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Posts Tagged ‘Missions’

African Mission Post 16

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

At 37,000 feet, the air is thin, but my thoughts are clear as we sail through the air aboard American Airlines flight 105, London, Heathrow to New York, JFK headed for home!

I just woke from a nap feeling strongly compelled to write about our last days in Uganda, the Pearl of Africa. Though there is now some space between those days and today, the events that took place are forever crystallized in my mind.

Sunday, June 6th, 2010, God gave my daughter and I the privilege to go and minister at the UN Refugee Camps in SW Uganda. The morning came early as I had only had two hours of sleep before this long day of travel and preaching. I wanted to sleep but I had my wife and children heavy on my mind and was having a difficult time trying to get a hold of them. Many worked hard at trying to help us connect for which I want to say thank you. The truth is I was desperate to get in touch with my wife because I was homesick and just wanted to chat, which after several hours I was thankfully able to do. I was also working hard on posting my last blog post, #15, which I finished very early in the morning. Lastly, I was restless about going to preach to 3 different groups of refugees from Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, and Somalia. What should I preach on? What do I say to a group of people who have been forced to flee from their own countries to find refuge from the torture, murder, rape, and starvation that many of them faced. What do I, the rich (all of us are by world standards) American white guy have to offer? The answer that God gave me was NOTHING! Craig Houston has NOTHING to offer of myself, there will be no gimmicks that will sell people on Jesus that I could bring from our “beloved” system of Christianity. The only thing that I could bring to the people who lived in these camps that would have any RELEVANCE was the precious Word of God! (Might I give a little reminder to those in the States, this is the only thing that really has any RELEVANCE for us as well and we would do well to get back to the Word of God and cast off all of our programatic gimmick that we think will solve the problems of the church.) Where was I? Nothing but the Word of God!

After having the answer from the Lord, I rested my weary head on my pillow until the now familiar alarm clock of a gentle knock on the door from Mrs. Tracht letting me know it was time to get up. Considering I had no alarm this was a great help, not to mention she brought coffee. I woke up with that nervous feeling that I had overslept but thankfully it was just a thought due to the short rest. What do you do at 6:00 AM before a long day of preaching? Take a nice warm shower! Not this time, the water was freezing but it helped me not to linger.

Anna and I enjoyed a quick breakfast of hard boiled eggs, toast, and fruit and headed out the door as missionaries Jeff and Carla Bassett honked at the gate. I grabbed a final cup of coffee (surprise) and headed out to begin our journey to the camps. The drive takes between 1.5 and 2 hours depending and it is very rough with no pavement, pot holes , washboards, washed out spots, big ruts and fast trucks. Lets just say it was an adventure riding with Brother Jeff who is a very excellent off road driver and has been trekking the roads of the Ivory Coast for twenty years and in East Africa for 5 years. The good news was that it was fairly dry which means the red clay roads were not like an ice rink. Anna and I enjoyed getting to know Jeff and Carla as they are very precious missionaries who have gone through many difficulties on the field with their yard being part of daily war zone in the Ivory Coast and yet they are still faithfully loving and reaching the souls of Africa. After seeking a place to move due to the war in the Ivory Coast, the Bassett’s who are fluent in French (which is the language of several African nations including Rwanda and the Congo) landed in Mbarara to work with the refugees. May I say God is using them to do a mighty work for the Lord.

We entered the Refugee Camp area which was much different than I thought it would be, but it was a good different, at least in this Ugandan Refugee Camp. I had envisioned a large open field with a tent city including row after row of tents, but instead there was a vast area of several thousand acres given by the Ugandan Government for 50 years to be used by the UN for the Refugees.

The refugees, upon arrival, are given a blue tarp and some poles to start upon arrival in the camp along with a piece of land to put it on. When set up, the best way I can describe how they look, is like a covered wagon, only blue. After several weeks, if they stay, they will begin to build a small, one room hut/house, with tree branches for poles, and mud to fill in between…and for the roof? You guessed it! A blue tarp.

By 8:30AM we arrived at our first preaching point, which is the newest one of four. We pulled up to a small group meeting under a tarp on polls, sitting on wooden benches and singing praises to Jesus. I was instructed before hand that the way it works, due to time, is that we arrive with the service already in progress, and I basically will stand up to preach and then we will have to leave. Those of you reading this blog probably know that for me, this was torture as I am all about spending time with people seeking to minister to them in any way that I can.

Within minutes I was asked to stand and preach to this small band of believers and guests. I have preached to thousands before and have never felt so overwhelmed with love for the people, and humbled by the privilege to open the Word to these precious souls. I took my text from Titus 2:11-15 and preached on the power of the Grace of God. As I began to preach, the Lord smote me in a way I have never been before and I began to weep uncontrollably. God spoke to me in that moment and it wasn’t about the impoverished condition of the people that I wept, though I do care greatly for their needs. I was overwhelmed by God’s Grace for all people in the World and how I have a very real responsibility to share his grace to the uttermost places of the World, including refugee camps. In that moment, God also reminded me that I too am a refugee and that this World in which I live is not my home. Each one of us as believers must remember this as we live our lives, or else we will waste them on that which is of no importance. God also in this moment, broke my heart for the people Africa. I finished the message and one man professed a desire to learn more about Christ. One of the men was then given the responsibility of sharing the gospel more fully with him. With no time to fellowship, saving a quick embrace of everyone present, we loaded the Land Cruiser and headed further into the camp for the next service.

This time, the believers were meeting in a small mud and wood building that was packed to overflowing with wonderful African worship emanating from inside. As we walked in, a group of young people were leading the worship in song, big smiles were on there faces, which again brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. They have nothing as far as the World is concerned and yet it appeared they had everything important, and indeed they did! After a couple of songs, again I was up to preach. This time the Lord lead me to Psalm 19 which I had preached in the village of Kyahi just a week earlier. I was told later by the interpreter that the saints were greatly encouraged by the message of God’s revelation of Himself in His creation and His Word, the Bible. I reminded them that just as the sun faithfully rises every morning, like a bridegroom coming out of His chamber, one day the Son of God, Jesus Christ, will come as a bridegroom adorned for His bride and that we are to comfort each other with the promise of Christ’s return.

We were now headed to our last meeting location in the refugee camp which was located very near the UN headquarters. This area included the largest refugee housing area as well as the largest population base. On the way to this church, we passed the UN Headquarters, a brand new Mosque, a market, and many people, finally arriving at a nice church building that was filled with people. This was Jeff and Carla Bassett’s first work in the refugee camps and was quite obviously the most spiritually mature group of people. Please don’t misunderstand me, it is not because they have a building, but rather because they have more mature Christians. The music was fantastic in this church with the congregation lifting the roof off the building with their voices of praise and thanksgiving. This church family had a large representation of different African Nations, and yet all of them had much in common. First, they had all suffered much loss and persecution, they had witnessed loved ones being slaughtered before their eyes, many of the women had been raped by bands of soldiers, and many do not even know if their loved ones are still alive. But it is not only suffering that they have in common, for they were gathered today at the church to celebrate the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ loves them, has redeemed them and given them a new and better country that is never to be taken away as they will abide in the presence of the Lord forever.

How my heart was totally overwhelmed to preach the Word of God to this body of believers in the midst of much difficulty with such JOY OF THE LORD! The Holy Spirit lead me to the book of Titus again and I preached on the Power of the Grace of God from chapter 2:11-15. The message was interpreted into two different languages so all present could understand what was being proclaimed. It was absolutely amazing to see the response of these believers as I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that the Spirit of God was bearing witness between preacher and people. Tears of joy flowed from both the congregation and the preacher as we rejoiced in the goodness of the grace of God upon our lives as Christians, and the lives of all who would believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

To conclude the service, the church sang again the of the wonderful words of life. The amazing service ended with prayer followed by some sweet fellowship.

Brother Djuna and his lovely wife then hosted us for a wonderful lunch at the church before our long trek back to Mbarara. I had been told before that Djunas’ wife made the best beans around and I was given a first hand opportunity to test this claim. We had an amazing lunch and the beans cooked Congolese style were amazing. Pray for Djuna, his wife, and family as they are being trained up to pastor either in the refugee camp or back in the Congo.

After a few hours of travel and a bumpy nap, we arrived safely back in Mbarara for our last evening with the Tract Family. We had a wonderful meal of beef cooked on the BBQ , a delicious chicken dish cooked by Annette (pastor Robert’s wife) and many side dishes. It was a sweet time spent together with wonderful friends who are growing more and more like family all the time. After dinner, Anna and I spent a few hours packing and weighing our bags before our long journey back to Kampala on Monday morning. The trip went well and we continued the new tradition of breaking down in the middle of nowhere traveling between Mbarara and Kampala. The repair did not take more than two hours and we were back on the road. One positive was that I was able to get some great pictures of some amazing Impala. (Not the Chevrolet Kind but the real ones, sorry Lucas:))

We made it to Kampala, taking a nice detour through the city due to a huge traffic jam as we entered town, and the blessing of it all, is that we did not get lost! Tom, Cheryl, Rebekah, Anna-Renee, and I all went to dinner at a nice Italian Restaurant for dinner, including Italian Ice Cream, and then headed for the hotel.

Tuesday morning arrived and we all had a relaxing morning at the hotel, having a delicious breakfast, and sweet time of fellowship while we waited for the vehicle to be returned by the mechanic. This morning was mixed with emotions both of deep excitement and sadness. The excitement is easy to explain as we were beginning the long journey home to see my beloved wife of almost 16 years and the 9 blessed children that were not with me. The sadness is harder to explain because I didn’t want to leave Africa, the Trachts, the other missionaries, or the African brothers and sisters in Christ whom I now felt very much at home with. I will miss each one and will look forward to the time hopefully in the near future when we can again be together to share in the work of the ministry and the Word of God.

We arrived on time at Entebbe International Airport and made our way into the terminal where we had to say our goodbyes embracing many times with the beloved Tracht Family that was there, and gave a final wave when we were checking in and knew the flight was not canceled. I HATE GOODBYES!

We climbed aboard United Emirates Airlines flight 007 for our flight out of Africa to Dubai, and then a quick transfer to our next flight to London. I must say that in all of my international travel, Emirates Airline is hands down the best service I have ever experienced while traveling in coach. It was like being on business class on other airlines.

Well, I think I have written enough for now, and though it has been a little over two days since I started this post, everything is still very fresh on my heart and I still wanted to share what God had done. I hope you enjoy this e-book “o” I mean blog post!

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Tags: Africa, Missions, Pastor

African Mission Post 15

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

It almost 2AM here in Uganda on Sunday morning and we have just finished our fourth or fifth power outage since arriving in Africa. The longest being all day and this one probably the second longest going out at about 6:30 during an amazing electrical storm.

Today was a great day that started out with attending Independent Baptist Church for the Saturday Outreach. Upon arriving I was honored to be asked by Brother Edgar to preach one last farewell sermon which I most gladly did preaching on the Power of the Word of God. Edgar is the evangelism director, interpreter, and treasurer at the church. He is also the man who along with his wife will be running the new orphanage that is nearing completion her in Mbarara.

After the sermon people divided up between discipleship, visitation, and John/Roman distribution. I was privileged to go out on visitation with Brother Matthew Stensaas to make several visits including one Indian store manager named Anjith. He has lived in Uganda for 20 years and is a friend of Matthews. Please pray for this dear man and his family as they have both visited church on a few occasions and gone through a Bible study with Matt. They have not yet been converted but God is working in the heart of this man. Tonight Tom, Matt, Anjith and I all went out to Indian food for dinner which was very good, but the main purpose was to continue planting seeds of the gospel. God opened the doors of conversation wide and I hope that this man will soon be saved!

After Matthew and I finished our visits I was dropped of at the large international trade market where Brother Tom, several Tracht children, a young lady named Cassidy from Wisconsin, Robert, Precious and Anna were handing out John/Romans to all who were attending this large event. All told we handed out over 800 Scriptures and it was amazing to watch as large trucks, motorcycles, cars and people waling on the other side of the road would stop and desire us to give them a copy. Many would sit down and start reading and even later in the day we spotted young men on the road carrying the Scripture portions. What a rewarding day of labor as I know that many people who have never received any of the Bible in their own tongue today took them home and began to read the wonderful Words of Life.

Later in the day we were able to attend this trade market where I we were able to find some nice and affordable goods to bring back, but not without first a hearty bargaining season for each item. It is just the way it is and I don’t mind.

Now jumping back to Friday as I have not yet reported on the blessings of that day. We began with attending the Farming God’s Way demonstration out at Ruti Independent Baptist Church where Brother Grace serves as Pastor. He is a man of God and has become my friend during the past two weeks here in Uganda. Brother Bryan Stensaas led the practicum which was really neat to watch and a great hands on experience for all the men who attended. You would be amazed with the corn that the missionaries have produced with the technique of farming God’s way. They had stocks of corn 13ft high it really amazing. I did not get to see the completion as I had yet another preaching opportunity at Ruti Corp Technical College with Brother Tom. Pastor Grace is the interpreter for this ministry with strategic purpose as it is a very short distance from the church that he pastors and we really desire these students to get connected with a good local church during there time at the college. I preached to a great group of students, faculty, the principal Onesimus and Patrick whom I told you about earlier who was converted this past Sunday. I asked him what happened and he beamed as he told me about trusting Christ as his Lord and Savior. What a joy to welcome this new Christian brother into the family. The principal is also a very gracious man who we are praying will be come a Christian soon. Even now he sees what Christ is doing to change the lives of some of his students and he likes what he is seeing.

There are many more little stories of what God is doing but it is very late or early however you look at it and I need to get a couple of hours rest before preaching tomorrow. PLEASE PRAY AS I WILL BE PREACHING 3-4 TIMES AT THE REFUGEE CAMPS! There will be Congolese, Sudanese, Rwandan, and Somalian refugees in these camps with a few other countries that I cant remember. Brother Jeff Bassett will be taking me as this is his ministry and Anna and I are extremely excited to minister amongst these different people groups who are currently exiled from there country. Please pray that I can adequately proclaim to them the truth that God desires to give them a permanent eternal home that no one can ever take away!

Well it is now almost 3AM and I need to get some sleep. May the Lord bless and keep each and everyone of you!

Pastor Craig

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Tags: Africa, Missions, Pastor

African Mission Post 14

Friday, June 4th, 2010

It is 7 AM Saturday morning as I write watching the African Sun rise above the Town of Mbarara. Mrs. Cheryl Tracht who has been an amazing host has already brought me COFFEE which just proves she is a Christian and so I sip as I write which you may be able to notice the pauses every once in a while ……… ahh thats good coffee!!! Now where was I? I had desired to write last night as we got home just after 9 PM from an evening meal at James and Anna Huckabee’s who are brand new missionaries coming just about a month after the Trachts. But my chin was in the soup and I could not stay awake. By the way thank you James and Anna for having us over for dinner the homemade pizza was AWESOME and we all suffered through the fresh pumpkin pie/bread (especially the second piece)!

Thursday was filled with much ministry both for me and Anna though we were working in two different locations. I spent the day with the pastors at the Mobile Bible Institute teaching for the last time on Fathering or Families God’s Way. Today’s teaching was about what we need to teach when we are bringing our children up in the nurture of the Lord and how we are to correct and discipline in the admonition of the Lord. The men have been so very faithful all week and each day I have been blessed to have several of the wives attend including Mrs. Cheri Stensaas which has been a huge encouragement. We concluded with a time of Q&A and again many great questions were brought up and several just wanting to stand and say thanks. These men whom I had the privilege to spend the week with are treasures that I believe the Lord is already using and some of them are being prepared to be used in greater ways in the future. Please pray as they do have some great cultural barriers to overcome regarding the bride price, educational options that wont compromise their beliefs, and years of tradition for what is appropriate in there culture. Let me say just a moment that none of the missionaries nor I have any desire to make these men more American! The changes we desire to see are the same that I desire in the people of our church back home and it has everything to do with conforming to JESUS CHRIST and following His Word which is right in any and every culture.

We had another wonderful lunch at the church made by a faithful woman named Jennifer who has cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner for the men all week. Today so that I could say thank you to the men we brought Cokes and other sodas (sorry Dan and Willis Van Dusen my old employers at Pepsi in Astoria) Coke is just more available though I did find one Pepsi in a store which I did enjoy very much in a 12oz glass bottle which is the best! Ok where was I? Well we brought sodas for lunch which the men and ladies enjoyed very much and was some small way for me to say thank you to these brothers whom I have grown to love and appreciate greatly.

While I was finishing the last class Anna went with Brother Tom and several of his children to Western College which is the private Muslim college out in Kyahi for another afternoon of ministry. On this day brother Tom continued his teaching series that he started last week and then they handed out BIbles to every student in attendance. We have many pictures from this event which was very well received by the students and principal alike. “Lord I pray that your Word would be like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces and is like a balm to the broken hearted!” Please pray with me that the power of God would fall greatly on this place as the Tracht Family continues to minister at this School as I believe as 1 Corinthians 16 says there is a great door and effectual opened unto us, but there are many adversaries.

Thursday night I was able to get all of our airline problems resolved as our flights out of country were canceled due to British Airlines strikes that have been going on. My heart sank when Brother Jason sent me an email informing me of American Airlines URGENT message. The news came that I would not be able to get out of Uganda until the 13, but due to Anna’s ticket being a flight miles ticket she would have to wait to depart. (LIKE THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!) Well after getting o..n sk..ype a..nd cal..ling Ame…rican air..lines I wa..s ab.le aft.er a to..tal of ov..er tw..o hours to get everything resolved. (That is what it sounded like on Skype as I had a weak connection). We are now leaving about 17 hours earlier and headed to Dubai and then on to London then finally heading home on our original flights to New York JFK, and Seattle. PRAISE THE LORD FOR WORKING ALL THINGS OUT REGARDING OUR FLIGHTS! Some of you may remember we were originally being rerouted through Dubai on the trip to Africa but that was changed when we arrived at the Airport departing Seattle. I feel as though God may have some great reason for taking us through Dubai. Maybe like Jesus who said I must needs go through Samaria. Pray that we can be good witnesses and be open to all the Lord may have in store.

Well I have more to write so I will post again later today but for now I need to go as it is time to get ready for a morning handing out John and Romans at the churches weekly outreach. I am not preaching today at least not that I know of so it should be a good day of rest before going to the Refugee Camps tomorrow for our last Sunday in Uganda.

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Tags: Africa, Missions, Pastor

African Mission Post 13

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Today is Thursday morning and yesterday Anna was out again at the Kyahi Independent Baptist Church School ministering with Katherine. Last week was the first week of school and there was about 30 students from the ages of 3-8 or thereabouts for the grade level that would basically be kindergarten. Mrs. Molly who is Pastor Eliab’s wife is the main teacher and I think has enjoyed having helpers the last few days. This is especially true following Monday’s class which was the start of the second week of school and the 30 students had doubled and this one room school house now bustles with 64 children and Wednesday they had swelled to 81 children. This week Anna and Katherine have been teaching the students their colors which they are enjoying very much, as well as another Bible story. I was also informed that Anna carries the STICK!!! (Warning for all sensitive type please stop reading.) Anna was given the stick and it is used to be a warning for kids to keep in line. Though America has lost its bearings with regard to discipline in the school it hasn’t been that long as I remember getting more than one spanking at Lewis and Clark Christian Academy ( it scarred me for life as you can tell). The good news is that she didn’t have to use it but it did help to bring order to the crowd. Anna also noticed a little girl that kept moving to sit by her and after picking her up she realized that it was Joanne the sweet little girl that I wrote about on Sunday. Amazingly this will be Anna’s last day at the school in Kyahi, as next Monday we will be headed to the Orphanage that we missed going to on the way to Mbarara after our breakdown the first day in country and then on to Kampala before flying out a week from today. Please pray for this school in Kyahi as Mrs. Molly will need help with these 64 students and Miss. Katherine will be headed back to the States in August to complete her Masters Degree.

As for me the past three days I have been involved in teaching one of my favorite groups of people (pastors) on one of my favorite subjects (the family). The training day starts at 8AM and the men learn Farming God’s Way a program used all over Africa, then we break at 12:30PM for lunch and reconvene at 1:30PM and I teach until 6PM. This Institute is not for the weak at heart as this is BOOT CAMP for preachers. Monday I started by teaching on Building Your House on the Rock using the end of Jesus Sermon on the mount as the illustration with the wise man and the foolish man. It is always easier to build on the sand of the World but the house will not stand so I am teaching on the importance of building the hard way on the ROCK of Jesus Christ. First our lives, then our marriages, and finally our children. Monday I dealt with the first two and Tuesday I dealt with the fact that children are a blessing from the Lord and not a curse. I closed out Tuesday with an admonition for pastors on how being a godly husband and father are not optional for the elders but is a requirement as we are to set an example of the flock and in their community. Wednesday we took our main text from Ephesians 6:1-4 and are no looking at the attitude and action as well as the attitude and action of fathers. Today I will be finishing up our week looking at the nurture and instruction a father is to give his sons and daughters. The men have been giving very good feedback during every break which is a very big encouragement anytime and even more so when you are crossing language and cultural bearers. One amazingly simple truth that I have learned through the years is that when you simple teach and preach the Bible and stay away from mans ideas and opinions it is relevant in every culture.

Please pray for continued strength as I preach and teach to these men of God in the Mobile Bible Institute as I hope to share truth that will impact their lives, their villages, and their country.

I have had the privilege of forging many new friendships while here in Africa both amongst the missionaries as well as the wonderful men of God who I have the privilege teaching and learning from this week, who I believe are being prepared to make a huge impact on the nation of Uganda.

Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to preach the Word of God for Pastor Bryan Stensaas at the Independent Baptist Church in Mbarara. I count this as a great privilege and a delight at the same time as the spirit in the church is wonderful and the people received the Word with gladness. For this service I continued the theme of family as requested and spoke on the importance of being priestly fathers like Abraham who build family altars. I believe that the Lord used this message in the lives of this church family being a reminder to some and a very new concept to others. Thank you Pastor Bryan and Pastor Robert for this great privilege to preach at the church!

I know that the trip is not over but I want to say that it has been a joy staying with the Tracht Family. They are amazing host and I am so grateful to have them as friends and our beloved missionaries.

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African Mission Post 12

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

It is morning here in Uganda and I woke up to a beautiful sunrise and a hot cup of coffee, which is always a magnificent way to start the day. As memorial day comes to a close back home in the United States of America I would like to say a heart felt thank you to all of those who have served in our armed forces through the many years of American History as well as the thousands of families who have paid the ultimate price as there sons and daughters gave their lives. I am serving here in Uganda with at least two veterans first Brother Tom Tracht who retired from the Air Force and Brother Bryan Stensaas who served in the US Navy for 8 years during the Vietnam era and was saved while stationed in Spain. Thank you men!

Today I would like to recap the end of last week as I did not do so as promised in post #10. On Sunday night I was so overwhelmed with the events of the day that I just couldn’t think of anything else. That being said Thursday, Friday and Saturday where amazing days of ministry. Friday Brother Tom and I headed out to Ruti Technical School for there weekly preaching and teaching service. We were greeted by a man named Patrick who is one of the instructors at, but on this day was taking the place of the Principal and was charged with caring for the guest. Since it was the first day back in school for the year Brother Tom taught a tremendous message on Why we can trust the Word of God. The students at this school were very receptive and it was a blessing to hear them sing praises unto the Lord as there are several Christians that attend. Ruti Tech has students from many different countries including Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Congo so there is a great opportunity to influence future leaders from many African countries with the Gospel of Christ. We returned home and spent the rest of the day getting some much needed rest and I some much needed study.

SPECIAL BULLETIN – Monday we learned that Patrick from Ruti Tech attended church at Mbarara Independent Baptist Church and came to faith in Jesus Christ. What a tremendous blessing to hear that this man that Brother Tom had been planting seeds of grace and he went to church and another Brother watered and God gave increase.

Today is Wednesday morning just after 7AM and I am starting again to finish this post as last night after teaching for over four hours followed by a two hour Q&A with Pastor Bryan with the pastors we had a very special Birthday party to attend. Matthew and Kiela Stensaas daughter Kurstin turned four years old. She is a precious little girl and even gave me a big hug and a little kiss on the cheek. O how I miss my precious little girls back home after last night. On a sentimental note Emily do you remember the Strawberry dress from Naomi and Anna that you always wished you had never sold at the garage sale in St.Helens? Well all is well a precious little missionary girl is wearing it know and it certainly brought me back to when our older girls were bouncing around the house. (I must stop now as I cant se the screen)! Thank you to all the missionaries who have treated us like family. We don’t know all of you well YET, but we love you and thank God for what you are doing here in Uganda. Anyway when I returned home from the Tracht’s, after chatting with me sweet daughter Naomi, my wife Emily and having devotions with Anna (we are going through the amazing Gospel of Mark) I totally crashed with work still on the bed next to me when I awoke. So for those who may have been waiting for a new post, SORRY!
Saturday was an amazing day which began with the privilege of preach the soul winning challenge before a going out into the streets of Mbarara. This is not a short 10 min challenge like we have in the States but a full 45 minute sermon which I brought from the Book of Titus 2:11-15 on the work of Grace in our life. This text reveals that God’s grace not only brings eternal salvation, but also sanctification to the believers life here on earth and it also is what empowers and emboldens us to preach the Gospel in the midst of a World that hates God. Following the challenge we as shared before spent a few hours handing out John and Romans in the local language and a few English copies as well. What a joy to do our best witnessing pointing people to John 3:16 and a few other key verses so they might read them.

After lunch we then headed to Western College of Mbarara the private Muslim college out in Kyahi area where I had preached on Sunday. This college like Ruti Tech has students from several different African Nations and so the possibility to influence is great. We arrived at 2 as planned and there was only one young man in the room waiting for us. (This is the same school that Tom teaches Bible in on Thursday but Saturday is not required an is a preaching time.) None of us were discouraged or at least none showed any disappointment. We started talking to some students around the college and realized that most were still eating lunch. A few more people came to the meeting room and Brother Tom began to talk about a few things. Students all of the sudden began pouring in the room and Tom started teaching them a memory verse by writing it on the chalk board and then removing a word or two at a time until the board was blank and the verse has been put to memory. Now the class room was totally filled as people kept leaving and coming back with even more friends. I am guessing that there was at least 50-60 students by the time we started the preaching and each one was there on their own accord. They listened with great interest as I had the privilege to open the Word of God and preach the inaugural Saturday sermon. I took my text from Psalm 19 and spoke of God’s revelation to mankind through both His creation and His Word. They were locked on two what was being said and unlike the people at our church back home they even laughed at my humor (Did you hear that Jeremy)!
Toward the end of the sermon the Principal who is a very sharp and articulate young man had slipped into the room without me noticing. To close the service by quoting the memory verse which was Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Upon hearing the students quote from memory this verse the Principal radiated with a huge smile and exclaimed that it was wonderful and that this will now be on the front of the School sign as the number one guiding principle of the college. You see beloved saints that are all wise Sovereign God had gone before and blazed the trail in this strong hold of the enemy by allowing Brother Tom to have them memorize the verse that they already had on the back of there school sign which we did not see until we were leaving. Only God knows all that He has in store through this ministry at a Muslim college, but I have a feeling that He has great plans. Please pray for the Tracht family as Tom and his family serve in this school.

Please pray for me as the last two days I have taught almost Ten Hours on the Family to a wonderful group of pastors and pastors in training at the Mobile Bible Institute where the men spend all morning learning Farming God’s Way and in the afternoon and early evening Fathering God’s Way but really it is Family God’s Way. Tonight I will finish with the men an hour early and then I have the privilege to preach again at Independent Baptist Church of Mbarara.

I love you all and thank each one of you for keeping us in your prayers and writing such encouraging comments on the blog.

MAY THE LAMB WHO WAS SLAIN RECEIVE ALL GLORY AND HONOR FOR IT IS DUE HIM AND HIM ALONE!

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Tags: Africa, Missions, Pastor