Sound Pulpit | Ministry of Craig Houston

Posts Tagged ‘Missions’

African Mission Post 11

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

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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African Mission Post 10

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

The past two days have been FILLED with much exciting ministry and I have been unable to post due to exhaustion and an all day power outage (our third since being in Uganda this one being the longest). The Lord has allowed wonderful preaching opportunities for both Tom Tracht and I on Friday and Saturday as well as the opportunity to hand out many John and Romans.

I plan on a full post upon my return from preaching today in the village church of Kayhi as well as two times further out in the valley beyond the church. It will be a busy day and preaching with an interpreter is always more taking on the mind. Please check back later for a more detailed record on the past two days.

For those who may be wondering Anna is doing very well including out witnessing and distributing John and Romans pointing people to key verses. I am so blessed to spend this time with her.

Have a wonderful nights sleep and a blessed Lord’s Day!

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African Mission Post 9

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

Tonight I write at about 11:00PM after a great day of ministering again in the village of Kayhi which is about 15 minutes out of town and yet in a totally different environment. We arrived at the Independent Baptist Church of Kayhi where Anna and Katherine would be helping in the school classroom again today. Katherine took the lesson today and I know did a wonderful job though I was not there to hear it. I was able to observe them with the children during their recess sining the new song that they had learned the day before and it thrilled me to think of my daughter having had a part in teaching these children about the love of Jesus.

When Brother Tom and I arrived we went directly into the church and were introduced to Raymond who had just been led to Christ. We sat with him, the Pastor, and one other man rejoicing in the goodness of God and the redemption that He gives to those who would receive Him. This meeting included a breakfast of porridge which is made everyday for the children in the school. It was actually quite good tasting a lot like cream of wheat which I enjoy. This was made with the clean water supply that our church family had a part in bringing to this village through our labors with the Tracht family. I have been shown a bottle of the water that the villagers once used and it looks like a really dirty fish tank water that has not been cleaned in a long time. It is no wonder that the new water which is collected from rainfall in clean, secure tanks is called by the villagers “WATER FROM HEAVEN”. The next time you go to one of the many faucets in your house and pour out clean, pure water please remember that many people around the globe don’t even have water that is fit to drink. Do you think Jesus cares about that? I do! In fact the Scripture says in Matthew 10:42; Matthew 25:31-46 that in so doing you will not lose your reward because you are doing it unto the Lord.

Well after a time of food, fellowship and rejoicing we took a box of John/Romans and headed into the village and beyond to go house to house handing out the Scriptures in this area. (Did I mention Raymond the new convert came along on his first day as a believer.) We are also inviting people to Sundays church service which I have the privilege of preaching at as well as at two other preaching points further up the valley from the church building where there are ,amy people leaving betwixt the banana plantations in mostly mud houses. We met many kind people who were also very thankful for the Scripture portions that they received as we visited often following the pastor through a trial that seemed to just lead into the bushes but ended up at a house. We also delivered several gallons of water to a very elderly couple which invited us in to sit. The wife appeared from the back, and it became obvious that she was blind, yet upon hearing that she had company her leathered face radiated with a huge smile and her almost blue eyes sparkled.

The last stop to be made was several miles by Land Cruiser into an area that does not see many vehicles to the home of a widow named Annette. Before we arrived there though I saw a women outside of her home and asked for Brother Tom to stop the truck so that I could give her a John/Romans. Going behind her house by the cooking shed the women was very surprised and gladly received the Scripture portion in her native tongue. What was different about this women is that she began immediately to read the Bible aloud and I could even pick out words about Christ. I went back to the truck and asked the pastor to come and invite this dear women and her children to church. Thankfully the next house up the road was that of Annette whom she new so there was a Christian to connect her with.

As I said our last stop was to be at a widow ladies home is faithful to the Lord and His church in the village. I was surprised to see how young she was when we arrived. She is the mother of five children and is currently caring for another child whom either just lost its parents or they are very sick. Annette had a smile you could drive a truck through and was truly an Elect Lady of great hospitality greeting us by getting on her knee to shake our hand showing us great honor to which Tom and I responded with the same honor (this is not given to ladies in Uganda) because we were humbled by her Spirit. How does she make it? With Jesus, working as a hairdresser, tending a garden, maintaining a banana plantation and being faithful to church serving faithfully weekly even though she lives a few miles from the church house. Sometimes I feel like our Christianity in the States is so wimpy. We get a hang nail or a sunny day and its questionable whether we will be in church and if anything difficult happens in our life we certainly cant be joyful through it, yet when I meet people like Annette I am reminded again that when you have JESUS you truly have everything the you will ever need and much more than you deserve. Please pray for our sister in Christ to witness to her neighbor as she requested more Scripture portions from the pastor because she had given all that she had out. Please pray that these past days of tilling the soil in this village will prove of great profit this Lords Day.

Leaving the village we stopped by for the areas weekly market. This was Anna’s first experience in an open market and though it was not a huge market we found a couple of things including some fresh Avocado, potato’s, onions, and a few clothing articles. When we got home we snacked on avocado slices and fresh pineapple followed by a lunch of toasted, avocado, bacon, cheese and lettuce sandwiches. YUM!

Then we headed to the very first time of instruction at the Western College to teach about the Word of God. This school is a Muslim School and yet we have been given unrestricted access to teach on Thursday and to preach on Saturday. Tom taught today since it was the very first service and I get the joy of preaching on Saturday. Please pray as I believe this may be a huge producer of Spiritual fruit in future generations. Tom told them that they would all get a Bible of there own in English and the class erupted into applause.

After the College we headed back home where Brother Tom dropped Anna and I off before going to teach at the Bible institute at the church in Mbarara. I stayed home to work on the Curriculum that I am trying to put together for translation and production for next week. I also had the privilege of visiting Matt and Keila Stensaas house for about an hour before coming home for yet another wonderful dinner. Thank you Cheryl Tracht for the great cooking.

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African Mission Post 8

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Wednesday was a wonderful day of ministry starting with the village of Kayhi that I mentioned in my earlier post where Anna and Katherine taught the children. I also had the privilege of helping by having races with the children during their break, teaching them the names of all of my children while pointing to each one on a photo that I brought with me. They loved this English lesson and the picture. The children were very scared upon our arrival some having been taught bad things about the mozongu (white people) but after they spent several minutes gathered closely around me taking turns rubbing my beard we now have a great relationship. (who knew that a beard could be used to strike a peace accord with small children who don’t speak much English and are fearful of white people).

I was also able to hand out some John and Romans in the local language, while brother Tom was doing some house to house or hut to hut visitation. We will do more of that on Thursday as well.

I was able to study for about an hour and then had a meeting with a pastor in the area that needs some serious help doctrinally. He asked me to preach last night from 8-10 PM which followed my first preaching engagement from 5:30-6:30 PM at Independent Baptist Church of Mbarara which was started by Bryan Stensaas and is also where the orphanage is being built.

My post tomorrow will have more information about todays events but I must retire because it is 2:46AM and I am finally on a normal schedule since last night thanks to your prayers and being exhausted at the correct time last night after our trip so I could fall asleep.

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African Mission Post 7

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

It is Wednesday morning as I write sitting in the grass with my back against a Pine tree outside of a church in the village of Kyahi not to far from Mbarara. Anna has just finished her first lesson and did an amazing job. I am so proud of how she handled the change from teaching a Bible lesson to essentially teaching English by teaching a Bible truth. Anna also helped Katherine Tracht teach a children’s song “In-right out-right”. Katherine will be spending the summer teaching English and Bible Instruction to this one room kindergarten class of children between 3-6 years of age with some younger and a few older. Katherine is a fine young women of 21 and will be here just until her masters program resumes at the end of August. It is a delight to see an adult women who honors her father and mother and is seeking to follow the Lord.

I was unable to post yesterday do to our travel to Queen Elizabeth National Park to go on Safari in the beautiful Savannah of Africa’s Rift Valley. We ventured out begging in the dark at 5:30 AM to arrive by 7:30 giving us a greater possibility of seeing a Lion. Our guides for the day were veteran missionaries the Matt and Keila Stensaas family as well as the Tom and Cheryl Tracht family and two young men visiting from the states Jeremy and Andrew Forester were also with us.

The drive was nice as Tom and I were able to converse about many subjects related to both the vision for Uganda as well as things from the States ranging from church too Boeing (Toms old employer). The drive took us from the Town of Mbarara out into the amazingly beautiful countryside of Uganda. My eyes have been privileged to see many beautiful places in my lifetime including where we live in the Pacific Northwest, but I must say that this day my eyes would see a land nearly unrivaled anywhere in the World. I understand why Sir Winston Churchill called Uganda the Pearl of Africa. If you have ever seen Planet Earth or some other nature program showing the vast beauty of the Savanna lands of Africa I am sure you were impressed, but I must say seeing it in person makes me appreciate Gods master plan of creation even more. One word that comes to mind is vast. As we looked from the mountainside down into the valley were we would soon be traveling through looking for wildlife, it seemed that you could look forever at this valley with one of the Largest Mountains of Africa across the valley and both side seemly to never end.

In the park we saw herd’s of elephants just a few feet from the van (did I mention Anna and I were on the top of the roof, but fear not I was willing to make one of the young men a hero by giving his life to protect the visiting foreigners so as not to bring them any bad press ), hippos, wart hogs, Cape Buffalo, wild boar, deer like creatures with straight antlers and ones with curly antlers (this is my scientific name). The bird life in Uganda is also amazing and considering the size of some of these birds it is no wonder fictional stories of storkes carrying babies away came into being, because there are birds here that could carry away Pro-Bowl Lineman Walter Jones of the Seattle Seahawks!

Our day included a nice lunch which our church had the privilege to provide for the missionaries which they counted as a great treat and send their thanks. The restaurant was on a hill overlooking the canal between Lake George and Lake Albert and had been visited by Queen Elisabeth in 1954 and had recently been restored after Uganda’s many years of political unrest. Most of the dinning was outside under the covered veranda. If you are wondering this place was nice, but just so no one worries to much the cost of lunch for 19 people is about what it cost for my family to go to Puerto Vallarta in Port Orchard and was a blessing to the Trachts as well as the Matt Stensaas Family.

The day at Queen Elizabeth park concluded with a boat tour of the canal to see even more glorious displays of God’s creation including a Hippo fight that I caught on Anna’s new camera which has produced some amazing pictures (now only if I new how to upload them to my blog without needing a degree). Just so you know we took some 1200 pictures at QENP and will share them upon our return. Of course we wont bore you with all of them.

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