Welcome home to Pastor Dave, Angie, and Danielle! You've been missed and we're excited to hear more about your experiences in Uganda!
This week, Pastor Dave will be continuing with his Live Out, Invite In series. But to review thus far, there were four things that he challeged us as a community to do in living out: leave, listen, live among, love without strings. We've had a few weeks to let these sit around and marinade in our minds / spirits a bit, so let me ask: what resonates with or troubles you about these challenges? What questions do you have for Pastor Dave?
Hope to hear more honest appraisals.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Road Warriors Reach Brussels
We've made it out of Africa! Fourteen hard but great days on the ground in Uganda came to an end last night when our BrusselsAir flight taxied and departed Entebbe only moments before midnight on Sunday night. We all agreed that we looked as if we had been rode hard and put up wet to borrow an equine saying.
The last few days in Uganda literally flew by before we knew it. It took us the better part of three days to get the last 16 or so kids on our list! Our final total was 270 kids in over 100 schools! Angie and Danielle were troopers! I'm so proud of them and all they were able to do. I was able to preach and teach nearly every night as well as each Sunday. I may share a message Sunday with you that I preached at EPC Kiwatule on our last Sunday together. It was a moving gathering that I can't wait to share more with you about.
We have arrived in Brussels on her national independence day. All kinds of festivities are planned. We were able to have a preview this morning when the national cathedral held a special Mass for visiting dignitaries and EU members. They all turned out in their finest regalia. We are expecting fireworks outside of the kings castle later on tonight. Until then - some rest! Thanks again for your continued prayers. We will be back in the states on Thursday afternoon.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The Bucket List
Today's movie, The Bucket List, is a story of two terminally ill men who decide to seize the time they have left by writing out a "bucket list"; a list of all the things they want to do before they die. The movie is a powerful lesson on determining what's really important in life.
This morning, we created our own bucket lists and then discussed some questions based on our passage today, in which the Apostle Paul enocouages us to never pass up an opporunity to do good.
Question: How did today's passage alter your "bucket list", or did it?
This morning, we created our own bucket lists and then discussed some questions based on our passage today, in which the Apostle Paul enocouages us to never pass up an opporunity to do good.
Question: How did today's passage alter your "bucket list", or did it?
Friday, July 18, 2008
A Special Worship Gathering This Sunday
If you hadn't already heard, we're having a special all praise, all worship gathering this Sunday. Karen's done a great job of setting up the gathering for this week and I have a feeling that this Sunday will be a powerful, refreshing time for everyone. I hope you'll all be there!
In advance of this (and feel free to chime in after Sunday as well), I wanted to ask a question.
We hear the terms praise and worship, bounced around a lot in church culture, and even in the mainstream culture to a degree. Depending on who you ask, the definitions of these terms can vary. So let me ask you a question: how do you define these two terms? If someone with absolutely zero church background came to you asking what praise and worship were, how would you answer them?
In advance of this (and feel free to chime in after Sunday as well), I wanted to ask a question.
We hear the terms praise and worship, bounced around a lot in church culture, and even in the mainstream culture to a degree. Depending on who you ask, the definitions of these terms can vary. So let me ask you a question: how do you define these two terms? If someone with absolutely zero church background came to you asking what praise and worship were, how would you answer them?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Bumby Roads Ahead
Greetings once again from beautiful Uganda! Our days here on the ground are quickly winding down. Unfortunately, the number of kids we still have to see doesn't seem to diminish as quickly. We still have about 50 kids to see in the next three days at a number of schools. With the Lord's help, I believe we will be able to see all of them!
Sunday afternoon was a great time as we headed after church to Kiwatule Recreation Center for lunch and a time of relaxation. We ordered Lake Victoria Talapia (as is our custom on at least one Sunday while in Uganda) and while we waited nearly three hours for the food, we were able to visit a recreation of the ancient tribal villages that once dotted Uganda. Each of the dozen or so tribes that occupy this beautiful land have a unique building style depending on their location in northern, southern or central Uganda. It was fun to watch the faces of our Ugandan hosts as they each located their tribal ancestors and imagined life in those huts. In actuality, things have not changed all that much with homes still being built from mud bricks but the straw roof has now been replaced with tile or more commonly, tin.
Monday was spent visiting 21 students throughout the Kampala area. Tuesday brought at trip to Kassanda. Kassanda is located about 85 KM outside of Kampala and is only accessed through some of the roughest roads you can imagine. After an arduous journey, we were treated to a luncheon of avacado, PB & J sandwhiches (we brought those), Casava (a root vegetable) and Chai tea. The girls were able to meet Pastor Fatima for the first time. She has been the pastor at Kassanda for some time. We love spending time with her. Jim described this place well when he said it is full of peace.
Tonight the girls get to speak with Lisa Steele at the EPC Women's Event that includes a matoke cooking contest, a traditional dress event and then the teaching time with the gals. Jim and I will spend the three hours or so meeting with the men in a roundtable discussion. We're all looking forward to the rest of the day.
Thank you for your continued prayers and for your support in this endeavor. God is doing some amazing things in not only our lives, but the lives of the children as well.
Sunday afternoon was a great time as we headed after church to Kiwatule Recreation Center for lunch and a time of relaxation. We ordered Lake Victoria Talapia (as is our custom on at least one Sunday while in Uganda) and while we waited nearly three hours for the food, we were able to visit a recreation of the ancient tribal villages that once dotted Uganda. Each of the dozen or so tribes that occupy this beautiful land have a unique building style depending on their location in northern, southern or central Uganda. It was fun to watch the faces of our Ugandan hosts as they each located their tribal ancestors and imagined life in those huts. In actuality, things have not changed all that much with homes still being built from mud bricks but the straw roof has now been replaced with tile or more commonly, tin.
Monday was spent visiting 21 students throughout the Kampala area. Tuesday brought at trip to Kassanda. Kassanda is located about 85 KM outside of Kampala and is only accessed through some of the roughest roads you can imagine. After an arduous journey, we were treated to a luncheon of avacado, PB & J sandwhiches (we brought those), Casava (a root vegetable) and Chai tea. The girls were able to meet Pastor Fatima for the first time. She has been the pastor at Kassanda for some time. We love spending time with her. Jim described this place well when he said it is full of peace.
Tonight the girls get to speak with Lisa Steele at the EPC Women's Event that includes a matoke cooking contest, a traditional dress event and then the teaching time with the gals. Jim and I will spend the three hours or so meeting with the men in a roundtable discussion. We're all looking forward to the rest of the day.
Thank you for your continued prayers and for your support in this endeavor. God is doing some amazing things in not only our lives, but the lives of the children as well.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Uganda Part Two
Greetings once again from Uganda! The team continues to plod ahead with our mission having now personally visited with 206 students in over 70 schools. Only 70 more in roughly 30 schools. We are thankful for your many prayers and we can certainly feel them.
Our recent days have been filled by visits to students around the Kampala area. We continue to be impressed with the quality of our students and the progress they are making. We have been treated as honored guests in each and every school. Danielle and Angie are doing an awesome job! They seem to continually where a huge smile.
On Friday we visited at the school where the entire project began. Bright Futures Primary School began with 14 students and is now quadrupled. We were literally swarmed, then swamped with kids hugging us and pulling us toward their school. I have some amazing photos and video of the day. I've never seen Angie and Danielle smile so big! We celebrated with large pepperoni pizzas at the local takeout place owned by a nice Lebanese man. It was some of the best food we've had since arriving.
Saturday was a full day as we met 125 students at the church for what they call Saturday school. They performed song and dance for us as well as preaching and public speaking. Wayne's sponsor child, Jonathan, was the MC for the event. He was outstanding! We then took six of the kids who had performed at the top of their class last semester out for lunch and a trip to the zoo. The highlight of the lunch time was the excitement of the kids as they rode the escalator up to the food court in the mall. None of the kids had ever been to the mall or ridden on an escalator. I wish you could have seen their faces when they encountered the animals at the zoo! Their eyes were wide and they took everything in. What a day! We finished our day with dinner at a real Turkish restaurant!
Sunday was a day filled with worship and teaching. The girls were able to experience their first Ugandan worship service complete with 90 minutes of praise and worship along with traditional dance! All that before I got up to preach for an hour! I was especially proud of Angie who was drafted into the Children's Program on short notice to teach the lesson. From all accounts, she did a great job!
We miss you all! Keep praying for us!
Our recent days have been filled by visits to students around the Kampala area. We continue to be impressed with the quality of our students and the progress they are making. We have been treated as honored guests in each and every school. Danielle and Angie are doing an awesome job! They seem to continually where a huge smile.
On Friday we visited at the school where the entire project began. Bright Futures Primary School began with 14 students and is now quadrupled. We were literally swarmed, then swamped with kids hugging us and pulling us toward their school. I have some amazing photos and video of the day. I've never seen Angie and Danielle smile so big! We celebrated with large pepperoni pizzas at the local takeout place owned by a nice Lebanese man. It was some of the best food we've had since arriving.
Saturday was a full day as we met 125 students at the church for what they call Saturday school. They performed song and dance for us as well as preaching and public speaking. Wayne's sponsor child, Jonathan, was the MC for the event. He was outstanding! We then took six of the kids who had performed at the top of their class last semester out for lunch and a trip to the zoo. The highlight of the lunch time was the excitement of the kids as they rode the escalator up to the food court in the mall. None of the kids had ever been to the mall or ridden on an escalator. I wish you could have seen their faces when they encountered the animals at the zoo! Their eyes were wide and they took everything in. What a day! We finished our day with dinner at a real Turkish restaurant!
Sunday was a day filled with worship and teaching. The girls were able to experience their first Ugandan worship service complete with 90 minutes of praise and worship along with traditional dance! All that before I got up to preach for an hour! I was especially proud of Angie who was drafted into the Children's Program on short notice to teach the lesson. From all accounts, she did a great job!
We miss you all! Keep praying for us!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Remap
Today marked our second session with transformational architect Ron Martoia as he followed up last week's session on "Bewildering Excitement" with the challenge of dealing with lostness. He often used the term "remap", and I think that's a great place to start our discussion this week, or rather continue the discussion from today.
What are you seeing as some of the challenges for you personally as you're working toward remapping an environment different from what we all currently experience as CrossPointe?
What are you seeing as some of the remapping challenges for us as a group?
Honest discussion encouraged...really!
Peace!
What are you seeing as some of the challenges for you personally as you're working toward remapping an environment different from what we all currently experience as CrossPointe?
What are you seeing as some of the remapping challenges for us as a group?
Honest discussion encouraged...really!
Peace!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Greetings from Uganda
Greetings from Uganda! I apologize for the delay in getting together this post but things have conspired against us here in terms of internet access. We have been limited in our access but all is well. All of us had safe trips although we were all exhausted when we arrived. I was able to meet Danielle and Angie at the airport and although they were excited, they were definitely beat! It took a couple of days for them to get back to their normal selves but now they are doing well.
We have been able to visit with 134 children as of today (Thursday morning). The girls are out with the rest of the team visiting 25 more children today out in the bush to the west of Kampala. They will be crossing the equator so they are excited about getting some shots with a foot in the northern and southern hemispheres! I must say that I am very proud of the girls. They are real troopers. Danielle went down for the count yesterday with an intestinal issue from something that she ate. We are not certain of the culprit but we suspect is was a tomato that she ate. There was also the issue of some fire-hot chicken vindaloo at the Indian restaurant. In any case, she slept the entire day and is doing well today.
Both Angie and Danielle are naturals at this! They greet the kids with hugs and smiles and continue to be amazed by not only the beauty of the country but the amazing kids we have the opportunity to serve. Angie has been busy interviewing dozens of kids and writing in her journal faithfully. I hope to get them an opportunity to post sometime soon.
We hit the ground Monday with a huge day. We traveled about 100 km across some very rough terrain to visit our kids out in Jinga. We were able to cross the Nile River but did not have time to stop and visit the mouth of the Nile. We ate our first meal together at Ying Ying Chinese restaurant. Unfortunately, the government has banned beef and goat for the time being. Something about a disease that can affect humans. We had to "suffer" through twice-cooked pork and stir-fried eggplant. Both of the girls got their first bottle of SToney - a local ginger-beer type soft drink. Angie is a fan - Danielle not so much! OUr day which had began at 8 did not conclude until nearly 10.
Tuesday was a simpler day as we stayed around Kampala. We were able to visit over 75 kids in about 8 hours. I think that both Danielle and Angie have been profoundly impacted by what they have experienced. They have been amazed at how well the kids are doing considering the challenges they face. We have been greeted warmly by the Headmasters at each school - with a strong appeal for more sponsorhips for the many kids in the area not in school. It is hard to imagine that for every child in school - and their are hundreds of thousands - there are 2 or 3 more who are unable to go to school.
The highlight of our day yesterday, in terms of being a tourist if you like, was encountering a man who captures snakes for export to the UK and Japan. I was able to come within a few inches of a Yellow Cobra! I have some photographs to boot! Now before you jump on me for getting so close, it was only a baby - about 14 inches long. He raised up beautifully for my shot and spread his neck wide! It was awesome! Angie loved it as well. I am sorry that Danielle was sick at the hotel and could not be with us this day.
I have much I could say about the food we have been eating. Each meal is an experience in and of itself. We have eaten all kinds of chopped meats fashioned in to sausage like shapes and deep fried. Yesterday we had calzones that were stuffed with corned beef - or beef that had spoiled, we're not certain! There was no cheese in the calzone at all. It was served with a texas-sized hush-puppy the size of a large avacado.
Keep praying for the team - especially that we might have strong constitutions! We have many more children to visit and we are excited about the days we have remaining. I look forward to updating you again as soon as I can.
We have been able to visit with 134 children as of today (Thursday morning). The girls are out with the rest of the team visiting 25 more children today out in the bush to the west of Kampala. They will be crossing the equator so they are excited about getting some shots with a foot in the northern and southern hemispheres! I must say that I am very proud of the girls. They are real troopers. Danielle went down for the count yesterday with an intestinal issue from something that she ate. We are not certain of the culprit but we suspect is was a tomato that she ate. There was also the issue of some fire-hot chicken vindaloo at the Indian restaurant. In any case, she slept the entire day and is doing well today.
Both Angie and Danielle are naturals at this! They greet the kids with hugs and smiles and continue to be amazed by not only the beauty of the country but the amazing kids we have the opportunity to serve. Angie has been busy interviewing dozens of kids and writing in her journal faithfully. I hope to get them an opportunity to post sometime soon.
We hit the ground Monday with a huge day. We traveled about 100 km across some very rough terrain to visit our kids out in Jinga. We were able to cross the Nile River but did not have time to stop and visit the mouth of the Nile. We ate our first meal together at Ying Ying Chinese restaurant. Unfortunately, the government has banned beef and goat for the time being. Something about a disease that can affect humans. We had to "suffer" through twice-cooked pork and stir-fried eggplant. Both of the girls got their first bottle of SToney - a local ginger-beer type soft drink. Angie is a fan - Danielle not so much! OUr day which had began at 8 did not conclude until nearly 10.
Tuesday was a simpler day as we stayed around Kampala. We were able to visit over 75 kids in about 8 hours. I think that both Danielle and Angie have been profoundly impacted by what they have experienced. They have been amazed at how well the kids are doing considering the challenges they face. We have been greeted warmly by the Headmasters at each school - with a strong appeal for more sponsorhips for the many kids in the area not in school. It is hard to imagine that for every child in school - and their are hundreds of thousands - there are 2 or 3 more who are unable to go to school.
The highlight of our day yesterday, in terms of being a tourist if you like, was encountering a man who captures snakes for export to the UK and Japan. I was able to come within a few inches of a Yellow Cobra! I have some photographs to boot! Now before you jump on me for getting so close, it was only a baby - about 14 inches long. He raised up beautifully for my shot and spread his neck wide! It was awesome! Angie loved it as well. I am sorry that Danielle was sick at the hotel and could not be with us this day.
I have much I could say about the food we have been eating. Each meal is an experience in and of itself. We have eaten all kinds of chopped meats fashioned in to sausage like shapes and deep fried. Yesterday we had calzones that were stuffed with corned beef - or beef that had spoiled, we're not certain! There was no cheese in the calzone at all. It was served with a texas-sized hush-puppy the size of a large avacado.
Keep praying for the team - especially that we might have strong constitutions! We have many more children to visit and we are excited about the days we have remaining. I look forward to updating you again as soon as I can.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Questions
Today's gathering saw us venture into the cyberworld as we were able to hear from transformational architect, Dr. Ron Martoia via web link. Ron has been working with the CrossPointe leadership over the last year helping us to navigate the terrain as we prepare to move to our new location.
At the end of his session, Ron posed three questions to us for discussion, and discuss we did! However, for those of you who didn't get to participate for any reason, I'd like to pose them here on the blog so that everyone has a chance to chime in:
1. How are you feeling about our move? Honest
2. What excites you most about the possibilities? What possibilities do you see? What things are you dreaming about that we have never done before?
3. What preparations have you been/or/are you now engaging spiritually as we get ready to make this move?
I hope that this will be an opportunity for us to be completely authentic with one another as we share our hopes, fears, etc. in advance of 09-07-08. Let the discussion begin!
At the end of his session, Ron posed three questions to us for discussion, and discuss we did! However, for those of you who didn't get to participate for any reason, I'd like to pose them here on the blog so that everyone has a chance to chime in:
1. How are you feeling about our move? Honest
2. What excites you most about the possibilities? What possibilities do you see? What things are you dreaming about that we have never done before?
3. What preparations have you been/or/are you now engaging spiritually as we get ready to make this move?
I hope that this will be an opportunity for us to be completely authentic with one another as we share our hopes, fears, etc. in advance of 09-07-08. Let the discussion begin!
Horton Hears A Who
This week marked our first installment of "CrossPointe at the Movies" with a look at the very fun "Horton Hears A Who".
The movie clip, and our opening interaction led to a discussion on how we tell a skeptical world about the "giant elephant" who has shaped our worldview; i.e. how do we tell the story of how God has shaped our lives individually to a world that is skeptical about what Christianity has to offer. We also discussed the importance of tuning into the feedback that we receive from those outside of faith with regard to how we share our story (the "spiritual listening" thing that Pastor Dave talked about a few weeks back), as well as the importance of building relationships without agenda (loving without strings).
In the spirit of the topic, I received a little feedback on our time together today that I'd like to throw out to everyone for discussion. It was pointed out to me that we, as a group, tossed a phrase out consistently throughout the session; "planting a seed". Our line of thinking communicated that we're OK with being able to build relationships without "closing the deal" (leading someone to Christ). and that we're OK with "planting a seed", or getting our foot in the door as it were.
Let's continue our discussion based on that feedback. If we are still looking to "plant seed" in our relationships, don't we still have an agenda? Are we truly loving without strings?
I'm looking forward to your thoughts!
The movie clip, and our opening interaction led to a discussion on how we tell a skeptical world about the "giant elephant" who has shaped our worldview; i.e. how do we tell the story of how God has shaped our lives individually to a world that is skeptical about what Christianity has to offer. We also discussed the importance of tuning into the feedback that we receive from those outside of faith with regard to how we share our story (the "spiritual listening" thing that Pastor Dave talked about a few weeks back), as well as the importance of building relationships without agenda (loving without strings).
In the spirit of the topic, I received a little feedback on our time together today that I'd like to throw out to everyone for discussion. It was pointed out to me that we, as a group, tossed a phrase out consistently throughout the session; "planting a seed". Our line of thinking communicated that we're OK with being able to build relationships without "closing the deal" (leading someone to Christ). and that we're OK with "planting a seed", or getting our foot in the door as it were.
Let's continue our discussion based on that feedback. If we are still looking to "plant seed" in our relationships, don't we still have an agenda? Are we truly loving without strings?
I'm looking forward to your thoughts!
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