. http://www.bethel.edu/~letnie/AfricanChristianity/SSAUganda.html
Other sources: http://black-african-woman.blogspot.com/2008/06/uganda-martyrs-how-chritianity-got-its.html
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/columns/bookoftheweek/holyspaceinuganda.html?start=2
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/232360/a_story_of_ugandan_martyrs_its_time_pg3.html?cat=9

Baptism in Lake Victoria.

Like a Penny

There is a cute little song my dad taught Leah and I when we were younger, that I think is a good illustration of love. It goes something like this:

"Love is like a little penny,

Hold it in your hand and you don't have many.

But lend it, spend it, the best that you can,
You'll have so many, they'll roll all over the floor.

"Love is something when you give it away, give it away, give it away.

Love is something when you give it away, you end up having more."

A couple posts back I wrote about love and specifically God's incredible love toward us and how we can show our love back to Him.

But, as I read in I John today, God does not intend for us to hoard the love, but to give it away.

"By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers." - I John 3:16

I believe this "knowing" is experiential - we know God's love because we have experienced its immeasurable fullness in the fact that we have forgiveness, salvation and new life through Jesus' sacrificial death.

"As an example, Jesus shows us that true love is concrete and active, not merely felt or thought, but lived out." - IVP New Testament Commentaries

It may be difficult to wrap our minds around the idea of "laying down our lives." What does this really mean and how do we do it?

"Christ alone laid down His one life for us all; we ought to lay down our lives severally for the lives of the brethren; if not actually, at least virtually, by giving our time, care, labors, prayers, substance: Non nobis, sed omnibus. (Latin for "Not for ourselves alone.") Our life ought not to be dearer to us than God's own Son was to Him. The apostles and martyrs acted on this principle." - Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John also gives further explanation of how to live out love.

"But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in Him?" - I John 3:17

Wow - this hits me right in the heart. I know I have seen, yet passed by, so many needs of others in my life. I have put my wants and priorities before them. I have been unwilling to give unselfishly without expecting anything in return. So many times I have been reluctant to get dirty, to give sacrificially, to just plain give. Yet, "love is something when we give it away."

Love is a noun, but it becomes a verb when it becomes active.

"Our superfluities should yield to the necessities; our comforts, and even our necessaries in some measure, should yield to the extreme wants of our brethren. 'Faith gives Christ to me; love flowing from faith gives me to my neighbor.'"

- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

"Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth." - I John 3:18

As I think about going to Uganda I think about love and being able to love as God would want me to. I know my brand of love is often selfish, wrongly motivated, shallow and limited. It can also be superficial. My version of love might make people like me or encourage friendship, but, in the light of eternity, is that kind of love really effective?

Honestly, I don't have the love that is required on the missionfield or even in my daily life here at home. Which is why I need to be emptied of my tainted love, to be filled with God's pure, life-changing love. It is only God's brand of love that can truly touch hearts and change lives for eternity. It is purely motivated, sacrificial and unlimited. When we draw on God's love we never have to fear running out before we reach the next person.

I simply love this verse from the hymn, "The Love of God."

"Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky."

Take your cup, your basin, your bucket and dip it into the ocean of God's boundless love. But, don't keep it to yourself, pour it into the lives of others. Give it away!