African Mission Post 11

Posted on May 30th, 2010 by Pastor Craig Houston

It is currently 6:37PM Sunday evening in Uganda and I have much on my heart to write after just returning home from a full day of preaching in the village of Kyahi. This Lord’s Day is one that I will remember for the rest of my days as it was a great honor to preach for Pastor Eliab and the Kyahi Independent Baptist Church. The church family was very warm and gracious and they were very easy to preach to as they seemed to listen very intently. I had planned to preach from Titus 2:1-10 on the importance of Sound Doctrine in the Church and how it is passed down from older men to younger men, and older women to younger women, but the Lord changed my message as we drove down the road to the church. Along the side of the road I saw a young women sifting grain and I watched the chaff blow away in the wind. My mind was immediately brought to the fact that God is sifting out the righteous grain and the chaff is going to be blown away in the judgement that is to come found in Psalms 1 so I preached from this text. The passage allowed me to draw from the agriculturally rich valley with its banana plantations, water source that feeds the rich soil and abundant fruit to illustrate the truth of the text regarding the Christian who is planted in the Word of God.

Following the service I had the opportunity to hold a precious little girl named Joanne who was very under nourished and has lost at least one of her parents. She is an Orphan that as far as I could tell is being cared for by a little girl of about 8 and lives with a distant relative. This little girl made my heart ache as I know that she has not had much tender care and as I held her she cuddled very close and was not scarred at all. My wife and I have always said we are willing to adopt and today that was heavy on my mind and heart. The possibility to adopt in Uganda does exist, but this precious little girl would probably not be a candidate because she still has a living parent as far as I was able to find out. My daughter Anna came over with a Protein Bar that she was going to eat as she was getting hungry and then we asked if they had anything to eat today. The answer was NO and Anna immediately broke the bar in half and gave it to Joanne and her cousin. Of course this is not an uncommon problem in many third world countries though for the most part Uganda seems to be well feed, but that does not change my heart for this little girl and those orphans like her who are in need and I hope it never does. Jesus is clear that children are the greatest in the Kingdom of God and the Bible even says that if we would offend one we should jump into the depth of the sea with a milestone about our neck. We are also to minister to the least of these and practice pure religion which is to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction.

As is common across all kinds of cultures when guest visit a church a meal is provided. The food was great but I had a hard time eating as I was sick in heart and feeling like a hypocrite to sit and dine when the little children were still waiting outside. I was assured that food was going to be given to them as well which this church does for many on a daily basis. I praise the Lord for this churches care for the children of Kyahi.

We left the church and headed down the valley just a little ways and there was a good group of 80 to 100 that had assembled to hear the preaching of the Word of God in the middle of the village. This time the Lord led me to preach from Psalms 19 on the two ways in which God reveals Himself to mankind. First, verses 1-6 shows that God declares Himself through His creation which is easy to point to the visible illustrations all around us with a plantation behind me, mountains surrounding us and the beautiful blue sky above with puffs of white clouds sometimes hiding the sun. The Bible is also clear that the crown jewel of Gods creation is mankind from all nations, tongues and tribes of the earth. The second part of this Psalm deals with the specific revelation of God found in His Word, which is perfect in converting the souls of men as well as giving all the instruction we need for life. Upon concluding the message I asked Pastor Eliab to pray and close the service which he did. But first he asked if there where those who had trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and 4 men and 1 women stood indicating that they had trusted in Jesus. This was a great blessing to see God work through His Word and through this feeble messenger. All glory and honor goes unto the Lord and we thank Him for the fruit that is produced in and through is children.

The third preaching station was postponed as a more important matter came up and we were called upon to help. This is where the day really shook me as I was asked to preach for a funeral of a 3 year old boy named Ambrose pronounced (ambruce). I had been told just before the first morning message and so there was no real time to prepare except to beg God to help, by giving me the words to say to this family that I have never met that has just lost their son.

When we arrived at the funeral there was a few hundred people gathered outside of the house of the parents and tarps covered at least part of the crowd. We were ushered in through the crowd to the very front to be seated near the family. Please try and understand at times like these you feel so helpless and so out of place and yet you know that the Lord has placed you there for “such a time as this.” Very quickly after our arrival a little casket was brought out of the house draped in a white clothe with a red cross on it and I was told that it was time for me to preach without even having time to meet the parents. For this funeral the Lord directed me to Is. 61:1-3 which declares that I was anointed to preach, binding up broken hearts and comforting those who mourn. These verses were followed by Mark 10:13-17 were Jesus says not to suffer the little children who are the greatest in the kingdom and that He cares and sometimes calls the little ones into His presence so that He can hold them and comfort them. In these times of grief and loss we can find solace in the words of King David found in 2 Samuel 12:23. Those who experience the loss of a child must understand that their child will not return, but that through knowing God they may return to their children who have departed. This same hope and comfort is possible today if we know the Lord as our Savior. This truth is found in John 14:1-6. I concluded with the hope of Psalm 30:5 that says weeping may endure for the night but joy comes in the morning. Though the grief and mourning is severe today, God will bring joy again. The crowd then proceeded about 50 yards in the midst of the banana plantation where the little casket was lowered into the ground. I was overcome once again with tears as I watched many different men come and take turns shoveling dirt on top of the little casket. Even though I could not understand the language that everyone was speaking these acts of support and community did not need any interpreter. The service was officially concluded but the event was not as everyone in the village stayed for a meal with the family, but we had to depart as there was yet one more preaching engagement to travel to and this one was up a little bit of a goat trail.
We had traveled this road before on Thursday while out visiting with Brother Tom and Pastor Eliab without any major problems. Yet today was different because we had the vehicle packed with 10 people and as we attempted to go through the one major mud bog we got stuck. Mind you at this time of day we were all pretty tired and it would be dark in about two hours. Everyone unloaded and thankfully Garrett and I were able to push Brother Tom out of the mud hole with no damage to the vehicle and only a spray of mud/manure like substance splattered thoroughly on our Sunday dress clothes. It was great especially when Brother Tom was convinced to try it again this time with absolutely no problem, just a little four by four fish tail action. All ten of us that were ridding in the Land Cruiser pilled back in and up the hill to the next little village that we were to preach at. Upon arrival they set out chairs and then since we were late we only did some introductions of Missionary Tom Tracht and family, Anna and I as well as Pastor Eliab whom I am sure most of these men and women knew.

I would like to finish this post with a few reflections from today. First I am more certain than ever that we are to live our lives dependent upon the Holy Spirit of God which we all know in theory but to often not in practice. Secondly we must place our confidence in Scripture and not human cleverness when preaching because the Word is applicable in every context. Thirdly on a more Ugandan specific note I have the utmost respect for Pastor Eliab who is a man of God and is not only a pastor of the church but a pastor to the entire village. He does not demand respect he commands it.

I am emotionally drained, physically tired with much work to do on Fathering God’s Way which starts tomorrow and yet I feel as if today was most certainly ordained of God and things took place that I could have never orchestrated nor would I have in the same way.

May the Lord receive all glory and honor as it is all due Him!

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14 Responses to “African Mission Post 11”

  1. Mark Howe says:

    Thank you for sharing. As we said before in our comments, it means so much to feel like we are there with you. You are upheld in prayer by the church here in Bremerton. We are so thankful for your heart toward missions, but even more than that, your heart that desires to please the Lord. The outpouring of love and compassion you show to all, friend or stranger is a GIFT of God! We don’t think you could be separated from that character quality – you simply are loving toward all as easily as you draw breath. Praise the Lord for allowing you to be our pastor and praise Him for this experience for all of us!

    On May 30, 2010 at 1:51 pm

  2. The Simpsons says:

    I(Teresa) was moved to tears as I read this post. Thank you for sharing. You really do make us all feel as if we are right there with you. Not at all surprised to hear of such a selfless act from Anna. We will continue to pray that our Lord will continue use you both in a mighty way.

    On May 30, 2010 at 2:03 pm

  3. Jennie Warring says:

    Yes!To God be glory!Will pray for you that God will give strength and stamina.”But ye brethren,be not weary in well doing”(can’t remember the verse numbers).Don’t give up.We(the church)are praying for you.So happy and thankful that God is tremendously working in Africa through you and Anna.Wish I was there to help in the ministry.Miss you a lot.

    On May 30, 2010 at 2:47 pm

  4. jesse warring says:

    I will be praying for the orphans in Uganda.I hope your sermons win souls and that the people of Uganda grow in the Lord.I forget what verse it is, but in the Bible it says to be doers of the word and not just hearers.I will be praying that the Ugandan people do what the Bible says and not just hear.Am praying for you and Anna everyday.I thank you ,Pastor.Your love for every person has convicted me to love everyone, even my enemies.I thank you for being such a great encouragment to me in my walk with the Lord.Bless you and yor family for the great work you have done in my life.I know it’s the Lord that works through you ,but I just want to thank you for your love for the church.May God be with you in everything that happens in Uganda.

    On May 30, 2010 at 2:49 pm

  5. Emily says:

    My heart aches for the baby girl you held, and her cousin! Oh that I could be there with you to minister to those babies’ needs! It seems unfair that there are so many little ones w/o mommies and daddies. we need to pray for people to go and tell them how much God THE Father loves them and cares for them. But who will go? Even so Lord Jesus, send me….

    On May 30, 2010 at 4:08 pm

  6. Susan says:

    Thank you for the reminder, Craig, that we don’t have to speak the language in order to communicate to one another. Grief, love, sadness, happiness are all tangible emotions in any language. I praise God He chose to have you there to minister to these children, as well as to the grieving parents of this young boy. You and your family ministered to us in our grief and we were blessed. I know these others were touched by God’s grace and mercy delivered through the vessels named Pastor Craig Houston and his daughter, Anna.

    On May 30, 2010 at 9:19 pm

  7. Brian & Teresa says:

    What a wonderful God we have and what a challenge from this post and the message sunday night to be about His business in Bremerton. We miss you.
    B&T

    On May 30, 2010 at 11:10 pm

  8. chris & janelle says:

    I had tears rolling down my cheeks as Jason read this post to the congregation prior to taking the offering. What a blessed day for you all! Amazing to see how God orchestrates events to accomplish His Will. Just as Christ taught people by drawing on their everyday life in the parables, you were able to use the grain and the abundancy of the banana plantations to teach Bible truths and of Salvation.

    Chris & Janelle and the kids

    On May 31, 2010 at 8:43 am

  9. Aunt Bea says:

    There are, simply, no words ato express the emotion that over took my heart about the funeral of aathat adear little one. The acceptance of the family for the man of God sent by God, that they may (or not?0 have known, but evidently heard of, to give the God’s love, hope, and comfort. You truly are a blessing and a “…witness unto me both in Jerusalem, and in Samaria, and unto the utter most parts of the earth.”acts 1:8. You and Anna are living the commandant of Christ. Thank you, and Praise be to the Lord. Love you both so much. God is truly smiling, and has a sweet savor in His nostrils.

    On May 31, 2010 at 10:20 am

  10. Bro. Russell Smith says:

    Preacher! ~

    It is clearly evident by the posts from your church members, God has used you in a mighty way and continues to show Himself thru your ministering there in Uganda! I believe you can say as Nehemiah said, “then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me”.

    May God continue to bless your labor there abundantly and be glorified in simple ways – as the blessing of your sweet daughter upon those 2 little girls. Praying that the power of Christ continues to rest upon you and that when you are weak His grace will carry you thru. Desiring to be there with you and help hold up your arms…

    On May 31, 2010 at 3:11 pm

  11. Jason McD says:

    Pastor,
    What an amazing day ! In the middle of all of you scheduled preaching appointments; God placed yet another opprotunity for you to wittness and show His love to another whole group of people gathered to mourn. What an awsome answer to prayer that God directed you to such a perfect passage in Psalms about being anointed to preach and comforting those who mourn ! Gods had of providence and the evidence of the Holy Spirits direction is clearer in each and every post you make. Once again I want to thank you for being such a good example for me as I struggle with depresion and loss. I am feeling more and more encouraged every day. You missed an excellent sermon on Sunday morn here. And it was so good to see your family back in the front row ! We all miss you ! Please say hi to Anna for me. Your Brother In Christ… JPMcD

    On May 31, 2010 at 11:33 pm

  12. Julie Mandery says:

    I am just now getting caught up on reading your posts. So many touching pictures were awakened in my mind hearing of the great needs you have seen firsthand. We continue to pray for your safety and that the word of God may have free course and be glorified. On another note, Anna Huckabee was my roommate a few different times in college. She talked about her desire to go to Uganda even as a single lady back in 1996. How great to see her desire fulfilled, and what a small world!

    On June 1, 2010 at 9:15 am

  13. The Gertys' says:

    Hey Pastor. I appreciate the work God is doing thru you and your twin (Anna) there. It’s very touching. Every night Isom and I pray and thank God for sending a peculiar person in my life to give me Christ and for the heart you share for ALL people. On another note, I appreciate your wife’s heart for the people as well. Reading her response to your blog here is a true blessing. Anyway, soak up as much as you can about the culture and the people and tell me all about it. Love you Pastor. God Bless you.

    On June 1, 2010 at 2:47 pm

  14. Gilead Rose says:

    I regret not having internet while I was away, but though I’m reading this post late, it had blessed me all the more!
    Thanks so much for the constant updates!
    Praying for you, Anna, and everyone you mentioned!

    On June 5, 2010 at 7:30 pm

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