Monday not so blue...

We are anything but blue as we started this Monday out with a shout for the Lord!! We took a team out to the Remand prison (jail) where Sandy did his timbrel routine which the guys really loved! It was a great time for them to see a man take broken things and make a sweet melody with them. Sandy knocked it out of the park!!! I then gave my testimony; when it was al said and done six men took a stand for Christ out of the 600 we spoke to. It was awesome. Please pray for these new brothers in Christ. We rejoice with these men because there is great pressure from "other" religions in there. These men will most likely face hostilities from their fellow prisoners because of their stand. It was a very powerful service!!! Please pray for the men who did not take a public stand but who also prayed with us many could be heard praying along with us and when i looked out across the crowd at one point I could see lips silently moving with us in the prayer of salvation. A reminder to me that a testimony is a terrible thing to waste. Everyone of us have a story that was given to us by Him. Sharing that story does not have to be elaborate or only on special occasions but can be shared as He leads at anytime, with great effectiveness. I believe there is one factor that we often forget when sharing with others, that is; We do not know where God has brought this person from. God's timing is always perfect! We serve an amazing God who does amazing things with those who are His for those HE desires to be His.

Taking a deep breath...

Wow what a power packed week it has been!! The Pastors Conference was very successful. On Thursday we got to go and make a presentation to the entire main prison and condemned at the same time. Sandy did timbrel and then I shared my testimony it was a great time in the Lord. Later in the day we went out to one of the villages where the ladies had a bible study and I got to hang out with some of the local kids and play "hacky sack." They wanted to use it like a futbal so it was a very interesting time. I think the kids had more fun following me around pulling the hair on my arms. That is the strangest thing to them since they for the most part do not have them. While we were there it was brought to our attention that some of the local pastors family was extremely sick. 4 of his children either have malaria or they are sporting american flu as they call it. So we brought some of them into Jinja for testing and yes it was malaria which is very common here. This morning we went and visited them in the hospital once there we loaded two of the kids and took them for another test at a different place so that we could be sure they only have malaria and not typhoid on top of the malaria. This trip has truly been an eye opener for me!!! This afternoon we went to a place along the Nile river where we had lunch and some swimming (oh yes the conditions are really tough out here) a great time of just sitting back and taking a deep breath. Very pleasant afternoon. Tomorrow Priscilla will teach twice at the women's prison, Mark and Deanna will be going to the hospital ministry and I will be teaching in the prison three different services. Sandy has been doing timbrel every where they will let him it has been truly a blessing to see the faces in response to his music on cans chairs and stuff.
It is amazing to me how we as americans have this mind set that things must be done our way or a certain way when here on the other side of the world they are doing what most americans would say "that can not be done like that" and yet the Lord is doing it!!! I love the way the Lord opens my eyes to His ways a fresh and a new with some of the simplest things...

Second Day...

We had a very great day this the second day of the Pastors conference. These men are blessing our socks off. They are so knowledgeable and so hungry for the things of the Lord. It is amazing to be here sharing and visiting with them. The Lord is pouring out Himself in abundant measures!!! Too pooped to go much further tonight, Pastors conference is over tomorrow will post some more Lord willing, once I have rested. :O)

Well as you may have guessed by now I am having some level of difficulty getting things loaded on the net. Here is a couple for now know that i am working getting more loaded soon

Beautiful Africa...

Well family and friends here are some promised pics and a short video of some African worship no guarantee on the quality but I am hoping that it is audible. We are having an absolutely marvelous time here. Today Mark, Deanna and Priscilla all went into three different prisons today to minister the Lord blessed them greatly while they were there. Sandy got to practice and share some drumming techniques with some of the local worship team while Pastor Neil and I were blessed to go into the local hospital to pray with people. I can tell you that at our debriefing tonight all had been touched by the conditions and by the Lord and how He moved through each of us indifferent ways. Powerful stuff to be sure I can say we were praying that the Lord would baffle and bewilder us and He has not let us down. Tomorrow kicks off the Village Pastor's Conference we're very excited to see how the Lord moves.

Africa...

We are here! Yes after a very eventful day in London we are now in our destination, Africa!!! It is simply beautiful, currently it is pouring rain outside and the thunder claps are very loud and yet it is very tranquil. We have received a most gracious welcome and are finally starting to come alive after a really good nights sleep. I had my first Africa adventure and of all things it was with a stork. I am not sure of it technical name but it is one very large bird that is sorta like our buzzard. Apparently one landed for what ever reason in apportion of the compound that it could not take off from, its wing span is about 8 feet! They stand any where from 3 to 4 feet tall and are smelly! Yes that is how close I was to this thing. So Jess warns me that we need to watch out for his beak which is pretty gnarly especially once he starts snapping it open and shut in an effort to scare you off. Naturally I back off, I mean Jess is practically a local so he knows best. He comes out the back door with his sword/broom and starts fencing this massive angry, scared and trapped bird (dinosaur) which he does very successfully pushing it at me holding the gate closed. Jess instructs me to open the gate but I am a little late at the bird veers off to the left getting trapped again. Now it is my turn to fence the bird Jess quickly hands the sword over the fence to me and I start trying to shoo the bird out the gate. Thankfully it sees the opening and heads out into the courtyard where it is able to spread its wings and fly into the African sky. On the very first day too!!!

London...

We have had an absolute blast here in London today! Internet is a bit wierd, actually we don't want to pay so maybe we are weird! Photos will followonce we settle in and rest (ha) in Uganda. Our flight to Entebbe seems to be on track so we should see Africa by morning.

On the way...

We made it we made! Everyone is through the gates and enjoying sweet fellowship while we wait for our plane! God bless you all we are going to miss you.

No more days...

That's right there are no more days left between us and the plane only hours, we leave in the morning!!! Talk about flutterbys and all the crazy what if thoughts a guy can start to have if he let his mind go there. My thought right now is, "we are really leaving!" we have arranged for a ride, the house is covered, the documents are all copied and ready and the bags are packed there is nothing left but for us to leave!!! What an amazing ride this has been and we haven't even left Albuquerque yet. And again the Lord is right on time this morning I woke to some text messages (preferred communication method of teenagers) from both my daughters are you ready for this? "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1.9 Out of the mouths of babes. Our God never ceases to amaze me!!!

Show time...

Here it is folks it is show time!!! All the planning, preparation, all the prayer it all hits the pavement in just a few short days. Simply amazing is all I can truly say about our God! There is something about this trip, this adventure in the Lord that leaves me at a loss for words, I can not explain it, I can not put it to words, I can not formulate a response I must simply trust and know that He is the one doing all this. There is no other way to explain how this entire trip has come about. It is our God showing Himself to my wife, the other team members (who by the way are equally blown away by the awesome God that we serve)and myself in wonderful, spectacular new ways. Fresh and new snippets of how great He is and how willing He is to be strong on behalf of those who would dare to entrust it all to Him. How more than capable He is of baffling and bewildering His children.

Now that your out of the way James...

Yesterday God opened a door for me to speak into the life of my oldest daughter Tiana's life. It was His perfect time. I really wanted to talk to her and share with her but had not felt like I would have represented the God of John 3.16 correctly. You know there's a lot of love in that verse and that is exactly what this situation needed, God's great and amazing love. It did not need my "two cents" but the truth of His word. It was really cool being open and honest with my baby girl and I am happy to report that (as best I can tell anyway) it went well. It was a nice conversation between two adults, I even got a thank you text for, "spending time with me dad" which I locked and saved thank you very much. With all the stuff that has been going on lately and all the preparations things have been a bit hectic and then right in the middle of all this its as if God says "Be still and know that I am God..." Which is exactly what He has been saying to Priscilla and I for some time now. I am truly blessed by the great detail God gives to our puny, vaporous, 70 year if we make it that far, lives. I am reminded of a couple of Proverbs 25.11 "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." and "A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!" 15.23 Truly our God is great!!!