The Irony of an Easter Sunday Massacar

Yesterday morning while many around the world were attending Easter Sunday services, notifications went out that a blast in Lahore, Pakistan killed 50 and injured 200. I received this initial notification on my phone and subsequent notifications of the attack reported the number killed and injured was increasing. The latest report is over 70 dead and over 300 injured. Hours after the blast news sources reported a splinter group of the Taliban was claiming responsibility. But the most shocking news was the suicide bomber was intentionally targeting Christians. Not all victims were Christian, some were Muslim, but the majority were Christians and the target location was chosen to maximize casualties of Christians.

The number killed in Lahore yesterday was more than double initially of the total killed in Brussels last week by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and I’m sure this number will grow in the days ahead as injured become casualties. The mass killing in Brussels and Lahore were the actions of extreme Islamic terrorist groups who are seeking to do nothing more than to eradicate anyone they see as an enemy and to continue to build fear and paranoia around the world. At first glance, the Brussels, Belgium bombing seems to have received a notably more coverage by prominent news sources than the Easter Sunday bombing in Lahore, Pakistan.

I would offer a couple of reason for this apparent disparity in the coverage of these two events. Firstly, the Brussels bombing had connections to and in some ways was a continuation of the Paris, France attack. We know the same terrorist were involved in both attacks. Brussels is, of course, a European country; a western nation and we (America and American new sources) see an attack in a western country as a more real possibility of what we in America could face.

Secondly, I believe the perception exist in the west and in America that fighting and bombing and unrest are just a part of life in the Middle East and certain Asian countries. There is a bit of truth to this, but because of the amount of these activities in these places far away from us, America and American new sources become desynthetized to them and begin to tune them out. It’s an out of sight, out of mind mentality. We tune these events out because we have no connection to the people or the place. I have found myself having these feelings when bombings have happened in the past.

Yesterday’s bombing in Lahore changed that for me. I did have a connection to these people – to these victims – to these marytrs… the majority were Christians just like me. When I pray in groups of people, out loud and usually at church, I thank God for living in a place where we can openly worship without fear for our safety or concern for our lives. This is a reality the majority of Christians around the world do not have access to. Because the majority of Christians do not live in the United States, the reality is the majority of Christians do not live in a place where they are free from persecution. Christians around the world today are persecuted just for being Christian; they are persecuted for not following some other religion; they are persecuted for reading a Bible; for even owning a Bible; they are persecuted for worshipping and gathering openly in public.

In America we are faced with moral persecution as traditional beliefs and the family are being challenged in the court and the legislature. However, very rarely is a Christian persecuted for being a Christian and very more rarely does a Christian lose their life because they stood with Christ.

But the fact remains – the brothers and sisters slaughtered yesterday in Lahore, Pakistan, were my brothers and sisters in Christ. The church will continue to grow, watered with the blood of these Christians and the thousands more who have given their lives in recent years. Rest assured though, there is no force, no ruler, no power, no faction, no group, and certainly not a terrorist group that can stop the advancement and growth of the Christian church. The early Christian church faced much worse persecution than this and the church grew dispite that.

The irony in this bombing is that it occurred on Easter Sunday. Easter is the day Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The whole focus of our Easter celebration is that Jesus conqured death. Opposing forces sought to kill Jesus because of what He was preaching and because of the number of people who were following Him. The futility of such a plan, just like the plan the Taliban sought to implement, is God’s Power is greater than any earthly power. Fear and intimidation will never prevail. Yes, those who were threathen by Jesus were able to kill Him, but God’s power raised Jesus from the dead, which gave us victory over death. Death only takes us from this life. The thing those who attempt to suppress Christianity don’t see is that 1) those killed are in a better place now, face to face with Jesus and 2) killing Christians only empowers other Christians to fight harder to advance the Light. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, the efforts of those who remain to fight will punch through the darkness that is seeking to kill and destroy.

The irony of a Easter Day massacre is that it will have the opposite affect that the terrorist had hope. On a day when we are celebrating victory over death through the Power of God raising Jesus from the dead, we are certain of one thing – death cannot stop God’s plan to redeem us all, including the very folks that committed these horrific acts in Pakistan.

I challenge you to pray for brothers and sisters who are living in conditions around the world we can’t even imagine; pray for brothers and sisters who are being persecuted daily and have counted the cost of following Christ. Pray – not for their safety, but that through their lives and maybe even their death, others will come to an understanding of the love of Jesus and accept the free gift of salvation Jesus gave us through His death on the cross.

Don’t return hatred with hatred. The only right response to hatred is love. The only love that can truly overcome the hatred and evil in the world is the love Jesus showed us when He died on the cross.

 

Romans 12:17-21 – Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

2 Corinthians 4:8-12 – We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Processing A Call to Church Planting

In my earlier post from July, Holy Discontentment, Accepting Where You Are Until God Says Move, I mentioned

“Jill and I had expressed a few weeks earlier that we were restless and prayerfully seeking what God has for us over the next two to four years. I laid out the story to him (not the scope of this post).”

God is Writing Our Story

Well the scope of this post is the introduction to our story. It’s only an introduction because God is still writing the story and only He knows the ending. The characters, the plot and theme are probably familiar to you. We know we won’t be disappointed with the story because in the genre of “Christian Adventure,” the ending is something we could never think or imagine.

Earlier this year Jill and I began to acknowledge to each other we were feeling restless. Our restlessness grew as we processed how God might use us and what He might have planned when Nick graduates from high school in two years. Around April or May 2015, Jill and I put a label on our restlessness. Our conversations began to take focus and we settled on a belief God was calling us to be engaged in church planting in North America in one of the 32 Send Cities, as identified by the North American Mission Board (NAMB).  As we began to process possible locations, it felt like the early stages of our adoption process when we were trying to decide which country we would adopt from. When making big decisions such as this, we seek to be guided by the Holy Spirit and require that we be unified and aligned on all points.

Over this past summer, we would each make short lists of two to four cities that interested us and compare the lists. We would note similarities and differences and update a combined list. Over the months as we prayed and discussed and listened for God, our combined list shifted and adjusted and began to really focus in on just a couple of cities as the months went by.

Send North America Conference

With the NAMB Send North America Conference coming to Nashville, TN August 3-4, 2015, we felt we’d be disappointed if we didn’t attend. The nine-hour drive to Nashville was an adventure with the twins, and we are so glad we attended (Beth was actually there too with a couple of friends). To be present with 13,000 other Christians engaged in the Church Planting effort in North America and to hear from leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention and be encouraged and trained and informed was invaluable. The conference certainly energized us.

In follow-up conversations with NAMB and their Mobilization team, we were encouraged to focus on a single city. This strategy would allow us to give our full effort to a single place, instead of dividing our attention, time and resources between multiple cities. We agreed it was sound advice and moved in that direction. Jill and I sat down at our dining room table (where we have most of our serious “what’s God telling us” conversations) to process this decision. When our conversation was over, we’d agreed Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC) was where we should focus. We were excited and anxious, but confident at the same time.

So does this mean we are moving to SLC next week, next month or next year or even in two years? We don’t know. God may never ask us to move there. That decision is way too far down the road to entertain at this point. We look at it like this… God has led us to OPEN the door to SLC. God has also given us permission to begin walking toward that open door. We will continue walking toward the SLC door until one of two things happens – either 1) we walk through the door or 2) God closes the door.

Time of Preparation

We have identified that the next two years minimally, from August 2015 until August 2017 will be a what we are calling a “time of preparation“. God has told us to “wait in Winston-Salem” until He is ready to send us out (think Acts 1, and Jesus telling the disciples to wait in Jerusalem). During our time of preparation, Jill and I are seeking to draw closer to God in our individual walks with Him; draw closer to each other and our children and prepare our children well for the next phase in each of theirs lives. We also hold a strong conviction that we need to be doing the work in Winston-Salem that we’d expect to be doing in SLC. This means living a Gospel intentional lifestyle; engaging people in relationships in our community; seeking to establish community and possibly even be part of planting a church here in Winston-Salem. We can’t expect if God is calling us to church planting that we do nothing for two years and then settle down in SLC and miraculously we are gifted church planters, understanding everything we need to know about church planting. Preparation also means becoming familiar with the culture of planting churches in North America and understanding the difficulties of such a calling while also becoming familiar with successful strategies. During this time we anticipate actually working with churches and church planters in SLC to begin connecting to the people and culture and community already in place there while also engage in our community here in Winston-Salem.

Processing our calling to church planting is nearly a daily activity. Whether we are praying, talking together or with our children, talking to a pastor or church planting mobilizer, stalking church planters on Twitter or dreaming of living in a new place, every day we are doing something related to this calling. Jill and I have heard God calling us to be involved in church planting in North America. We are trying to be deliberate as we take one step at a time, not assuming anything.

One thing our recent adoption showed us was the preparation is as critical if not more so than the actual doing. During the 18 months before our adoption, God grew our faith to strengthen it during our preparation phase because it would be tested in the doing phase.

The Full Armor of God

As much as we grew and were tested and experienced trials and suffering during the adoption, my sense is our journey ahead with church planting will be even more trying. The greater the trial, the greater the glory for God. However, God isn’t going to call us to something we can’t handle and to something He doesn’t equip us for. Ensuring we are wearing the Full Armor of God at all times is critical (Ephesians 6:10-18). Praying at all times is critical (I Thessalonians 5:17). Abiding in Christ at all times is critical (John 15:7). Being fed at all times by God’s Word is critical (Jeremiah 15:16). Critical, but oh so difficult. As we are prone to wander in our sinful nature, staying in these spiritual disciplines daily is just hard. Satan stands ready to capitalize on our weaknesses. We know when we are focusing on Kingdom work, Satan will be very interested and standing close by to get in the way when he can.

We have agreed and confirmed with God, our “yes was on the table.” God’s question still hasn’t fully developed, but we are resolved our answer will always be “yes”. Over the past few months we have prayed, sought counsel, talked and tried to discern God’s direction. Do we know the ending? No, but we are looking forward to the journey.

In Summary

Affirming what we we know to this point helps see now God has moved in our lives already.

• God is calling us to be involved in church planting; maybe plant a church; maybe be part of a church plant
• God is calling us to a North American Mission Board Send City in North America
• God is telling us to wait in Jerusalem (or Winston-Salem) until He tells us to go
• God is telling us to wait in Winston-Salem for at least two years from August 2015-August 2017; we may not pack up the car August 1, 2017, but we feel at this time, God wouldn’t move us before then
• God is giving us these two years to prepare; preparation encompasses a lot of things, but there is work for us to do where we are until God says “go”
• God, through His Holy Spirit, has led us to open the door in front of us labeled, “Salt Lake City”; we are walking toward that door until He closes it or we walk through it
• Evaluating a call to church planting in Salt Lake City will require complete reliance on God’s provision as we will likely be traveling back and forth to SLC over the next few years
• We need your prayer – pray for clarity and direction as details fall into place; pray that if we are to take a team with us, those who God has chosen to go with us will begin to hear God’s voice

Will You Be a Prayer Partner?

I will end with this. Some of the advice we received from our primary contact in Salt Lake City as well as our pastor is that we should begin to develop a network of prayer partners NOW! Partners who will commit to surround us with prayer from today until such time as God finishes this story. If you’d be willing to be part of our Church Planting Prayer Network, please email me (watkins.m@gmail.com) to let me know. As prayer partners sign up, we will keep you up to date in a more real time and detailed way, so you know exactly how to pray for us. We don’t ask this lightly as we know this is a big commitment, but please prayerfully consider this and let me know.

Luke 10:2-3 “2 He [Jesus] told them: “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. 3 Now go; I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves.”

Holy Discontentment – Accepting Where You Are Until God Says Move

For years, literally so many years I can’t quantify it, I have been ready for a change professionally. I enjoyed what I did and was challenged for the first eight years or so (I’ve been at my current company 16+ years!). I’ve listened to every piece of advice that would fall under the category “God has you where you are for a purpose.” I’ve tried, I really have, to be happy or content where I am and to be satisfied with my work. Yet, a strong discontentment has lingered and has been very strong lately.

A month or so ago, I was having breakfast with a long-time friend. We had not gotten together in quite a while and when he called to suggest we do so, I jumped at the opportunity. There was something that excited me about getting together with him. I didn’t ask what prompted the invitation, but I always enjoy early-morning fellowship, so we put it on the calendar.

During our conversation over breakfast my friend asked me how God was working in my life (really how God was working in mine and Jill’s lives). Jill and I had expressed a few weeks earlier that we were restless and prayerfully seeking what God has for us over the next two to four years. I laid out the whole story to him (not the scope of this post). A bit later he asked about my work and how it was going.

This is a hard question for me and one I get a lot because it’s just what men ask each other. I really don’t mind trying to answer it because with each inquiry, I get a chance to articulate what I’m feeling in hopes that will help me see a resolution to my discontentment. It has never worked by the way – except this time.

My friend reflected on my summation of my work situation and, while not his intent, his word removed the scales from my eyes in a moment. I felt the Holy Spirit remove the cobwebs from my mind. I reconciled all my suffering from just a few words from my friend. It wasn’t his intent to connect the dots; to remove the clouds from around my head, but that’s the crazy way God works. He shared what was on his heart and the Holy Spirit help me see my situation in a new light. This time I didn’t see a resolution, but I saw a way to finally accept where I am.

The words he used were “a holy discontentment”. He’d heard our wondering and desire to see God’s will and next direction for our lives. He heard that I have been discontent with my work. He heard that we were ready for whatever God had next for us no matter what or where.

For YEARS, I have been discontent in my professional life. I don’t understand why God has required this for so long. The clarity I had was the reason for my discontentment is so that when the time comes for the next thing God has for me, I will clearly and without any doubt recognize it. The contrast between my current situation and God’s next situation for me, for me and Jill, for our family will be abundantly clear. God has made me so restless I will have zero hesitation to move when He says, “go.”

God may not be ready for me to move, but I need to be ready to move when He’s ready.

Over the past few months, Jill and I have set our focus a little farther forward than just today. We are looking ahead with a two-year view. We don’t know yet what God will have us doing in two years, but we are identifying tasks, improvements and ways we can prepare for a next phase of life. There are plenty of things we can do today, tomorrow, next month and over the next two years, that will prepare us personally, as a couple, as parents and as laborers in the harvest (Luke 10:2).

In Romans 8:18 Paul writes “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.” When I consider the suffering I’ve experience related to my work, seeing and knowing there will be a reason and that God will be glorified through my sufferings, gives me the endurance I need for today and a hope to embrace tomorrow.

A few verses later in Romans 8:25 Paul reminds us when we hope for something in the future, we should wait for it eagerly, but with patience – “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience”. Seeing my discontentment as a holy discontentment, one God has given me, will allow me to have the patience I need to focus on preparing over the next two years.

I have read contentment can be defined as “the acceptance of circumstances in our life and viewing them from an eternity with our Lord.” The reason I’ve been discontent is because I was not viewing my circumstances with an eternal view. Now, seeing God is really preparing me, even if it’s two to three years away, changes my discontentment to contentment. And for my friend who called me for breakfast, I am thankful for your wisdom and obedience to the Holy Spirit’s urging.

As you are reading this, if you are feeling discontentment in your work or career – I hope that you can see your circumstances with an eternal lens, knowing God is preparing you for what’s next. If you are feeling discontentment try to wrap your mind around the idea that God may be preparing to move you and he doesn’t want you comfortable where you are.

Lessons Learned from New York City – Perspectives from a Week of Being on Mission in a Send City

I’ve worked as an adult leader in the student choir, Vertical Generation (VG), at my church (Calvary Baptist Church, in Winston-Salem, NC) for the past five years. We call it a “choir“, and then we add, “but it’s so much more!” It is really hard to put a simple label on VG. One could say we are a “worship and ministry” group or a “service and arts” group or maybe we’re just a group of Christians seeking to lead others to worship God through the many gifts, talents and abilities given to us by God (singing, drama, dance, visual arts, service, etc.). Maybe we’re just a group of adult leaders and high school students seeking to be discipled and make disciples who make disciples. All of these would be true, but in the end we want to live out what we learn in obedience to the teachings of Jesus. We don’t want to just talk about what Jesus commanded, we want to do them and live them and tell others about them (Matthew 28:19-20).

This past week (June 27 – July 3, 2015) 145 of us traveled by bus to New York City for a week of partnering with various churches and ministries across four of the five Burroughs (sorry Staten Island). We were based in Queens and split into smaller ministry teams and worked in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn or the Bronx every day. We extended the ministry reach and impact of our partners, pointing all we encountered to our local church partners. We painted for them, cleaned their parks, cleaned and organized schools, canvassed neighborhoods to invite people to church and completed many other much-needed tasks.

All the while we were seeking to engage with the people of New York that we encountered along the way. Because we were all wearing matching t-shirts and because we were servicing in ways that seemed strange to many locals, we were asked a lot questions about who we were and what we were doing. These were opportunities to talk with folks, answer their questions and hopefully move these conversations into spiritual conversations. We knew everyone we encountered would fall into one of two categories – they would either be believers or non-believers. If we discovered someone was a believer, we listened for how we could encourage them and pray for them. If we learned someone was not a believer, we attempted to share the love of Jesus with them and explain the Good New of Jesus’ work on the cross; to answer any questions they might have and then ultimately to pray for them as well.

We know our team had an impact on our ministry partners and the people we encountered, but most everyone on the team would also freely admit, New York City possibly had an even bigger impact on us. I know I will not soon forget the lessons I learned in NYC. Part of why I’m writing this post is to document the lessons I learned for myself, but also to share them with others because you may be able to take something away from what I brought back.

If you’ve not heard, my wife, Jill, and I are evaluating how God can use us in church planting in a few years. Our children are also seeking to discern the role God would have in the growth of the church in North America. We are in a preparation period over the next few years, but are constantly seeking to discern in what direction God is moving us. At this point, Jill and I feel very confident we will be a part of a church plant somewhere in North America, but just don’t know in what role, what location or what time frame. In the meantime, we are seeking to grow and learn and become in tune to the church planting culture. By culture, I mean the struggles church planters face, the strategies that work and don’t work, how to pray for our cities, how to work with and receive teams and where the need is in North America that aligns with our talents and calling. We want to hit the ground as aware and prepared as possible, realizing that isn’t actually possible!

So as the opportunity to travel to New York City came about, it seemed like a God-ordained opportunity, a divine opportunity to spend a week in the largest city in North America (the metro area of NYC – 22,000,000+ people). My goal while in NYC was to be available, willing and bold while learning as much as I possibly could about whatever the Holy Spirit wanted to teach me.

My verse for the week was Ephesians 6:19-20:

“Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel. For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak as I should.“

Lesson # 1) When you identify yourself as a Christian, people may remember how your treat them as much, if not more, than what you say.

In a conversation with a self-professed atheist, “Shadi”, I sought to speak to him with gentleness and calmness and to share from a personal experience point of view. When I first encountered Shadi in a public park, he was in a very heated argument with a man claiming to be a Christian, but preaching a very different Gospel than I believe. I managed to peel Shadi away and engage him in a one-on-one conversation. At first he wanted to debate and argue, but I wouldn’t bite. After a few minutes, his tone and volume and aggressiveness changed and we began a 30-minute conversation about what each believed and why. Throughout our conversation I could see him wrestling with the things I was saying. As we ended our conversation, he told me I was different from other Christians he’d encountered (he came to the place where I met him many times a week just to argue with Christians). He noted I didn’t argue with him; I didn’t attack him or condemn him and most importantly, what I shared was based on my personal experience. I believe Shadi had probably heard most of what I actually said before. But as the Holy Spirit continues to work on him, what he’ll remember from our encounter was the love of Christ that reflected in the way I treated him.

Lesson #2) It’s more important that I’m “in the game” than if I hit a home run or score a touchdown.

These sports scoring analogies were both given to us as a group by two different church planters in NYC. One pastor, Kevin Cabe, the church planting partner-coordinator for NYC, challenged us to “hit singles and don’t try to hit home runs.” Steve Canter, a Send City Missionary with NAMB to NYC, affirmed our efforts in NYC helped “move the ball down the field.” We weren’t there to score a touchdown, but just advance the Light in the darkness of the city. Both of the scoring situations in the two sports analogies would equate to someone receiving and accepting the Gospel or being saved. Much of our work when we are on mission is a collective work. The lost will encounter the Gospel many, many times through many, many Christians before ultimately turning their lives over to Jesus Christ.

It’s important to have a “forward progress” mindset when evangelizing. If we go for the score every time, we will be disappointed; our expectations will not be met and this could ultimately lead to us taking ourselves out of the game and sitting on the bench. Solid players who hit the singles, rush for four or five yards, or passes the ball for an assist are the backbone in the advancement of the Gospel. It’s a collective effort; an effort of the church. Evangelism or sharing the Gospel is not an individual sport. In addition, we don’t save people anyway. The Gospel must be “preached” or proclaimed in order for the lost to hear. We know this from Romans 10. Paul writes,

“¹⁴ But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ And how can they preach unless they are sent?”

It’s a simple plan – God’s only plan actually. God sends us to proclaim His good news. Each time someone hears the Gospel from us, we’re moving the ball down the field or are hitting a single. Sometimes, that single gets a man on base, other times it will drive in a run.

The take away is really just about being obedient and bold. To not shrink back from declaring the full plan of God (Acts 20:27). We are to engage people without expectations. We are to share the Gospel because Jesus commanded us to. Each situation and encounter will be different. My desire is that I can be in tune to the Holy Spirit and do what God wants me to in each situation where I have spiritual conversations with anyone.

Lesson #3) It’s good to have a strategy to begin and end a conversation

It’s good to have some ways that you are comfortable starting conversations with people, but it’s also a good idea to have some ways to end a conversation as well. If we go through life with a “Gospel Intentionality” we will naturally move casual encounters throughout our day to casual conversations and then move those conversations to spiritual/Gospel conversations. Engaging strangers in conversation is something that isn’t natural for most of us. Most of us like to keep to ourselves and keep our words short, general and insincere. To really engage in meaningful conversation requires good listening and observation. Once I can start a back and forth conversation with a little substance, I like to look for anything I have in common with the other person. This can help create rapport and help keep the conversation going.

In NYC, we had the occasion to hear some words of wisdom from the Lead Pastor of New City Church in Long Island City, Patrick Thompson. He said one of his most effective questions to move to spiritual conversations was, “So, what’s your spiritual background?” No matter where someone is or where they come from, they will have an answer to this question (even an atheist). Their response will determine where you go, but it isn’t a threatening initial spiritual question. It’s important to try to relate whatever you share to your own personal story. Your story is just that – it’s yours. No one can dispute it and our stories, when told from a personal perspective, are more believable and build connection.

At some point, you will need to end your conversation. The best want to do this is by asking the person you’re talking to how you can pray for them. This is an open-ended question that most people will have an answer for. Praying is also a right you usually earn because of the conversation that proceeded. We did an exercise in Central Park where we would ask for directions to various sites in the Park from complete strangers. Once we got the directions, we then asked if we could pray for them. In our group at least, we got “no” after “no” after “no”. There was no rapport. They didn’t know anything about us. It makes sense. Just walking up to a complete stranger and saying, “can I pray for you?” will usually be met with resistance. But if I engage a stranger in a casual conversation that builds and moves from topic to topic and I’m sharing personal stories and we move to talking about spiritual matters and we talk for 20-30 minutes, the same question is much easier to receive. My experience in NYC and other places is after I invest in a conversation, people will let me pray for them.

Lesson # 4) Good hospitality toward ministry partners can have a lasting positive impact

As a group of 145 students and leaders in a place as dense as NYC, we had to divide into smaller ministry teams, as I mentioned, in order to be agile and effective in the work we did there. While some teams were a bit larger, in general, we had two to three adult leaders and 10-12 students. Each team was assigned to a church or other para-church ministry. Our goal was to partner with them in the work they were already doing and extend their impact and influence in their communities during the few days we were with them. We traveled anywhere from 40 minutes to over an hour each way to work with them. As a potential future church planter or church plant team member, I saw the value in how important it is to host partner teams with the highest hospitality possible and to show respect and appreciation to the team serving with you.

Teams coming to partner in ministry are a blessing. They multiply the work of a pastor and the usually small team of the church plant. There may be potential church planters in these groups. There may be people who’ve never worked with a church plant or been on a mission trip. My contact with them and how I treat them and care for them and express my appreciation to them, can have a big impact on what the team members take away.

As a church planter, I would want to begin relationships during this time. I want to enlist prayer partners; encourage them to maybe even return to work with me again. If I look at these teams as just manual labor to do some work for me and forgo the relational aspect of our time together, who knows what may be lost in the team members from their experience with me.

Lesson # 5) There isn’t a harvest problem, there is a labor problem

Jesus told His disciples of this as they waited on the Holy Spirit to come. In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus said, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. ³⁸ Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” and in Luke 10:2 “² The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.“ Just about every Send City Missionary, such as Kevin Canter (New York City) and Bob Shelton (Calgary, Canada) would tell you the same thing because there is still a labor problem today.

“We don’t have a harvest problem, we have a labor problem here in New York City” – Kevin Canter.

“The biggest limiting factor in pushing back lostness in Calgary isn’t the responsiveness of the residents, but the lack of church planters. The city needs church planters who will come and stay.” – Bob Shelton

My wife Jill and I are seriously evaluating where God can use us in church planting in North America, but we are also praying that God will raise up others to partner with us and praying others will make themselves available to go to different cities as well. We, the church in North America, need to collectively join in praying to God, as Jesus tells us, to raise up more laborers. But be warned, you may be the answer to this prayer. I challenge you to regularly pray for more laborers and to place your “yes” on the table, letting God know what ever he asks, your answer will be “yes.”

So, in summary, it was a week well spent on mission. There were many other lessons I learned in NYC, but these were the major ones. In addition to lessons learned, I grew personally. God gave me opportunities to be bold, and I was bold. God gave me opportunities to have spiritual conversations with complete strangers and I conversed. God gave me many opportunities to share the full Gospel with people who have not accepted it and I proclaimed. God gave me many, many divine opportunities to pray with people to encourage them and love them and I reflected Christ. As exciting as it was to see the Holy Spirit working in me, it was overwhelming to see the Holy Spirit working in everyone else as well. Our trip to NYC was one none of us will soon forget.

I guess one bonus lesson I learned was to always be willing to learn from others. As we partner together in Kingdom work, our collective experiences certainly make us more effective. So, keep an open mind to learning from all you encounter. I pray these lessons I’ve returned with from NYC will help you as well as you seek to follow God’s direction as well.

How the Ruling by the Supreme Court on Same-Sex Marriage Affected My Life?

How the Ruling by the Supreme Court on Same-Sex Marriage Affected My Life?

Simply put – it didn’t. I’m certainly not celebrating the ruling, but this ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States to allow Same-Sex Marriage in all 50 states doesn’t really change much for me. I live in a state, North Carolina, that has already authorized marriage for same-sex couples. But, that’s not really the reason either. I know many great Christian theologians and pastor/leaders of today have already spoken extensively on this ruling today, but I felt inclined to do the same.

I view my mission, my “job” if you will, as a born-again, evangelical Christian, to be the spiritual leader of my family and my marriage; to make disciples of Jesus who make disciples of Jesus; to live a Gospel-intentional life; to love others wherever they are; to meet the needs as I’m able of those I encounter daily; to worship God, my creator, with all I do, and to be obedient to God’s calling on my life to bring Him glory.

My mission isn’t to expound hatred or condemnation. My mission isn’t to push people away from the Gospel by ranting and wagging my finger in their face as I speak disapproval. Don’t mistake these positions for tolerance of sin or lifestyle choices. However, while I do view homosexuality as a sin, I also know that I am a sinner and equally in need of God Grace and forgiveness – a position we all hold.

Jesus himself said, “For God did not send his Son [speaking of Himself] into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” If Jesus’ mission wasn’t to condemn, why should mine be? It shouldn’t. It also shouldn’t be the mission of any Christian. Any Christian who uses this ruling of the Supreme Court as a platform for condemnation, will be held accountable for their actions. Screaming bigoted remarks of hatred and condemnation advance no agenda, expect one of exclusivity of Salvation. In Romans, 1:16, Paul reminds us the the doctrine of “inclusivity” of the Gospel – “for I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of EVERYONE who believes…”

My mission of sharing the Gospel doesn’t change by this ruling of the Supreme Court or any other ruling or any other act of man.

My God is sovereign – His will happens despite earthly events.
My God is unchanging – earthly events cannot influence God and don’t surprise God.
My God is not influenced by the decisions of man – but He can use the decisions of man to advance His kingdom.
My God is a loving God – love and hatred can’t co-exist.
My God is a forgiving God – “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.
My God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for the sins of everyone – for all sins, for all people, for all time.

Homosexuality like any other “lifestyle sin” and all sin for that matter is a heart issue. It’s not a political issue; it’s not a social issue. It’s not an issue that should divide us. It’s not an issues that should send us into a rage.

The real issue at hand, simply brought to light by today’s ruling, is the state of our country and the need for the Gospel and the gravity of lostness in the United States of America. So, does this ruling affect me. I contend it shouldn’t. If I’m on mission as stated above, it shouldn’t. I need to continue in the work God has for me and as should all Followers of Jesus Christ. Maybe it strengthens my resolve; maybe it prompts me to write a post.

Did this ruling affect you? Did you find yourself not knowing what to do? Angry? Let this ruling point you to the Gospel and the Mission we all have who are Christians – it’s the Great Commission as given to us by Jesus Himself – “to GO and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all I have commanded you...”

My final thoughts on this is to remind us of Jesus words in Matthew 24:14 – “And this Gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” We are still here and Jesus hasn’t come back, so our Gospel work isn’t finished. Our work as Christians is to spread the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus to the world, that He came to save all who will believe from the condemnation of sin. This ruling of the Supreme Court has no power over me and certainly no power over the work of the Holy Spirit through me. Join me in remaining on mission until the end comes. Reject the opportunity to preach condemnation of people. Embrace an opportunity to be different and to reflect Jesus Christ.

An Open Letter to My Son on His 15th Birthday

Nick,

There was a time about 16 years ago when I thought I’d never have one son, much less three. It was my heart’s desire to have a son because I desired to be part of a thriving father-son relationship. In all honesty, I was looking to replace the failed relationship I’d had with my own father in the years before (but I’ve shared that with you before). I felt like if God would give me a son, somehow I could redeem myself through that relationship as a father to my son.

For years, I desired to have a father-son relationship like I saw so many other men around me had. I couldn’t understand why I was chosen to have my father taken away from me – initially through his own selfish actions by leaving our family when I was in the sixth grade and finally when he died an early and sudden death in 2001 (oh, how I wish you could have known him). I still don’t understand fully why this was the path God has chosen for my life. I would give up or would have given up just about everything for a healthy and thriving relationship with my own father. It was the thing I desired most and the thing that was the furthest from my grasp.

I felt being a father to two girls was natural and comfortable for me. When you came along it was a little more scary for me. I muddled through the early years, but found myself wishing the days away (something I’d never recommend) for a time when we could really talk and do big things together. For years I struggled with how to father you, Nick. Satan knew our relationship was a special relationship and used my weaknesses to drive a wedge between us and our relationship. As you reached 9, 10, 11 years old, our relationship was full of strife and bitterness and anger and lots of other things you didn’t deserve. Deep down I still had the desire for a healthy and thriving father-son relationship, and I wasn’t going to let that go.

When you were between 10 and 12 years old, God placed godly men in my life with whom I felt comfortable sharing my struggles as a father and my wish to reconcile our own relationship before you reached your teen years. Through the faithful prayers of these dear brothers and my own cries out to God, our Heavenly Father begin to turn me around. See the problem in our relationship wasn’t you. It was me. Everything stemmed from my weaknesses and my failure to be the spiritual leader of our family and a godly man and example for you. When my eyes were opened to this reality, our relationship slowly began to change. It was like a giant cruise ship making a u-turn, it doesn’t happen immediately. Slowly God began to change my heart, and as I’ve told you time and time again – there is no amount of changing our actions that will work, we have to change our heart to affect real change.

I felt like this life-long struggle took a turn for the better when I stopped blaming my failure as a father on the failures of my own father. It was then I realized, our Heavenly Father was the example I needed to follow in being your dad. Once I embraced this concept, my perspective was changed; I was changed and our relationship changed.

I’ve watched you grow into an incredible young man. I’ve sought to give you a thriving relationship where you can feel safe and loved and supported and encouraged. It’s been such a joy to watch you grow and mature over the past three to four years. We have made a lot of great memories during this time. I hope you remember the good and the bad though because they both form who you are and we can learn as much from the bad in our lives as we benefit from the good. Hard times in our lives help us grow, if we learn from them. If we don’t, we will surely repeat them. Never again do I want to repeat the mistakes I made as a father.

As I begin to father your two new brothers, my relationship with you and the things you have taught me over the years has prepared me to be the father they have never had and the father they deserve. I’m excited for you to be a big brother finally and look forward to watching you disciple them and help the grow to be godly young men themselves.

I love who you are as an individual and am thankful beyond words that you want to spend time with me as well. You are the single person on earth who makes me laugh to the point of crying sometimes. Your ability to make me laugh is a gift from God (not your spiritual gift) and has provided such therapy for me over the years. It’s the thing I miss the most sometimes when we are apart.

On your 15th birthday, I want to publicly tell you how much I love you. I am so excited for what God has planned for your life. I know you will do great things for His Kingdom. I’ve tried to give you a godly example to live by. I know I still fall way short many times and pray that in His sovereignty, God will guide you on your path through life and that you will be ever drawn to Him in all you do. Put God first in your life, a priority above all else.

The biggest gift I could give you is to challenge you to be obedient to God’s calling on your life. If you make obedience the high priority God wants it to be, then discovering His will for your life will be natural. Obeying God will naturally align your life with God’s will for your life. Seek to be obedient in each situation you face. Being obedient is hard and tough and not our natural response most of the time. If it was easy though, everyone would be doing it! God will give you the strength you need to follow Him.

Be a shining light in this dark world. Take your light into the deepest, darkest places you can find around the globe. I’m thankful for the missional heart that’s growing in you already. Share the Good News you have with all you encounter. Never shrink back from declaring the fullness of who God is to others and what He’s done for you.

I’m excited to see where the next few years will lead and where you go in following God’s call on you life. You are a gift from God; an answer to prayer and therefore your whole life is given over to God for his service (I Samuel 1:27-28).

I am always at an arms reach for whatever you need and whenever you need it. My love for you is unconditional and so you can never do anything to make me love you any more or less. Be who you are, which is who God made you to be. I know our relationship is going to change in the months and years ahead. It’ll naturally change as you grow older and need different things from our relationship. It will change now that you have two new brothers. I want to give you everything you need to follow God’s calling on your life and so never hesitate to ask. Our relationship will continue to be hard work because every good relationship requires work from both sides.

One day you will be leading your own family as a husband and father. My prayer is you will remember the good and the bad from your life; repeating the good and learning from and improving on the bad to be a great father one day.

Be a man of God and live for him and not yourself. The time to this point has been sufficient to do what you wanted to do; live the rest of your life following God’s will (I Peter 4). I will always be right beside you. But there will come a time when I am not, but your Heavenly Father is also right beside you and will never leave you. I love you with every fiber of who I am!

Dad

 

A Big God Can Do Big Things

On January 25th, 2013, Jill and I along with our three biological, walked through the open door of adoption that God had placed before us. It was clear in our minds God was inviting us to walk through this open door. We’d always desired a larger family, but had settled at three. God had illuminated the option of adopting as a way to expand our family. Somewhere on the other side of this door, we knew there was a child that needed a family much like our family needed another child.

From the moment we selected Peru we were excited because of the love our family has for the people of Latin America. It felt right and good and very comfortable. However, we initially had plans to adopt a single child, a young boy. Within just a few days of January 25th, through a series of events, decided it was really a sibling group that we would adopt which would really expand our family! We had to work through the details of the combinations of boys and girls and age ranges, but it again felt right and good and comfortable. The Lord willing we would grow from five to seven or eight and help balance out the boy:girl ratio in the family.

From the perspective of January, we were looking forward trying to calculate when each phase of the Peru Adoption Process would fall on the calendar. The estimated projection for a Peruvian adoption was generally 24-46 months – 2 – 3 years. We balked at that, believing we could influence the timeline and escalate the process to shrink that to a maximum of 18 months! If you aren’t familiar with the various phases of an adoption, the front part or pre-travel portion is loaded with tasks that require the adoptive family to act. Jill and I took on the perspective that if a given task was under out control, we would complete it as fast as possible.

It would be a misrepresentation of God’s presence and provision if we took credit for the success we experienced this past year, because each step of the way, God removed obstacles and escalated response times and erased mistakes as though time was standing still. We moved quickly through the Home Study, we moved quickly through the Immigration application and quickly through the dossier submission. With God’s help, we moved from January 25th, saying yes we want to adopt to June 28th submitting our dossier to Peru. 154 days! It was important to hit this date because our family was soon to be scattered across the globe for summer adventures and mission trips.

We were confident that we were on track to hear back from Peru in December. The schedule we anticipated  based on the experience of others families who’d gone before us was that Peru would review our dossier for about three months; they’d come back with questions; we’d respond with our answers in a few weeks and then Peru would make one final review of our application and give us approval within an additional two to three months. By our calculations, this would be an approval from Peru in mid-December.

Well, like clockwork, Peru responded back right at the three month mark. The response was positive and looked to be something we could take care of in short order (allowing us to stay on OUR schedule). We needed an addendum report for our Home Study Report and our Psychological Report. We contacted both our home study social workers and our psychologist to give them the information needed to complete their reports.

Our home study agency took the information and returned an addendum report to us within a week. We ran into several obstacles with the psychologist, however, that became a series of delays – stretching days in to weeks in to months. In the end and nearly two months later, we parted ways with our psychologist. The difficulty this presented was we were over six weeks post-notification and our deadline to return our responses to Peru was approaching fast.

NOTE: If we didn’t respond back to Peru with the answers to their questions by a certain deadline, then our application would be considered abandoned and we’d have to start over – something I can’t even conceive right now. Our deadline is December 12th. 

Our only choice was to try to find another psychologist who could take our case in order to just write the addendum report. This wasn’t going to be an easy task because it was difficult to find our first psychologist – we don’t just have these guys on speed dial. The added twist was we needed someone who was sympathetic to adoption and understood what we were doing and what we needed. Well it was only by the grace of God that a psychologist friend was able to recommended a doctor in Cary.

Cary is about two hours from our home and a new doctor would require an in-office visit. The new doctor would need to not only talk to us in person, but review our case file from the previous doctor. I called and spoke to her office and pleaded with her assistant for them to take our case, explaining the urgency and importance of our position, as if they are supposed to have the same passion about our adoption as we do.

The interesting thing about this doctor was for all intents and purposes, she is the closest thing to an “adoption psychologist” in the state of NC of which I’m aware. She sees adoptee patients; she has dealt with children of adoption and their unique issues her entire professional career AND she written a book on adoption. We knew this was the person who could rescue our situation!

She agreed to take our case and meet with us. By the time we’d made the initial contact; scheduled an appointment; gathered the necessary documents; actually drove to Cary and met with her, we were eating up valuable days and our deadline was so close we were beginning to get concerned. The doctor agree to expedite her report (for a fee of course), which would give us back a week. But, we were now pushing up against the week of Thanksgiving and even with extraordinary measures on the part of all involved would at best get our amended dossier back in the hands of the Peruvian Adoption Authority (MIMP) four (4) business days before our final deadline.

So today, November 30, 2013, everything is in progress. Our case worker has sent electronic copies of the reports ahead to Peru to be translated (which can take up to a week) and then we are sending the original hard copies via express mail. The originals and the translated versions will be reunited in Peru hopefully by Wednesday, December 4th and delivered to MIMP by Friday, December 6th – four business days ahead of our December 12th deadline.

There are so many ways Jill and I have seen God work in our lives personally and through our case. We really are at peace about all that’s happened because we know we are on God’s time table. We know there is nothing we can do to influence His plans – all we will do is add anxiety to our lives. When we received the news we’d have to move to another psychologist, this should of been devastating, but we took it in stride and just kept pushing forward. In the end, it looks like we’ve experienced an unnecessary delay, but the reality is we’ve found a psychologist who will be a great resource for us in the future, but (and I think this is the real reason for our delays) we’ve found an adoption-friendly psychologist in North Carolina that will be an invaluable resource for future families adopting in NC. If we’ve experienced what we’ve experienced over the past three months to ease the burden of adoption on numerous other families in the future, it was hardly a sacrifice then.

We can never know why God’s timing seems “delayed” or “long” or “wrong” or “unexplainable”, but there is always a purpose!

Since January 25th, we have felt like December was going to be a critical month for us. Will it come and pass with no movement in our case? Maybe. But Jill and I are confident that our Big God is going to Big Things in December. The purpose of this post is to claim these things, so when He does them, we’ll know it was He that did them. Why is that important? Because we want to give God the glory for all that happens in our lives. When something big happens that can’t be explained by human effort, the world needs to know because it testifies to God’s working in our lives and gives hope to Him working in their lives as well. It should really be an easy thing to trust God because of His lifelong faithfulness, but in our flesh we need tangible things to assure us.

We believe that God could move our application through the right hands and we get our approval from Peru during the month of December. We believe that we could get approval during December and find our children and know who they are during December as well. But the reality is these are things we can think of or imagine and we serve and trust a God who can do abundantly more that we can think or imagine. THAT’S WHAT WE ARE CLAIMING!

Please join us in praying for God to be glorified through our lives and through our family and through our adoption during the month of December!

Revelation 3:7-8 “These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.  I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”

“Happy” Veterans’ Day

Nick and I have been in San Francisco, CA for the past few days. As we have walked miles and miles of streets in San Francisco, one thing is clear – the homeless population in larger and warmer cities is beyond what most people in NC would have witnessed. I’m sure there are homeless shelters here, but the streets have the appearance that no such thing exists. The reality is there are just too many homeless and a portion of homeless do choose to stay on the streets.

We have walked by hundreds of people on the streets sleeping, organizing their possessions in a duffle bag, claiming a warm corner, searching through trash cans and of course asking for spare change. We have seen them; we have acknowledged them, we’ve marveled at they resourcefulness and we’ve talked about what we’ve seen, but last night one guy in particular caught my eye and we engaged!

Nick and I were walking into a little convenient store in Chinatown after dinner and I saw a man in front of the store sitting with his stuff and holding a sign. I couldn’t read it, but in a second made the assessment he was mentally stable enough to approach. We went into the store for a soft drink and I had the thought, “let me see if this guy wants one.” There was one cooler in the store with a very limited amount of bottled 20-oz Coke products. I told Nick “hold on, I’m gonna see if this guy our front wants a drink. I went outside and said to the guy, “we’re getting a soft drink, what type of coke product would you like?” He said, “just a regular Coke, no… how about a Vanilla Coke?” So I went back inside and they actually had Vanilla Coke.

We left the store and walked over to the guy and Nick handed him the Vanilla Coke. I asked him his name and he said, “Reggie“. I said, “my name is Mark and this is my son, Nick.” Reggie reached out and we shook hands. He thanked my with a big smile. I asked him, “how long I have you been in San Fransicso?” Reggie answered, “since 2000.” As we were talking I read his sign and saw it said he was a veteran. The conversation went like this:
Me: “Are you a veteran?”
Reggie: “Yes”
Me: “I am too. Do you know what tomorrow is?”
Reggie: (turning his head to the side to think as though the information is there, he just had to find the right file) “Veterans’ Day”
Mark: “Happy Veterans’ Day! What branch were you in?
Reggie: “Air Force”
Me: “Me too”

We preceded to talk about where we were stationed and a few don’t other details, but it was just a normal conversation, and I think mutually enjoyable.

We bid him good night and returned to the safety and warmth of our hotel room.

I don’t count it as a coincidence that we ran into Reggie last night on the eve of Veterans’ Day because it served as a stark reminder that I’m passing onto you; something we already know; something we already understand – many of the homeless in America are also Veterans. These are people who have volunteered to protect and serve our country, have been abandoned by that same country.

Pray for these homeless vets. Pray they will get the protection each night that they gave us.

I hope I don’t ever forget Reggie and that each Veterans’ Day we will remember those who didn’t just give their lives through death in times of battle, but also gave their lives and are still living on the streets of America today.

Worship

I don’t know if I’d call this a poem – maybe.
This is a writing I penned maybe a year ago and never shared.
I hope this moves you to pour your heart out the our Creator, our Heavenly Father and the only one worthy of our praise and worship.

True Worship
By Mark Watkins

If I kissed Your hand;
If I fell on my knees and touched my forehead to the ground;
Would this show You how much I love You?
Would this show the reverence I have for You?

If I kissed your feet;
If I laid flat on the ground, not looking up at Your face;
Would this show You how incredibly in awe I am of You?
Would this show You the fear I have for You?

If my life reflected that You are in my heart;
If my actions paid tribute to my love for You;
Would that show You my position compared to You?
Would that show You how lowly I am and how exalted You are?

What if I gave all that I am in response to all You have revealed Yourself to be?
Would that show You that I worship You?
Would that rightly position You as the sole receiver of my affection?

If my time was passed in Your presence;
If my money was spent on Your desires;
Would that hold You as Ultimate in my live?
Would that prove there is no other before You?

I was made to worship You;
I was made to worship You alone.
My nature to to fight this;
My nature is to turn from You.

Oh God, Creator of each of my days;
Maker of my being;
If I cannot worship You above all else;
If I cannot worship You above all others;
What have I become? How am I any different?

Create in me a clean heart.
Create in me a broken spirit.
Build me up in You.
Mold me into a true worshiper.

Christmas Time in Uganda

Hi all! My name is Katie Harmon and Mark asked me to share a little bit with you about our adventures here in Uganda. There is so much to tell and I know I will never be able to adequately convey the wonder of this place and the miracles we’ve seen here… But I’ll try. So here it goes.

I had a goal at the beginning of this trip to try and find just one word that might help my friends and family understand Uganda and my experience here. Well, I think I found it – Christmas. That’s what it’s like here. It’s like Christmas all the time. The people here are so jolly and generous and willing to help. Everywhere you turn are brilliant white smiles shining at you from ebony faces. Everywhere you go are tiny black hands pressed into yours. Everywhere…everywhere is the welcoming call “Muzungu!” (Meaning white or American) and the happy waves of parent and child alike. Here strangers are welcomed, and unexpected guests are honored. People are not a burden. Relationships are not a chore.

When we first arrived at the house on Monday evening, the whole house ran out to meet us at the gate. The kids hugged us, and asked our names, and happily proceeded to drag our fifty pound suitcases up the hill to the house on their own, without being asked. It was a simple act of service, but it made a great impression on all of us. How many kids do you know who would do that? We played with them a while and then met in the house for worship…and when I say worship, I mean worship like you’ve never seen. Child-led worship with bongo drums and maracas. The kids are expected to lead the singing and prayer, and they did, earnestly and with sincerity I have never before witnessed in a child. Most ten-year-olds in America are not thrilled about going to church. They get bored easily and count the minutes until it’s over. I know I did. But these kids love it. They’re hungry for it…the whole country is hungry for it. I know because I’ve seen it.

In the last few days we’ve visited The Village and Kabalagala. To get to The Village we trekked through lush jungle and fields so green they might have been torn from Irish countryside. We saw two natural springs Sozo is trying to clean to provide the people with safe water. Then, we “visited.” We just walked right up to people staring at us from the doorways of their tiny brick-mud houses that looked a little more like sheds, and asked if we could pray from them. No one said no. We prayed for their health, and their finances, their children and their demons (one lady claimed they were plaguing her with nightmares). We left them with Bibles written in Luganda and by the time we got back to the van we had a pack of kids hanging all over us. I even had a baby on my hip.

Kabalagala was different. We did the same work and the people were just as welcoming, but this wasn’t lush jungle and rolling hills. This was a slum – a shanty town of mud huts or tin lean-tos build in the back allies of a small town. We weaved between the trash and running sewage to find specific families being sponsored by Sozo. We met a young father whose youngest son was being sent to school through Sozo, and a young woman whose daughter is now awaiting surgery in the States thanks to Sozo. But my favorite was a young man my age living with his ailing grandfather who is trying to send all five of his grandchildren to school on his own. They invited us into their home (nicer than the rest) and after we prayed for them, they wanted to pray for us. They asked us about our lives and families and were genuinely concerned for our struggles. A 23-year-old man living in the Ugandan slums held my hand and prayed for me. Recently, I have been asking God to humble me…mission accomplished.