Love: The Great Delusion

Love is the greatest deception the world has ever known. The single most deadly virus that humans have ever contracted. It is the most infectious, disastrous, and most vile epidemic to ever cross the face of this planet, and I’ll tell you why: love is no longer Love. Love, the thing, is no longer Love, the person. Love is feelings: passion, romance, attraction, thrill, or a cruel game to be played on the board of life, with the hearts of others, for the prize of satisfaction and mortal pleasure.

We need, desperately need, to define love. Before we do that, however, we need to introduce the two main characters in this love story, the lover, and the serpent.

Enter Antagonist: The Serpent-

Satan, the master of deception, the father of lies, and a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He is stealthy in all his ways, his pride is his downfall and his arrogance is his mantra.

Enter Protagonist: The Lover-

God is Love, and He demonstrated His love in that while we were thrusting the knife in His chest, as we were gouging out His eyes, as we drank His blood, and as we spat in His face, cursing His name: He died for us. 

Wow. 

Slow it down and read that again. Drink in the depth of what manner of outrageous love it took for The father of the World to die for His offspring who… hated… Him, who would gladly have killed Him over and over again in a thousand lives.

God’s love is not conditional, reactionary, or compulsive. His Love is irrevocable, undeserved, and in ways, is more repulsive to us, the carnal humans, than even the judgement and wrath we deserve. How can God continue to give when we continue to reject Him? What is this thing called love that would outlive death, forgive those who would curse it, and save its own enemies who try to kill it every breathing moment?

The glorified idol of “love” in our modern day is a mask for selfishness. Why would we love someone whom we knew would never return our love but would ridicule it and mock it? Why would we love someone for nothing in return? 

We marry for love, God forgive us, we barter for it, sell it, and steal it from others. In the world in which we are living, love is not God, love is self. We want to have what we want regardless of the cost to ourselves and others; never seeking the will of God for what He would want us to do with His Love.

And, who has set up love as a graven image in direct defiance of God? Satan, one might expect, that at least is the obvious answer, but Satan cannot make us do anything we do not wish to any more than God will make us do anything we do not wish to. True, Satan is the antagonist of this story, but that is not because He caused any of this convolution to occur, rather, because he encouraged it, planted it in our hearts and minds, slowly eroding the moral foundation of the world.
It is important to know who you are, and who you are in Christ, before you even consider loving someone. God is Love, so who better to teach you to love, to orchestrate your love, and to choose the perfect love for you? The goal of every Christian should be to better serve Christ in the way they love others, and to show the example of love in the way they treat the one God has for them.

A word of caution to all of you readers who are not married. Be very careful about guarding yourself against the common pitfalls of our generation. Love is something you don’t just walk into and out of, it’s something you fall into, and whether it be of God or of self, there is no undoing what follows. Be wise, protective, and an example of the perfect Love to others in the way you treat those around you, and in the way you treat yourself. 

A word of caution to those young and married. I have never been married, never even entered into a relationship with any young lady, but I have seen and experienced enough of these types of relationships to be qualified to caution others. Love, both selfish and God honoring love is dangerous when not regulated or taken in moderation. When two people fall deeply in love, they become each other’s idols. They live to please the other by their words and actions. This makes them both better people, no doubt, but where in the bible does it say that we are called to be good people? Only when two people love God more than they love each other can they truly accomplish God’s goal for marraige: a union to create a more powerful force  than an single person, for his glory.

Purity is underrated these days, and more so the demonstration of love through abstaining from actions that the world considers love. True love is found in long suffering, one of the fruits of the spirit, an evidence of Christ in you. God is, at this very moment, waiting for His bride. When you realize that since the dawn of the world, God has waited for you to love Him and longed for you to be with Him, it seems like no sacrifice at all to endure the wait of love down here.

Remember who you live for, and why He died. As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

Life From The Inside Out

After getting back from a tiring, yet rewarding trip to Uganda, my family and I took the next few days to cool down. Then, after catching up on much needed sleep, we went one afternoon to see “Inside Out” in a local theater. 
Coming off the heels of a mission trip, my senses were acute, the opportunities for inspiration to be derived from this film were enormous. My analysis of the concept and themes of “Inside Out” was quickly formed in my mind. The unprecedented, and largely unrealized authority of our emotions over our actions is a staggering thing to be realized.

“Inside Out” centered around the concept of emotions governing our minds. What each, independent emotion did decided how its host behaved.

Our emotions: the seat of our personality and the on switch to our expressions. Emotions are powerful things, they effect our attitude.

Now, emotions are still controlled by the human, not vise-versa as portrayed in “Inside Out”. The emotions do determine our actions, but they do not dictate them. The brain ultimately presides over the emotions of a moral man. I’ve never liked the statement, “we decide our own destiny”, but it may be true to an extent. Obviously, what we do directs our future, but, can we chose what we are destined to do? Doesn’t that conflict with the truth that God has a plan for every person? If we are predestined for a purpose, how can our actions in life change that?

Very good questions all of those are, the ramifications to one’s belief based upon their answers are dynamic. It is not an intention of mine to give short and simple answers to any of those questions, and being that I am limited in the length of my content, I will not attempt to answer them at all. I feel my words would inadequately summarize the meaning of them. So, I will redirect the purpose of this post back to our emotions.

Now, I said that the brain controls the emotions in the hierarchy of the human spirit; I put a limiter on that statement by appending, “of the moral man”, to the end of it. I did so, because their are usurpers in the spirit which seek to overthrow the power of the brain. The chief of these radicals is the heart, the seat of the emotions of the immoral man. The heart can also, if we allow it, gain control of the emotions. The heart will manipulate our emotions to weaken us and destroy us from the inside. The heart has ever been the ultimate enemy of mankind.

Jeremiah 17:9 

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Now, both the heart and the brain are capable of commanding our emotions, however, there is one other area of the human that can control the emotions: the soul. The soul of man is his spiritual conscience. To allow the soul to command and control your emotions is to place them in the hands of God.

The sobering truth about emotions is that they are independent and living things. They are powerful and do greatly effect us humans in many ways. We must be wary and realize that what goes on inside of us is what we live out. So guard your heart, keep your mind in check, and give your soul, give God control of your emotions. 

Here is a song by one of my favorite Gospel music groups. This Song is powerful and prudent for the message of today. As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

A Cordial Farewell

NEWS HOST: Welcome everyone to the farewell broadcast of AMNN. Now stay in your seats and when you stop yelling for joy, I’ll continue…. Thank you all for a wonderful year, it’s been great. I’m going live to Bob, who if you haven’t figured it out by now, is a single person, if a bit schizophrenic. Bob, tell us what you’ve learned.
BOB: Hello, Jared. It’s good to be back on the air. As I was riding behind them on a jump seat– a seat that folds out from the one beside it, blocking the aisle and leaving the passenger no leg room–, I overheard Michelle Allen talking to Mike Cash about how everything came to be in Uganda. 

MIKE: So, this is y’all’s third time in Uganda? Or fourth?

MICHELLE: This is mine and Todd’s fourth.

MIKE: How did you pick Uganda?

MICHELLE: January of 2011 we just felt like God was calling us here. We were singing at a church in Arizona and the pastor had been taking trips to Uganda. He recommended it to us. 

BOB NOTE: That pastor actually helped establish CDI, the organization that Todd Allen Family Ministries works with in Uganda.

MICHELLE: Todd and I took a vision trip later that year and we just knew that was where we needed to be. We have been coming back ever since.

BOB: I was able to talk to Michelle earlier, or rather, overhear her talking earlier and this is what she said.

MICHELLE: I have always, since I was a little girl, wanted to be a missionary in Africa. Now, God has made my dream come true.

BOB: So, that’s how everything came to be. 

NEWS HOST: Intriguing… How was you day Bob?

BOB: It was long, and it’s still going. Technically, if we’re going by waking hours, this day won’t end for another 30. The plane flights are a total of 19 hours, and because of the time zone difference, we get back on the afternoon of the day we left. So, that day will have to be lived out again, and when all is said and done, it turns out to be about a 42 hour day.

NEWS HOST: Mathematically, that just doesn’t sound right… How are you figuring 42 hours?

BOB: We woke up at 6:00 this morning, it’s 8:30 now; that’s 14 hours. We fly out at 1:00, from now ’til then is 3 hours. The flights are 19 and once we land, it’s another 6 before nightfall. 14+3+19+6=42, that’s a really long day.

NEWS HOST: Oh, I agree. I hope you enjoy it, I’ll be sleeping for 21 of those hours at least. So, what else is there to tell about the day, other than its length?

BOB: Well, the entire team, plus Sam and his family, took a morning Safari today, and then went up to Murchinson Falls. Which is a 21 foot water fall on the Nile River.   

 It was the first time Sam and his family had ever done anything like this before. Last night we had taken a river safari, that was the first time Sam’s wife Ruth had ever been on a boat. It was a neat experience for everyone, and we saw some great stuff.
NEWS HOST: How is everyone holding up?

BOB: To be honest, we’re all pretty tired. Everyone is missing home, some more than others. Isn’t that right, Wes.

WES: ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz…

BOB: Yep, we’re tired alright. But, it’s a good tired, we know that we did what we came here to do, and are fulfilled. 

NEWS HOST: Well, that’s all for this year, folks. It’s been great. If you’d like information of the work going on in Uganda, or would like to go with The Allen Family on a trip, click here. Thanks for tuning into AMNN. I’m Jared Allen, signing off.

Looking Towards Home

The trip has been long and productive. Friendships were made and strengthened, and we all have grown in our spirits. The weariness that now overtakes us is proof of our labor in the work of the Kingdom. 

The Kingdom…
Mikael drew his war hammer from its holster at his side. He hefted the weapon, tossing it upon his hand. Turning then, to face the evil creatures before him, he swung the hammer at the head of the army of Elis. His righteous weapon clove through the line of foul beings, driving the forces back. Beside Mikael stood his stalwart commander, Davin, whose quick blade had saved Mikael’s life on many occasions. Davin stepped up to the front of the battle lines and called all of his troops to the charge. 

The small group of warriors pressed through the throng of Elis, Dripe, and Aref, ridding the ground of their eternal evil. The prize was before them, the Kingdom: home. The warriors threw themselves into the fray with reckless abandoned. Westland took the lead standing by his sister, Marivale. They fought heroically, like their parents, the great Robar and Debira, who stood behind them with pride in eyes. Westland and Marivale were rising warriors and under the training of some of the fiercest soldiers alive. They fought back to back, protecting each other from the blades of the attackers. Then the rains came. 

Arrows as thick as rain began to fall, one caught Marivale in the leg and she went down. Marivale’s parents were there within seconds, tending her wound and speaking words of encouragement to her.

Another arrow struck a young man named Zachabin in the arm, disabling him for a time. Pamina, a healer by trade, but a warrior at heart stood up in his place and fought valiantly with weapons she was unaccustomed to. Vickela, or Crown Vik as she was called, scampered beneath the line of sight of the minions. Her height was so slight that she could go virtually unnoticed amongst the crowd of combatants. She may have been small, but the axe which she held in her hand felled more than trees that day. But, in spite of their valiant efforts, the arrows still came, striking others like Mikael. He simply bull roared through it and barreled deeper into enemy lines. But, if something was not done soon, the lines of the Kingdom Warriors would fall and crumble, bespeaking defeat and death for the villagers of the Outerlands.

As the next hail of arrows whizzed from the strings of a thousand bows, five massive shields went up above the group of warriors. The arrows glanced harmlessly off the slick hides of the shields and fell to the ground to be trampled under foot. 

Bob looked up to see who the saviors were. He saw Darv, Davin’s father and the Prince of Oak Grove, leading a shield army of reinforcements to the aid of the main troop. With Prince Darv were five of his strongest fighters, his daughter Rochelle, Anderar, Darryl, a young but powerful knight, and the husband and wife team of Rogan and Kari. 

These five troops, led by Darv held a wall of shields above the warrior troop to protect them from the fiery darts of the enemy as the warriors blazed toward the gates of the Kingdom.

Davin sounded the call and the flank of the minion army was hit by the clan of Alleis. The crazed norse people of the clan ripped through the minions, tearing down Elis, and cutting off the heads of Aref. Their bright claymores were brandished high as the fell upon the enemy with a hatred. The Alleis clan were many and fought for the protection of the Outlander children, whom these evil minions had waged war against.

The lines of evil soon broke under the fury of the Alleis clan and the warriors of Davin. The small army of Kingdom Warriors chased and scattered the remnant forces far away, never to be seen again in these lands. The people of the Outlands were free from the oppression of the vices and praised the Lord of The Golden Kingdom for the mighty war he had won.

Now, the gate was opened, and the Kingdom would receive all who would enter. The Kingdom warriors had fought a good fight, they were weary and tired. Slowly, they approached the gates of The Golden Kingdom. At the gate stood the Prince of Glory who spoke to them saying, “well done, my good and faithful servants. Enter into the joys of thy Lord”. One by one they stepped through the gate and into the glorious kingdom; at last, they were home.

Bob looked upon it all with wonder, all he had brought to fight with were a pencil and a sheet of paper. Maybe he could give a Dripe a paper cut. What he had to fight with seemed so feeble and insignificant compared to the others… What could he do? He was not a mighty warrior, or a leader, or even a squire. He dropped his gaze down and sadly stared at his bank paper and sharpened pencil. Then, he had an idea! He could give an Elis lead poisoning! No… That was no good. Besides, the Elis were all gone anyway, banished by the Kingdom Warriors. Then he had a good idea. He could write down the tale of the victory as a reminder of what great things the power of the King had wrought that day. 

And in some small, insignificant way, maybe he could be great too. All for the Kingdom…

The Kingdom…

Wow, I must’ve been daydreaming. Well, anyway, the work has been going very well, and like I said, we are all very worn out. But, we can see the lights of home, our eyes are fixed upon the prize, and by God’s grace we will make it there. Great will be the reward in heaven for the faithful few who took this trip in response to God’s call. Many people outside of the realm of Christianity and church have been brought to the knowledge of the gospel. We leave our work in the hands of the Holy Ghost to convict, convince, and convert these that have been touched with the Word. 

As the team looks toward America as the resting place, a place called home. Many Africans now look to Heaven as the resting place, a place called… Home.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

One More Update

The village is called Angopet. It is in the sub-county
Gweri, in the Soroti district. This is the village where we will be distributing 150 water filtration system to people who have never had a clean source of water.  

We began by gathering at a PAG, (Pentecostal Assembly of God), church far from the village of Angopet. Many people traveled many miles to get to this place, and this is the closest church around. Gathered here in this hallowed brick structure, a humble home for the house of God, are more than 70 families and a group of nursery to primary school students. 

We have chosen this environment as an assembly hall to tell the people of the clean water and also to tell them of the Water of Life. The water filters are the light to draw them in, and the gospel is the life to indwell and reconcile them to God.

After the main assembly the team split into groups to minister to the children from a nearby school. The school, St. Marylin’s, was directly beside the church building and had over 50 students enrolled. The building itself was little more than a long brick building with several, segregated and open-aired rooms.

Myself, Dalynn, Josh, Andrew, and Rachel went to work among the teens and older children beneath a shade tree. Some of the children’s ministry team: Abby, Marisa, Mrs. Karen, Christian, Wes, and Victoria are meeting with the younger children beneath another tree. I can hear them and see them from here.

Our team began by having Josh give a gospel illustration where he will cut a rope and then restore it. Dalynn followed with a testimony of how he was saved at the age of 5. Rachel have her testimony next, after which Andrew preached on Nicodemus and being born again. 

Currently, Josh is presenting an illustration called, “The Rat Trap”. This illustration is about how easy it is to get trapped in sin. Josh uses a stick to prod around the rat trap, which he calls, “The Sin Trap”, slowly getting closer to the trigger. As he moves the stick around, he tells the crowd about the ways we can fall into sin until we get trapped. As he says it he hits the trigger with the stick, trapping the stick beneath the bar.

After he finishes with that part of the illustration, he calls a member from the group to volunteer and then proceeds to have them hold up their index finger. Grabbing the person’s wrist, he attempts to touch their finger to the trigger and pull it away before the trap snaps down. After faking several times, he thrusts the person’s finger onto the trigger and the crowd gasps as the look and realize that the trap was not even set. Josh uses this to explain how, when Jesus lives within us, we may still fall into sin, but He can take the sting out of sin.

For a big finish, he proves to the crowd that he is fast enough to touch the trigger and get out in time when the trap is set. One time when he did that, a team member leaned over and whispered in my ear, “trusting Jesus can take the sting out of sin, but if your fast enough you can avoid it altogether.” I laughed. Just because we’re on a mission trip doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. 

We sang songs and gave them each a gift of a bracelet with the colors of faith on it, explaining to them what each color meant. We left them with an invitation to come to Christ.

The team which stayed at the assembly hall began water filter distribution as we were speaking to the youth and children. The next thing on the agenda is that after lunch we will break into teams for evangelism.

If you gauge success in evangelism upon how many professions of faith were made, then we did very poorly. However, if evangelism is lifting high and proclaiming Christ, we succeeded. Jesus said:

John 12:32 

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

All we did was lift Christ up and trusted Him for the rest. 

As alway, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

A Little Bit Of Everything

The phrase that characteristically follows the title phrase of this post is, “and a lot of nothing”, which may be true.

I apologize if my writing quality has not been up to par lately. There has been so much information to write about on this trip, and so little time to compose it. Nevertheless, I hope the information I have shared has been useful and inspiring to you. 
This trip has been centered around mentoring. More specifically, the mentoring of a few men, to be mentors. The focus has been to train others to carry on the work while we are away, and thus far, we are accomplishing that goal; though the trip is not over yet and there is still time to reinforce what we have taught.

The mantra of our hearts has been to bring glory to God in everything we say and do, down to the very breath we breath and the steps we take. From the devotions in the mornings, to the spiritual conversations on the bus, to the lessons learned while in the midst of the work, the theme and song of our souls had been, “To God be the glory”.

I have interviewed, briefly, several members of the team to discover their opinions of this trip. Here is the brother/sister duo of Wes and Marisa Yarber.

Me: I know that you have both been on mission trips to other countries, how does Uganda compare to some of the other place to which you have been?

Marisa: Other countries we’ve been to were richer, not as much in poverty as Uganda.

Wes: There is also a language barrier here. In other places we’ve been, there is not a legitimate language barrier. Uganda is also more… I guess I’d say dirty. There is a much greater risk of getting malaria or typhoid or some other disease. It is also one of the most unreached places to which I’ve been. Other countries have had more exposure to the gospel and Uganda hasn’t. That, and the food are the biggest differences.

That is from the perspective of two young people who have taken many overseas trips with their student choir, and actually just got back from a trip to Alaska a few days before they boarded planes to fly to Uganda. These two have seen a lot, and yet, Africa is a whole new ballpark. I can tell you that simply from my experience in seeing both North and South America and Europe. There is a greater need in Uganda.

I must admit though, as a writer by interest and by innate skill, the language barrier gets to me every year. The way things are said… The semblance of British vocabulary with the accent and verbiage of Africans, is quite interesting. Sometimes it can be distracting, but you learn to hear the meaning of the words rather than the words themselves.

Today is the water filter distribution day. Which is a day when we drive out to a village and distribute 5 gallon buckets to which we have attached water filters, in which we have placed seeds, gospel litturature, and other helpful items for the people. We’re are just finishing up breakfast now, and are about to jump into the day head on. Pray for the salvation of souls as this village we a going to has never heard the gospel.
As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

It’s All About Me

I thought about making this post an exposé of how on a mission trip it’s not all about me. But, then I thought: nah. What’s the fun in that? I really do want this post to be about me, and I think, by the end of it you might agree with my decision. 

In our room we have something that no one else from our team has: our shower head has a pressure regulator. It didn’t start with one, but a few days ago Wes helped install one for us. The shower is set up with a fixed overhead faucet that is attached to the main pipeline on the wall, and a corded, hand-held shower head that is activated by sliding out a knob on the side of the main pipeline. Well, the knob broke off while in the corded shower mode and Wes wanted to use the overhead. He tried to push the knob back in, but it wouldn’t go. So, he used the back of the hand-held piece as a hammer, and banged on the knob. After a few hits, he busted a hole in the back of the shower head.

 
Now, water spurts from that hole in the back as well as raining from the front. To control the PSI of the shower water, you can hold your thumb over the hole and it will increase the flow, or remove it, and decrease the flow. Perks like pressure regulators only come to those in the blessed rooms. Wes has been a real blessing.
I actually did mean that last statement. He has been a jack-of-all-trades on this trip: helping out with the construction, working with kids and teens, working in the hospital, and doing general evangelism. He has been an encouragement to me, and I thank God for him on this trip.

The other things that have been going on with me lately are more of general updates than anything else. Today was the Compassion children day. Many of the team members sponsor children through Compassion International. By corresponding with the Ugandan workers, we were able to arrange for most of those children to spend a day with us at Akello. The children from Hope came also, we gave them gifts, organized a sort of carnival for them to win prizes for games, and made things out of pipe cleaners. It was a fun time for the kids to get to spend a day with the person responsible for their food, care, and exposure to the gospel; you could see the joy on their faces. After the children left, around 4 o’clock, we all traveled back to Hope to continue construction on the chicken coop, or what I call the chicken hotel. We were able to get most of the sheet-metal roof on and began some of the boxes and posts inside. The rest will be done on Saturday, before we leave.

A few days back, I was praying and walking the new land of Hope, which is little more than a large, grassy field. The only adornments it bears are the newly planted garden and the chicken hotel, which are directly adjacent to the brick wall of the children’s village initial property. As I walked, praying over the new land and the plans for it, I saw a termite mound on the very edge of the land, built next to a tree. 

Firstly, if any of you have ever encountered a termite mound, you that they are very tough things to destroy. It is almost like breaking down a stack of bricks. The termites are very meticulous and thorough when it comes to their houses. But, even so, they can be destroyed. However, for this one, which was built on a tree, it it much more difficult, if not impossible to completely destroy. 

For us, believers in Christ, we need to build our lives upon a tree. We need to build our homes, these bodies, the housing of our souls and spirits, upon the cross of Golgotha. To be built upon the solid ground of what God has done for us, and grow next to Him and His cross, so that we may be indestructible. Unable to be destroyed by any attacks of Satan and his demons.

So, my thought for you today: be more like a termite mound.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

The Diary Of A Broken Man

This is not just another update. I have something on my mind and in my heart to share. So, please bear with the updates for my message in all of this.  

Today was a day for officials from the Ugandan government to come and inspect the grounds, inform us about what the laws say to do, and offer advice on how to better fulfill the requirements. Many people spoke and the Hope children gave a prepared presentation of a few songs and a Bible verse. I will mention only a few of the things said and done at that meeting today.

Toto Florence is an investigator for the police in the Soroti district, which encompasses many surrounding villages within a 50 mile radius. She calls herself Toto, (the Ugandan word for mother), because she considers all of the street children as her own. She is a unique person with a passion for children and for God, and I have great respect for her… But, sometimes she can be very amusing. This afternoon, while we were in the government meeting on the Hope property she said this:

“I thank you for the work you are doing in Soroti. May you delay to die, so that you may continue to do the work in the Teso region.”

(The Teso people are those living in and around Soroti. They speak Ateso and are the majority of the people with which we work.)

I laughed inside of myself at the variation of speech. Being a writer, I found that statement intriguing. She said: “May you delay to die”, as if we held within ourselves the power to die or live, but perhaps we do. If we choose to become lethargic about our faith, and quell the moving of the Holy Ghost within us, spiritually we die. May we delay to die, may we choose life, and the life of a disciple of Christ; on fire for the scriptures and the salvation of souls.

Another of the government officials for the district stood up to speak and her words made me physically ill. She told of how a mother, just a few days ago, took her son and cut him in three pieces with a hoe.  

 A gruesome tale and one that should never have been created. As it was told us, her husband was married once before to another woman and they divorced. He then married this woman and she bore him a child, after which he realized his error in leaving his first wife and reconciled with her, forsaking his second wife and young son. In her anger, she took her son and chopped him up; brutally hacked him to literal, bloody pieces on the ground and left him there… Dead. 

I am a writer. I can envision this scene perfectly in my head…and every time I think about it-, another part of me dies. I’m weeping as I write this. My heart is broken and my spirit crushed as I relate such a horror. My mind cannot fathom it, nor would I ever wish to. Such a level of hatred is beyond my mind, thanks to God. My heart hurts, my soul cries: injustice, insurrection, God saves us from the body of death!

I pondered those things, after I heard of such a crime against God and man, I thought of our little children at Hope Children’s Village.

The children at Hope are protected, they are safe, they are loved… loved, loved. By God-… And by each person whose life touches theirs. These… Precious, helpless children should never live in fear of being severed, dissected, cloven in pieces by their parents or anyone else. No man has the right to take the life of another. Murder is a sick form of hatred, it costs too much and yields no satisfaction.

The murder of young children in Uganda through negligence, child sacrifice, and the outbursts of their parents anger is a thing every moral soul cries out against. The injustice rocks our very souls. But what do we do to stop it. Don’t dare say that it is too great a task for one man alone or even many men, for with God all things are possible. How can we make a difference in this world if we are not willing to sacrifice ourselves and feel for the lives of others. How can we truly serve others if we are desensitized to sin! Why are we silent? Why are we still? If Christians will not stand and fight, then no one else will.

Why… Don’t we see? …When we see, why don’t we feel? …When we feel, why don’t we do anything?

I’m sorry folks, but I can’t live the way I’ve lived, or be the way I was. Every day is a gift to me because, I know, Somebody died for me. And all I want to do for the rest of my days, no matter the cost, is to give my life to serve Him.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him ALL creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the broken anonymous novelist

Varietions On A Familiar Theme

On Sunday, the entire team, minus Marisa Yarber who wasn’t feeling well, and her parents, Robert and Debbie who stayed to look after her, went to visit a village church. The village of Ojama was far out into the country, away from the city of Soroti, and we attended church at the local PAG church. PAG is a Pentecostal branch that populates most of the churches in Uganda. The one we were at was very little more than cloth strung over a wooden frame.
When we arrived on the bus, the Ugandans began a song of welcome, letting us know how much they appreciated our coming… It was as if we were somebody special. It’s humbling to receive such acknowledgement and praise just for showing up somewhere and giving a small part of our time to minister.

Every time the people welcome us as if we are more than fellow sinners, saints under Christ, and laborers together for God, it fills me with a desire to want to do more for them and for Christ.

When the pastor finally took his place and introduced the assembly and my father who was to speak, he said something very profound. He told us that, “Like Moses met with God in the bush, they meet with God in the bush of Africa.” The parallels are nonpareil, that God meets with some people on their own ground, (like the Ugandans living in the bush), and others must seek him out in the far places and difficult places, (like our team who went out of our comfort zones to Uganda and Ojama church).

There were many introductions before dad got up to speak, one was of a man who had a wife who has lost her arms. She was burned by fire and they had to cut her arms off above the elbow. The first words she said as she walked up to stand beside her husband were, “praise God”. It was touching to see a woman who was crippled, praise God in spite of her hardships. It was a reminder to me, not to praise God just when it is hard, that’s easy, but to praise him when it’s not hard for me. When I look on the hardships of others, and then back at what I call hardships, I learn to praise God for the things I have, and the troubles that I don’t.

When Dad rose up to speak, Sam Ebwonu, the main person my mom works with on the Ugandan side, rose as well to interpret. It is always fun to watch Sam interpret for Dad. Every time my dad moves, Sam moves. If Dad leaned on the table while saying something to the people, Sam would lean on the table while speaking the translation. If Dad walked to the edge of the tent to motion around at the area surrounding the church, Sam would follow, motioning in turn in the exact same way Dad did. Really, that’s the proper way to translate, but it did look rather amusing. 

Currently, the roof of the new building on Hope property has been progressing very smoothly. The trusses were erected several days ago and the purlins on the back side were hoisted up and fitted into place yesterday. Most of the other work around Hope has been gardening, (plowing and planting), in the field on the new land, and digging holes for the fence posts that will support the chainlink surrounding the new land.

I will keep you posted on the progress of building. If you have any questions about the work, or would like to know about some area that I have overlooked, leave a comment; I’d love to hear from you.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

How God Brought Us All Together

It’s interesting to look back, and in that retrospect see the crossing of paths and the conjoining of them that has led to these people being in this place at this time. One such person is Dave Coram. Dave is the right hand man of my mom on the US side of Uganda missions planning. He has been instrumental in orchestrating some things for this trip. 

The interesting thing is that: Dave was not contacted by my family to help in the Uganda ministry; Dave called us. For many years he had been established in a very effective and very prominent ministry organization when God told him that he was needed elsewhere. So, he contacted my parents and asked about the possibility of joining our mission efforts in Uganda. Dave has been an invaluable member of the team in organization, coordination, professionalism, and in gathering materials and partners for the work. 

With Dave now being a co-leader of the trip and Andrew and Rachel’s moving to Uganda, there may arise the opportunity in future days to lead two trips into Uganda. With two trips, one led by Dave the other by my parents, new avenues of work and efficiency will open up. For example: one trip can be geared around construction and medical, the other can be children’s ministry and pastors conferences to mentor the men of God in Uganda. The realm of possibilities is nearly limitless. Exciting things are in store for the mission point because of the efforts of men and women following God’s call on their lives. It is just amazing to see how God brought us all together.

Caleb And The Cow:

Here is just one of those stories that people on mission trips have, about Caleb and a cow.

The Evangelism team, or team C, (plus Caleb and Josh), went to a share your faith conference out in the bush. They left work at the construction site to clean up at the hotel, and then took off on a long road trip that ended in a hike to the location of the conference. Sometime after they arrived, Caleb, who was videographer and photographer at the time, saw the others gathered in a sort of group near a tree with a cow in front of them. It looked like a great photo-op, so he snapped a few pictures, then went to join the rest of the group. 

The cow didn’t seem to mind that he was passing by, but Caleb eased himself around it anyway, disregarding the cow, which looked as though it didn’t care. The only trouble was, the cow did care, and as Caleb passed by, it swung out its head and hit him in the back of the leg with its horn. Caleb jumped back and threw his hands up to tell the others, “I’m stuck!” He couldn’t get through, the cow wouldn’t let him. So, he just waited there. He’s still there for all I know, I guess we’ll see him next year.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist