Sonrise Revealed

The pale moon was hovering over the city behind me as the crimson sun slowly rose ahead of me. As the glorious sun peaked over the distant mountains, I joined the multitude of voices lifting praises to the Father above. It was early on Easter morning in Stuttgart, Germany, where believers in Christ assembled at the top of (what the Americans call) “Rubble Hill.”

Birkenkopf is most often called “Monte Scherbelino” by the Germans – which is literally translated as “Mount Shards.” Birkenkopf is the highest elevation of the surrounding hills of Stuttgart and has special meaning to those who live in the valley below. During the Second World War, most of Stuttgart was destroyed, and the remaining debris (almost 53 million cubic feet) from the 53 air strikes was accumulated and deposited on top of Birkenkopf – significantly increasing its height. Now Monte Scherbelino stands as a memorial for the victims and as a warning to the living.

But as I stood with others at the foot of the 10-meter-high (32.8 feet) cross overlooking the city below… my thoughts were far from the near-by rubble displaying some of the prominent façade pieces of destroyed WWII homes and buildings. Rather my eyes were drawn to the scarlet sun on the horizon and the metallic surfaces in the fog-covered valley below as they reflected the sun’s light through the surrounding darkness. I couldn’t rid my mind of a staggering question: “Would the city of Stuttgart ever glow from the reflection of the Son’s light through the Christian believers living among the population?”

I couldn’t escape the metaphors. Easter morning is one of the prominent moments when Christians reflect on the blood of Jesus Christ as He died on a crucifix and His ensuing resurrection on the third day. He died for people – for every one of us, because His love for us is beyond comparison. And here I was . . . standing at the foot of a cross, on a mountain of rubble, “seeing” the darkness in the valley below. As I watched the rising of the blood-red sun . . . my mind pictured the blood-stained Son rising from His grave. As the dense fog dissipated above the houses . . . I imagined the hazy confusion of Jesus’ followers as they began to understand His prophecies. The light began to shine through the darkness enveloping Stuttgart . . . just as the acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as the Son of God began to spread across the earth. And as the reflections of the sun began to glitter across the valley’s mirrored surfaces . . . my thoughts turned inward as well as outward.

Am I . . . are you . . . mirroring Christ’s love? Is His reflection shining through our lives? How many hundreds and thousands of people were sleeping in Stuttgart – unknowing that a celebration of Love and Redemption was occurring just above them on a memorable hill overlooking their city? How many people didn’t know, because we didn’t tell them? Our mission is clear . . . to tell the world about Jesus Christ . . . every tribe and every nation. The risen Son should be revealed through our lives!

One young child touched my heart after our Easter Sonrise Worship came to a close. She climbed some of the rubble surrounding us where she could look into the distance. She paused for a moment as she turned in a circle . . . seeing the horizon in every direction. And then she loudly proclaimed, “Look! I can see the whole world!” And as she spoke, images flooded through my mind . . . of the faces of people around the world that have never heard about Jesus Christ. God does see the whole world, and He loves and longs for every soul to know and believe in Him.

Volunteering in Jamaica

What comes to mind when you think of Jamaica? White sandy beaches? The blues and greens of the Caribbean Sea?

Yes, that's part of Jamaica. But not the part where we were... in the beautiful Blue Mountains!

A group of student volunteers from Florida and Arkansas spent their Spring Break in Jamaica during the Cricket World Cup. You're probably thinking... sure, Spring Break in Jamaica... vacationing at the resorts and hanging out at the beaches. But that's far from the truth! This group of volunteer missionaries spent their time passing out evangelistic tracts and free bottles of water, spending time at an inner-city preschool and a high school in the mountains, talking and praying with anyone who was willing, worshiping with local believers, and most importantly... sharing the Gospel!

Please pray for the Jamaican Baptist Union as they continue to minister to their fellow neighbors and countrymen. And may the name of Jesus Christ be glorified through their lives and testimonies!

In the Minority

I have traveled to Thailand on many occasions, and although this particular trip was primarily for various meetings, it was a wonderful experience none-the-less. We were able to venture around the city periodically, and I was once again exposed to some of the culture. First, let me say that the Thai people are extremely kind and generous and definitely a joy to know. But unfortunately many of them do not know our Lord and Savior.

In fact, once you read the statistics below . . . you’ll understand the desperate need for believers around the world to be praying for the people of Thailand.


According to the CIA world factbook (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook), here is the breakdown of religions in Thailand.
94.6% - Buddhist
4.6% - Muslim
0.7% - Christian
0.1% - Other

Now if that isn’t heartbreaking . . . then I don’t know what is. PLEASE pray for the name of Jesus Christ to be known and for His light to shine through the vast spiritual darkness in Thailand!

New life in Uganda!

UGANDA: Kampala, Gulu, Torroro, deep in the bush, & various places in between... :-)

There was so much that needed to be accomplished on this particular trip, and it was a bit daunting to be completing all of it by myself. There were many challenges that I had to personally face (spiritually, physically, mentally, socially...), but that’s another story for another time. As for the trip as a whole... God provided exactly what I needed when I needed it! And of course, He rose far above any and all expectations! (Though none of us should be surprised by that!)

Wow! Where do I even begin???

My last email prayer update was sent on February 8th - while I was still in Uganda. Many of you who received that email didn’t know that my birthday was on February 9th, but I could tell that you were praying. And it’s one of the reasons that I made sure that I sent a prayer email the day before. :-) Anyway... before I go on... you’ll have to remember that due to the time differences between Uganda and the States, my “Stateside” birthday fell between the Ugandan evening of Feb. 9th & morning of Feb. 10th. Have I confused you yet? Just hang in there, ‘cause I’ve got a story to share!!!

Friday morning, February 9th, I woke up bright and early. Okay, maybe it wasn’t so bright since it was 5:00am. But I needed to get up early in order to meet up with our small caravan: missionaries John, Danny, Evert, and Pastor Deo (a local Kampala pastor) - and me, of course. We all loaded into a truck to travel almost 6 hours north to Gulu. The ride was not only long, but extremely jarring. If you’ve never traveled on an African road then you won’t truly be able to appreciate the experience of bumping along an old beat-up road filled with more pot holes than solid ground. Back, neck, or knee problems? They’ll only get worse! And anyone who travels these roads for long will get them all. Well, I digress. We eventually completed the long trip to Gulu, checked into the hotel, and quickly returned to our vehicle. We picked up Pastor Paul and then made our way to one of the Acholi IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps. The Acholi people have faced rebel wars and displacement for the past 20 years, and now many of them live as refugees in these IDP camps. Paul is an Acholi man that was trained by missionaries in Kampala, ordained, and then sent (just this past December) back home to Gulu to begin a new work (or church plant). Our small traveling group went up to Gulu hoping to encourage Pastor Paul’s work and with the expectation that he might be struggling to start one small fellowship. Boy, did God have a surprise in store for us! Pastor Paul – in less than six weeks – has started 3 house churches and one “celebration point” – a place where the house churches gather on Sundays to worship together.

When we arrived at the IDP camp, we noticed that the Acholi people had already built a meeting place for their worship (to protect them from the rain and sun – remember, they’re on the equator, and the sun is intense!) with some wooden poles and a tarp for cover. That Friday night we had a wonderful worship time with over 50 adults and MANY more children! Before the evening was over . . . God had designed a meeting for us with one very special woman – a lady named Margaret.

Margaret was a local witchdoctor from a distant village who had met Pastor Paul soon after he arrived in Gulu. The witchdoctor of a community is the individual that people come to when they have concerns or needs or problems that need to be solved. And because the witchdoctor performs spells and witchcraft in order to meet these physical or spiritual needs, he/she often becomes feared as well as depended on. (As believers in Jesus Christ, we know that this work is from the devil and not from God.) Here are some of Margaret’s words – from an interview that I conducted with her that Friday evening:
“I was a witchdoctor. I was doing witchcraft. I began to realize that the evil power was disturbing me and my children – and even killing my children.” “We (Pastor Paul & Margaret) met and he (Pastor Paul) began preaching the Gospel to me. He prayed for me.” “I realized that I needed to leave the evil work and turn to God. Now I have gotten saved and am together with God with all of my family. Now I am leading the women in the church. My husband is also a leader in the church.” “I need the Spirit of the Lord to lead me to go back and burn the witchcraft things I have left behind.”

I believe that God set us on this specific path to meet Margaret. She had this desire to go back to her home village – almost 3 hours away – to burn all of her witchcraft relics, potions, medicines, clothing, pottery, spears, drums, etc. But Margaret had no way to travel back home (no transportation or money), and she didn’t want to go alone. And here we were with transportation, planning to head back to Kampala the next morning, and passing near Margaret’s village on the way home. More than anything at that moment, I had this strong desire to help Margaret and her husband (Ojok) get back to their home to rid their lives of the remaining evil. The biblical scriptures kept coming to mind from the Old Testament about the Israelites turning to God over and over again – and yet always leaving intact the idols, alters, and high places (where people would burn incense and offer sacrifices to other gods). Time after time these things became temptations for future generations and always led to more sin and devastation. What would happen in the future if these evil items from Margaret’s past life of witchcraft were not destroyed? What havoc and evil would be rekindled by others or by her own descendants? I didn’t even want to consider the option. So I suggested that we take Margaret, Ojok, Pastor Paul, and his wife with us the next morning, and I offered to pay for their transportation back to Gulu after we got rid of the witchcraft items. Everyone unanimously agreed, and we made the arrangements to pick up the others in the morning. Thus the Friday evening of February 9th ended.

Saturday morning, February 10th (which was still the 9th in the States) arrived soon enough. Nine of us now packed ourselves tightly in the truck and began our long journey to Margaret’s home. Once again we traveled over the many potholes in an overcrowded truck with no air-conditioning. We passed baboons playing on the side of the road, many UN trucks overflowing with refugees, and eventually we crossed the Karuma Falls – just north of our destination. We had just a short distance to go according to our African friends... "just off the road a bit." But as I’ve learned (or been reminded) in Uganda... African distances and American distances are not equal. So this “short distance” was at least another hour into the bush. We traveled by vehicle as far as possible – along paths no wider than a bike path – forging our way through the bushes. But eventually we had to get out and continue on foot through villages and fields and grass/weeds that were at least 6 or 7 feet tall. On and on we went... one following another... until we eventually reached her remote banda (or hut) where she had lived and performed her many witchcraft rituals. Pastor Paul and Margaret gathered all of the witchcraft relics: all of the medicines that they used, the bones, their ancestors’ spears, the ritualistic clothing, the drum that they used to beat to call upon the evil spirits. Everything was gathered and piled outside. And after Pastor Paul poured the kerosene on the pile, Margaret leaned down and started the fire herself. She was freeing herself from the evil bondage that had held her for so long! And as everyone watched the items burn...

prayers to our Lord Jesus Christ were uttered, followed by spontaneous singing and dancing in praise to our God above! It was an amazing sight!!! But this isn’t the end of the story. This is just the beginning...

Two men were passing by and witnessed what was taking place. As they joined our group, they began to ask questions about what was happening, because they knew Margaret and her husband as the community witchdoctors. Our small group began to share the Gospel with these two men. One of the men stood distant, barely listening, uninterested. But the other man became excited, asking one question after another. He couldn’t contain his excitement and he wanted to choose Jesus Christ as his own. But first he wanted his brother to hear this Good News. So off he ran – as fast as he could – to find his brother and bring him back to this banda where the fire was still burning and the people were still worshiping the Living God. When this man and his brother returned, the Gospel was shared a second time. They heard Margaret’s and Ojok’s testimonies and how they had given their lives to Christ. And the brother simply said, “Well, now if my family has come to Christ... then I don’t want to be left in the camp of the devil!” And on his own, he knelt down, raised his hands to heaven, and surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. Both brothers chose life with our Lord Jesus that day. So now we welcome Ojo Ajul and Anywar David Livingston as our new brothers in Christ!!! This was a wonderful testimony of God’s power and grace in the midst of people’s hearts being changed! God used Margaret and Ojok and their obedience to God. And I was given the privilege of joining in this extraordinary experience... on my birthday no less! :-)

People often underestimate the power of prayer. But let me tell you... I have no doubt that faithful believers all over the States were praying for me on my birthday – as often churches do for missionaries. God heard those many prayers. And he answered in mighty ways... beyond anything that I ever could have imagined! YOUR prayers were used by God to help bring these two new believers into the very arms of our Lord and Savior! Thank you, thank you, thank you... for your faithfulness and your prayers for my Ugandan adventures.



I realize that this is an extraordinarily long blog (which was previously an email), and I would apologize for that... except that I couldn’t contain these words of joy. There were many other happenings on this trip – challenges, obstacles, blessings, various stories – but again, those must remain for another time.

One more thing... I had a wonderful welcome home when I found a beautifully potted plant and “welcome home” balloons sitting on my doorstep on Sunday evening. There was no note, but the gesture of kindness was overwhelming and certainly appreciated after my extensive journey in Uganda and my travels (for over 30 hours) back home. I’m not sure who delivered them, but please know that they were wonderful and totally unexpected! THANK YOU (whoever you are)!!! ;-) And may God bless you as you have blessed me!!!

Well, I suppose I should sign off now. Thank you once more for your many thoughts, prayers, and emails. I hope to respond to each of your messages personally within the coming weeks... so please have patience with me in the meantime.

For His Glory – now and always!

NOT without His help

Serving others can definitely be a humbling task. And yet it is so rewarding in the end!

I have spent the last ten days helping with the Florida Baptist Disaster Relief efforts in New Orleans. What was originally designed to be a fairly easy trip, with quite a bit of down time, turned into something quite a bit more. Some individuals had to cancel at the last minute, which left only four of us remaining on the team. To make a long story short ... most days we worked a minimum of 18-20 hours a day with an hour break at most. It was definitely exhausting – and a learning experience as well. (But at least we had a few "friends" to keep us company in the kitchen... let's see... there was Mickey and Minnie - and possibly a few young'uns - and all of the little nameless roaches and other critters running around!) Thankfully we were able to keep "our friends" away from the food that we were serving! At least most of the time. :-)

I love to serve others... however I can. Usually. But this trip stretched me in ways that I hadn't expected. There was often very little appreciation from the people that we were helping and quite a few challenges that we had to overcome. But as promised in Scripture, God didn't allow to experience anything that we couldn't handle without His help.

And that's the key. "Without His help." In fact, half-way through the week we called our church missions director and requested specific prayers. And in less than 24 hours it was obvious that God was answering in unexpected ways! Here's just one of the many examples that I could give: When we desired endurance to make it through another long day... God provided assistance through some volunteers and gave us extra hours of rest! Time after time, God revealed His presence and His strength through answered prayers.

And once again, I owe you my gratitude for your dedicated prayers. Thank you, my friends. Thank you!