Thoughts from Uganda on Life and the Orphan Heart

My Wife's Amazing Blog

2011-04-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, my incredible Laura Beth has begun a FUN blog about life in Uganda titled: Savoring the little things of life in Uganda and the address is: http://laurabethmc.blogspot.com/

Check it out for more of the day to day life things we experience here in Uganda. Her latest post is titled GLUTEN FREE LIVING : )

Orphans, Abba and Mission

2010-08-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

I just came across this article in the July issue of Christianity today- WELL WORTH CHECKING OUT. I love hearing others speaking my language!

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/10.18.html

Rethinking Orphan Ministry- Introduction

2010-05-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

I have been involved with orphan ministry and visited or read multitudes of literature of various orphan ministries or those seeking to partner and work with orphan ministries to know that we as a people (and I'm speaking mainly of Christians) need to do some serious rethinking about orphan ministry, both those caring for orphans and those partnering or supporting.

My family and I are preparing to head back to the US for a 6 month leave, and in that time I hope to put much of what is in my head into writing (as well as on this blog). But first, I would really like some feedback from each person who reads this. Please help me with the following questions:

1. What issues do YOU think need to be carefully thought through by those who are working HANDS ON with orphans? Why? (i.e. Vision statement, cross-cultural baggage, etc.)

2. What issues do you think need to be addressed by those seeking to support/send teams/partner, etc. with ministries caring for orphans. (i.e. cross-cultural baggage, etc.)

And I guess finally, is there anything specific that you'd like to see this blog address on this topic.

I'm going to wait a good month or more before taking this up again, mainly in hopes that some of you will take the time to think on these things and answer, and also because our family will need some time to transition cultures!

Looking forward to taking this one up.

Keith

Adoption, Ethnicity and Worship- Part 4

2010-02-27T00:58:00.000-08:00

Unity in Diversity- I find this little phrase to be marvelously beautiful and paramount to the various issues and concerns raised below. It's an incredible three words, something that seems so impossible in the context of a fallen world marred by both Division in Diversity and Division in Similarity. And even though there is a lot of talk about UNITY, it is often simply a lofty concept devoid of any genuine meaning or foundation. Yet I see this is absolutely foundational for the discussion taking place here.

How incredible that God has revealed Himself as ONE God, yet revealed in THREE persons. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Holy Spirit, yet they are perfectly (and uncomprehendingly) ONE. Their diversity is seen most clearly in the way they relate to the world- or in their economies as Wayne Grudem describes in his Systematic Theology. In John 14 and 17 Jesus describes Himself as "in" the Father and the Father as "in" Him, and in John 17 He states that He shared the Father's glory before the world ever existed (vs. 5). This is an incredible Unity in Diversity.

Because of God's own Unity in Diversity, it should not be surprising that God's creation (the unveiling of His Glory) reveals an incredible unity in the context of extreme diversity, with so much of life here on earth dependent on the entire ecosystem.

The Word of God, the Scriptures, reveal an amazing unity in diversity, from the multiplicity of authors, cultures and history, to the various purposes which brought each book about, yet throughout the story of Scripture, there is amazing consistency and unity weaved throughout in such a way that only God Himself could accomplish such a feat. The ESV Study Bible does a wonderful job drawing this out in the context of salvation history.

The Church, the Body of Christ, follows the same pattern, revealed in Jesus' prayer in John 17, "I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me (vs. 23)." This "perfect" oneness is ONLY possible through what Jesus accomplished through His death and resurrection, the unveiling of the Gospel that alone can unite peoples, economic levels, tribes, languages, and nations into ONE incredible worshiping Body of believers, willing to lay down preferences, history and sin in order to love and serve one another, delighting in the unity in diversity reflected in His body.

Marriage also reflects the possibility of amazing unity in diversity, as the two become one (what a mystery!), pointing to the greater reality of the unity and diversity of Jesus and His Church (Eph. 5). Again, this true intimacy and oneness is found through the work of Christ, declared in the Gospel, as two redeemed people come to Him in desperate NEED for grace to love and forgive, both dying to self in order for Him to be glorified.

And finally, family reflects unity in diversity, when the Gospel turns the hearts of the fathers toward their children and the children toward their father (and mother) (Lk. 1:17) and God's own character is seen in the unity possible through individuals diverse in character, personality and giftings.

It is in the context of all of this that the doctrine of adoption should come as no surprise at all, that through the death of Jesus, God not only justifies sinners but also adopts them back into His very own family, where the true Father is unveiled (Jn. 14) and our King Jesus becomes our brother (Heb. 2:11-12) through the incredible work of the Holy Spirit.

We can not escape it. We are called to pursue unity in diversity, intentional multi-ethnicity, at all costs, as it is the call of the Gospel and the purchase of God through the blood of His own Son. We are also called to live out this adoptive relationship of diverse unified family through adopting fatherless children of all cultures into our homes and therefore churches. We are also called to celebrate the diversity of the Body, rather than force ONE ALL CONSUMING CONFORMITY that robs the beauty of unity in diversity, which is a celebration of the Gospel itself. Old and young, Spanish speaking and Luganda speaking, light and dark skin, "family" made up of many cultures, all coming together in worship of the Lamb who was slain to purchase a bride on the earth. What an incredible vision our Father has set before us!

May we each truly seek first this incredible kingdom of God, and truly the world will know that God did indeed send Jesus. He is, indeed, building His church. May we pursue unity in diversity at all costs. To the praise of His glorious grace.

Adoption, Ethnicity and Worship- Part 3

2009-11-07T00:26:00.000-08:00

I once asked a very aged and respected Christian about the issues of ethnicity in the American church. He has authored books, pastored, and is one of the wisest men I know. He also has preached in various churches around the country (and around the world), addressing both “white” churches and “black” churches. I was quite surprised by the answer he gave me when I spoke to him about what I see as the Biblical vision of intentional pursuit of ethnic diversity (since God the Father has intentionally purchased a multi-ethnic bride at infinite cost, the blood of His dear Son). He agreed with the things I said, but finally stated that it is just NOT possible because of the vast chasm that divides the white and black church in America. He sighted both preaching style and worship as the two main dividing factors, unbridgeable because of the vast differences in heart-expression and practice.

Since that conversation I have thought much about that conversation, trying to see the issues clearly, yet I am unable to come down on the side of “unbridgeable” simply because of differences in heart expression or culture, especially after living here in Uganda. Of course, if the goal is simply to have a church that is multi-ethnic for the sake of being multi-ethnic, IT WILL FAIL (it is not humanly possible as we are too selfish by nature). Yet, if the goal is the very heart of the Gospel itself and if the commitment is grounded in pursuit of our Glorious God and His Kingdom above all things then through the work of the Holy Spirit it is more than possible.

It helps me to think about marriage. Rarely do two people get married who come from the exact SAME family culture, expression, ways of doing things, ways of looking at things, etc. That’s what makes marriage SO MUCH WORK in those early years. It takes two people committed to each other and to moving towards oneness out of their two-ness. Throw in cross-cultural marriage and the issues are even greater and the work harder. Yet, no Christian in their right mind would say, “Hey, don’t even try to get married, after all people are just too different to be able to come together as ONE and survive as husband and wife. The gap is unbridgeable.” The world has no problem agreeing with that statement, especially when things just “don’t work out” because of the vastness of differences in two people often clearly seen AFTER marriage (selfishness exploded), and divorce is common and almost expected in our Western cultures. Yet, Christians are pushed to fight to make things work in marriage both because of the sanctity of the covenant entered into and what keeping that covenant means before God Himself (not to mention the effect on the children). And of course, through the beauty of living out the Gospel in relationship with one another and through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, two selfish and vastly different people ARE ABLE to come together as ONE. Yes, it takes a dying to self and for God Himself to intervene IN that marriage, yet the product is a “new” culture (a family culture) that comes from the uniqueness of the two individuals entering into covenant relationship, while the uniqueness of both individuals is also maintained. The children see the power of God at work in their homes and they are able (therefore) to grow up with a vision that marriage CAN actually work and be a good thing (which is a vastly different view that most children grow up with).

How much more should this be lived out on a church level!?! We are truly a Covenant Community, brought together through Jesus’ unveiling of the bride He came to purchase for Himself through His death and resurrection. He has stated the incredible implications of this purchased and available ethnic oneness (John 17), and while it takes MUCH WORK to push through our own “preferences” and cultures, much revealing of our selfishness and even ethno-centrism (viewing our own ethnicity as better or superior to others), Jesus meets us in that place, offers cleansing forgiveness to our repentance, and empowers His people through His Spirit to love beyond ourselves and to come together in committed love.

I attended a church in Chicago for a couple of years that was incredibly diverse ethnically. One Christmas the church decided to begin its Christmas program with a procession of flags representing the various cultures within the church. A non-Christian journalist came to write an article on the Christmas program. As she sat and watched the procession of flags, the procession of men and women of many different colors, it was obvious that she was not prepared for what she was beholding. Tears began rolling down her cheeks as she witnessed the awesome display of Christ’s Bride, an ethnic unity she had never seen before. It IS as Jesus said, “then the world will believe that You sent me.”

The beginning point for all of us is recognizing that this intentional pursuit of ethnic diversity within our communities of worship is a Biblical mandate, not just a “good thing” to pursue. And like broken marriage, there is also a GRAVE effect on our children. When churches remain ethnically isolated, children grow up assuming that it is "just how it is", and what is assumed is that their own expression is the right one, and the issues are propagated through the generations, both directly and indirectly. The opposite is also true, that when children grow up in a diverse community, there is a natural love and respect for the various ethnicities and expressions, and they are able to see their own culture in relationship to all of the others, not as superior, but in its proper relationship to the others. What a vision of the Kingdom of God is held out for our children!

One other issue that often comes into play here is the way churches deal with differences in age groups within the church (as one friend who commented on the facebook post noted). Isn’t it interesting that churches often deal with the whole “traditional” versus “contemporary” issues like they do with ethnicity, only the division isn’t as clearly seen. The quick answer is to separate age groups by holding the hymns service for those who find their HEART EXPRESSION being met there, and then the contemporary service for those who “prefer” that (or because of the outreach appeal to a “modern” or “postmodern” people. What happens is a clear division between the generations, and what is lost is the age diversity that is also desperately needed in the Body of Christ for its health and building up. Rather than intentionally pursuing diversity of style (expression), one group is typically called to die to its own preferences for the sake of the other or the two are completely separated. Churches can't even see how this way of dealing with age diversity is an outflow of how they deal with cultural diversity!

So what is the way forward? How should our view of the Gospel, and hence the Spirit’s work in our world, drive our churches in all of these areas. What can be done practically? I still see the doctrine of adoption as central here and all that I’ve written below becomes a key factor, but first I want to ask:

Do you agree?

Adoption, Ethnicity and Worship- Part 2

2009-10-31T01:13:00.000-07:00

Alright, I admit it! I bit off more than I can chew in the last post. It seems that most of you agree with me, as I don't see any comments or feedback below. However, I do want to push forward on this theme, mainly because I think the implications for the church today are desperately needed, as are the implications for Christian families seeking to model the Kingdom of God (or better stated, living out the Kingdom of God through family). I realize that I am insufficiently equipped to unfold all of the answers to the questions I raised, but I hope to at least lay some foundation that we can toss around and build on. Let me begin my just talking about our church here.

Kasana Community Church is truly a unique church both in Uganda and in the world at large. At one point last year we had men, women and children gathered in worship of God from the United States, Canada, England, India, Kenya, Rwanda, Congo DR, and Uganda (including over 14 different tribes represented). It is quite an incredible sight to see that kind of ethnic diversity gathered together in one place! It is incredible that the English language is able to act as a unifier of such vastly different people-groups. It would be easy for us as a church to simply adopt ONE new worship expression using ONLY English as the dominant language...but what would be lost would be the HEART EXPRESSION of the individuals represented. Let me explain.

As Westerners here in Uganda, most of us have grown up in the context of Western worship. Regardless of whether we are singing songs in English or Luganda (local language here), the style is different, the length of songs, the instruments (most Westerners struggle with the electric keyboard!), etc., even if we are singing familiar songs. But we adjust.

I can remember during our first year here when we were struggling to adjust, missing our "familiar" worship style, a team came on a short-term trip. One of the team members was a gifted worship leader in his home church, so our church leaders decided to allow him to lead a portion of the worship. He stood in front with his acoustic guitar and the second he began leading I felt my heart come alive. Both Laura Beth and I LOVED that short 15 minutes of worship that we had, yet towards the end as I looked around, most of the Ugandans were quieter and obviously NOT enjoying the time as much as we were. Then something incredible happened. The man sat down and our Ugandan worship leader came forward. The second he started in with a song in Luganda, the place about came apart! It was like they were waiting for what was familiar to them. I looked around at the Westerners and they looked very much like the Ugandans had during the "Western worship" time. They were enjoying the time in worship, but not like before.

What I came to understand at that moment is how important HEART EXPRESSION is for those engaging in worship. I enjoy singing in Luganda, or singing the Ugandan English songs that we sing, but I typically find myself coming MORE alive when we are singing songs that I have grown up singing. It's the same with each nationality and people group represented in the church. Our Ateso brothers and sisters enjoy singing in English and Luganda, but something happens when suddenly an Ateso song gets thrown into the mix- men who were standing and clapping before can be seen suddenly jumping high into the air, up and down, up and down, throughout the church (which is how the Ateso worship). The same could be said for each ethnicity represented.

If this were simply a context where Western missionaries were co-existing with people from the Buganda tribe, good missiological practice would call for the Westerners to simply die to their own cultural worship expression and integrate into the larger culture here (which is how many Western churches function when it comes to cultural integration). I have no problem with this in our context, especially in the light of the past missionary practice of simply establishing/imposing Western practice and worship in other cultures (at the expense of local culture and expression). But when it comes to other tribes within Uganda who are gathered here, the answer is not so clear-cut.

It is great that the churches planted within various tribes each have their own unique expression of worship (non-Western), but now that tribes are beginning to mix in both the city and even within different tribal territory in larger towns, what is the way forward for the Ugandan church? Is the answer to follow the common US pattern of keeping different ethnic groups separate in their worship? Hopefully our response is a resounding: NO! It would be a shame for it to be said here in Uganda that the 10am hour is the most segregated of the week.

How awesome to see our church here as a rallying point for the different tribes, intentionally seeking to bring the various ethnic expressions out in the context of our worship service, instead of forcing everyone into ONE "common" expression that in essence is the expression of none, or perhaps one dominant group. I see this as the beauty of the Bride of Christ gathered around His throne in Revelation 7, from every nation, tribe, people and language, singing out "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" Granted, we don't know if in heaven those in Rev. 7 were singing in ONE language or each in their own, but down here on earth where the curse of Babel is brought back to blessing for the nations through the unifying Gospel and the gift of the Holy Spirit, when the nations and tribes gather together it is as Jesus said in John 17, "I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me."

I think it is in the context of where the Ugandan church stands today, and the way forward that God is calling His church to, that will serve as an example to the direction that the Western church needs to pursue if it is indeed to be a true expression of the Kingdom of God.

Before I move forward, I'd love some feedback here. Thoughts?

Adoption, Ethnicity and Worship- Part I

2009-09-26T04:24:00.000-07:00

I can remember the first time I watched the movie Losing Isaiah. I cried throughout the movie, first for the plight of the birth mother (played by Halle Barry) in the abandonment of her new-born (already drug addicted) son, then for the plight of the white woman who adopted and in essence “saved” the child who had been thrown away into a garbage can. After some years the birth mother got “cleaned up,” found out her abandoned baby was alive, and then wanted her child back- a child who had solidly become a part of a white family. The movie centered around the issue of ethnicity in cross-cultural adoption (in this case white versus black). The birth mother's attorney believed that a black child should be with his black family, yet within the white home the point is made that in the eyes of the child, color is not what matters but love, a love that is given through the adoptive mother and the family. Though the issues raised by the movie were pointed and heart-wrenching, the movie offered up no real solution for the issue, ending with the child “divided” between both the birth mother and the adoptive mother.

Sadly, the church of Jesus Christ has also often been plagued by these same polar sides when it comes to looking at ethnicity within the church. On one side, churches tend to think that mono-ethnicity is best when it comes to worship, fellowship and church growth (it certainly is easiest!), and therefore the leadership and DNA of the church is made up of one singular ethnicity which expresses itself in both a preaching style and worship style that reflects that ethnicity and culture (even when the church is located completely within another ethnic group). Each different church, of course, views their own expression of worship and style as either “historical” (and thus a-cultural) or culturally inclusive, as opposed to viewing itself as intentionally mono-ethnic in its expression and thus culturally exclusive.

Often, churches that are “open” to different ethnicities attending their churches can not see beyond their own cultural bias for their own expression of the historic faith. If someone from a different ethnicity comes into that church, it is expected for that person to “conform” to the style of church/worship that forms the identity of the church, leaving that individual to either “yield” to the dominant worship and teaching expression or to leave and find a church with similar cultural expression (it is supposed in this situation that this person has had contact with a specific ethnic expression of Christianity as opposed to a “new” believer).

On the other side are churches that want to be multi-ethnic. They often seek to create a contemporary worship style that each individual ethnicity can rally around and more easily “conform” to. Often, these churches are made up of first generation Christians who are drawn to these churches, those who have not been a part of a church made up of their own unique ethnic expression. Unfortunately, the individual culture and expression that God has granted the various “ethnic” cultures are either lost or blurred within the newly created expression.

What is to be done by the church today in such a confusion of “models”? What is the way forward and what are the biblical and theological foundations to keep us on the right track? And what does all of this have to do with adoption and the doctrine of adoption...

Adopting Music

2009-08-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

I realize I am way behind on posting! I haven't forsaken this blog! Here's something my pastor in Chicago (and good friend) sent me that fits right into the discussion going on right now in the blog. It's exciting to see more people catching a vision for the adopting grace of God and wanting to express that through worship back to Him. The quote by Packer is right on as well! Enjoy.

New Album Features God’s Adopting Grace
via Between Two Worlds by Tony Reinke on 8/5/09

Posted by Tony Reinke.

In his classic book Knowing God, J.I. Packer wrote:

If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God's child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. "Father" is the Christian name for God. … Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption. (pp. 201—202)

The adopting grace of God is a major theme of the Christian faith, and today this theme has a new soundtrack. Bob Kauflin and Sovereign Grace Music today released their latest project, Sons & Daughters, a 12-song album accenting God’s gratuita adoptio. The album was intentionally written for congregational worship settings.

On his blog Kauflin wrote,

… The project came out of a perceived lack of songs that help us meditate on the unfathomable love God has shown us in adopting us through Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:5). We are now part of God’s family—in Christ we will forever be the objects of God’s particular and passionate mercy and love. We are not only forgiven, we are co-heirs with Christ, and never again have to doubt God’s care for us. That biblical reality, rather than leaving us focused on ourselves, drives us once again to proclaim the greatness of the God whose grace turns hopeless rebels into precious children.

The album can be sampled online and purchased as an audio CD ($12) or as a set of MP3 downloads ($9.00). Guitar charts, lead sheets and lyric sheets are available as free downloads.

Sons & Daughters is the third album released by Sovereign Grace Music this summer. In June they released a children’s album, To Be Like Jesus. In July they released a live conference recording titled, Next 2009 Live.

Calling God "Daddy"- Part 3

2009-06-13T00:45:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that it's been a month since I was last on here! Please excuse my delay in finishing up these series of posts- in this month we have finished up this current session of the Institute of Childcare and Family and then Laura Beth and I headed off for a week in India (yes, this was a spur of the moment trip- and without our boys!). It was an incredible trip, exceeding all of our expectations, but that's not the point of this post. For more info feel free to e-mail us (keithandlb@gmail.com).

In my last post I alluded a couple of times to the multi-ethnic implications of the doctrine of adoption. I want to expound on that a bit here and then pick up on it more in the posts ahead (hopefully). The foundation for this discussion is of course the incredible privilege that all sons and daughters of God have in addressing our God and King as "Daddy" or simply "Father". There is now a beautiful unified crying out to God together in every tongue and language out of hearts set free from sin and bondage to Satan and brought into intimate relationship with our now Father God. Yet what does the doctrine of adoption and the implications of the "Abba!" cry mean for us in terms of ethnicity.

If we look at the "new birth" alone as that which brings us into the family of God, then what appears is a unified family all rallying around the Lamb- Glory to God, yet there is a richness and fullness that is yet lost. In reality, we are "born again", brought from death (Eph. 2:1) and given spiritual life, a life and awareness that frees us to confess "Jesus is Lord" and submit to His rule over all of our lives. Yet it is here that He goes beyond redeeming us as simply His subjects, but He then adopts us into His family- that's the glory of the doctrine of adoption.

What is incredible about this new family is that we are not all consigned to simply ONE language or simply ONE newly created culture. There is an incredible beauty in the diversity of languages and cultures together, redeemed and free to cry out to God from the multiplicity of terms and expressions that each culture has to offer. This is also at the heart of the Galatians and Romans passages. Though intimacy is the foundation, there is beauty in the fact that Jesus cried out not simply in the language spoken at that time by the Jewish people (Aramaic- Abba!), but also in the language of the Gentiles (Greek- Pater or Patros), both of whom may now address God out of the uniqueness of each individual culture and language. This is also part of what Paul is picking up on in both the Romans and Galatians passages.

Before Jesus came one had to come INTO Judaism to be brought into relationship with God, a relationship that demanded one to conform to this new culture, laws, and even language (before the Septuagint was translated into Greek, everyone was dependent on Hebrew to know God and His requirements for His people as laid out in the Law and the Prophets). Yet because of the death of Jesus, each culture is now free to come to God where he/she can experience the redemption of their own fallen culture, while also coming to God in worship, expression and the language offered by each culture. This is a great significance found within the "Abba! Father!" cry.

So the picture both around the throne of God (as well as down here on earth) is not a picture of a mono-ethnic group coming to God in one language and one culture, but it is that of a group made up of multiple-ethnicities each redeemed out of their fallen cultures, yet also each distinctly marked by the beauty of that ethnic group- every tribe, language, people and nation. No culture is above another- not in THIS family! Instead, because we have been adopted INTO His family, we each are free to share in the family Name, the family inheritance, and the family culture (Kingdom culture), while at the same time delighting in the beautiful diversity represented by all who now cry out "Father! Papa! Tata! Baba (I picked this one up in India)!"

So what does this mean for the church? What are the implications of the doctrine of adoption for local churches in terms of ethnic make-up, cultural expressions and worship? Any ideas?
[pic by Corrie Heinrich for a kid's book I'm working on]

Calling God "Daddy"- Part 2

2009-05-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

The question of the day is: Can we call God "Daddy"? In my last post I surveyed how we naturally tend to view God as King and therefore relate to Him that way, as well as the fact that most Evangelical Christians have never called God Daddy (and most would probably agree that the term seems just a bit too familiar). I hope this post helps those of us who are longing to understand just what God holds out to us in the hope of the Gospel and in our identity as His children.

If the Gospel is true and through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ we are truly able to find forgiveness of our sins through Jesus' bearing our punishment for sin (justification), then the question of what we are saved UNTO has to be just as clearly spelled out for us. It seems that many Christians live the Christian life as if we have attained the status of angels- you know, able to be in God's presence, serving Him and worshiping Him, free from sin. Yet God did not create us in His image nor send His Son to die for the redemption of angels or to bring us to the status of angels. God's redemption of fallen humanity goes far beyond our freedom from and victory over sin. The Scriptures clearly reveal that God has adopted us INTO His family, with all of the blessings that come with being joint-heirs with Christ.

Romans 8:15-17 and Galatians 4:4-7 are our key passages here, both which speak of the doctrine of adoption. What stands out in these passages, though, and what most of us (myself included) have a hard time grasping is when Paul states that we have received the gift of adoption as sons (Galatians) and the Spirit of adoption (Romans) by whom we cry (Romans) and who Himself cries out within us (Galatians) "Abba! Father!" The implication for us is that we who were slaves (both to the Law and to sin) are now free to cry out by the Spirit (who is also crying out!) "Abba! Father!" So what does this mean for us as we approach our now Father God? Is He Daddy or simply Father?

I recently was on a blog of a highly respected Christian who loves to write about the doctrine of adoption. His subject was the "Abba" cry. He, along with some other very good commentators, have argued against “over-sentimentalizing” the Abba cry into such affectionate terms as “Papa” and “Daddy”. Though I understand these arguments from the standpoint of etymology, they fail to recognize the most powerful argument for precisely using these terms, and thus the unifying result of being a people who united are free to cry out “Daddy!” (along with the multi-ethnic unifier that it provides- next blog). Let me explain.

Any title for “Father” can at the same time be the most endearing of all terms or the most cold and distant of all terms. For example, in the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the rich and spoiled girl Veronica says over and over again, “Daddy, I want…” or “Daddy, get me…” (of course, you have to say it in a snobby British accent). This cold use of the term “Daddy” is a far different use than a child who dearly loves his or her father and who finally sees him after he was away on a four day trip. Can't you see that child running to be embraced in the arms of his father shouting with tears in his eyes, “Daddy!”? I have experienced this myself!

It is not necessarily the word employed for "Father" as it is the intimacy of the relationship behind the word when it is used. In Jesus’ case, there is an intimacy with the Father that goes back from before the world began (Jn. 17:1-5), a perfect intimacy that we can only get a taste of here on earth. And it is in that intimacy of relationship that Jesus knew with the Father that He had in his heart when he cried out to His Father in the garden (just before His coming death!), “Abba! Father!” (Mk. 14:36) So there is nothing wrong with translating the term "Abba" as “Papa!” or “Daddy!” or “Father” or even “Pa”, so long as the understood intimacy of the word is at the center. If we have genuine intimacy with our Father God (the intimacy promised by Jesus Himself in Jn. 17), then we are free to address Him as Papa or Daddy or any other endearing word that our language might have to offer. And the beauty of this is that it does not matter what language or nation you come from, we are all free to enjoy our Daddy God together as His children.

Author George MacDonald understood this as seen in his classic children's story The Princess and the Goblins. In one scene the Princess Irene is awaiting the return of her father, the King of the land. As he approaches on his white horse she runs to him crying out "King Papa!" Truly that is what He is.

It is a beautiful thing to hear a child here in Uganda who was once fatherless and who has come to know their TRUE Father (the true Father of the fatherless) pray addressing God as "Tata" (Daddy). May we begin to lead others (spiritual and physical fatherless) into the glorious freedom of the children of God where we are set free to come before our God and King who is in reality our King Papa and Tata.

Calling God "Daddy"- Part 1

2009-04-25T01:03:00.000-07:00

The last time my family and I were in the States I was able to preach at a number of churches. The message that I spoke was "What Uganda Has Taught Me", which is a bit unusual for a missionary to speak on. After all, haven't I been sent to Uganda to teach others? Well, I guess that is partly true, but I am not afraid to readily admit that Uganda has taught me FAR more than I have had to offer myself. It is in this place (New Hope Uganda) and in this community of believers that I have learned family, fatherhood, manhood, and a much greater vision and understanding of the Gospel of Jesus. One of the greatest truths to radically penetrate my heart has been the doctrine of adoption and all that is held out for us in relationship to our Daddy God. Yes, Daddy God, I know that is a bit "personal" for a reference to God, at least by most people's standards. Yet it was here that I first began comfortably referring to God as Daddy.

I can remember the first time I heard someone call God "Daddy". I was at Bible College and my good friend Drew Kelly prayed and addressed God as "Daddy". I was stunned. "Did he just say THAT". I thought he was weird (after all, God is too big and mighty to be called Daddy), yet deep down I knew that I longed for that kind of freedom in my relationship with my heavenly Father. I just didn't understand that that was what the Gospel truly frees me to do. I have found that is true of most Christians. When I was preaching in those churches about what Uganda has taught me, I focused on the doctrine of adoption. I asked the congregations how many of them have ever called God "Daddy". Do you think it was the majority of people? Of course not. In fact, in a crowd of around 200, I found that if 10 people raised their hands that was pretty good. It was typically around 5. Why?

For most of us it is much easier to relate to God as King and Master (which He is!), yet often I think we are naive as to just why that is. I think it comes back to our reductionist Gospel and the way we have been "taught" to read the storyline. Our emphasis on justification alone tends to bend us that way. For example, when we read Genesis 1-3 we naturally read it through the lens of God as King, though that term is not there. If you read commentaries on creation in Genesis, God is pictured as a King issuing forth his commands. My favorite kids' Bible (The Big Picture Story Bible put out by Crossway) does an amazing job of presenting the consistent development of the theme of God's rule, God's people, God's king and God's place throughout the Old Testament, and the grounding for the Kingship of God is of course in Genesis 1-3. Yet why do we naturally read it through the lens of Kingship when the motif of God's Fatherhood is just as clearly unfolded there?

Why do we naturally read the text this way? Well, part of the reason is that God IS KING over the world, there is no question of that, so it is quite a natural reading of the text to see God as the King and us as his subjects, those who will be shown to break his commands and therefore come under his judgment. This is the clearest way we present the Gospel looking back on the OT to introduce the concept of sin and our need of a Savior for violating our Just King God's commands. But remember, our reductionist Gospel simply emphasizes our need for JUSTIFICATION and presents the Gospel only in that context. What is lost?

Here is what is lost- the reality that God is the true Father of all of humanity (see Acts 17:28-29 as well as Luke 3:38 where Adam is called the son of God) and at creation our amazing and loving and perfect Father provided us with everything we need (identity, security, provision and protection) all found in Himself and in the security of the garden. At the fall we rebelled against our Father (and King) and began life "outside the family". But the Father was not done with His children. He had a plan that was set from eternity to send the PERFECT and UNIQUE Son of God to die for our sins and to undo what was done at the fall, and to bring His children back into His family through adopting us back (wouldn't that make a great kid's Bible!).

You can then read through the entire OT and see how God unfolds the fact that He is Israel's Father (as well as King), all culminating in Jesus' coming (the true King) who came to reveal the Father (read John 14) and how to be in relationship with the Father. Because we don't tend to read the storyline this way, we naturally lose what it means at salvation to be brought into the family of God (a HUGE NT theme) and to be able to call God "Father" and even "Daddy" (more on this later) through our spiritual adoption by God.

That is why most of us simply assume that we have been "born again" into the family of God and never think much about what it means that God is truly our Father. We have little foundation for walking in relationship with this true and perfect Father as the one who IS our identity, security, provision and protection. Eph. 3:14 says that it is in God that every family (or literally every fatherhood) in heaven and on earth is NAMED, yet we have very little understanding of what Paul is talking about here because we don't understand the storyline in terms of family. We also so often fail to grasp just what is held out to us in relationship with this amazing God and Father.

May we as God's people begin to be confronted by who God has revealed Himself to be and who we truly are IN Him as His children and as the bride of our Lord Jesus. And wouldn't it be awesome to find a kids' Bible that traced the themes of Kingship and Fatherhood throughout the Bible as well. Who knows, maybe someday...

(the pic is of me, Isaiah and my "son" John around a growing Jackfruit- which is the most unique fruit in the world! I chose this pic simply because it pictures the natural intimacy of my sons and I. They don't hesitate to call me "Papa")

Reductionist Gospel and the Doctrine of Adoption

2009-04-18T00:59:00.000-07:00

My friend Godfrey typifies exactly what this post is about- how many Christians know that they are saved from their sin, yet in their hearts they remain detached from day to day genuine joy in God. Godfrey grew up in western Uganda and never knew his father. Rooted in this not-knowing was a desperate longing for identity, something he never gained. After leaving home and moving deeply into the things of the world, God amazingly brought him out to New Hope where he met Jesus and found forgiveness and new life in God. Though now saved, he lacked day to day joy in God and could never understand how the Christians in church could worship God with such obvious joy. Godfrey, though saved, was still an orphan in his heart. His relationship with God became one of slavery, doing this and this (and not doing this and this) in order to please God. He knew that New Hope's ministry was "bringing the Fatherhood of God to the fatherless", but in his mind he had a father, he just didn't know who he was. His heart was restless and he was spinning downward quickly. It was at this point that he one day read the words of Psalm 68:5 painted on the side of a New Hope vehicle, "A father to the fatherless is God..." Suddenly, his whole life's search was over. He saw clearly that God is his father, that he is NOT fatherless, but has a clear identity IN God. Since that time, Godfrey has continued growing in his relationship with God as his Father, and he as a son. The doctrine of adoption is the sweetest of all biblical teachings for him, the truth that he is an adopted son in the family of God.

It is a proclamation of the Gospel that those who put faith in Jesus are justified sinners now called saints. It is assumed that God is father, after all, we are born again, but the depth of that relationship typically goes unexplored. In fact, if you ask most Americans to define "the Gospel" they will say something like this: Jesus Christ, the unique eternal Son of God, was born, lived, and died on the cross so that those who put their faith in Him can be forgiven of their sins and live forever with God. Of course, you can add or take away various parts, but the essence is the same: we are justified- finished. YET, the glory of the Gospel is that it goes far beyond most of our simplified versions and includes many other glorious truths, including the fact that after we are justified, God literally ADOPTS us into His family.

The fact that the early church clearly saw this relationship between salvation and our new standing in God is seen not only in amazing passages like Romans 8:12-17 and Galatians 4:1-7, but early church fathers like Origin who expounded quite a lot on the amazing adoptive relationship that we believers now have with God. It is a reductionist Gospel that fails to bring believers into the depth of glorious truth contained in all that is held out for us as adopted believers into the family of God. Many Christians in our day (especially as fatherlessness grows) have no earthly concept of God as Father (or if he is father, then he's distant and far away) and find it easier to relate to Jesus then to God the Father. We desperately need to recapture who God has revealed Himself to be as the TRUE Father, as the source of all redeemed fatherhood, and as the one who frees us to enter His presence proclaiming, "Abba! Father! Daddy!" as sons and daughter who are accepted not on the basis of what we do to please Him, but simply because He has chosen us, loves us and has adopted us, all because of the perfect son, Jesus.

This all becomes quite clear when sharing the Gospel with fatherless children (orphans). It is wonderful to see children responding to the call of the Gospel, to find forgiveness and true life in Jesus, yet it is equally exciting to see children set free from their lifelong wandering and search for both identity and fatherhood through coming to know the perfect Father, God. May we all be among those who point others (and especially those who are fatherless in our midst) to the true Father, that we might truly come to know and walk in what is called "the glorious freedom of the children of God (Rom. 8:21)."

Feeling the Effects of a Reductionistic Gospel that in Uganda has led to TWO Gospels- one of Salvation and one of Deliverance

2009-04-03T23:59:00.001-07:00

When I was a teenager, wrestling with thoughts of heaven and hell, feeling the pull between going to church and doing what I wanted to do, I really just wanted to know one thing: WHAT DID I REALLY NEED TO KNOW and DO TO GO TO HEAVEN WHEN I DIED. I didn't know it at the time, but I (like many people out there) simply wanted the Gospel reduced down to its lowest common denominator so that I could be sure to go to heaven and yet continue on living as I wanted to live. The answer I received, of course, was that I needed to pray, confess my sin and need of a Savior, and ask Jesus to forgive my sin. Saved. I liked being saved, knowing I was saved, but not living like I was saved- that was the tough part- and after a while I fell into the common "backslider" category and had stopped going to church, entranced by the things of the world.

Unfortunately, this is a common story for many, and while many wouldn't like to admit it, the truth is that much of Western Christianity has bought into a reductionist Gospel that flows out of the very question posed above- what is the base line for being a Christian. This is a question that the early church would NEVER have asked, and if they had, there would not have been a short answer. Our reductionism, however, flows from the church's defense against liberal Christianity that with the Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment thought began to call into question the heart of Protestant Christianity- the doctrine of justification by faith alone. While it has been a much needed defense, the sad reality is that with that defense, much of the church simplified the Gospel down to a formula for getting to heaven, for forgiveness of sins, for living for the "pie in the sky", and that has become THE GOSPEL.

If you had to boil down the early church's understanding of the Gospel, it would have encompassed at least three components. There was an understanding that Jesus, in His death AND resurrection, defeated the three great enemies: sin, death, and Satan. There was an understanding of what this meant for believers for their lives HERE and NOW, and great doctrines (like the doctrine of adoption) were enjoyed and expounded. Interestingly, in a secular society dominated by science and the dispelling of the supernatural, the understanding of Jesus' victory over Satan and freedom from bondage to demons and spirits was lost, after all, what good westerner actually lives in fear of Satan or demons?

The truth of what I wrote above is seen quite clearly in the efforts of the western missionaries of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Take for example one of China's pioneer missionaries, James Fraser. He was 22 years old when he set out from England to China where he would spend the rest of his life working among a tribespeople known as the Lisu. Fraser would journey on horseback or on foot across rugged mountains for days and weeks on end to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus to people who had never heard that name before. Entrenched in demon-worship (spirit-worship/ancestor worship) Fraser was disheartened when an entire family that had professed faith in Christ (and an influential family at that) had been attacked by the spirits and out of fear had gone back to their old ways. His daughter writes, "In spite of the convictions growing upon him James was still slow to believe that demon-possession can be as real today as when our Lord was upon earth." And again she writes, "It was during this survey that the hold demonism had over these people came home to James. This was not a childish belief in something non-existent. The demons were real: their power was demonstrable. The fear the villagers lived in amounted to total slavery."

James Fraser had not been prepared for what he would meet in terms of the spiritual war that would be waged among the Lisu turning to God. He had proclaimed the Gospel, many had accepted the message of Jesus and wanted to follow God, but the hold of demonism was too strong and because their core beliefs (their core worldview) was not touched with the message of the Gospel, they naturally went back to what they knew and to what had controlled their way of life for years on end.

Interestingly, the same could be said about many Christians in Uganda today. Fraser was wise enough to come to see what the Gospel proclaimed about Jesus' victory and authority over Satan, and so he was able to lead the new Christians out of slavery and fear of Satan. Sadly, it seems that many of the early missionaries in Uganda were not able to present the Gospel in the fullness of its message concerning Satan and demons. It seems that when the Gospel was proclaimed and people were "saved", for most the "high" Christianity proclaimed by the missionaries (high meaning how to get to heaven) had little to offer the reality "down here" of dealing with Satan and demons.

Early on in my time here I noticed how controlled people are when it comes to fear of Satan. I found church services unable to begin until Satan was bound and removed, along with the "spirit of dozing" or any other spirit of something. I found people still paralyzed by the shrill of an owl at night, as culturally it is proclaiming the looming death of a family member. I found people up in the night binding and casting demons because they heard a noise on their roof, along with many other practices born out of fear. In reality, the more I got into the "Christian" culture, what I found was that because of the lack of understanding the Gospel's message concerning Satan, here there is in reality many who proclaim TWO different Gospels.

The first Gospel is the Gospel of salvation. This is what a person needs to know in order to be saved. But that Gospel doesn't deal with Satan and demons, so there is a second Gospel, a Gospel of deliverance. I have even heard some of these teachers try to scare people with the reality of demons and their power, telling them that they first need to get saved, "and then we can deal with the demons and your family curses". What I am speaking about is not a small "part" of Ugandan Christianity, but it is very active under the surface of almost every major denomination because it is under the surface of most Christians (it is entrenched in the worldview). Once, during my first year of ministry here and after doing a teaching on Jesus' authority over Satan, one of my students discussed the issue with me until finally he admitted that (to him) "Jesus has the authority, but Satan has the power." This is the reality regardless of what the Bible says. That is the mindset of many Christians.

Galatians 1 is very poignant in its proclamation about the guarding of THE Gospel, to the point where even if an angel comes and preaching another Gospel, he is to be accursed. The centrality of THE Gospel is seen as the motivator and the empowerment of Paul's ministry throughout the Epistles. There are not two different Gospels, but ONE Gospel that proclaims Jesus' victory of sin, death and Satan, the same Gospel that is inexhaustible in its scope and depth of both mystery and blessing for those who believe its message. I am thankful that my eyes have been opened up to this reality and my lips have been privileged to proclaim its message- and I love seeing my Ugandan brothers and sisters SET FREE from fear and bondage to Satan by simply coming face to face with Jesus' victory and authority over Satan.

May we as God's people not promote a reductionistic Gospel any longer, but may we begin to see the centrality of the Gospel to all areas of our lives and the freedom that it brings in all areas. I want to use my next post to dialogue about this a bit more, but specifically in relationship to the doctrine of adoption and the healing of the orphan heart.

Book Review- Theology in the Context of World Christianity

2009-02-23T22:51:00.000-08:00

I was down this week with back issues and decided to use the time to plow through a book that has been staring at me from my shelf for the past few months. The subtitle of the book is what really grabbed my attention: how the global church is influencing the way we think about and discuss theology- WOW.

Timothy Tennent does not disappoint in the least. Tennet recognizes that modern theology is dominated by western reflection on theology and to find publication outside of a western context is quite a rarity. This is disheartening in the context of a growing world Christianity that has seen what he calls the new "Majority World Christians" as coming from the non-western world. Africa, South America, Korea, India and China are all seeing incredible growth of the church. It is the unique context of the growth of these churches that is forcing the churches in various localities to wrestle with theological questions and issues in a way that the west does not face, the result being a richer and deeper theological reflection in specific areas.

The book raises various topics in theology from the differing world contexts, like the following: Theology- Is the Father of Jesus the God of Muhammad; Anthropology- Human Identity in Shame-based Cultures of the Far East; Christology- Christ as Healer and Ancestor in Africa; and Ecclesiology- Followers of Jesus in Islamic Mosques (just to list a few).

I found his critiques and evaluations of the various topics to be VERY insightful. Tennent writes with a sharp theological understanding and provides good insights into the impact on not just theology, but the life and health of the church in a global context.

Living in Uganda and working with orphans, I have already been forced to think about God in ways that my natural western context did not provide. The Fatherhood of God, the doctrine of adoption, the church and community (among other topics) have been deepened and enriched as a result of living in another cultural context. I long to see the Western church glean from what God is doing in this specific context. Tennent goes a long way in providing the foundation and vision to make this much needed global discourse more of a reality.

I highly recommend the book to any who desire to think outside of their own cultural contexts and desire to be impacted by the global discourse that is arising. Of course, that discourse is coming into the West more than ever before (indeed, it can't be stopped)- let's just hope that we have ears to hear before it's in our face and we've missed out on the discussion.

The Heart of an Orphan- Part 3

2009-02-13T23:18:00.000-08:00

Here is the second half of some of the various characteristics of the heart of an orphan. I am so thankful for my friend Mark Stibbe (author of an amazing book called From Orphans to Heirs) who gave us the idea of describing some of these characteristics through his own list of characteristics. Mark is a humble brother who speaks on the doctrine of adoption out of personal conviction since he himself has been adopted by an earthly father as well as his heavenly Father. He has recently moved into full-time ministry of sharing the message of the Father's love to God's people all over the world. He has a special place in his heart for Africa's orphans. Check out his organization (The Father's House Trust) and website at http://www.fathershousetrust.com. You will find New Hope Uganda listed there as one of their ministry partners.

INSECURITY: Tied into fear. A sense of feeling unprotected all the time and therefore feeling unsafe. The result is great care given to make sure that the heart is protected. A defence mechanism is constantly employed where one is quick to interpret what people say and do, whether in trouble or safe. One often reads intentions into statements and actions that were not there. Offence is easily taken where none was intended.

POVERTY: A feeling of constant scarcity that says there will never be enough even in the midst of plenty. The goal is therefore to get what is needed NOW, because what will happen the next day is unknown. The now becomes the focus without thought or hope for the future. Decisions are made based upon what seems temporarily best for needs in the moment. Hoarding becomes a lifestyle.

GREED: Tied into poverty. The constant need for more and more whereby the heart is never satisfied but is driven to be. Care is not given to whether others have what they need so long as individual needs are met. There is no consideration of others, or if there is it is only in what can gotten at their expense.

ANGER: Anger is always present in the heart because of what has been experienced in the past and comes out over even a small thing. It often seems like an eruption that has come out of nowhere, but it has always been there, only suppressed. Fighting at a moment's notice among children is a very common outflow of this anger that is constantly present in the heart. Another aspect is that there is always someone to blame for anything bad that happens.

INDEPENDENCE: The heart posture of doing what is desired without being questioned. If questioning comes, then rebellion will follow. Things have to be done “my way” and anyone who gets in the way of that is an enemy. Accountability is rejected and life is lived according to what is best in one's own eyes.

STRIVING: This defines life. Since there is no one that cares, one has to do what it takes to make sure that things will work out for good. One will try at all costs to do anything possible to make life better, even overworking, yet without finding satisfaction in it. Often, identity is tied into what is being strived after. The need for success can even be with an attitude of revenge- “After I have succeeded then those who have rejected me will turn back to me and I’ll get them back!” One's value is attached to the accumulation of what he or she has.

ESCAPE: Pain in the heart leaves it continually unsatisfied. Therefore the heart seeks satisfaction in things that give it temporary value or identity- things like sports, drugs, sex, and alcohol. At times the false world created by the heart can be more real than the painful one that is a reality, and thus the false reality is sought after at all costs and at all times. In the West, entertainment, video games, pornography and the internet become some of the favorite modes of escaping reality in addition to the ones listed above.

The picture above is the family that we work with here at New Hope called Samuel Family.

The Heart of an Orphan- Part 2

2009-02-06T22:15:00.000-08:00

When I first began working among orphans I was surprised at how different it was from what I expected. The media of the 80's had made me think that all African children had large bellies, suffered badly from malnourishment, and were for the most part quite miserable. Yet when I came to East Africa, I found quite the opposite. Though you can find destitute situations of impoverishment, most of the orphans I was around in the countries of Zambia, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda were incredibly happy children. I was stunned at how children who had known such tragedy could yet have such joy in life. Yet even in this I was quite deceived.

It was only after living among orphans here in Uganda that my eyes were opened up to the reality of the destitute state that many orphans carry around in their hearts. For many, the joyful external is a mask of the deeper pain of the heart, and for others, the joy is only momentary, giving way to a gloom that reveals the isolation of the heart. It was Paul Kusuubira who put flesh on this for me in his description of the heart of an orphan, drawn from his own experience and journey to healing in the Gospel.

I'm going to post half of his description in this post and half in the next. Let me add though, the orphan heart or the orphan "spirit" is simply a description of the human heart that we are all born with but which is drawn out in the specific context that orphans face. You will find many of these descriptions in the Apostle Paul's descriptions of the flesh throughout the New Testament revealing the connection to the sinful human heart, and if you have eyes to see you might see these same things at work in your own heart and life regardless of whether you are a physical or spiritual orphan. These are also helpful to understand why many fatherless children act or respond as they do to your attempts to love them or move into a heart relationship with them. I'd love some feedback here, so please feel free to interact.

ABANDONMENT: The deep feeling of having no one to turn to for answers or help. One has to make his own way because those who would help are not there. Even when people are there, they cannot be trusted because they will probably leave, too.

LONELINESS: The loss of identity in family leaves the feeling of being out of place and isolated, even when surrounded by people. The preference is to be alone in a self made “cocoon” rather than to be involved with people. The feeling of loneliness is often both hated and enjoyed. It is hated because the heart longs to be free to relate and enjoy relationships, but is enjoyed when it is able to gain sympathy from people without the tie of strong relationship. Self-protection is at the heart of this.

REJECTION: The feeling of being unwanted by people. One feels like a misfortune whose presence is a burden for those around you. The thought is, “Why should I even exist if I’m an inconvenience to others?”

HOPELESSNESS: Because the present is so unstable, one cannot even imagine what the future will hold. There are no dreams. Life becomes a puzzle of trying to put pieces together again to make sense out of life. One just exists with no sense of purpose or meaning.

WORTHLESSNESS: A conviction that says I am of no value. If a person comes who seeks to bring value to you or to appreciate you, it is denied and the person rejected.

LOSS OF IDENTITY: Tied into worthlessness. In the African culture people are identified by their fathers. Children are a priority because a man’s name and identity is continued in them. To die without children is to “perish”. On the other side, to lose a father is to lose the one where that identity is found. “Who is his Dad?” is asked of every child. If the father has died the reply is, “He’s just an orphan.” A result of this loss of identity is that one cannot identity himself with anyone (especially male figures who can easily betray). One can not lift his or her head- it stays “down” because the father, the source of identity, has died.

SADNESS: Tied into loneliness and the outflow of the hurt in the heart. Happiness can come for a moment, but it always gives way to the feeling of sadness. Even in the midst of a conversation, one's entire demeanour can suddenly change as the heart reconnects with its deep sadness. It is unexplainable by the person feeling sad, but it is the fruit of pain. It can also be a tool to keep people around to bring comfort, but without the commitment of relationship.

MISTRUST: It is hard to believe and trust what people say and do. Because one is alone, without value, and abandoned, one can have no confidence that people are truly there to help or that they are not trying to use him or her for their own benefit. The heart will ride out the relationship to the point of what one can get, but it is always ready to leave as soon as there is reason to suspect any kind of rejection. The heart is careful to select who it will allow to enter into its sphere. It operates in comfort zones.

HIDING: This is both physical and emotional whereby one does not really want to talk about real things, but it is free to talk about things surrounding the real issue, careful to make sure no access is given to the real issue. Authority figures are suspect and kept away because of the fear of experiencing the pain they might cause. Any correction means rejection and the heart retreats away from the corrector. Accountability is very difficult to accept, as the true problem is never dealt with, only surface problems.

SUPERFICIALITY: Tied into hiding, it becomes the guard of all relationships. One can never know the true heart as it is guarded and protected. Relationship is kept at a distance for fear that the true heart will be revealed. When the heart is pursued intentionally, the person will end it all together.

MANIPULATION: Using the situation one is in to convince people to give you what you want. Emotions, sadness, loneliness, all are used for the advantage of the suffering one. Life is a drama where acting becomes the key to gain.

DECEIT: Constant lies are told to make sure that the heart remains safe and protected. Truth will hurt and pain is to be avoided at all costs. The memory becomes selective and only exposes what will provide safety in the situation.

FEAR: This defines life. Anything that has the potential of causing pain or the memory of pain is to be fearfully avoided. Fear of what “could be” or “could happen” is always on the mind. It pushes the heart to pursue safety at all costs. Obedience does not flow out of what is good for me or out of love for the person asking, but because of the fear of what could happen if I fail to obey.

Sacrificing Children to Molech, Witchdoctors, and the Spirits

2009-01-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

When I was in graduate school at Wheaton College, I took a class on Ancient Near Eastern History with my friend and professor Dr. John H. Walton. Dr. Walton often had us do research projects on the cultural backgrounds behind various Old Testament passages. Since I was moving toward ministry to orphans in Uganda, I tried to dig into as many passages dealing with orphans or children in the light of the world of the Ancient Near East. During that time I had come across the warning in quite a few passages about not offering up your children to Molech. The texts seemed plain to me in that they were warning against the age-old practice of sacrificing children, in this context to a god named Molech who especially demanded this ritual as a part of his worship. However, instead, I found quite a few authors arguing against this interpretation, making a case instead that it had more to do with “dedicating” children than actually sacrificing them. The same argument was given for the texts that speak about passing children through fire. Ultimately, then (as it seemed to me), these cultures were not so barbaric as to sacrifice children in any sense that would have to do with killing them. I mean, how could such a barbaric practice be found among “civilized” cultures? And yet it still does today.

I was caught off guard and quite alarmed a few years ago when I found out what all of the buzz was around New Hope. I had wondered why we were told that kids could no longer walk home alone, but had to be in groups and with older kids present. Evidently a new shrine was being dedicated somewhere in our vicinity (a shrine is a place where worship of spirits/ancestors takes place), and the witchdoctor had demanded that in order for it to be dedicated it had to have five human children skulls present (my wife remembers it as ten). This all hit a bit closer to home when a friend of ours who lives in the village had to run off one of his ex-employees who was hanging around his farm, trying to entice a few of the local children to walk home with him. He knew that this man was a part of the cult who was dedicating the shrine. Since the farm is only about a mile from us, it put all of us with small children on red-alert. Eventually the police got involved and to my understanding the shrine was never dedicated, but it did open up to me the stark reality of child-sacrifice that is still alive and well here in Uganda.

A few years ago I sat and talked with a couple of children’s workers from the Rakai area of Uganda. I had heard about Rakai from the Dangers, who to this day have some interesting stories about the times they have stayed in that place. What I heard from these children’s workers, though, really stunned me. Rakai is on the border of a lake (I’m forgetting the name). Now, here in Uganda, bodies of water are feared and reverenced as places where spirits dwell, sacred places if you will. Certain rituals are practiced by multitudes of people who want to both appease the spirits and while binding themselves to fear are attempting to get free from it. Well, these workers sat and told my wife and I an interesting fact: there are no (or few) abandoned babies in Rakai. Interesting, I thought. But it was the “why” that hit me square in the eyes: because they are all thrown into the lake. There is a serious spiritual/demonic bondage in that place unveiled in the reality of child sacrifice that is occurring there up to this day.

Over the last couple of months the topic of child-sacrifice has been popping up more and more in the news. I picked up a newspaper in Kampala (pictured above) with the headline, “Ritual Murder: Man Sacrifices Nephew for Shs50,000” (which is around $30). It’s been gaining press because it seems that of late it is happening on a wider scale within country. A good friend of ours had a serious scare when her nephew wandered off and was not seen again for a week. We were all praying against abduction, and it turned out that it was not. But the scare is all over the place.
The closest to home that this thing has hit has to do with the mother of our friend Fiona. Jaja (grandma), as we call her, has been keeping a young boy (11) and girl (13) to help her with her daily chores for survival (i.e. fetching water, digging in her small garden, etc.). Well, the week before Christmas, a neighbor man just showed up and took the children off with him to Kampala. No word about where or for how long, they were just simply gone one day. This put Jaja into serious concern. When the children had not returned after a week, the police were brought into the situation and her neighbor (who is another close friend of mine) Kibeti found himself going back and forth to the police for Jaja. Then suddenly the man showed up back here in the village, but without the kids. That was enough for the police who quickly told the man to go back to the city and to return with the children. He did, and then he was promptly arrested.

Though it does not appear that anything serious happened to the children (I only say that because of external appearances, not because of medical exams or their own testimony as of yet), what the man did had caused an uproar in the village around Jaja. With the man in prison and facing serious charges, his father decided to step in. The man’s father lives a bit of a distance from Jaja, but he journeyed to her house with one purpose in mind- scare Jaja into dropping charges against his son. God be praised that Kibeti “happened” to come up at just the time that this old man was yelling and threatening Jaja with serious words here in this culture. You see, the man is a witchdoctor and was threatening with statements like, “I can kill you, just like that. I just speak and things happen. If you don’t drop this right now, I will be against you. In fact, you must pay me the 200,000USh I have had to pay because of my son.” He then began chasing Jaja around her house! Kibeti told me that it took everything within him to stop from tearing the man’s head off!

But this is where I stand as a proud father, so proud of Kibeti- he never backed down in the face of serious threat of witchcraft. FEAR is such a controller here, and no one wields it better than a witchdoctor. In fact, as Kibeti moved around the village to find witnesses who would testify against the witchdoctor, no one would dare speak a word unless the man was already in prison. Kibeti and his wife stood alone, though, sure of the truth of Jesus authority in heaven and ON EARTH, refusing to allow the fear to stop their defense of the widow Jaja and the fatherless children who had been taken advantage of. They testified together and the witchdoctor now stands to be arrested (if they can find him!).

Yes, child-sacrifice is alive and well here in Uganda, but so are the continued injustices against helpless widows and fatherless children. In a way, they are all related. Pray for the church here to stand in the face of the evil powers that continue to destroy lives. Pray for freedom from fear and a boldness that can only come from truly seeing Jesus and basking in the truth of the Gospel that alone can free from fear- both fear of death and fear of Satan. Pray that child-sacrifice would end and that it would not be replaced with that sacrifice of another-kind called abortion, which is presently not allowed in this country.

[picture is taken from the Daily Monitor, edition Tuesday, December 30, 2008, No. 366]

An Adopted Son...

2008-12-23T04:11:00.000-08:00

This Christmas we have been reading a little devotional book called Immanuel: Praying the Names of God through the Christmas Season. It has been wonderful to meditate on various aspects of Jesus' name, birth and life as we prepare to really celebrate Christmas as a family here in Uganda. As we've been reading and praying together as a family, one person in particular has really struck me. I mean, the kind of struck where you just sit and think about it for a long time. The person is Joseph.

I wonder what it would be like to hold the very Son of God in my arms. In fact, Joseph would have been the very first person to hold Jesus period, even before Mary herself! When my three sons were born, I was privileged to be the one to catch each of them as they came out into the world, but I had doctors there helping me. Even if I missed or the baby slipped through my hands (they come out slick!), there was an extra pair of hands there with mine. But Joseph was in it alone! Talk about pressure! How do you catch the Son of God? I had nurses there to show me where to cut the cord, and of course they took care of cleaning the babies properly. Joseph did not have any of these things either, and I don't think that men were typically "in" on births in Israel so he could have had very little idea of exactly what to do. Actually, there were midwives who normally handled these things, but cows in a barn are not very good midwives. I can just picture Mary there telling Joseph what to do, Joseph scared to death, tears and laughter. What an emotional experience that must have been, to catch, cut and clean the very Son of God Himself! The humility of God will forever stun me just as greatly as His sovereignty.

One other thought has struck me within the whole Joseph side of things. He bore the public "shame" of taking into his home what was thought to be an "ill-begotten" baby boy. But then he went further than this, Joseph in all reality adopted the Son of God into his own family, he himself becoming the boy's father. Growing up I never quite thought about this, and it never really hit home until I heard a message by my friend Justin on Joseph. But what really amazes me is this- could Joseph have known that it would be through this very Son that he was adopting that he himself would be adopted by God who would become His very own adopted Father? I don't think Joseph could have grasped this apart from faith, but how amazing are God's ways!

I hope you all have a very blessed Christmas as you celebrate the birth of the one who was born to die for the Glory and unveiling of the Father, the one who has promised, "I will not leave you as orphans (Jn. 14:18)" because He Himself has died that we might be justified from sin and adopted into the family of God. We are orphans no more.

A Ugandan Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T05:45:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Thanksgiving! In fact, there are very few holidays that get me as excited as this one. I thoroughly enjoy being with family, hanging around in the kitchen, talking, laughing, and of course expectantly looking forward to the coming feast. I enjoy reflecting with my family on the things the year has held, while also looking ahead to the coming year yet to unfold.

Here in Uganda, it is a bit tough for us to be away from family during this holiday. The weather is hot, Christmas is on the horizon, and there is nothing here to remind us of this distinct mark in the American calendar- no media pounding us with images of turkeys or the coming great shopping deals, no signs hanging in the stores, no music, nothing.

But we do our best to “get into the groove” of the holiday season. We have some fake colored leaves that we scatter on the table, along with a fake pumpkin, and even a funny looking decorative turkey. TURKEY…yum…my favorite. Actually, I can only remember one Thanksgiving when I did not have turkey on Thanksgiving and that was when I was in college and decided to stay at school for the holiday in order to study! I went out with a friend for Giordano’s Pizza hoping they’d be serving a turkey pizza, but to no avail.

So what exactly DO we do here for Thanksgiving? Well, the first thing we have to do is procure some turkeys from the village. Since we were over 30 Westerners (including children) gathering together to celebrate the holiday (yes, we invited our British staff members, after all, weren’t some of the original celebrators of Thanksgiving British?), we needed to find two good sized turkeys, which we found- though I must add that not many villagers raise turkeys so it can be a bit of a hunt. Since I am the only Westerner with a chicken house, we were the privileged ones to house and feed the turkeys, which I promptly named Miles and Standish. Our dog Mountie was so excited about the turkeys that she jumped over the mud wall and under the chicken wire in an attempt to have her own Thanksgiving feast- luckily we heard the turkeys going crazy and out of the cloud of feathers we pulled the dog out of the chicken house.

We set the execution for dawn on Thanksgiving Day- well, actually it was around 8am (after we spent time as a family giving thanks to God for His work in our family over this year- Noah was also thankful for the turkeys God gave us to kill and eat). My boys were as excited as I was (see the picture above), and with the help of our friend Kibeti (and my panga/machete), I got ready to let loose the two fell swoops. The first mighty swing was just a tad bit not mighty enough, because the head came mostly off (I apologize for the details, but this IS Uganda : ). I went executioner style with the second one and it was enough for a clean strike. I promise, both turkeys didn’t feel a thing! We then poured boiling hot water over the turkeys to make plucking them much easier. After a few hours of cleaning and gutting, the turkeys were prepared and in the oven.

What’s so funny to me is that my sisters and I have such DIFFERENT stories about Thanksgiving turkeys. My sister Angie went to the local grocer and bought her nice big turkey. I, of course, had to find and kill my own. And my sister Cara (a vegetarian) lives on a farm where she has a “pet” turkey named Phil who she would NEVER allow to be killed or to be eaten. How VASTLY different experiences!

Anyway, the rest of my story isn’t as exciting. I spent the morning painting my boys’ tree house, followed by an afternoon of “rest” and the holding of the elbow of my wife while she did what she does like no other- COOK. In the late afternoon (after the passing of the mid-day heat) we had an American football gave which was an absolute BLAST (Elisha made his football debut with one catch for a ten yard gain), and then we gathered and feasted on Miles and Standish- who were both a bit tough by the way. But I guess you could call these official “organic” turkeys. The food was wonderful, the people were wonderful, the kids running all around and playing were wonderful, and of course, back at the homestead “Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” and the “Mayflower Voyage” were also wonderful. I hope you all had just as wonderful of a Thanksgiving!

The Heart of an Orphan- Part 1

2008-11-22T22:35:00.000-08:00

When Laura Beth and I first came to New Hope Uganda in 2002, we were a part of the first class of the New Hope Institute of Childcare and Family. Needless to say, the course rocked our worlds (or we wouldn't be working with it as passionately as we are!). One of the most powerful teachings came to us from one of the sons of New Hope named Paul Kusuubira. Paul walked us through his own story growing up as an orphan. He then opened up for us what he called the "orphan heart". It was a teaching that was both eye-opening and heart-rending. Eye-opening because suddenly I realized why the kids I was trying to work with at New Hope met me with such resistance, why they did the things that they did and why they responded like they responded to different situations. I also realized that the kids that I had worked with for four years in Cabrini Green (government housing projects in Chicago) were fatherless (orphans), which was KEY for me looking back and trying to understand the hearts of the kids I had wrestled with for those years.

Paul's teaching was heart-rending because I realized that the heart of an orphan is simply the human heart, the sinful human heart, drawn out in specific ways because of the circumstances of becoming orphaned, and in that my own heart was also revealed. The Gospel became so much bigger to me as a result, something I hope to draw out in the following posts.

But let me begin by simply putting Paul's story here so you can understand a bit better the characteristics of the "orphan heart" that I will post next. Here's Paul's story:

Paul Kusuubira lost his parents during Uganda’s civil war in the 1980’s that shook the country shortly after Idi Amin’s regime collapsed. The bloody war centered 35 miles north of the capital city Kampala in an area that became known as the Luwero killing fields. Paul’s family fled from their home and spent three years hiding in “the bush” . They were constantly running from the warring soldiers, barely able to survive. The family ate whatever food they could gather from the “bush”, mostly wild yams and papaya. They drank any color of water they could find. They slept on leaves under the stars. During the rainy season they huddled together under trees. On occasions when they heard bullets coming from one direction they could walk all day in the opposite direction only to be met by more gunfire. Exhausted and too tired to walk any further, the family would simply lay down on the ground to sleep, prepared to die there if need be.

Through these years God miraculously protected Paul and his family. They all survived the war. It was with great joy that the family was finally able to return to their small home in late 1986. Shockingly, shortly after returning, Paul’s father fell sick and died. As the family was still grieving the loss of the father, the pain still fresh in their hearts, Paul's mother fell sick and died as a result of tuberculosis. The family was in shambles, and as the community gathered around the grave, Paul could only weep and weep. The war had taken his father and mother, leaving Paul, his three brothers, and one sister, all alone to struggle for survival.

As they buried their mother, the realization of what they had become, orphans, quickly set in. Men and women from the community roamed freely through their house, helping themselves to whatever they desired. Cooking pots, plates and clothing disappeared. The children were helpless to do anything. Where could they turn? Who would care for them now? They were rejected by their community, including those they thought were friends of their family. No one wanted the responsibility of caring for more orphans. The title “orphan” became a label that led only to mistreatment and abuse. Food, clothing, and warm blankets, items that their parents had always secured for them, were now hard to come by. Paul gave up all hope for living. He would rather die than live in such despair. He was ten years old.

Immediately after Paul was orphaned, a sense of abandonment overwhelmed him. He felt abandoned by both of his parents, abandoned by those he had always counted on, loved and trusted. He felt helpless and scared. A deep loneliness came into his heart. He felt like he did not belong to anyone anymore, including his brothers and sister. He simply existed as an outcast, a nobody. Rejection by friends and the community left him feeling betrayed. Hopelessness marked his sense of the present and the future. He felt worthless. He had lost his identity, no longer bearing his father’s name but taking on the name mulekwa, which means orphan. The joy that he had known as a boy was turned into extreme sadness, a feeling that went as deep as the pain in his heart from losing his parents.

Paul’s struggles continued to grow as mistrust guided his dealings with people. He felt he could count on no one and that he would only be abandoned, betrayed, or let down by all people. Even when people would approach him to help, he found himself hiding his true self from them out of fear. He would only open up what he thought would help him to get something from people, keeping all relationships on a superficial level. Manipulation and deceit were the keys to getting what he wanted from people. Fear became the defining mark of his life- fear of man, fear of rejection, fear of failure, and fear of death. All of these things led to a deep sense of independence where he would only do things “his way”, refusing to be accountable to anyone and pushing away any who might get in the way of his accomplishing what he wanted.

The survival mentality that was birthed in him led to a deep seated greed, always wanting more and more, never content with what he had. He developed a poverty mindset that told him that he never had enough, even when living in plenty. He would eat each meal as if it was the last he might have for a long time, even when he was promised many meals to follow. He was always striving, striving for acceptance, striving for approval, striving for success, striving for love.

For many orphans in Uganda this striving leads to the practice of witchcraft to try to manipulate the spirits in order to secure success in various areas. Because death for a Ugandan is never by “chance”, but is always caused by someone, feelings of anger and revenge begin to rule the heart as they seek to find out who killed their parents in order to pay them back. This is often done through the local witchdoctors. Escape becomes the main “coping” mechanism for dealing with the pain and struggles, escape through sexual relationships, drugs, alcohol and even sports.

An Institute of Ethnic Reconciliation

2008-11-02T22:51:00.000-08:00

(George Opuche- my Ugandan partner- and myself at a baptism for Kasana Community Church)

The New Hope Institute of Childcare and Family would not typically be thought of as a place where ethnic reconciliation would be on the forefront of happenings. After all, isn’t it a training for people wanting to work with orphans or in the area of family? Yes, it is an Institute for training and equipping people to work in ministry to children and family, but in actuality the training encompasses worldview-confronting, life-changing issues, none bigger than the racial issues that divide nations and tribes and that our unique context presents to us in an “in your face” manner.

Can you (as a Westerner) imagine sitting in a room with three or four other Westerners (perhaps coming from the UK, Canada, or from east and west-coast America? Perhaps across the room sits a Congolese and beside him sits a Kenyan couple. To their right and left are twelve Ugandans, but seven of these come from different tribes within Uganda, some tribes extremely different from the others in terms of cultural beliefs and practices. And to top it off, just to your left sits and man or woman from India! Talk about a cultural melting pot!

One of the most exciting times in the course is right at the beginning when we begin exploring the different worldviews of the cultures represented. The Westerners are typically very shocked at how vastly different their own culture’s beliefs and values differ from one another. The shock becomes even greater as they uncover the vast differences in beliefs and values from one African country to the next, and then from tribe to tribe within the same country! You find Westerners saying of Africans, “You all really believe that?!?" And then the Africans say of the Westerners, “You are really believe that?!?" And all stand with gaping mouths at the vast difference of belief systems in an Indian context! And what is also quite shocking is to look at how each of the Christian cultures have been greatly influenced by the “secular” cultures they are a part of. Wow! The question then becomes, “So, who’s right?” Which “Christian” culture has it right? The obvious answer is no one, and it gets to be our joy together to work towards building a Biblical worldview that transcends culture, confronts “fallen” culture, and unites together in “redeemed” cultures that together unveil the beauty of the Kingdom of God. That’s what our little 20 week course is all about! And you thought it was just a course on “how to” work with orphans : )

Now to the point of this article- after we have explored the above, which is always a very humbling process, we then take a look at how we as cultures view each other. Talk about opening a can! It is here that the roots of “racism” or “ethnocentrism” really come out. Americans and British folk view each other vastly different then one might expect, and Ugandans from various tribes still carry much pain and anger towards others because of past atrocities committed against one another. But when one begins talking about Westerners views of Africa, and then Africans view of the West, oh my! Though of course, the true pain comes out when Africans talk about what they have been told about the West and Westerners in general. Without taking the time to explore this here, let me sum up what typically is presented as being passed on by media, family, and parents, by saying that at the core of many Ugandans is the belief that ultimately all problems in Uganda are a result of the West.

The first time we “uncovered” this fact in the Institute, as I stood and read on the board all that the Ugandans had written there about what they have been told or believed about the West, I wanted to run and hide in a hole somewhere! Though not all of what was stated was true, there were yet many that were true! I found myself standing before the group and simply repenting for the things that the West HAS done here in Uganda. Tears flowed from a few and it was obvious that these issues were very deep for many and that healing was coming. I should also note that when we asked the Ugandans what they thought of all that was written on the board, one young man spoke up, "We can't blame the West for all of our problems! We need to own our own failures and mistakes!" Amazing.

After that class time ended, one of our students asked to talk with my wife and I privately. She confessed to us that she had heard this and that and that she had vowed never to step foot in our home and never to eat in our presence! We were shocked. We were shocked because we had always thought of this woman as a friend. We enjoyed being around her and always had warm greetings from her, or so we thought. We forgave her and after time praying together she promised that she would begin to be a regular visitor to our home. And you know what- she has been, and to this day she is one of our closest friends and a dear “daughter” to our family.

One final note- I have been privileged to serve together with two other men who also reveal to me the amazing beauty of ethnic reconciliation that is found in the Gospel alone. George Opuche is my Ugandan partner. He comes from eastern Uganda from the Soroti area. Interestingly, when New Hope began as a ministry, it was in response to the orphans left as a result of the current president’s bush war with the former president, Obote in the 80’s. Many of the soldiers that fought for Obote were from the Soroti area. How beautiful to have not only George, but others from Soroti whose people were a part of the killing that took place in this area, now here as agents of healing and ministry to the children of this area (now orphans as a result of AIDS). My Indian partner also represents reconciliation, as typically Indians are not “liked” here in Uganda. Many of the store and business owners in this country are Indian, and for the most part they are not thought of well here. My partner is actually the first Indian Christian most Ugandans have ever met! They are amazed that he is here NOT to make money, but to serve Uganda and the children and families here at New Hope.

What a blessed privilege it is to serve here in the beauty of such a multi-ethnic community that truly is a picture of the throne room of God where men and women from every tongue, tribe, language, and nation will worship together forever and ever! Glory to the Lamb that was slain who has brought about (and is bringing about) such great and beautiful reconciliation of the nations and cultures of this fallen and broken world!

Emergency Surgery at a Bush Hospital!

2008-10-15T23:54:00.000-07:00

This story took place in the lives of two of our Institute students, both from the Chicago area. It's a GREAT story and gives good insight into not only the workings of a village hospital, but also God's sovereign purposes in his orchestrating of events and lives. This story is (of course) part of a much bigger story of God's work in the lives of these two. Enjoy.

A few days ago, we woke up with some excitement to celebrate our very first Uganda Independence Day. The date was 10/09/08 a day that stands out for another significant reason. However, neither of these reasons are the reason why this day will forever be engrained in my heart as a day that I will remember.
The day started out with some celebrations. I played in a football match and we had the special treat of being able to watch baby Hope (one of the orphaned babies). However, in the afternoon Tiziana began to experience some sharp stomach pains, which she suspected to be due to constipation, a longstanding problem. Yet even after a bowel movement, the pain continued. This caused her major concern, especially due to the abnormality of her pains, which seemed to be ongoing but spike into sharp almost unbearable pains. Later in the evening, her stomach began to swell in the abdomen and we decided we needed to have New Hope’s nurse evaluate Tiziana. After the visit we had planned to try to wait out the night and go to the clinic in the morning for some testing, but when we arrived home, her stomach would not allow the wait and we immediately picked up the nurse and rushed to the hospital. On the way, her pains increased to the point of screams and cries. It was as if the pain was thwarting her body and could only be alleviated by her screams for a moment. Our cries to Jesus began to match the intensity of hers as we called upon Him name.
When we arrived at Kiwoko Hospital, it was 11:15pm just after the outpatient care had closed. Unfortunately, there was no real system for emergency care so we ended up being put in the female ward of the hospital and the nurses seemed to be unprepared to handle the urgency of the situation. As Tiziana lay on the hospital, vomiting from the intensity of the pains, the doctor was not in sight and I continued to helplessly watch the minutes pass praying with faith that Jesus was with us but struggling to see Him. After nearly an hour, I went and found the doctor busy with another patient in serious condition, and explained the urgency of the situation to him and that we had been waiting already over and hour. Thankfully, he arrived in about 15 minutes and began to take assessment of her condition. Before he could even talk to Tiziana, he began an IV and injected pain medicine to calm her down. After some assessment and evaluation he realized that he needed to consult the surgeon who is one of the senior staff and by now it was about 2am. The surgeon came in and took her to have and X-ray and CAT scan done to see what they could find. In the meantime, they sent me back to retrieve the X-ray results of the barium enema that we had done in August. So I brought them back to the doctor who had just finished his tests. He found so much gas inside her large intestine and some other abnormalities. However, when he saw the barium enema X-rays he saw another piece in the puzzle, which was a genetically elongated large intestine. She had a significant extra length large intestine which he suspected could be twisted, but he still considered that a big enema flush would work even if it was slightly twisted. So the doctors went back home and the nurses began to carry out the enema. In about a half hour the enema began and the second flush of the enema brought an unwelcome sign of internal trauma. Blood began to pour out of her bowel and my heart sank as the bridge of hope we received from the doctors (regarding the enema) gave way and we sensed the desperation of that moment.
When the nurses saw the blood coming from her bowel, one of them left to go and find the doctor, while the other stayed behind. My mind was racing and I found myself crying out to Jesus, “Lord, we desperately need you right now. Please come and show us that you are with us.” Not knowing what to do, I was moving back and forth from my wife, to the nurse to ask the whereabouts of the doctor, to the door awaiting his coming. The minutes dragged by and I felt as if I might see my wife bleed to death before my eyes. The nurse arrived back and I was awaiting the doctor behind her when she told me that the doctor did not answer to her knocks. My frustration arose higher as I exclaimed, “What do you mean he doesn’t answer? Go back and knock louder! Take me with you and I will make sure he comes out because this is an emergency!” The nurse refused to allow me to go with her, but left again to find him. Tiziana continued to lose blood and I again felt so helpless. However, I noticed the peace that she had. She was not panicking, but had certain calmness about her countenance. This gave me some comfort, but I paced and checked my watch noting that 45 minutes had gone since she started loosing blood and it was nearing 4am. Then the nurse returned and again was without the doctor. By now I was sensing the frustration and anger swelling up within me. It was difficult because I wanted to communicate the absolute urgency of the situation to them but not lose control and make the situation worse. Finally, I decided that I was going to go back to New Hope and pick up Keith McFarland to rush her to Kampala (capital 2 hours away), giving the nurses and ultimatum that I would take my wife out of there to get help if they could not help her. On the way back, I was continuing to pray asking the Lord to bring his peace to us in this trouble.
We arrived at the hospital to find the doctor at the edge of the bed as he had seen the blood and contemplated a decision. The momentary relief I had in finding him there crumbled as I saw him look down as he exhaled the internal pressure of the situation shaking his head with deep concern. Then he looked up to find us and told us of the weighty decision we now had before us. He told us that the worst-case scenario was now upon us as her large intestine had literally twisted itself forming a “kink” inside her body. The incredible pain and pressure was a result of this kink which could let nothing in or out including large amount of gas and stool which was lodged insider her. Anyone who has ever had gas pain or indigestion has knows only a fraction of what was happening inside because of a temporary struggle for the gas to move through the system. However, her intestine had begun to expand and could be visibly seen as her stomach swelled. The doctor told us that we would risk her bowel bursting if we try to make it to one of the large hospitals in Kampala recommending that we stay and have the operation immediately under his care at Kiwoko Hospital. Now, Kiwoko is that it is a village hospital near New Hope, which was started by a Christian doctor from Northern Ireland at the same time as New Hope in response to the war in the late ’80. Admittedly, I was concerned about having the surgery mostly because of how little we knew about the abilities of the hospital. Our experience at the beginning with the nursing staff was upsetting, but the surgeon’s presence did much to reassure us.
In lieu of our urgent decision, I asked the doctor if we could pray, thinking that he was going to step out and allow us to pray, but without hesitation the doctor grabbed her hand and began to take us directly before the throne of God as he pleaded for the Lord to give us wisdom and he entrusted himself and her to God. The peace that followed was a peace that can only be described as the peace surpasses or is beyond all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). With hearts set at ease, we were ready to go for surgery. Tiziana was full of faith and trust in God knowing that she was in the caring arms of her Father. She calmed my own heart, which was struggling with the possibility of losing her. She wiped away my tears and told me not to cry as she pointed me to trust Jesus. She said, “He is with me” and “There is no reason to fear,” words, which I knew, were from God’s Holy Spirit, which dwells in her. The Holy Spirit is the comforter and we knew no greater comfort than that which he brought us (John 14:16). It was as if at that moment, the Lord was answering our questions of his purposes in this and reminding us that this has not caught him off guard, but that He had ordained this to come at this time and with the staff of this hospital. We rested in him and I remember releasing my wife not into the care of the physicians, but into the care of the “Great Physician” trusting that come what may, he was with us.
The surgery was estimated to take about 1-½ hours. The doctor explained that the procedure was to take out the twisted section (turned out to be over 2 ft.) and sew together the two ends of the large intestine. In the waiting room, time trickled by as I continued to check my watch awaiting news. As I waited, my thoughts went back to home as I realized that in all of commotion we were experiencing, back home our parents remained oblivious. Again, I was reminded that He was with us as I sent word back home and I was reassured that they were with us and calling more people to pray. The time passed by and when the surgeon came out I was trying to read his face before his words came and he showed little emotion. Then he assured me with the wonderful words, “Your wife is fine”. My soul was stirred to worship God who had worked his miraculous power to reveal himself in our lives here. Today as I write this, I am still in awe of the power and complexity with which God orchestrated this event.
God brought us to Uganda to this little village hospital to unleash his wisdom to this world, which boasts of its great medical advances. God brought us to a Christian surgeon and missionary from Germany who had performed these surgeries in his training. God brought us to Kampala in August to have a barium enema test done which would be a key factor in the doctor diagnosing the problem. God put it in the heart of our friends to lend us the car for the night “in case” we needed to go to the hospital. God helped me find the keys to the house in the middle of the night when I returned for the barium enema X-rays, and had dropped it on the ground. God brought a nurse from Alaska who worked in post operation surgery on a short-term trip to care for Tiziana in the hospital and watch for infection. God put it on the heart of an anonymous person to pay our bill in full. God brought a wonderful support of people to care for us with food for me and care for her through those days in the hospital. God is intimately involved in our lives we know with deeper conviction that “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). Today she is recovering and gaining more and more strength. I can say with all my heart, “Lord, thank you for your wonderful work on our behalf, and not to us, but to Your Name be the glory”.

If you would like to see more about Kiwoko Hospital you can look at their website:
http://www.fokh.org.uk/kiwoko.htm

Update on Curse, Death and a Stolen Bicycle...

2008-10-05T05:24:00.000-07:00

As David and Dennis arrived at Wandera's place in the afternoon on Wednesday, it was obvious that the family was still a wreck. Wandera's father, as well as three of his sisters were still at the home, all asking the same question- "Why?"

The day before Wandera and his sisters gathered around the father to ask him why this thing was happening, not just to Wandera, but the the family as a whole. You see, not only had the baby and his own daughter died, but the same type of death was happening throughout the family. His father, though old, has young children, a few who within the past few years have died a similar death. They wanted to know what the father had done to bring this curse on their family. His father dodged the questions. Wandera's wife had enough of THIS family and had decided to leave Wandera for good, figuring it would be better to be back in her parents' house then to watch her other children die a similar death over the years to come. That is when our guys came and found the family sitting around Wandera's house.

The family greeted David and Dennis very warmly, receiving them as true guests. They sat around and talked for some time before the two began asking specific questions related to the death and the family. After some time, the true question surfaced once again- WHY? And out came all that I wrote above. Wandera admitted that his wife had been involved in witchcraft, and that at first things seemed to get better, but now it had come to this- death.

As David and Dennis spoke the truth of the Gospel to them, that Jesus died to set them free from sin, free from fear of death, and free from slavery to Satan, they all listened very attentively. They spoke of the spiral of witchcraft and the ensnarement it brings, the deception that holds its powerful sway over people and the bondage that results. They spoke of the hope that only comes through Jesus, and many other words of truth. Then they prayed for the family, prayed over the house, and prayed for the Spirit of God to bring them to understand their words. The wife of Wandera was so moved by the men and their "talk" that she decided not to leave, and told them that she would remain with the family now that she felt some hope.

Wandera has yet to turn to follow Jesus, but he is being pursued, he and his family. We were able to raise enough money to buy him a new bicycle so that he doesn't have to walk the almost 4 miles to work each day. He was ecstatic! Please continue to pray for this young man and his family, that the power of the Gospel would transform their lives and set them free from the bondage to sin, death, and Satan that keeps them in a constant state of fear.

Smilebox

2008-10-03T02:59:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

This was just an experiment from a card LB made for her Mom. Good pics of the fam though! Enjoy.

Curse, Death and a Stolen Bicycle

2008-09-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

One of the things that is a powerful controller here in Uganda is the FEAR of being cursed. Of course, FEAR is always at the heart/root of fallen worldview and culture, it's just how that fear is played out that differentiates one culture from another. Satan is crafty and tends to root fear so deeply within a worldview that it is often unnoticed and the power of its control in maintained with little effort. Both Islam and Catholicism maintain much syncretism within their respective religions, keeping close ties to the culture of witchcraft and practice.

With that background, I want to introduce you to my friend Wandera. Wandera has been working at NHICF since we first came in 2002 to go through the Institute. He is a groundskeeper, faithful, steady, and quite a humble young man. He must be around 27 years old, married with three kids. I can go some time without seeing him, so when I passed him on Friday, I stopped to ask him how he's doing. "Uncle, not good" was his response. He went on to tell me that his bicycle had been stolen while he had been at the hospital. Feeling sad for him, since a bike is a big deal, especially when you have to come 4 miles to work, I told him that if he saved a certain amount of money toward the bike, I'd help with the rest. He was very excited.

This past week I taught on Suffering and the Gospel, laying both foundation for suffering, the Biblical view of suffering, and practical response to suffering (of course, this topic is NEVER taught disconnected from HEART- as there was MUCH suffering represented in our classroom). I say that because it's what came next that really stunned me. On Saturday, Wandera was at my house, but with a graven face. He said, "Uncle, my baby died." My mind immediately shot back to my 30th birthday when I was greeted with similar words from a friend here. I found myself responding the same way I had then, "Was it malaria?" Only this time, it was not- he didn't know what it was. He said she was fine the day before, started getting sick in the night, and then in the morning she was jerking (I'm guessing convulsing). Half way to the hospital she died. They turned around and went back home.

Now, as he stood before me, he was asking for around $20 as a loan so that he could have a grave dug and cemented inside to bury his 3 year old little girl (his other children are 4 and 6). I asked if he was going to buy a coffin, but he said that it was too much money. Quite moved, and also fresh from the days of discussion on entering into suffering, I knelt down, held his hand and just prayed for him. As I prayed, he began to weep- which is not normal for this culture, and I could sense my Father wrapping His arms around Wandera. After I finished praying I was able to give him (not loan him) around $55 to meet the different expenses for doing a "proper" burial.

The burial was set for the next day, Sunday, at 2 sharp. Church, which began at 10:30, ran a bit later than usual and we were out at 1:15. I scarfed down some food and heading over to the Institute where my car was packed out with people going with me to the burial. Since burials are about the only thing that even remotely begin on time, I hightailed it out to the village and we arrived at Wandera's mud house just after 2pm. Of course, the last leg of the journey found the road becoming a path, so I pulled my car into someone's house and got permission to leave it there as we walked the path to Wandera's.

As is customary, upon arrival, we all packed into the four room house. The women were all sitting on mats around the "living room". The wailing came and went in waves. The center piece of the room was a small mattress and lying on the mattress, dressed in a cute blue dress, was the little girl. She was beautiful. I immediately thought of my little Noah (3 years old) and what it would be like to lose him so suddenly. We stood around for a few minutes before exiting the house. The body was then placed in the small wooden coffin and carried to the place of burial.

Wandera is Catholic, and I had never been to a Catholic burial before, so I did not know what to expect. The crowd of gathered villagers all moved to the site (around 100 men and women), and the singing began. One song said, "We are grieving, Holy Mother pray for us". The priest was there and conducted the ceremony, which consisted of his reading and people's responses intertwined with songs. At one point I asked one of my friends with me what he was saying and he responded, "That God has killed this baby. And that they had all better be ready because they don't know when their time will come." Regardless of what your view is of God's sovereignty over death (which I agree with), those are NOT words of comfort to be spoken in the midst of such fresh loss, nor are they the best motivators for someone to truly turn to God. Of course, we had just been talking about this in the Institute!

After the coffin was placed inside the ground and the cement was mixed (and boy did I get hit with a good splash of cement, right on the shirt and pants- of course there was an obvious sound of disapproval from those around), a cross was placed into the wet cement. As everyone turned to "jet" away (remember, the cultural belief is that if you are the last one to leave, the spirit of the deceased might attach itself to you), I spotted Wandera walking back by himself. I went up and put my arm around him, walking back with him. As we talked, he was still stunned at how suddenly the girl had died.

It was only after that conversation that I found out that when his bike was stolen from the hospital, he was there with his niece- who had been abandoned to his house by the father. She died a few days later. So first the bike, then the death of the niece, and now the death of his little girl quite suddenly. Without saying it, I knew what he was thinking- witchcraft. You see, here, nothing just "happens". Everything has a cause, and something like this was sure pointing to the fact that someone is against him.

I wish I had a happy ending to the story. I don't. I gave him the week off of work to just be with his family, and on Wednesday two of our students (both Ugandan) are going to his house to try to bring him REAL comfort, that which only comes through the Gospel and the hope found therein. Please pray for Wandera and for others here who are bound in fear to Satan and witchcraft. Pray that he may come to know the One who took the curse for him and who alone can set him free from fear of death and Satan. Just a tidbit from the "other side" of life and ministry here. And just so you know, as a class we are planning to buy him a bike.

Your Heavenly Father Feeds Them...

2008-09-22T01:26:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was up just before sunrise. The power was on, which meant that I was able to make coffee for an extra early morning treat! I opened the shutters next to our table so that I could watch the sun rise as I spent time with my Heavenly Father. I was reading in the Sermon on the Mount, and interestingly, as I read I kept hearing "flapping" just outside of the window. As I looked up watchfully, sure enough, a multitude of birds were swooping down from the trees all around where they were perched, watching. I was further amazed as I rose and walked to the window, beholding the object of the birds excitement: white ants.

It's an amazing site to behold on the day that the white ants come up from the ground in droves. These are ants with wings, sent out to begin new colonies, but in our Father's great wisdom they are also sent out as dessert for the birds. As the ants leave their holes, they fly in every direction, thus making quite a fun sport for the birds! It was awesome to watch one ant flying through the air, tracking him with my eyes, and then suddenly...GONE! Man can birds hunt!

As I turned my thoughts to Matthew 6, I knew I was watching a living example of my Father's incredible provision for the birds- and of course, I had to ask myself, "Am I not of more value then they are?" It was at that moment that my smile turned into utter laughter. Just to the right of where I was watching the birds feasting on white ants, there was one of the young children from Jonathan Family (the family group just below our house), grabbing the ants out of the air and popping them into his mouth! Yes, my Father not only feeds the birds, but He feeds His children as well!

Actually, when the white ants come out, it is feasting time for almost everyone. Once I sat on the ground to help some old women who were piling the ants still on the ground into baskets for later eating. And actually, they aren't too bad. I mean, they are not my first choice for flavor, but they're not bad- well, if you take the wings off before you pop them into your mouth! Or you can roast them and add some salt. Either way, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all (food, clothing, etc.). But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Yes, even white ants.

The Relatives are Here to STAY!

2008-07-26T04:04:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up, I loved going to visit our relatives. Whether heading to Ohio or Florida, I always looked forward to the trip, to sleeping on cots, to just being with family. Of course, after about a week, everyone’s ready for the time to come to an end. We were always ready to get back to our own house, and I’m sure our relatives were ready to get rid of us!

Here in Uganda things work quite a bit differently. When relatives come for a visit, there is often no planning for the event. One day you come home to find the house full of people, often up to ten or more relatives, depending on the number of children brought along for the “visit.” They are simply “there” with no plan as to when they’ll be going, and of course, it would be rude to ask. Your job is to provide food, medical care, and whatever else might be needed during the stay. Sleeping arrangements are quite interesting, since most houses typically consist of one or two (at the most!) bedrooms, a sitting room, and then an outside kitchen. I’m not quite sure how people sleep, though I would assume quite a few sleep on mats on the floor. Of course, most visits do eventually come to an end, and the house gets back to normal.

It was a different situation for my friend Kibeti. A few nights ago, he arrived home to find that his sister, her husband, and two kids had arrived from a long journey. Only they had not come for a visit, they had ARRIVED. Suddenly, memories of “Uncle Buck” (John Candy) come flooding back to me. I wonder how it went. “Oh, hello my sister. It’s great to see you.” “Yes my brother, we are here.” “Yes, you are here.” “Yes.” “You are welcome.” “Thank-you.” “How is there?” “There is not fine. There is no food and the water has been hard to get.” “Oh, I am sorry.” “So, we are here.” “Yes, you are here.” And so it ends. You know exactly what has been said, “We are here without plans of going back. Glad we can stay with you.”

Unfortunately for Kibeti, his other sister has already been staying with him in their two room house, along with his own wife and two children. Now it’s nine people in a house about the size of most Americans’ living room. There is one up-side to things, though. Kibeti has been adding on to his house, a third bedroom, so his sister can have her own room and so he and his wife can sleep alone! He’s been working on this project for around six months now, building slowly by slowly, ten or fifteen dollars a month going into the project. Actually, Kibeti just sold his gigantic female pig (not long ago she produced 13 piglets!) in exchange for a smaller pig and some money- just enough to finish the room so his sister could move in. It is that money that Kibeti had in his pocket (over two-month’s wage for him!) when his sister and family found him.

I asked him what he was going to do. He said, “You know, God has blessed me in that my sister found me with money in my pocket. I will find for her a room to rent and pay three months rent, and I will buy for her cooking pans, plates, cups, and a hoe and slasher so they will be able to find some jobs and earn some money.” He wasn’t complaining, though now I’m not sure how long it will be for him to finally finish that room. The words of I Timothy 5:8 hit me hard, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Talk about the need for living out the Gospel! In the West, we have little idea what this verse really means or how to live it out. What would you have done in Kibeti’s place? How can you live out this verse in your own context?

Celebrating 20 Years of Family!

2008-07-17T00:19:00.000-07:00

Godfrey stepped off the taxi and began walking up the familiar drive that leads into New Hope Uganda’s Kasana Children’s Center. A smile lit up his face as he beheld the giant “Welcome Home” banner that stretched over the road just before the gate leading into New Hope. Uncle Tony, Godfrey’s former principal and a Senior Leader at New Hope, rose quickly from the welcome station and hurried to meet Godfrey, embracing him with a warm hug. Godfrey was home.

Godfrey is a son of New Hope. He has been in and out of the family over the past few years for many different reasons, the latest being continual drug use. He has been living in Kampala at a Christian run drug rehabilitation center and has been doing wonderfully, most clearly seen in his renewed heart for God that previously had only been seen in short flashes. Godfrey, along with a few hundred of his brothers and sisters who also grew up at New Hope, returned home to celebrate 20 years of New Hope family. The weekend celebration rejoined and rekindled relationships of all sorts including many who had not seen each other in more than 10 years! And how exciting to find many of those who have been sons and daughters of New Hope coming with their sons and daughters, grandkids of the ministry!

It was exciting to hear the testimonies of those who have been living “outside” for so many years, to hear of God’s faithfulness to all as well as His relentless pursuit of those who left New Hope in a “bad” way, to hear of the fruit that is being born through those who at one time were considered “hopeless” by their families and community, to see the reach of these men and women throughout Uganda and even into Rwanda, and to hear the sons and daughters exhorting their young “brothers and sisters” who are currently at New Hope to follow their true Father and to accept the family that they have here. Powerful.

Isaiah 60:4 came alive for all of us- in fact, Laura Beth could not read it without crying throughout the weekend! It says, "Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar and your daughters shall be carried on the arm."

The weekend was also a fun time together, as Saturday was filled with foot races, sack races, races with bottles on the head, bike races, and football (soccer) matches (of course, the current kids defeated the “old boys” as well as the staff!). One of the highlights was Saturday night at the bonfire when those who had returned gave testimonies about their lives and their time at New Hope, honoring their fathers (Uncle Jay Dangers and Uncle Jonnes Bakimi) and giving Glory to God. Sunday was our day of Thanksgiving, complete with the family march around the circle with banners flying and branches waving, and then a five hour church service filled with singing, thanksgiving, and testimonies! Yes…5 hours! (and I wasn’t even tired afterwards! Yes, I’m becoming Ugandan : ). We then had a gigantic community meal for the over 1,500 people present! You should have seen the lines for the food!
Mukama Awebwe Ekitibwa (To God be the Glory)

Please continue to pray for the ministry of New Hope Uganda and for the sons and daughters that are currently here as well as those who are now grown and living out on their own. Pray that the love of the Father, the true Father of the fatherless, would melt and bind up the brokenhearted in our midst, that the Gospel would penetrate hearts, that fatherhood and motherhood would be received, that family would be established, and that God would make His Name known in Uganda through those He has entrusted to us here at New Hope. Please also pray for our next site of ministry in Kumi that will focus on children who have been recovered from the fighting in the North, those who have been abducted by Koni and the LRA and recovered from the fighting. Also pray for our coming Manhood and Womanhood camp on Lake Victoria that will be a place for discipleship and retreats for our children as well as others from around Uganda, as we are still trying to secure the land so that we can begin building there and developing the site.

7 Year Anniversary!

2008-06-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

Today Laura Beth and I are celebrating 7 years of marriage! I had the privilege of preaching in church today out of II Samuel 7 on God's covenant with David- what sweet timing, as I was able to stand before the church and rejoice in the marriage covenant that our Father has given to us together. As I was speaking about God's "steadfast love" or His Covenant Love, I read this poem that I wrote for Laura Beth and read to her just before I proposed to her. Here it is:

The Day That I Met You…

The day that I met you, Who ever would have thought
The girl who smiled so softly, Would be the one God brought

The day that I met you, I never would have known
The dimpled girl who made be blush, Would one day be my own

And girl you are no longer, For before my very eyes
Through pain I’ve watched you blossom, To a pearl of greatest price

This pearl I greatly treasure, Handed down from up above
For the more that I’m around you, The more I learn of love

Love not from self-ambition, Nor a seeking of my own
But sacrifice and giving, Yielding all is love alone

Though my heart was cold and bitter, Sinful, hardened to the bone
Your love came in and gave me, A heart of flesh instead of stone

While all around were screaming, “You’d be a fool to let love go”
I sought the Lord, our Father, And He clearly let me know

That love is to be cherished, And treasured in the heart
That through loving you I’d love Him, And that’s the greatest part

Our love is not from us, It’s rare, a precious thing
And so to symbolize this love we share, I bought for you this ring...

And she said YES!!!

And just for fun- here are the vows that we wrote for that special day:

Keith’s: Laura, you are the one my soul delights in, and today I take you as
my wife. I covenant to make you the sole object of my affections, and to be single-mindedly devoted to you and you alone. I commit all that I am to loving you as Christ loved the church, giving Himself up for her, and I take full responsibility for seeking to present you to Him a pure bride. In this, I commit to love you above myself, serve you even when empty, and to provide you shelter and security. I covenant to remain by your side in whatever circumstance of life our Shepherd might bring, until I lay you in our Savior’s arms.

Laura’s: Keith, you are the one my soul delights in, and today I take you as
my husband. I covenant to make you the sole object of my affections, and to be single-mindedly devoted to you and you alone. I commit all that I am to submitting to you just as Jesus submitted to the Father in order to carry out His will. In this, I commit to love you above myself, serve you even when empty, and provide encouragement and bring joy to your life. I covenant to remain by your side in whatever circumstance of life our Shepherd might bring, until I lay you in our Savior’s arms.

It is true that marriage just keeps getting sweeter- but it's sweeter as the Gospel keeps meeting us in new and deeper ways!

So what do you do when you live in the BUSH of Uganda to celebrate an anniversary? Some friends of ours (the Vogt's) are cooking us dinner and then they are coming over to our house to watch the boys while we go and have a "romantic evening" at their house- dinner and a movie!

I'd love to hear any of your marriage stories- poems, vows, etc.

If you like the ring (which are the rings that we have), you can find them on: http://www.porat-jewelry.com/

Orphan Conference, Adoption, and Multi-Ethnicity (or the lack thereof)

2008-05-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

My wife and I recently attended a conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida called “Hope For Orphans”. It was probably the biggest gathering of Christian men and women from various organizations and ministries that focus specifically on orphans to ever take place. Represented were people with a passion for foster care, local and foreign adoption, and international ministry to orphans. It was an amazing and refreshing time for us, as we have never been around so many people so passionate about the same things as us. It was exciting to network with others laboring in the fields of the fatherless, and it was fun to hear the same language being talked about- from the church's desperate need to recover the front lines of orphan care (both locally and globally) to the church's need for a solid understanding of spiritual adoption and what it means to be adopted sons and daughters of God. It was also fun to see so many families exemplifying the doctrine of adoption in their own families through adopting children from around the world. Just a glance around the room and one would quickly notice children from China, Ethiopia, and various ethnicities from within America. How beautiful!

Yet, even as I smiled at such beautiful diversity within various families, my heart was yet saddened by one stark reality- the room itself lacked diversity. Granted, there were a few African brothers and sisters in the room, mainly because they work with orphans in Africa, and there were a few brothers and sisters of color scattered here or there, but overall, a good 95% of the people in attendance of this Orphan Summit IV were white American. My heart could not help but feel saddened. Is this really a conference reflective of the church in America in terms of orphan care, concern, and ministry? Where are my African American brothers and sisters? Where are other established minority church groups? Are these church's simply not involved in orphan care or was the conference targeting one specififc ethnic group (white churches)? I don't have an answer to these questions(though I have some ideas), but I've been thinking about it non-stop since the conference. I am really interested in your feedback in this situation, because I think this is a sad reality on a much bigger level than simply this conference.

It also seems to me that a people so passionate about and so committed to the doctrine of adoption and its implications for the church in both life and practice (in terms of the adoption of orphans from various different ethnicities) should be just as passionate and just as committed to pursuing multi-ethnicity in both church life and ministry practice. It also seems to me that the doctrine of adoption provides a paradigm for multi-ethnic ministry (or the pursuit of unity within the ethnic diversity within the body of Christ)- something I'm working on teasing out in an article form (I'll post that when it's done). How beautiful it will be one day when families, men and women, who are passionate about the doctrine of adoption and who reflect the beauty of that doctrine in their own families, form but a small picture of the larger gathered diverse Body of believers, whether gathering to talk about ministry to orphans, or gathering to worship on Sunday morning.

I guess for now, I'd love to hear your take on these things.

Answering My Own Questions

2008-03-21T15:20:00.000-07:00

Well, since I haven't heard much back concerning the questions I posed in my last post, I'm going to enter in and offer up my own answers. Let me know what you think.

* Are we born as “literal” children of Satan (is he our natural father?), or are we yet children of God who have rebelled against Him and therefore come under submission to Satan as our “father”?

Jesus spoke to some Jews in John 8 and told them that they are of their father the devil. The Apostle John split the world into two groups, children of God and children of Satan (I John 3:10). The question, then, is in what sense are people actually children of Satan?

First off, we are not Satan's natural children. When Paul was preaching to the Areopagus in Acts 17, he was speaking about God as the maker of the nations, nations that trace back to one man (Adam), nations that God set in place that they might seek Him. He then quoted one of their own poets saying, “'For we are indeed his offspring.' Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver... (28-29).” The implication of what Paul is saying is that though humanity is fallen, God is still the Father of all humanity! Satan is not our rightful or natural father.

Second, when Paul was speaking about our state before following Jesus, he said that we were "dead in trespasses and sins" and at the same time we were "following the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:1-2)" who is Satan. So, though God is the TRUE Father of humanity, because of the fall and original sin, we are each born spiritually dead, and therefore we by nature follow Satan, in the sense that we DO NOT by nature follow or submit to God. In a very real sense, Satan IS our father, but it's more of a father by choice through the rejection of our True Father God. This goes back to the failure of Adam, the first "son of God (Lk. 3:38)", and this is where the process of regeneration comes in, where God redeems, justifies, and then adopts us back into His family because of the obedience of the true Son of God, Jesus, who then becomes our brother (Heb. 2:12-13) by spiritual adoption.

* Is it wrong to use language like “orphan heart” to describe the tendencies of a wounded orphan's heart (and thus our own hearts), when it's not Biblical language per se?

I have no problem with the use of language outside of the Bible to describe concepts found within the Bible. For example, the term Trinity is not found in the Bible, but the Trinity is clearly there. In the same way, the concept of the "heart of an orphan" is there in that it is simply the sinful, human heart, but it describes those sinful tendencies that tend to be more specifically at work in the heart and life of an orphan because of the trauma they have faced in life. Though spiritual orphans are never talked about, either, it is assumed within the usage of the term adoption within the writings of Paul, since it is both slaves and orphans that need adopted.

* Why do people have such a hard time applying the Gospel outside the context of “sin”, in terms of the ongoing healing of the heart (psychology term?) through the wounds that we have received from others?

I think most of this goes back to the Reformation and the emphasis that we have had over the last three hundred years on the doctrine of justification (a much needed emphasis by the way!). As a result, the Gospel has been clearly defined, but it has been applied simply in terms of salvation of sins at the cost of understanding the death of Jesus in the defeat of death and Satan. In Uganda this has led to a division of the Gospel into two Gospels, one of salvation and one of deliverance (from Satan/demons). In the same way, here in the West, we have proclaimed our need for the Gospel in terms of salvation from sin, but have failed to present our ongoing need for the Gospel in all areas of life- even where we have been sinned against by others.

* Why does the Christian church throw up flags when emphasis is made on God as Father and our need to relate to Him on the level of “Daddy”?

This one is sort of the "hum dinger" of the questions, since history and the feminist movement come into play with the answer. Without going into those things, I will simply say that Jesus clearly revealed the Fatherhood of God and the access we are granted in terms of the "Abba" cry of Jesus. Most of us naturally relate to God as the King that we have offended, but because of Jesus we are pardoned by Him (again, going back to the emphasis on justification). The result is often a life lived relating to God as a slave or servant, and the fruit is a much easier job relating to Jesus (lover, friend) then to God as Father. The breakdown in fatherhood in our culture also adds to this inability to relate to God in terms of Fatherhood and sonship. Many translations are moving towards the neutral God (Father/Mother) which affirms the cultural outcries against a masculine God and creates more alarm when God is spoken of as He has revealed Himself (as Father).

What do you think?

Orphan Heart and Opposition

2008-03-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

Last week in my home church I preached a message on the story of Abraham and Lot and the journey of an orphan heart, tying it into spiritual adoption and the need of us all to relate to God as Father and trust Him alone for our identity, provision, protection and security. Afterwards, one woman came up to me absolutely livid. I was caught off guard by her, since I had just been talking with a woman who was in tears at how moved and encouraged she was by the message. On the contrary, this woman told me that I was on a dangerous path and she pleaded with me to seek God in prayer about the direction I was heading. She likened my teaching to what she called, “Focus on the family and Josh McDowell” Christian-psychology, family idolatry. She began defending the Gospel like I was denying the depravity of man and everyone’s original spiritual state as “dead in sin” and therefore “children of Satan,” claims that I completely agree with. She went on and on with great emotion and passion for the things she was calling me out on.

My initial reaction was to defend myself. I knew that she had misunderstood me and I also knew that I agreed with most of what she said about the Gospel. I also knew that I don't even read Dobson or McDowell, and I wanted her to know it! But that would have been fruitless in that situation, and to my great rescue, along came another man who wanted to encourage me and I was able to turn my attention away from her. When I turned back she was gone.

After that it did not matter how many “well done”'s I got, I was shaken up and hurt. My father-in law pointed me to David's response to Shemmi's stones, and I began seeking my Father as to what He wanted to teach me through this direction opposition. And that is where I want to get your feedback.

* Why does the Christian church throw up flags when emphasis is made on God as Father and our need to relate to Him on the level of “Daddy”?

* Are we born as “literal” children of Satan (is he our natural father?), or are we yet children of God who have rebelled against Him and therefore come under submission to Satan as our “father”?

* Is it wrong to use language like “orphan heart” to describe the tendencies of a wounded orphan's heart (and thus our own hearts), when it's not Biblical language per se?

* Why do people have such a hard time applying the Gospel outside the context of “sin”, in terms of the ongoing healing of the heart (psychology term?) through the wounds that we have received from others?

If you'd like to hear the sermon yourself you can at: http://www.gracecommunitybible.org/listen/podcast.php

Thanks for the help! Keith

Though Fatherless and Widowed- God is Father and Husband

2008-02-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

My cousin Mike and I have talked much over the years about the fatherless. He has visited us twice in Uganda, so he has not only heard me teach on the fatherless, but he has seen firsthand what it means to labor in the “fields of the fatherless.” He has come to understand God's Fatherhood to the fatherless as unfolded throughout the Old Testament. He has understood what Psalm 68:5 means when it says, “A Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling.” And he has delighted in the culmination of all that these things point to in the Gospel and the doctrine of adoption, where God Himself adopts spiritual and physical orphans into His family and Himself becomes “Daddy.”

Last year Mike took all that I have written concerning God's heart for the fatherless and the widow and he taught it in a Sunday School class at his church. He has spoken on spiritual adoption to the church and he has been my constant encourager as I've labored to begin writing a book on these things. Yet these are not just things that Mike has “learned” like you would learn that 2 + 2 = 4. No, you don't become passionate about “facts” or “truth” for truth's sake. Mike has become passionate about these things because they have been “revealed” to him and they have affected and changed the way he relates to God.

I am convinced that Mike's ownership of these things, his longing to know God intimately, his realization that though he has had a father, spiritually he was fatherless, but in salvation, in the Gospel, he has been brought into the family of God where God IS his Father, all of these things were preparation for what was coming. When Mike was woken up at 4:30 in the morning to his mother's desperate cries, he knew what was happening. He ran out of his house to find his father, dead. In those desperate moments as shock and pain shot through his body, as he was helpless to do anything to bring his father back, the realization of what Mike had become sank in.

When I called him the first thing he said to me was, “I'm fatherless, my dad is dead.” He went on, “But my Papa's with me, he's the best father in the world, and it's good.” He went on to tell me the horrible story of what took place when he found his father, yet the peace and comfort he had in it all was the knowledge that His Father was with him. Suddenly, what Mike had been so passionate about was more of a reality than it ever had been.

That verse in Psalm 68 also says that God is the defender of the widow. Though Mike's mom, my Aunt Nancy, had become fatherless six months before, she now has to face life as widow, a young widow, and she has the daunting task of forming a new identity apart from the one who's life had also defined her own.

When Mike asked me to speak at the funeral I did not want to at first. How could I stand before my family, all of us full of emotion, and deliver the Word of God. But then God brought me to John 11 and the message I was to speak, so I agreed. I spoke out of John 11- the story of Lazarus. It's an amazing passage relating to death, the depth of pain and grief that we bear, the questions that naturally arise during grief, Jesus' response to these questions, and his entering into our own suffering, as he weeps right along side of us, though he knows the purposes and the results of such tragedy in our lives. What came out powerfully is the great hope of the Gospel for us both in resurrection and life to come, as well as the healing and comfort in life now.

I can not enter into the grief of another and feel exactly what they are feeling, even if I've been through something similar. But there is one who himself as suffered just as we have, and He alone is able to enter in and bring the healing and comfort that we so long for. He is the Father to the fatherless, and the defender, the husband, of the widow. I'm so thankful for those beautiful pictures found in Scripture! And I'm so thankful for His Spirit's help to deliver His message of hope in the midst of such grief.

Funeral and Family Revival

2008-02-04T05:34:00.000-08:00

Act 2:39- “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.”

I'm back in West Virginia right now, all alone and missing my family. It's never fun or easy to travel home for a funeral, thoughts and feelings come at you strangely since you are not “there” yet, though you feel the pain and hurt through the distance...but it's still not the same. My Uncle died a couple of days ago, suddenly and tragically, but not altogether unexpectedly, though we all thought he was doing well. He had triple bi-pass surgery and seemed to be improving well enough, though he was having a bit of trouble breathing the last couple of days he was at home.

My family buried my grandfather, my mom's dad, around six months ago. My Aunt Nancy (sister to my mom) was left with a mess to sort through after that death, including baggage from a father who wounded more than he loved, though he did love. In fact, all four of the daughters have been forced to deal with the wounds of a father longed for and lost. When Aunt Nancy found out that Uncle Rick (her husband) needed heart surgery, it was about enough to toss a goat off a hillside. Overall, we were all positive about the surgery, all of us but Uncle Rick himself. His last few weeks were extra hard on Nancy, as she was still grieving her father while her husband was retreating into himself, coming face to face with the reality of death.

But before the surgery came, he gained renewed hope through a meeting with an old buddy who had successfully had the same surgery. The surgery came and went on the day after my birthday. I visited him in the hospital the day after and was stunned by how good he was doing after just one day. After he was brought home he began struggling to breath. My cousin Mike (his son), who is like a brother to me, was not able to visit his dad until the day before he died, because Mike had the ol' stomach flu that was passing around our family. Their time together was sweet- and as Mike prayed for his Dad, praising and worshiping God in the midst of the pain and struggle his father was facing, his Dad was “amen”ing.

That may not sound significant to most people, but I've sat with Mike on many occasions and listened to his own pain and grief for his father, his longing to see a spiritual thirst in his dad. I had never heard of Uncle Rick even uttering an “amen” in the midst of prayer. Mike left after that and the night came. He had been struggling to breath enough that they almost called an ambulance a couple of times, but he did not want to go back to the hospital. At one in the morning, my Aunt Nancy woke up, changed his towels and checked on him. Surprisingly, he said, “Nancy, come and pray with me.” And the words of the prayer, though I'm passing on now third-hand (paraphrased), still cause me to cry- “Dear Lord, I know that you are a Sovereign God, and I know that you are with me, but I'm hurting, and I don't like it. I know that I haven't lived my life for you, and I'm sorry. Please forgive me for the things I've done wrong. Amen.” I'll try to update the exact words when I can get them from Aunt Nancy. Sometime in the next two hours he likely had a blood clot go to his heart or lungs, and he died. I won't go into the details here, but the trauma that both Nancy and Mike faced over the next two hours is somethign I pray I will never have to face with my own father.

As I told this to my own father as we drove to the airport to pick up my sister, he cried and cried. It's what we've all longed for, prayed for, hoped for, for Uncle Rick- that his heart would be turned TOWARD God, and it was. The hardest part for our family was the disappointment for the hope of the next phase of Rick's life, a life lived for something greater than himself, life lived outside of himself, the continued fathering role he would have with his grandkids Austin and Abbey, and a chance for those of us outside the immediate Ervin family to truly KNOW the man. Yet, he has gained new life, a life that non of us would want to pull him away from, where he is free and where death has been swallowed up in victory. Our hope for him is far “less” than the true hope he has gained in new life. We prayed that his physical heart problems would lead to the healing of his spiritual heart, and truly it did. And that was the greatest healing of all.

The first time I spoke with Mike on the phone, I was at a loss as to even what to say. I was stunned too. The first thing he said to me was, "I'm fatherless, my father died. But I have my Papa, and He's the best Father." He is the Father of the fatherless, and in Mike's initial grief, the Father's comfort was with him in a way that truly amazed me. That comfort continues to be with him, even as he cares for his mom who in six months has become both fatherless and widowed. We are praying that she comes to truly know the One who is both Father and Husband, the father of the fatherless and defender of the widow. Onl He can bring that depth of healing.

As I look back over my family during the past 30 years, one thing becomes OBVIOUS- God is redeeming our family. Though we have our issues and struggles and just down right weird aspects of our family, the Gospel is penetrating into heart and lives and changing them. We are being redeemed. In my own family there is a maturity and love for God, for Jesus, that I couldn't have imagined 15 years ago. In Mike's family (the Ervin family) the same work is being done. In cousins, aunts and uncles, hearts are turning toward Him and lives are being lived for him. None of this has been in our time or our way, but in God's timing, the fruit of His consistent and steady work in our lives...much through pain and struggle, just like we are facing now.

I sit here amazed at God's grace in our family, at the redemption He has brought to torn families and the healing He is bringing to deep wounds, and I can only smile. How fun it is to be a part of His work in our family, in our community, and in our world. “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and earth is named...” We do bear His name, and the promise is for us and our children and all who are far off- as many as the Lord our God calls to himself. I love being a part of family revival...where will we be in 30 more years?

Listen in to the orphan heart

2008-01-25T20:06:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, here are some links to some talks I've done on the orphan heart. If you've been reading some of what I've written you'll see some obvious overlap. If you haven't, then no worries either.

The first was a sermon given at Grace Community Chapel (it's their podcast website) and the other two were me sitting down at Shoney's with my buddie Moles who is the pastor of that church. Feedback is most welcome!

http://gracespace.podbean.com/2008/01/22/the-orphaned-heart/

http://gracespace.podbean.com/2008/01/24/lots-orphaned-heart/

http://gracespace.podbean.com/2008/01/24/the-fatherhood-of-god/

Part 3: Ex 22- God as the Defender of the orphan and widow

2008-01-24T05:49:00.000-08:00

Imagine if one of the first things you were taught after professing faith in Jesus was that God wants you to care for orphans and widows. Imagine that you came across James 1:27 while reading the Bible or you heard it preached in church. You might wonder what was so special about orphans and widows that God would call caring for them “true religion.” Perhaps a mature Christian would point out that the command flows out of the Fatherhood of God Himself to us as those who were spiritually fatherless, but have now been adopted into the family of God (Gal. 4:4-7). You would learn very quickly to take seriously the call to live out the faith by caring for the fatherless and widows in your midst. In ancient Israel God wanted to make it clear to His people right at the beginning of their relationship with Him that they had a responsibility to care for orphans and widows in their midst as an outflow of the Person of God Himself as the defender of the orphan and widow.
God’s command to Israel in Exodus 22:22 takes place in the context of His entering into covenant1 with His people, so before we can look at the command itself, we must first understand the context of that command. When God took Israel to be “a people for Himself” in fulfillment of His promise to Abraham, the Scriptures say that He brought them out of Egypt “with a mighty hand” by the Passover and then through the Red Sea to the foot of Mt. Sinai. It is here on Mt. Sinai that Moses then went up to meet with God, and it is here that God affirmed the covenant that He was making with his people saying: “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex. 19:5-6a).” In Exodus 19 God laid out the fact that he was entering into a covenant relationship with Israel that had expectations and stipulations. They were to be a kingdom of priests (representing the nations to God and teaching them about God), a holy nation (representing God’s holiness to the nations), and they were to obey and keep the covenant (which by faith upheld the other two).
The covenant was confirmed in chapter 24 after the reading of the Book of the Covenant to the people (24:7). When they heard the stipulations of the covenant, the people declared: “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” This proclamation was then followed by sacrifice and the shedding of blood.2 God then said to Israel through Moses, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words (24:8b).” “All these words” were the words of the Book of the Covenant that was read a few verses earlier in the hearing of the people. So what was this “Book of the Covenant” and what does it have to do with orphans?
Up to this point, the Book of the Covenant consisted of those laws that were given in chapters 20-23 after God called Israel into covenant (Ex. 19) and before he ratified the covenant (Ex. 24). It functioned as the initial stipulations of the covenant- what the people were to obey, beginning with the Ten Commandments and then other laws that unfolded the various forms that this obedience would constitute. These laws included various topics ranging from laws about alters, slaves and restitution, to laws about social justice, Sabbath and festivals. At this point in the giving of the Law there was no mention of sacrifices or instructions for the tabernacle (this came shortly after and would continue to unfold throughout the Pentateuch with the Law). Yet these laws were specifically chosen to make up the initial “Book of the Covenant” for a purpose- they revealed God Himself (the Lawgiver) as well as His expectations for His people to reflect His nature through obedience.3
This is the context of our passage at hand. Right at the beginning of His relationship with Israel, within the initial “Book of the Covenant,” God said to His people: “Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless (Ex. 22:22-23).”
I can remember the first time I read this passage; I gasped! Did God really say THAT! That if orphans and widows were mistreated and cried out to God, then He Himself would kill them, leaving their wives to be widows and their children fatherless! That is what the command says. The question must be asked then: Why such severity? The answer to this question lies within the heart of the Lawgiver, but becomes clearer when seen in the light of the nations around Israel in the Ancient Near East. The protection of the widow and the orphan was the constant claim of the “ideal king” of the Ancient Near East. In their boasting, the ancient kings were portraying themselves as “ideal” in their rule and just in all their ways.4 In a very real sense, without meaning to, these kings were at least pretending to reflect the nature of the one true ideal King.
In Israel (and the world) Yahweh is the ideal King who truly cares for the plight of the widow and the orphan as their true defender and protector. Yet this King has chosen to care for the widow and the orphan through his people- those in relationship with Him, those who will reflect His own character and holiness. If the people fail to care for the orphan and widow, the character of Yahweh’s own nature as the defender and protector of the fatherless would be compromised, as God had called Israel to reflect His own nature in the keeping of the Covenant. Therefore, failure to accurately reflect the nature of God in properly caring for orphans and widows would bring severe punishment!
God made it clear to Israel right at the beginning of His relationship with them that He takes seriously the care for the fatherless and widow! He bound the care of the fatherless and widow right into the fabric of the covenant itself within his covenant expectations of His people. When they cried out with one voice in Exodus 24, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!”, they understood the magnitude of what they were saying, and the depths of God’s heart toward the fatherless and widows in their midst.
This passage holds three main truths for Christians today, each with very specific application and all three pointing to and unfolding the beauty of the Gospel itself.
1. God Himself is the defender of the Fatherless and Widow. There is something about this group of people that evokes God’s heart above the general category of “poor and needy.” The Book of the Covenant speaks in many places about the poor and needy, but it is here that God’s own character is seen to be linked to the fatherless and widow, where He shows that He Himself will move on their behalf. It will be unveiled later by David in Ps. 68:5 that God is the “Father to the fatherless” and the “defender of the widow” and this passage is the first to point us there.
The Gospel reveals that each of us is born spiritually “fatherless”, dead in sin (Eph. 2:2), and in desperate need of One who will move on our behalf. It is God who has taken the initiative in our salvation and drawn us to Jesus (Jn. 6:37, 44). This is the very heart of the Gospel itself- that God is not watching our pain and suffering, our struggles against sin and injustice on this groaning planet from far away. God is not ill-concerned and removed from our pain. Instead, He is near to us, concerned, and filled with compassion and mercy for those who are in need, especially the fatherless and widow.
2. God’s heart is toward those who recognize their need for Him. This is found in the statement, “If…they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.” If the fatherless and widow are mistreated or taken advantage of but do not cry out to Yahweh then they suffer in vain and without hope. The promise is to those who “cry out” to Yahweh who then Himself will move on their behalf. This is the heart of the Gospel as shown in the Beatitudes. When Jesus says “Blessed are the poor in spirit” and “Blessed are the poor” he is not pointing to blessing for the sake of poverty in itself (whether physical or spiritual), but blessing unto those who know they need God! “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” It’s the same for the fatherless (physical or spiritual). One could say, “Blessed are the fatherless and blessed are the fatherless in spirit, for they shall find their Father.” The blessing is not to the fatherless for the sake of the fatherless, but to the fatherless that recognize their need of God! The same could be said about the widow. The Gospel is not for the righteous, but for those who know they need God (see Luke 18:9-14)!
3. God expects His people to bring His care (His Fatherhood) to the fatherless and widow. God still brings His Fatherhood to the fatherless through those of us who bring His compassion and care to these needy ones. This is the heart of James 1:27 and the heart of the Gospel itself- the very outflow of the person and nature of God being made manifest in us (see II Cor. 3:18). God made it clear to Israel right at the beginning of His relationship with them that they were to care for the fatherless and widow as a reflection of His character, and He makes it clear to us that we are to care for the fatherless in our midst.
The care of the fatherless is more than just a “good thing,” but is grounded in the Gospel itself, the good news that sin, death and Satan have been defeated on the cross and that God adopts us as His very own sons and daughters. This is a greater adoption than any of us could picture even if we adopt a child into our own families (which is great!). May our Father use us to bring His Fatherhood to the many physical and spiritual orphans in our midst, even as we bask in our own adoption as God’s sons and daughters!

Thoughts...Part 2 (Lot)

2008-01-12T11:55:00.001-08:00

Thoughts on God’s Heart for Orphans and Widows by Keith McFarland
Part 2: Abraham and Lot- the journey of an orphan heart

The book of James makes it clear that Christians today are to care for the fatherless in their midst, yet the task of working with the fatherless can be quite daunting. Whether one is in the bush of Uganda or in a Sunday School classroom in Chicago, there remains no greater challenge then to get into the heart of an orphan. The challenge is especially tough when the life of an orphan has been characterized by hurt, pain, lack of discipline and lack of love that seems to manifest itself in the present in a lack of trust, disobedience, selfishness, and all out rebellion. Often times it’s easier to remove these children or “distractions” from the rest of a group or just ignore them all together, yet this serves only to reinforce the hurts and pains that fatherless children carry in their hearts. They are simply acting out of their orphaned heart. What is one to do? The Biblical story of Abraham and Lot provides a powerful beginning for understanding the heart of an orphan as well as the place where that heart must be led if true healing is to take place.
We are told in Genesis 12 that God chose Abraham and directed him to leave his country, his relatives, and his father’s house, to go to a land that God would show him! In this very command, God was calling Abraham to lay down his identity in the land of his birth and as a son in his father’s house, and to trust God alone for both his identity and provision!
Not surprisingly, the heart of an orphan is often besieged with the same issues Abraham faced; only theirs is not by choice. An orphan has lost one or both parents, thus a part of their identity, who they are, is lost. One friend of mine here in Uganda has never known his father, and he spent the first 25 years of his life struggling to know who he is or where he came from. He felt purposeless and empty, as if he were a nobody! Couple this loss of identity with the loss of familiar surroundings and familiar people, especially family, and most children retreat into themselves, build walls of protection, and become fearful of any kind of change. This is the heart of an orphan.
God, however, did not call Abraham to be an orphan but to find his identity, provision, and protection in Him. God promised Abraham three things in return for his faith and obedience: to give him land, to make him into a nation, and that blessing would be to him and through him to all the families of the earth (12:2-3). Abraham believed God and obeyed what God told him to do. It was Abraham’s faith in the promises of God that would result in his faith being “credited to him as righteousness (15:6)”, thus making Abraham the father of all who would then follow his faith. Abraham’s faith must be the beginning point for any orphan seeking to find true healing, and this faith in God must be seen as the cornerstone for a new identity found in Christ (II Cor. 5:17).
When Abraham set out from Ur, he took along his nephew Lot, who was a physical orphan from Abraham’s brother Haran (11:28, 31). Lot, too, was leaving behind any kind of identity, familiarity, and security that he might have had in Ur. Lot journeyed with Abraham as he entered the land of Canaan where God appeared to Abraham and affirmed that this was the land his offspring would inherit (12:7). Lot watched as Abraham built alters to the Lord, and as he called on the name of the Lord near Bethel. Lot saw God’s faithfulness to Abraham during the time of famine as they made their first journey to Egypt, and as God afflicted Pharaoh’s household for taking Sarah into his home. Lot watched the blessing of God come to Abraham as he left Egypt and returned to the land of Canaan rich in livestock, silver and gold (13:1). And Lot himself was rewarded for his faithful following of Abraham, as he too came with flocks and herds and tents of his own! Surely Lot had been blessed as he walked in relationship with Abraham and Abraham’s God! But having material possessions (security) does not remove the heart of an orphan.
A crucial thing happened in the lives of Abraham and Lot after they came out of Egypt and returned to Canaan, near to Bethel where Abraham had first made an altar and called on the Name of the Lord. Abraham and Lot had grown too large in possessions, flocks, and herds, so that the land could not support both of them. It was necessary for them to part ways. Why? Because the Canaanites and Perizzites were also dwelling in the land and probably held the best parts! What would Abraham do? Would he tell Lot to “get off his land,” as the land was promised to Abraham and his descendents! Would he send Lot packing back to Ur? Would he take first choice of the land and tell Lot to dwell where he could? NO! Abraham demonstrated amazing faith in the promises of God and in God as his provider as he allowed Lot to choose whatever part of the land he wanted to settle in, himself taking from what was left over.
Lot, on the other hand, demonstrated his own “orphan spirit” when he “lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord (13:10)” and selfishly chose to dwell there, moving his tents as far as Sodom.
The author then inserts an interesting note: “Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord (13:13).” The choosing of a well-watered valley would be very important for supporting large flocks and herds, yet it is Lot’s choice to move toward Sodom that stands out further to the reader and that the author of Genesis is stressing. Lot, who had been blessed by the God of Abraham, made his choice based on what externally seemed best for his own benefit (Sodom would have provided excellent trade for him), but in the long run would have disastrous consequences.
This aspect of choosing in the short term what seems “best” even when it carries negative consequences for the future is a typical thing for an orphan. A few years ago an orphan walked me through his own struggle to overcome what he called “the orphan spirit” or “the heart of an orphan.” His greatest challenge was his own heart that was naturally very selfish (protective of what he had or could get). Being exposed to the pain of losing his parents, the loss of identity, and the insecurity that followed him, led to a survival mentality (what can I get now?) that told him he can never have enough, even when he was living in plenty. This becomes very relevant when dealing with Lot and his choice of land and eventual move into Sodom, and it becomes very relevant when dealing with the hearts of fatherless children anywhere in the world!
In contrast to Lot, Abraham’s choice to give Lot the best of the land demonstrated his faith in God, as well as his contentment with what God had given to him and his trust in God for all of his needs, present and future. This faith was immediately rewarded by God “after Lot had separated from him (13:14).” God appeared to Abraham and affirmed His earlier promise to give Abraham’s offspring the land of Canaan forever. This time, however, God invited Abraham to walk around the land and “explore” what was to be his inheritance. Abraham’s identity and trust was in God alone as His provider. This rest in God as provider for all needs (not necessarily wants) is where the heart of an orphan must be led.
Another contrast between Abraham and Lot is set forth in chapter 14. After the defeat of Sodom in the battle of the kings, the city was sacked and all material possessions were taken, as well as the people! The text states clearly that “they also took Lot…who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions…(14:12).” It’s a bit surprising to find Lot now living in Sodom, not just near Sodom, which reveals the appeal that the city had for him, despite the wickedness taking place there. The appeal for physical protection and increase in provision was too strong of a draw for Lot. Despite the fact that he was wealthy and had good land to support him and his family, he was willing to compromise living in the midst of wickedness for what would prove to be false “security.”
Abraham, on the other hand, rested in God as his protector (remember Egypt?). He was just as vulnerable as Lot, yet remained faithful to God and content in his provision and secure in his protection. This security in God’s protection is demonstrated when he gathered together his 318 trained men and routed the kings who had taken Lot captive, bringing back “all the possessions, and also…Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people (14:16).”
Abraham was then presented with an interesting offer that will again challenge where his trust for provision truly rested. The king of Sodom offered Abraham all of the recovered possessions! If Abraham accepted the offer, the wealth he would amass would set Abraham apart as even higher than the kings he had just saved! What a temptation for a man wandering in a country not his own, especially when it was promised to him by God Himself! On top of this, all of Lot’s possessions would be his as well! Yet Abraham, the man of faith, wanted no one to be able to say, “I made Abraham rich (14:23).” Abraham refused the offer because he trusted in God alone for his identity, provision, protection and for the fulfillment of His Word to him. The heart of an orphan must be led to find security in the protection of God the Father, as well as for identity and provision.
God immediately responded to Abraham’s trust in Him by appearing to him in a vision. God’s words to Abraham ring loudly across time and space, through the pages of Scripture: “Fear not, Abraham, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great (15:1).” Abraham had demonstrated faith that he believed this to be true, and God removed any possible doubt that might creep into Abraham’s mind, even as he remained childless in awaiting God’s fulfillment of His word. God promised Abraham an heir from his own body and then sealed the covenant He was making with Abraham by passing through the sacrifice he required Abraham to make- God Himself would uphold His Covenant! Abraham could get no greater security than God’s own Covenant promise! This is the same assurance God gives to those who trust in the death of His Son Jesus!
Lot’s final appearance in the book of Genesis is a tragic one that occurs at least 13 year later. He did not learn from the earlier defeat of Sodom and Abraham’s rescue. Lot remained in the city with his family, the lone righteous man in the midst of such wickedness, tormented in soul (cf II Pet. 2:7-8)! Yes, Lot was righteous, he believed in Abraham’s God, yet he failed to lead his family in the righteousness of the God of Abraham, which ultimately, would cost him his family. Lot’s wife was tragically destroyed for “looking back” as they fled the city, his daughters’ fiancés were killed in Sodom (what was he doing allowing them to marry into such wickedness in the first place!?) and his daughters themselves manifested the perversion of the city through their own unrighteous acts of committing incest with their father (19:30-38). Tragically, nothing more is heard of Lot.
Abraham, on the other hand, was informed of the coming destruction of Sodom. Just before Abraham was made aware of God’s plans, God says of Abraham: “For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him (18:19, italics mine).” God knew that Abraham would lead his household in following God’s ways through living lives characterized by righteousness and justice. This is God’s heart for His people!
What a picture of where the heart of an orphan must be brought from and to if genuine healing is to take place and the orphan spirit truly overcome! The only hope for a fatherless child is to be brought to a place where they find their complete identity, provision, and protection in God alone, and where they are leading others in these too! A child must be brought beyond the point of belief in Jesus as his or her Savior- though this is the beginning point! Their hearts must be brought to day to day submission before this Father who has revealed Himself as the “Father to the fatherless (Ps. 68:5)” and who through the Gospel of Jesus Christ can give them new life and will adopt them into His own family (see Romans 8:15-16, Eph. 1:3-6, and Galatians 4:4-7)! This is where the orphan heart is set free and where true healing takes place and where vision for some day leading a family is found. Yes, Lot had faith in Abraham’s God, but he failed to walk fully in the faith of Abraham and he failed to lead his family in that faith expressed in righteousness. In many ways, Lot always remained an orphan, while Abraham knew his Dad.
After searching for 25 years, the friend that I mentioned earlier accepted Jesus as his Savior and found new life in God. Sadly, his orphaned heart remained restless and he found himself struggling in his identity and struggling to lead his family. He attended church, but wasn’t experiencing the joy he saw in others. Even after his wife gave him a son, he was insecure at how to father this gift from God. After his wife’s tragic death as a result of AIDS, he was forced to be the sole caretaker of his son, yet as his own heart struggled, so did his parenting and so did his son. It wasn’t until three years later that my friend made the most exciting discovery of his life- God is His Father! Suddenly, his struggle to know who he is came to an end- he is a child of God! He has found his identity in God as his Father, provider, and protector, and has sense been leading his son in these things as well!
In reality, whether or not we are physical orphans, we are ALL born spiritual orphans, dead in sin and separated from God. All of us face the challenge to live like Abraham or Lot. And many of us live the Christian life like my friend, with Jesus in the heart but an orphan in the soul. Life is lived in slavery, not in sonship. May we all come to find our identity, provision, and protection in God alone as sons and daughters of the King, and may we lead both physical and spiritual orphans to this well-spring of life!

Thoughts On God's Heart for Orphans and Widows- Part 1

2008-01-06T04:08:00.000-08:00

Part 1- The Mandate of James
Christians today know that it is a good thing to care for orphans and widows. Because of the church’s commitment to provide both missionaries and funding in needy cross-cultural and urban settings, ministries to orphans like New Hope Uganda can exist. The global AIDS pandemic has created more awareness and more compassionate care for the growing “orphan” problem all over the world. Yet, when asked if there is any biblical responsibility to care for orphans, many Christians can not get beyond Jesus’ command to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The only New Testament verse that speaks directly of the church’s responsibility to care for orphans is James 1:27, which says: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”1 Though this verse is very powerful, it is often “passed over” without grasping the full implication of what James is saying.
If we are going to understand James 1:27 and its implications for us today, then we need to have a good context of the book as a whole. James was writing to mainly Jewish Christians scattered among the nations (1:1) who were facing trials of different kinds (1:2-8, 12-15; 5:7-12). There were Christians who claimed to have faith, but in their very deeds denied the faith they claimed, either through lack of action (1:22; 2:15-16), or through mistreatment of the poor, needy, and each other (2:2-4; 4:1-2). This is why James’ argument about faith and works in 2:14-26 is so central to the book, as James is very concerned that Christians live out the very faith they profess.
In the immediate context of James 1:27, he explains that “true” religion, or genuine living out of the faith, consists of being a doer who acts on the word of God! This is contrasted with those who hear the word and do nothing. These are deceptive hearers and their religion is “worthless”(1:22-25).
James writes in verse 26, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” The emphasis here is on the external speech as it relates to deception in the heart. This is because the tongue reveals the inner heart (cf. Mt. 12:34), so it would be foolish to think one was a Christian when the speech of that person demonstrates the contrary. This is worthless religion.
This picture of Christianity lived out in regards to the heart and tongue leads to verse 27 where James gives the second picture of “true religion,” only this time it is pictured as “religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father.” He is in essence saying, “Here’s what Christianity lived out should really look like!” What is this “pure and undefiled” living out of the faith? James says it is “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
The second of these makes logical sense, as to be unstained from the world is to cease to carry on in the ways and practices of the world, i.e. all that he will address in the chapters ahead. But the first seems to catch the reader off guard. As a reader of the context of the book would expect, James doesn’t say that pure religion is “to care for the poor and needy in your midst,” though he could have. In the next chapter he is going to state the believers’ need to treat the poor with equal standing as the rich and to provide food and clothing to the needy (2:1-16). Here in 1:27, James mentions a specific group of needy people- orphans and widows. Why does caring for this specific group of needy people embody “pure and undefiled” living out of the Christian faith for James? To get the answer to this question we would need to survey through the Old Testament passages that talk specifically about the orphan and the widow and what they reveal about God Himself (and if the Lord wills, we will do this). But for now, let it suffice to be said that James considered the church’s role in caring for orphans and widows “in their distress” to be of utmost importance!
Another clue can be found in James’ use of the Word “Father” to refer to God. He never uses “Father” simply as a title for God, but to emphasize the relationship of this Father to His people. This can be seen in 1:16-18 where James emphasized the “begetting” relationship of the Father to us and the good and perfect gifts that this Father gives to us. James says that it is the Father who “brought us forth” of His own will by the word of truth (1:18). He is our Father simply because of His mercy in “bringing us forth.”
The title “Father” for God is also strategically used in 1:27. Notice he says that caring for orphans and widows is pure religion before “the God and Father” (literal translation). It is this aspect of the Fatherhood of God to those of us who were fatherless that provides the foundation of our own calling to reflect His fatherhood in our own care of the fatherless and the widow.
Finally, James told the Christians that pure religion was to “visit” orphans and widows in their affliction. This does not mean a casual passing by to check up on orphans and widows. The NIV translates the word “visit” with “look after.” Other translations have used the term “care for”. Each translation is trying to get to heart of the Greek word episkeptomai, which carries the idea of visiting, looking after, and being concerned about someone (see Mt. 25:35). One book helpfully points out that even when episkeptomai means “to seek out someone” in the NT, it never implies merely “to visit” them in the usual sense, or for selfish ends, but always “to be concerned” about them, with a sense of responsibility for others.2 This is quite penetrating for the readers of the book of James, as he makes it clear that they themselves have a responsibility to compassionately care for needy orphans and widows! This is “true” religion lived out!
The challenge remains for us today. The Father has placed each of us in a situation where we are surrounded by orphans and widows, fatherless children and single moms. In Uganda, there are so many fatherless children that most families consist of birth children and children of relatives who have died. For various reasons many of these families are not able to care for the children entrusted to them, thus there is a great place for the church’s role in taking these children in and giving care to such needy families.
In the West, the need is the same, even if the situation looks differently. Though the government controls the care of full-orphans, the family continues to break down, meaning that more and more children are growing up fatherless and many mothers are left functioning in desperation akin to the Biblical widow. How can the church respond to this desperate need?
One obvious way is for Christians to get involved in foster-care or to pursue adopting children into their families. This adoption can be a legal adoption or it can be a “relational adoption,” which is a commitment to providing long term care and fatherhood or motherhood to fatherless or motherless children in your midst. This should be happening especially in our churches today! Even busy Christians can single out a fatherless child in their church or in their neighborhood (or both!) and begin to build a relationship with him or her. It might take some time (and patience!), but over time God will give opportunities to father/mother this child on an increasingly open basis. Another easy thing to do is to go out for a Sunday meal together, or have the mother and/or child/children into your home on a regular basis. Let the children see what Biblical fatherhood/motherhood played out in your own family looks like. Visit the children in their home and seek to build relationships with the mother or family members. Go out for a coke together and just talk about life. Be strategic. Look for opportunities to lovingly speak into the heart of that child or to offer the gift of touch and see God use you as a vessel to bring His Fatherhood to the fatherless. Finally, pray! Pray that God would powerfully break down the walls that naturally form around the heart of a fatherless child, and pray that our God and Father would powerfully bring His own Fatherhood to this child through you and through the Body of Christ!
In whatever situation God has placed you in may we, as men and women of God seeking to live “pure and undefiled” lives of faith before our God and Father, strive to reflect and bring His Fatherhood to the fatherless and widow through our own compassionate care for the fatherless and widows in our own midst, as well as across the globe.

Making an Orphan/Going to Burial

2007-12-04T12:44:00.000-08:00

Going to burial is quite normal for us out in the bush. When someone dies and is well known, typically everything- and I mean EVERYTHING- shuts down. It’s not abnormal to go into Kiwoko town expecting to buy something, only to find the owner has gone to a burial and the store is locked up. But no worries, he’ll be back within a few hours because though nothing starts on time in Africa, burials are the one thing that do. The normal burying time is 2 or 4 in the afternoon, and you have to be careful to keep time. Even if you are ten minutes late you could miss the entire burial!
I was surprised to find Kazungu at the Institute that morning. He was there to see Rukundo (the family father of Pacific) to tell him that his father had died. When I saw him he told me the news. I was a bit shocked and felt sad for him. When I put my arm around him to offer a hug, he seemed stiff and almost uncaring. What is he feeling and thinking? His dad has died! Why does he seem emotionless?
Kazungu’s story is a sad one. I first met him back in 2002 when I first came to New Hope. Over the years I had coached him in football (soccer) and spent time with him mentoring him on a one on one basis. Last year he suddenly wasn’t around anymore. I randomly saw him in Kiwoko one day and asked him what had happened. I was stunned by the story. Let me give you a bit of background first, though.
When Kazungu was only four years old he was brought to New Hope by his Auntie. It was told that his father had been very old when he was born and his parents had now died leaving him in a very needy situation. She had children of her own to care for and could no longer care for the small boy. She requested that New Hope take the child, and after doing some investigating in the community New Hope agreed and Kazungu was moved into Pacific family.
Now an 18 year old young man, Kazungu was in essence raised by New Hope. His “father” had become Rukundo, the family father of Pacific since 2002 (though Rukundo had also grown up at New Hope and is the same tribe as Kazungu). But Kazungu’s life had been lived as a lie.
For fourteen years he was made to keep the secret that his father was still alive. When holidays came and he went to be with relatives in the community, Kazungu often stayed with his father. On occasion Kazungu’s father even came to visit him at New Hope, though he introduced himself as the boy’s uncle. Though at times Kazungu wanted to come out and tell the truth, fear held him paralyzed and kept his mouth closed. He knew that if he told the truth and was found to have two living parents, he would lose everything, his “free” education would be forfeit and his “family” would be lost. Living among orphans, though his father was still alive, he himself had became an orphan at heart.
When the truth came out it was as Kazungu feared. He could no longer live at New Hope and he was taken to his father who was rebuked and charged to take responsibility for his son. But his father did not pick up the challenge and left his son as an orphan to find his own way. Kazungu moved into Kiwoko town and without any help from his father he was somehow able to come up with school fees to study in Kiwoko. He spent a lot of time hungry, finally discovering that he could eat if he would only sell marijuana. As he watched those he sold the drugs to deteriorate in mind and body, he gave up selling, looking to his football skills to get him through school.
That was where I met Kazungu that day his “father” had died. He asked if I was coming to the burial, and I answered that I would be there. I picked up Rukundo at a quarter to two and we set off to Katoke, where Kazungu’s father had lived. Along the way Rukundo explained how recently Kazungu had started coming back around. He said that Kazungu had finally realized that New Hope really IS his family, and even if he’s not living at New Hope, he is still welcome as a “son”.
Rukundo also explained to me that it was not Kazungu’s father who had died but his uncle. Shocked, I was reminded that in the local culture there is no distinction between a father and an uncle. The uncles are still “fathers” to their nephews and share responsibility for various needs while carrying the same name of “father”.
Katoke is only about a 10 minute drive from New Hope, and I expected the burial to take place somewhere near to the trading center. We arrived and veered off on what looked like a foot path that winded around the houses in the center of town (when I say around, I’m talking three feet from the houses!), winded around trees, children playing and coffee drying in the sun. As we drove deeper and deeper into the bush I was wondering where we would come out.
Finally, we came to a place where I was told to park the vehicle; we would walk the rest of the way. I could hear singing off in the distance, so I knew that we were not far from where the burial was taking place. I was wearing a nice button up collared shirt, brown khaki pants (trousers if you’re British : ), and my new black leather sandals. We were out in bush bush, cow grazing land, with trees and high grass all around us. It was quite a beautiful scene, one I often think to when I think of “village” in Uganda. Off to the side an old man was grazing his cattle. He came towards us speaking Luganda. I saw him pointing to both sides of us, speaking sharply. I looked at Rukundo who told me there was marsh all around us. We were in the valley and it had been raining, so it was not strange to find wet ground. The question was how could we get through it? The answer was that there was no way around; we just had to walk through.
I began walking with hopes that I could step on patches of grass without getting my feet wet, but one slosh and I could feel the cool muddy water between my toes. I took off my sandals as quickly as I could, rolled up my pants and plowed ahead. The music was becoming louder and we all felt the pressure to get there before the body was in the ground. I made it through the “mud walk” without getting too dirty beyond my feet, which I wiped off with grass once we made it through the marsh. We arrived just in time to see the body placed into the grave. A sheet of iron roofing was laid over the casket followed by rocks. The sound of the rocks on the iron sheet is always a shock to my senses, loud and sharp, a reminder of how “raw” death and burial is in this culture.
A quick history was read about the man’s life- where he had gone to school, how far he made it in terms of class, how many children he had and other various achievements of his life. We prayed and then various men took turns pulling the dirt back into the hole using hoes. I stood with Rukundo as Kazungu came up and stood with us. We hugged him and spoke our regrets to him for the loss of his uncle. It was then that Rukundo pointed out Kazungu’s father. I was filled with emotion, anger mixed with pity for the old man. He had caused his son to become an orphan and was still refusing to truly care for him. Kazungu told me that his father had never gone to school and was happy to see him just take care of cattle for the rest of his life. Kazungu wanted to study and make a life outside of simply caring for cows. It was a battle of the ages, one that Kazungu was left to fight alone.
Once the burial was over, I was surprised to find that there was another ceremony taking place. The uncle who had died and left no sons to inherit the estate. He had a wife and four daughters. Kazungu’s older brother was put in charge of the estate which consisted of caring for the wife and daughters (until they married), the house, the land and the cows.
I was also surprised to find that they had buried the man within the circular cow pen, the place right in front of the house where the cattle are put in at night. It was a strange placement of a grave. When I asked Rukundo about it, he told me that the body was buried there so that at night it would be protected from the “night dancers”. Night dancers are demonically possessed men who wander at night and cause much fear in the hearts of most Ugandans. It is said that if you are out at night and meet a night dancer, they will kill you instantly. The burying of the body within the circle was to ensure that the night dancers did not come in the night, dig up the body and eat the flesh! I was again reminded of the great fear that drives the practices of most Ugandans on a daily basis, especially those who are not Christians.
As I walked back through the marsh with my sandals in hand, I wasn’t as fortunate as I had been on the previous pass. Mud splashed up onto my legs and trousers as I walking thinking more about Kazungu then where I was stepping. I rode back home thinking about education and its effect on families in Uganda. Though education tends to be an “idol” in Uganda, what some call “the god of education”, it is still an important part of the growth and development of the country, yet it often comes at the expense of families working and being together. For Kazungu, it has come at the cost of his heart. Yet even as Kazungu was made an orphan, the Father of the fatherless yet has purposes and plans for this young man. It is my privilege to work with New Hope and to count Kazungu as one of my “sons”, and you know what, he’s just beginning to realize the true family that God has given him in place of his own.
Please pray for Kazungu and the other orphans that we work with on a day to day basis. Pray that the Father of the fatherless would break in on their hearts, bringing true and genuine healing of heart. Physical needs can be met, education can be provided, but unless the heart is healed, then the life will not be made whole.

Heading to the Burial

2007-10-27T02:11:00.000-07:00

I didn't need my alarm to go off to wake me up at 4:40am, as I had slept wrestlessly and was up by 4:30. I quickly dressed and poured some coffee from my flask (where I had put it the night before incase the power was off) to my Starbucks travel mug. Clothes, shoes, bananas, water bottle, camera, pillow, ready to go. I reached the "coasters" at 5 sharp and they were already packed with people. My seat was on the trundle (folding) seat near the front of the bus. The goal was to reach Kampala before 6:30 so as to beat the jam that ALWAYS occurs at Bwaise, just before town. In typical Ugandan fashion, we left a half hour late, drove incredibly SLOW over the bumpy dirt road to Luwero, and then burned 30 minutes in Wobulenzi getting fuel and using the local fascilities. Needless to say, we arrived at Bwaise at 7:30, right in the thick of traffic. I was beginning to get car sick, so my friend Paul (who I was so blessed to sit next to) and I got out and walked ahead to a Shell so I could regain my stomach. After making it through Bwaise and after making a number of funny and unnecessary stops, we were off to Ft. Portal. Paul and I spent the trip "dreaming" about future ministry to pastors and churches in the village (Paul himself has planted a church in a small village called Kiruli). After a quick stop for lunch at the "in your face chicken place" (this is where people come to your car with meat on a stick, waving it at your widow- at times the meat touching the glass!). Paul and I had goat, fried bananas, and chapatis. We made it to Ft. Portal around 1:30, just in time for the viewing.
I have been to a number of burials here in Uganda, but I have never participated in the common practice of entering the house where the body is being kept and looking at the body, but I went in to have one last look at my friend Emma. The room was full of women sitting on the ground. The coffin was long (Emma was around 6'7") and covered. The group of around 60 that I had arrived with stood around just looking at the coffin, until one bold man charged up to the coffin and uncovered the face. Immediately it was like a wave had hit as everyone rushed up to look in. Crying broke out as we looked on the face of our beloved Emma- so loved by so many.
The total attendence was around 200 people, with only around 10 from Ft. Portal itself, quite a testimony to Emma and those who know and love the Ruyondo family. After a few minutes the coffin was brought out into the center of the three canapies outside the house for general viewing.
Then the speeches began. Representatives from family, Emma's schools, work, and New Hope all spoke. The sister of Emma's deceased mother spoke, informing us that their mother had given birth to 14 children, of which only 3 are alive today. Her son, Emma's cousin, spoke with great faith and hope in Jesus. Yet one statement he made stuck with me- "Death is becoming more real to me than life." What a commentary on life here in Uganda. Yet he was quick to speak of the eternal that that death points to and continually draws our thoughts to.
Emma's Dad and my good friend Joseph then gave a speech. He narrated the entire situation of how Emma had died. We were all awaiting the sister, Esther, to arrive as she was having to take government exams for her end of school year. As Joseph ended his speech Esther pulled up. She was able to see her brother one last time. We then headed to the burial sight with much singing along the way.
At the gravesite I stood next to my friend Joseph and put my arm around him. I could hardly look at him throughout the day without crying, feeling the pain (really for the first time) of a father who had lost his son. Flowers were passed out to everyone to throw onto the coffin before covering it. As we sang and looked on, I couldn't help but notice Joseph with his arm around his two sons, Joel and Dan. I know that Joseph wanted to protect them and comfort them, just as he longed to have been able to protect Emma but was unable to. We sang, prayed, and cast our flowers just as the rain came in and forced us all to leave the grave quite suddenly.
We arrived back to an enormous meal of matoke, rice, millet bread, chapati, meat and chicken before heading back here to Kasana.
I recognize that this email is more "newsy" then heart. It's not that heart isn't there, it's just the drain from the emotion packed days that we have all been through. My heart is with Joseph as he leads his family through this journey of grief, one that he knows all too well.
I have been encouraged by the glory given to God and the hope of the Gospel proclaimed throughout all of this. It is tragedy and at death we rail in anger and pain. Yet it is not the end, but is the beginning. Emma is not the focus, it is Jesus, the one who made Emma and made him the young man he was. It is Emma's God that is the focus and to His wisdom we submit. The Gospel enters into the sufferers pain and cries out, "It is that the works of God might be desplayed". Thank you my Jesus for standing as our suffering high priest and for interceeding on behalf of our weaknesses. You are our only hope.

Losing a Son- Death and Grief in Uganda

2007-10-25T04:11:00.000-07:00

As I approached my good friend Joseph Ruyondo I could see that something tragic had happened. Jay Dangers (our Director and father) was with Joseph and both had been crying together. Jay looked up at me and said, “Our son Emma has died.” What? Emma? Young, tall, strong, beautiful Emma? Always smiling, Jesus loving Emma? I hugged Joseph as the feeling of shock set in. Jay asked me to walk Joseph to his house and just sit with him. It was the longest walk I’ve ever taken. With my arm around him, Joseph and I began the walk up the dirt road to his house. We were joined by another friend, Rukundo, and together we slowly walked, cried, prayed, and walked some more.
Just as we neared the house I could hear the familiar sound of wailing that accompanies death here. Two women who had been close to the house had already received the news and were lifting up the mourning cry. They joined us as we entered his bedroom and sat down on the bed. As the women began to weep, we all broke out in a sudden onrush of tears and cries. For ten minutes all that could be heard coming from the bedroom was a mix of “Oh Jesus. Oh Yesu.” Intermixed with prayer and crying. Galatians 6:2 and Romans 12:15 flooded into my mind.
As our crying came to a stop I could hear the sound of loud wailing drawing nearer and nearer to the house. The sound grew nearer and then a crowd of women entered the house like a flood, filling every inch of ground in the sitting room (living room). Our own crying renewed, we joined their chorus and lifted our prayers to our brother and high priest, our King Jesus.
Joseph and I sat together and I was able to find out just what had been happening with Emma. He had come back from school over the weekend for some testing at a local hospital, complaining of pain in his leg and shortness of breath when walking uphill. The doctors ran tests but couldn’t find anything. They gave him some medicine (I’m not sure what or for what) and he headed back to school on Sunday. Joseph had heard nothing from him since, so he assumed things were ok. [Emma died on Wednesday from a blood clot that traveled to his lungs (thrombosis). His mother had died from the same condition twelve years before.]
I began to sense the guilt that Joseph was already tormenting himself with. “I should have kept him here and not let him go back to school. I should have called him back sooner for more testing.” By God’s grace I was able to speak into the self-condemnation. We prayed a bit more together before his attention was drawn to all of the practical matters that go into preparing for a burial here. Calling and informing relatives, finding out where the body is and where it’s being taken, figuring out where the burial is taking place and arranging transport to and fro for the family and the community who will accompany to the burial, getting a coffin made, and arranging with people in the home village to prepare for the burial- including digging the grave, getting food and cooks ready for the all night wake that occurs in the house with the body the night before the burial as well as the burial itself the following day.
We stepped outside the house and noticed that the gathering crowd had grown to over 75 people, most just standing around processing. A fresh wail was rising from inside the house. Joseph’s oldest daughter Esther was sobbing over and over again in waves that would continue on for hours as she processed her brother’s death. Benches began to be brought to the house and set up in the yard. Cell phones were going off all over as the network of community were informing as many people as quickly as possible. Villagers began to come from outside of New Hope, most carrying mats and blankets for the long cold night ahead of them. When someone dies here, everyone who knows anyone related to the deceased will come and spend the night with the family. The old women sit in the house on the floor, everyone else sits outside, just to “be” with the family in their grieving.
After a few more minutes fire wood began to be piled into a stack and was lit as the sun began to set. Off to the east a storm was blowing in and the hot day was cooling off in preparation of a cool night of mourning. “Oh Lord, where will these people go if it rains?” After getting our boys in bed, Laura Beth and I joined the crowd around the fire. The night would be passed by singing and sharing stories about Emma’s life. Laura Beth soon felt rain drops on her head and it seemed the storm had made its way to us. Funny, a wind suddenly began to come in from the other direction and throughout the night no rain fell. The Father’s care for us was so sweet as we sat around and sang of His goodness and the beauty of Emma’s life, a beauty that God Himself had formed in him. At one point my own grieving was renewed as we cried out “Blessed be Your Name.”
Sometime after midnight I was able to be with Joseph again. He was still making phone calls and worrying over how things would work out the following day. It was a privilege to walk with him as Uncle Jonnes made him turn off his cell phone, go into his bedroom and at least try to rest in the quiet of the night. We returned home to sleep a bit before Elisha and Noah would wake up with the first light of dawn.
Tomorrow I will be traveling with around 50 other people the long miles to Ft. Portal where the burial will take place. We will return the same day. Most of the Ugandans going will be paying around 20,000 shillings for transport, about 15% of their total month’s salary! I know of no event in this culture that causes everything (EVERYTHING) to stop and shut down like a burial. Shops close, work stops, schools are out, and crowds of people head out to attend the burial. Pray for grace, mercy and comfort for the Ruyondo family and for those who are traveling tomorrow to be with them.
Everyone here will miss Emma. He was a leader, a lover of God, and an example to everyone who knew him. If you could pick one of our “young men” would grow up to impact Uganda, it would be Emma. One thing that impressed me about him (besides the light of his constant smile) was his work ethic. He was willing to work hard to get to University and did not look to “sponsors” as the answer to all of his needs. He was a man of integrity and love. We are excited that Emma is able to see his mother and his Jesus and we look forward to seeing him again when we are with the Savior.
Though I haven’t yet attended the burial, I am already moved anew when I look back on the community response to yesterday. At times being in such a tight knit community can feel oppressive to our Western minds, yet when we are away from it we miss it terribly and realize what a blessing this community truly is. Yesterday demonstrates part of the blessing of living here in Uganda, where community is community and where people put people before everything else.

McFarland Update...

2007-10-25T01:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings to you from rainy Kasana! It has been some time since we sent out an update, and now there is so much to update you on I almost don't know where to begin. Let me begin with the most recent and tragic event.

Yesterday I was with my good friend Joseph Ruyondo (he's been at New Hope for over 15 years and is the head of the Childcare dept) a few minutes after he found out that his oldest son Emma had died. We think it was from a blood clot (thrombosis), which is the same thing his mother died from 12 years ago. It is a shock to the whole community here as Emma was a "poster child" for what you hope your children will grow up to be- he was an amazing young man and just 20 years old. The whole community joined together last night around the Ruyondo's home and many spent the entire night there. We all sat around a fire late into the night singing and sharing memories of Emma. I've written the whole experience out and attached it for those of you who would like to read more and gain more insight into the culture here. Please pray for the family as they grieve and as they are traveling today- Esther is the next oldest sibling and she is taking it very very hard- she has never quite gotten over the death of her mom and she leaned heavily on her big brother. Please also pray for Joel and Dan, who are both young teens and are also struggling immensily with their brother's death. Please also pray for me and the others from New Hope who will be traveling to Ft. Portal and back tomorrow (around 6 or 7 hours each way) for the burial.

Two Sunday's ago I had the privilege with the other elders from our church (Kasana Community Church) of baptizing 15 of our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters at our nearby dam. Some of you may remember this place from a tragic drowning that happened there last year that I was involved in. It was an amazing redemption of that place that has been avoided completely since the drowning, and it gave quite a vivid picture of the spiritual truth of dying with Christ and being raised to newness of life.

Last Sunday we had a "Family Sunday" at church and it was like no other family Sunday I've ever attended. I had the privilege of being the best man in the wedding of my friend Kibeti and his wife Florence. Yes, she was already his wife, as he had "paid" for her three years ago in the village sense of getting a wife, but there is no real committment there and it is culturally the equivelent of getting a "slave". The significance of the event was that they covenanted together before God and the body of witnesses gathered there to love and serve one another for the rest of their lives- and what a glorious time it was of celebrating the beauty of marriage! Immediately after the wedding we celebrated all of the college and vocational graduations, ordained a deacon and had a baby dedication of around 10 babies. Now that's a Family Sunday!

Laura Beth is doing GREAT and is now 22 weeks along. We are having a third BOY, which is so exciting for me as that's one step closer to my soccer team! Laura Beth had to process it a bit : ) , but she's also very excited. The day will come when we'll get our fill of girls, too. We are so thankful for our Father's hand in our lives and for this gift that he is preparing for us to raise up.

The Institute has been finishing up very well- two more weeks of class before graduation on Nov. 13th. Please pray for us as we tie things up and "launch" the students out to their various ministries all over. One couple who is here from the Congo (Pastor Samuel Nkudulu and his wife Esther) is beginning a home for orphans immediately after returning to Congo and could use your support in prayer as they step out in faith to bring God's Fatherhood to the fatherless in Congo.

One PRAISE is concerning my Indian partner and intern Jiten Nayak. He was denied his work visa two weeks ago and asked to return to India within a couple of days. This was crushing news as he and my Ugandan partner George are running the January course while we are away. But our Father moved on our behalf and through a connection to a senior officer in immigration we were able to get the decision changed and Jiten was given a 2 year work permit!

Finally, we will be in the States from November 18th and will be returning to Uganda in May. We are so thankful to be staying in Wycliffe missionary housing in West Chicago throughout our time there. If you'd like us to come and speak at your church or to a small group let us know and we'll plan it! You can reach us initially via e-mail or by calling 630-773-8934.

Thanks so much for loving us and carrying us with you in heart and in prayer!

In Father's Love,

Keith (for Laura Beth, Elisha and Noah)