parting is such sweet sorrow.

This is my last post from Uganda... for now.

My last month or so has been filled with excitement and a bit of danger. 

I went to karamoja, and ministered to the people there. There are still very primative and still resort to violence and cattle rustling. It was an exciting experience being among such people. They are very similar to the Masai of tanzania and kenya. They drink blood/milk mixture and still practice a lot of ancestor worship/witch doctor stuff. It was a good time and the word of God was well recieved. I felt like i was really in africa. I know that sounds silly, but Kapchorwa is so nice and temperate, being on the mountain, that you start to forget you are in Africa, and you imagine that you are in tennessee.  Funny huh? So, after all of that, i went back to Bukwo again, which was an experience all on it's own. You should ask me about it! It was a strange trip, riding in a tiny clown car with no brakes, no tyre tread, and a broken suspension up and down a mountain will always leave you with a story. Imagine a full 6 hour car trip, pushing a 3-cylinder engine/suzuki up a mountain, having four flat tyres and no brakes... so yeah.

I'm heading home on monday... tomorrow is my last full day in Uganda. It is a strange thing to say.. "i'm heading home" when i've felt like this is my home. It feels like i'm leaving my home to go . . . HOME?!? If that doesn't make sense to you, you're on track with how i feel. It makes me think about how our life on earth, as Christians, is. We are living, we are interacting, making friends, making differences, making mistakes... you know, the usual. But throughout all that time, we are just passing through, on a pilgrimmage. We are not really home. Not yet. How often do you forget that you are only visiting, and that your home is far better?  A renewed heaven and earth, full unity with God and no more pain and heart-ache. Home sounds good to me. How about you?

See you all soon. 

In Uganda, plans change as quick as your underwear

Here's hoping you're in the habit of changing your underwear!

I'm gonna be home soon. quicker than i imagined it.

I'm in Kampala today.

I'm broke.

I had a hamburger yesterday.

I am not crazy.

yet.

and i've been running round in circles for a few weeks.

Life of a missionary.

Mountains

 

 

I’ll start off with a quote.

Francis of Assisi – “Lord, what is this mountain?”

I read his book and heard that quote and it floored me.  Lord, what is this mountain. Wow. But, Francis is referring to a challenge. A mountain is a challenge. For Francis, his mountain was poverty. It was this struggle with wealth and poverty. If you know of Francis of Assisi, you’ll know that he humbled himself to the point of renouncing all physical wealth. His struggle was putting wealth into a proper place. It was Francis’ mountain.

Our lives are filled with mountains. Like, “I look to the mountain, where does my help come from.” I’ve encountered mountains in my life, and some valleys. The mountains are those spiritual challenges, when we have no choice but to seek after God. Our mountain experiences are when we have such challenges that faith, hope, God’s mercy, Grace, love, compassion… all of these things become realities because we are dealing with struggles day in/day out, when prayer is more than just prayer. Meditation on God is like a breath of air to a drowning person. Those times in the mountain, God is palpable, you can feel his presence. You have to deal with his mercy, because without it, you would not be able to survive. His grace becomes something more than clichés because without his grace, you would not be able to tackle the mountain ahead of you.  So, I’m sure, at this point, you can agree with me that Francis is saying something remarkable, “Lord, what is this mountain?” Lord, I simply can not accept this challenge on my own. I need your help, I look at this mountain and only your help will free me. I’m oppressed, I’m dragged thru the mud, I’m down and out and without you, this mountain will finish me. Lord, what is this mountain? So, look to my time in Uganda. There have been challenges with sickness, with people opposing the Gospel, day in, day out, challenges. But, when you come to the other side of the mountain, you are stronger; you have a clear mind as to what to do to make this mountain easier for other pilgrims.

I wouldn’t trade this mountain for the world.

So, during the mountain time, we have challenges that make faith come alive. We grow stronger, we fill up, we are being molded and fixed by God. So, let’s go to these mountains. Lets tackle the mountains with God. The valleys? Who has ever asked “oh Lord, what is this valley?” That’s silly. Valleys, those are the times when we are doing it all on our own. They are the times when we start to grow comfortable, when we feel fine with the world. It’s the base camp experiences that refresh us after a mountain, and prepare us for the next mountain, but the valley, the base camp, that is not the place to stop. We can’t stop because we are comfortable. It must be continuing to the mountain.

Where is your mountain?

Or are you chilling in base camp? Getting out of shape, growing a beard and long hair(mitch hedburg). Base camp is worthless if you don’t ever climb the mountain.

“Lord, help me climb this mountain.”

a slight musing on various themes

A delightful musing, on a completely unrelated note.

Books, music, poetry, flowers, love; My thoughts have been fixed on such things in the past few days. I have been in Kampala for a week and a half. I was, until yesterday, fixed on the renewing of my Visa. Now that the task has been fulfilled, I have a few days of leisure before returning to Kapchorwa for the second half of my adventure here. It's strange that one of the first actions that I took on arrival to Kampala, two weeks ago this thursday, was to go to a bookshop. It was on friday. I was dropped off at shop-rite, one of the few "supermarkets" in Uganda. I walked for perhaps three kilometers to get into the center of town to a bookshop "Aristoc." I proceeded to buy some books. They have a very small selection, but, fortunately, they have the "classics." I purchased a few books for a discount price of around three dollars a book. then, i went to another bookshop and procured a long sought-after book "St. Francis of Assisi" which i could not recommend more highly. But, I digress, Books. one of the first instinctive actions, upon the ability to procure such things, was to buy books. And what books i did buy. bram stoker- dracula, dostoyevsky- crime and punishment... etc. chauncer, milton and a lovely book on 18th century poetry.

I read, within today, just, crime and punishment. all i can say is "wow." that is a powerful book. I can't believe i read it all in one day, a day devoted to reading, and in the end if it, i am left free to muse about what I have read. 

books

I went to a charity concert the first saturday here. It was great. one piano, one person who entertained us for an evening, there was also a gospel chorus. The pianist played Liszt, Chopin, and a number of others, from memory! he was incredible. He has been studying at the royal school of music in London for years and is just preparing to graduate. I had the distinct pleasure to speak to him at length after the concert. There is something, as i muse for the umpteenth time, in music. (whilst at the moment, i listen to switchfoot) It is not that it pacifies, or that it entertains, or relaxes, or constricts, or aggrevates, although it has all of these abilities, but it is the fact that it, when properly done, has a profound affect on the spirit. imagine, for a moment, good music. now, i'm not talking about the latest "trend" music, but really, truly, fine music. Music that you can listen to over and over again, without growing weary of it. i know of some, sometimes it is classical, romantic era music, but other times it can be contemporary. For example, right now i'm listening to an album, which, by conservative estimations, i've perhaps listened to more than two hundred times. I'm not joking. But, have i grown tired of it, in the four years that i have had the album? by no means, I find that it gets better with time. It has ministered to me in so many different times of my life. There is something about truly good music that goes deeper than the ear, further than the brain. Something within us is revealed. It's like, without this music, without the song "twenty-four," there would be a part of my life that I didn't truly understand. Because of this music, this song, I know myself better, i can come to a true understanding of who i am. Does this resonate with anyone else, or am I the only one who feels this way about music?

music.

I've been reading poetry and i find that when i read some poetry, it is like looking at a beautiful picture or landscape. Poetry is great. Reading poetry gives one a better understanding when reading the psalms.... check it out.

poetry

in the past week, i've run into flowers often, for the first in a long time. at a restaurant, i found a fresh lily on my table. it smelled simply intoxicating. it was beautiful. White, peppered with yellow pollen, and opening up to the world. Flowers are splendid, and testify to a creator God who simply loves his creation(including Us!!)

flowers.

I've decided not to discuss this last one. I have found God's love too amazing for words. I can't discuss nor describe, at the moment, because words are so empty in comparison to His Love. The Love of God is often a point of contemplation for me, but I could think about it for the next sixty years and not come to a firm conclusion. It is simply too amazing to be simplified into words. Even the most eloquent poetry seems base and vulgur in comparison to it.

God loves.

a note on ugandan governmental policies

have you ever gone to the post office and thought that the service was slow? or the DMV/secretary of state? I think that american government run buildings operate at their own wavelength. I thought it was bad in america. Being raised to dread waiting more than thirty minutes to get something accomplished. How about Ugandan government?

My visa renewal process:

monday: went to ministry of internal affairs (aka ministry of redundancy) they asked for seven different forms and printed documents and such.

Tuesday: returned with all the forms and documents waited 30 minutes, they took my passport told me to return on friday.

Friday: returned. was told i needed a "special pass" went to cashier, got a bill, went to bank paid bill. 1 hour. was told i needed a receipt for bill, another hour. returned to ministry and again handed over passport. told to return on monday.

Monday: went to ministry of redundancy, closed, was told to return later.

sitting in coffee shop, waiting to return.

one week, and a lot of walking. sait la vie.

So, next time you wait an hour to get your liscense renewed, thank God you are not in Uganda!

simplicity

So, i've been trying to learn simplicity. I've been walking most of the time, since being here. I'm learning to take food for nourishment, not for pleasure, to love deeply and share with those in need and to hold nothing back for myself but to realize that all i have has been given by God, entrusted to me as a good steward. 

So, because of all of that... i've decided to start making my own clothes.

can anyone teach me how?

.... seriously.

night flight

So, I’ve been planning a trip from Kapchorwa to Kampala for a few reasons. For one, I need to get my visa renewed so that I’ll be able to “legally” stay in the country. Basically, I have to pay fifty dollars for the privilege to stay here for another three months. Which is exactly what I want to do… Stay here 3 more months. The 18^th will be my 3 month anniversary of being here and the 16^th will be my half way point. I can’t believe that I’ve been here for three months already. I’ve grown so accustomed to the life here that I am capable of forgetting that I lived somewhere else. I can use the squat toilet like a pro (which takes a lot of practice, but salmonella gives you that opportunity and it become a much more difficult situation when you have the runs! Sorry, too much information) I’ve grown accustomed to taking baths in public, which makes one feel a bit awkward. I’ve learned to enjoy the food and the constant opportunities at tea…. Basically, life. It has been a learning experience, especially with church and community here.  I’ve been reading a lot from a book called “celebration of discipline” by Richard Foster. It is one of my favorite books and has shaped a lot of aspects of my spiritual life. Especially what I’m about to talk about… meditation. Christian meditation is, as Foster puts it, not the emptying of your mind, or the loss of self, but the filling of your mind with Christ, and finding yourself in Christ. So, I’ve been focusing on that a lot. I’ve said all of this as a precursor to the following.

In order to travel from Kapchorwa to Kampala, you have few options. Either you can ride in a private vehicle, which costs about 100,000 shillings (more than fifty dollars) in petrol; or you can ride a taxi 15,000 shillings(less than 10 dollars). I chose to ride a taxi. Unfortunately/fortunately (it depends upon your viewpoint) The taxi that leaves at 7 a.m. was broken down, So the only option was a taxi at 2 a.m., or as I like to call it, “the night flight.” So, seeing it as an opportunity to invest in new experiences, I chose the 2 a.m. I woke at 1:30, and boarded the taxi (a mini bus taxi) at 2:30. We finally left at three or so. I was wide awake, and in no mood to sleep, so I decided to commit my time to meditation. I started to think about the problems in Myanmar [previously Burma] (there was a terrible cyclone that has killed tens of thousands). I started to think, not about the natural disaster, because that is unavoidable, but of the response by the Myanmar Government.  The government has refused to allow aid workers to come into the country; they have also refused most foreign aid. The foreign aid that does reach the country has been pilfered by the government and military before actually getting to the people. The response… Thousands are dying of starvation, because of their government. Thousands are dying of preventable diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery and other disease because of rotting bodies and terrible sanitation. All of this has happened because of a lack of government help and a lack of international aid because the government will not allow it.

We, in Uganda, in America, in the whole of the world would say that the government of Myanmar is unjust, unethical and is murdering their citizens by not allowing aid. If a parent were to allow their child to starve, they would be arrested for negligence, but this is an entire country allowing its people to starve, for no reason. The aid is there, but they are not allowing the people to have access to the aid.  This thought got me thinking about the ethical code of countries. It is easy to condemn a country because of its outrageous disregard of human life, but do we look at what our country (America) says about ethics?

There are a lot of laws in America. From traffic laws, to “thou shall not murder,” we have laws for just about any aspect of human life. Strangely enough, for most ethical questions, our government is strangely silent, or it encourages people in a wrong direction. We can’t murder people, but it is perfectly acceptable to hate someone. We can’t steal, but coveting a neighbors wife, or possessions is perfectly acceptable. We are actually encouraged to make as much money as possible and spend all of that money on ourselves. This is, in fact, the “American Dream.” A dream of doing whatever is necessary to get to the top. There is no law against betraying your friends in order to get ahead. In truth, when we look at how society puts it, it is fine to betray another’s trust, or confidence in order to make yourself look better, or to backstab someone to get to that one higher rung on the corporate ladder. It’s actually encouraged in some ways. Phrases like “it’s a dog eat dog world.” Or “I’m looking out for number one,” form excuses for us to mistreat others to our own advantage. That is just in America. I’m not even mentioning what Americans and other westerners do to the impoverished in third world countries without even thinking about it. Things like keeping people in slavery and starvation just so we can have a cheap pair of jeans or a cheap cup of coffee. Does that really make sense? Don’t get me wrong on this next thing, I’m not saying it to condemn anyone, but let us look at the facts. Our government is virtually silent on the issues of Abortion, homosexuality and mistreatment of other human beings for our own financial gain (petroleum, coffee, fruit production, clothing...etc.) our society, for the most part, endorses alcohol abuse and misuse of drugs, free sex and consumerism for pleasure. The government has no say on what we do with our money, but they encourage us to spend it on ourselves, as long as they get a chunk of the profits. There is no encouragement on giving things away or helping others if there isn’t a benefit for oneself. Hospitality in America is terrible. You don’t expect to be treated like a guest, and you don’t treat your guests like guests. If a visitor arrives unexpectedly at one’s house, the first thought is more likely “how can I get rid of this person quickly,” rather than “a guest, I should make some tea and food before we enjoy some fellowship.” 

Tea break (black tea with tangawizi[ginger]) yummy.

So, we find silence, or conformation within our government, according to the “American dream.”

But what is the difference between our government, which most people support “to the death” and the Myanmar government, which is negligibly killing tens of thousands, which we would condemn as terrible? What is the difference between a gross outward showing of human rights abuse, or a sneaky consumerism based human rights abuse done by a government?

This is what I was meditating on for some time and couldn’t find a good answer to the aforementioned question. Then I started thinking about what I can do, what the government is silent on.

Love. The American government does not have much to say on the topic of love, or brotherly affection. I find that to be my answer. It is a worldwide thing too! To love indiscriminately, that should be the political goal of a Christian. It is a catch all answer. It was the fulfillment of the Ten Commandments. Love God, Love Others. The way Mars Hill says it: Love wins. This is such a powerful statement. Usually the most profound truths are simple. In the words of Switchfoot “Love is a movement, Love is a revolution.”

Lets unpack that last thought just a little bit. It’s too big just to say “love everyone.” It seems too hard. It seems unfair. It seems to go against everything we have been taught in school, at work, at home, in society. We are not taught to love. We are taught to take revenge when someone wrongs us, we are taught to hate people who betray us, we are taught to put ourselves first and not give a darn (imagine a stronger word, if your conscious allows) about anyone else.  

Love is difficult. There are some parts about love that come easy, like loving oneself.  We might not like ourselves, but we do a pretty good job of loving ourselves.  We take care of our own needs. We watch out for “number one.” But the challenge is to move on from there. We need to learn, to understand how to love God. Once that is taken care of you will find that “number one” becomes God. Then you find yourself taking a back seat. You will also find that you are fulfilling the first two commandments “love the lord your God, and don’t take his name in vain/ have no other Gods but YHVH.” Ding ding. So, for the rest.  It is best put this way “all the laws and prophets are summed up in this saying “love your neighbor as yourself” Here is the crux. It isn’t enough to love your neighbor, but to love him as yourself. To value his or her life as equally valuable as your own. This is gynormous! It’s huge. It is the fulfillment of the law (rom. 13) To love your neighbor as yourself.

This asks one question… The text screams it. Who is my neighbor?

Well, I got some good and bad news. Your neighbor is everyone. It is the Al Quida operative  who wants you to die, it is the drunk who beats his wife next door, it’s the drug dealer who sold the lethal dose of cocaine to your brother, it’s the prostitute that ruined your parent’s marriage, it’s the Muslim/Jew/Atheist/Buddhist/Wicca/Baptist/Pentecostal/church of Christ/ Dutch reformer…etc.  down the street, it is the person in the Philippines who made your tee shirt, whom you are starving to have the “up to date fashion, at a low price.” It is the child in South America who picks coffee from dawn to dusk for pennies a day, just to help feed his family.  We have a global neighborhood and we are called to love our global neighbors. We are not to love people because of charity, or to pity them, but to truly love them. It is hard to love someone who isn’t worth loving though. That again, is easy to overcome. If we truly believe in the reconciliation that Christ made on the cross, we will understand that by his love, he has made us, the entire world, worth loving. If Christ can love us, We should be able to follow his example and love each other.

So… That is my meditation of the morning. I could tell you how it went on and how I started to think of other aspects of the Kingdom of God and how, as Christians, as the church, we are called to manifest the kingdom among us. To proclaim it’s glory, to cast our allegiances upon Christ’s kingdom. A kingdom of love, peace, hope, faith, grace and mercy.

So, after leaving around 2:30 in the morning, I arrived in Kampala at 6:45, to see an African sunrise (beautiful) and to promptly get distracted and miss my stop on the taxi. I ended up having another half hour meditation as I walked the 5-10 kilometers back from where the taxi finally dropped me, along with my pack, weighing about25-30 kilos!

Peace endures. Love wins. Grace is scandalously unfair.

luke

a brief and scattered update.

so here i am, sitting at the Kapchorwa postoffice. I have been here before, many times, it is a place of refuge for me. I can come here and find solice and comfort because i can get internet and reach back home for a few moments of forgetfulness and encouragement from home. It is the only place in about 100 square kilometers that i can get internet. So... needless to say, i'm here on occasion. that was my intro. now for some pictures.

I think that this tree looks awesome. like a huge bonsai tree. it's really cool huh? I was hiking a lot on this day. i visited 23 houses and prayed for a ton of people.

people decorate their houses with all sorts of posters and things. They really don't care much about the content, as long as it covers their bare mudhut walls. This poster is about saddam hussein and his "mighty men"  I always get a kick out of posters like this, or newspaper articles that are pinned on the walls.

So, i preached at a conference with many people(1000plus)  and this is a picture from one night, of only a few people the hall goes further back, beyond what you can see. It was intense time.

The village you see down there is the village center of piswa. I was there for 4 days and i was preaching and visiting/encouraging brothers and sisters in the lord. I visited more than 50 houses in 4 days.  I probably hiked more than 50 kilometers! it was an intense time. 

within piswa town. the kids are always following you!

So, you see, for the past ten days i've been in the mountains. I went first to piswa and visited believers and prayed for them and fellowshipped with them in homes and such. It was a fun but draining time. After that i went deeper and higher into the "bush" and visited a place i've been before. Mengya. There was a conference where i was one of the main speakers. I preached to over 1000 people and we did a lot of dancing, eating and just plain revival fun. so it was a week there and now i'm back. What a time, what an experience, what fun. I'm a bit sick now, and really still tired. I was praying for the sick a lot and caught a bug from someone.(no surprise) being in a foreign country for a long time, you soon learn that you'll get sick a lot. your immune system isn't accustom to all of the bugs and things in the country. Oh well. God is an amazing healer.

Let's focus on one verse gal. 2.20.

Crucified with Christ, I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. 

that is the jist of it. We have been crucified with christ. it is in the past. our old sinful selves have been killed, on the cross. We are no longer slaves to sin but slave to righteousness (rom. 6) So, we find the next part. I no longer live but Christ lives in me. This is such a profound truth. It isn't my life that i'm living. I am part of Christ's body, the church. I am IN Christ. and vice versa. Christ is in me. He is leading my life and now I have Christ in me. Ruminate on this for a moment. Marinate on the fact that Christ lives in you! it is an amazing truth.

so that is my short "brief and scattered update" enjoi.

So, when people build houses and buildings, they don't go into debt. They build as they have money. the building you see is one under construction. it has been "under construction" for some time. Interesting huh?

The town/village of Kapchorwa. It's a nice place. really. No traffic lights but plenty of traffic none the less. Roads are less complicated when there is only one paved one!

So, this is me being a goof with the camera. 

hmm. Sometimes you have to have a little fun in life

This is IKE, my mint plant. He is a new addition to my life. It's a nice pasttime and very enjoyable to keep him cleaned up and watered. Like a little garden. Plus, i get to take mint tea instead of just regular tea. Yummy.

This is me, smiling, I took this picture to show you that i'm smiling my way through life over here! in the back, my mosquito net. I don't use it because it's too cold here for mosquitos!

some pictures

we were hiking around in the mountains/hill tops near the real mountain.

The house i am staying at, what you see in front of you is the road

you can see mountains in the distance, and i'm on top of a hill in the mountains. I found a small mint plant on top of this hill and transported it back to my house(shhh, don't tell) so, we're gonna have some mint tea!

do you see the large hill in the distance? that is where i hiked the day before, and today we hiked to this hill. in the very far distance, almost a shadow, is another range of mountains, karamojong. i'll be heading there in a few weeks.

This is my shower. It's a shack with a wooden floor, you wash out of a basin. it is also the same place we go "number one" at. but, instead of 'relieving yourself" on the boards, you stand on them and shower! fun fun.

check out the post below for some info about mission work!

Perhaps today I will give you a sort of a mental picture of what going out into the mission field is like, here in Africa. Well, for starters, it means going into the rural villages. The REALLY rural villages. You pack your things according to where you are going. For me, I try to pack as light as possible, because you never know if you’re going to be packing it for a bit, or riding on the back of a motorcycle to get where you are going. (the motorcycle is no fun; imagine two on a dirt bike with all your gear strapped to a rack on the back) So, when I pack, I bring a few changes of clothes, a book or two, including my bible and journal. I bring all the basic toiletries, except in smaller varieties. (small toothbrush, small toothpaste, and maybe soap) The trick is not bringing the things that will be supplied. Soap is usually supplied. I also bring my water purifying drops (these are a necessity) and I make sure that I have toilet paper (you have to use a squat toilet/hole in the ground and t.p. is not provided) so, it’s byotp. Bring your own t.p. also, I bring a rain coat and some other necessities. After I have packed all my things into my hiking pack, I usually have to wait for transport. This can take a while. Sometimes I’ll be told that we are leaving early, just to find out that we don’t leave until two in the afternoon. Or I’m told that we are leaving, and then we don’t leave for another few days! (time in Africa is a bit different) So, we go into the mountains. I’m either riding on the back of a motorbike, or riding in a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Once I arrive at the rural village, (travelling can take from 30 minutes to 6 hours.) I meet the person I’m staying with, and the person who brought me will leave. Then, I get a tour of the village. This can take either a few minutes or many hours (depending on how many houses I get dragged into for tea and fellowship.) It’s interesting though, no matter how long it takes, you always see the important places. You see the church, and other key places. When you walk through the village, the first thing you will notice are the children. They are everywhere, and as you walk, they follow after you shouting “Muzungu!”(white) It becomes a sort of parade. It’s awkward, and it’s embarrassing for me. The children follow after and act very strange. They want to touch you and greet you and talk to you. the second thing you notice is that everyone will greet you and wish you well. As you walk they will shake your hand and greet you. When you go into homes you can bet that you will be fed and watered. People here delight in feeding their guests, especially if their guest is a muzungu. You see, it’s not like America, people in Uganda don’t often see a white person, so it’s a bit of a surprise, and they want to welcome such a visitor. So, you get hot milk tea, and you also get food. It will either be biscuits (cookies) or a full out meal. If it within a few hours of meal time, it will be a meal. The meal will be the best food they have to offer, usually chicken and rice. And perhaps chibate (chai ba tea)(*African flat bread)(Yum!) and eggs as well. That’s if you’re really lucky. And when they feed you chicken, they feed you the best part. And for them the best part is the gizzard. So, you get to eat the gizzard. Also, when they feed you, they want you to eat a lot! Especially when they think you are hungry. So, they will continue to feed you and give you large portions. They feel special if you eat all the food, but if you leave some on your plate, they feel like you either didn’t like the food, or you were sick and they worry. So you eat a lot. You have to learn, as a missionary, how to say no to some food, or else you will constantly be fed until the point of nausea. One day I was fellowshipping, when I first came, and I had four bottles of coke in only an hour, then I hiked for two hours. So, then you go to the church and you will preach and perhaps you’ll preach for an hour. After that they will continue for a while. A church service lasts for around 4-5 hours! Then, when your time is up, you will be asked to stay, begged not to leave, and inevitably they will offer to give you a plot of land and help you build a house. Every place I’ve been, since I’ve been here, I’ve had an offer to get a piece of property and even some cattle! Ha. It’s great. They really love missionaries here. So, then you leave, and start all over again next week.

Now, I want to share a few quotes.

“when he was preaching, a verse came into my head. ‘can anything good come from Nazareth’ and then I thought to myself, can anything good come from America? (then he went on to give me a compliment)”

“So, what is your name? me: ‘luke ryggs’, him: ah, luke ryggs, Luke, that is good, you see, when I have my first male child I will name him luke ryggs” (this was after talking to a guy for fifteen minutes)

“in Africa, children will not learn without using the stick”

“Michigan… Hmm, is that country in north America or South America?”

And I’ll leave you with a question. It might hurt, but sometimes when we get offended, we do something about it! Think about the question and ask yourself, I know it’s a question I’ve been asking myself.

Can I have a closet full of clothes and twenty pairs of shoes after I have seen children with only the clothes on their backs, and those falling apart in rags, and no shoes? Is it fair? And why? What causes this to happen?

There is a book called 1984, written by George Orwell, it’s one of my favorites. One of the slogans in the book is “Ignorance is strength.” You know, ignorance is strength. When we don’t know about a certain problem, or something that is happening in the world, we are free to act in any way we want. But once we know, we are forced to make a choice. We can continue doing thing that keep people in poverty, or we can change the cycle. WE can choose to keep buying shoes for ourselves when we have no need, or we can buy a pair of shoes for a child in Africa, or Europe, or Asia. I want to challenge you to not live ignorantly, but to have a knowledge of what you are doing with your money. What are you supporting with your purchases? And I could go on.

Praise God.

I got my camera back, here are a few photos!

the first is of the mountains in mengae,

the second is of a boy at the tiger's club ( a charity for feeding and educating street children)

and the last is of a small village near bukwo, the huts you see are the houses that people live in here.

hope this helps

i'm finally leaving for a rural place today!

peace out

live like you look

So, first i want to address something i've been thinking about for a while.

Something i've noticed about people. As a human being, we like to have a feeling that we are being treated like humans. We like to feel like we are humans. We like to be treated decently. How do we do it? how do we feel like decent humans? We have little things in life, like clean clothes and hot showers. We eat good meals, and share with each other. One of the things i've noticed about Uganda is that the people here will stop and greet you as you walk along the street. They are nice to each other, even if they don't know each other. They are concerned about how you are doing, not just merely saying hello. even if you don't have much, you can still be nice to someone. You can still invite them over to take tea. It makes people feel decent to be able to have tea to give, to have a meal, to have things to share. It makes people feel human. So, Like i was saying. People like to feel like humans. They like to feel decent. and it goes in steps. For someone who has never had power, or running water, just sharing a meal with them, staying in their house, when i do that, they feel decent. they feel respectable, they've had a guest over. they were able to share a meal, break bread, fellowship with someone. that makes them feel decent. If someone has always had power, and running water, they feel decent when they are able to enjoy a break, watch some tv. take time to enjoy things. And those people who have had everything their whole life. They feel decent when their bank accounts grow... but here is the crux. what price will we pay to feel decent, to feel good about ourselves? will we sacrifice someone else's decency to feel better ourselves? Will we abuse others so that we feel more human?

What do you do to feel human? to feel decent? is there anything you do that could make harm someone else's decency?

Perhaps you take coffee at a coffee shop. Where is the coffee coming from? did the worker who picked the coffee recieve fair wages?

perhaps you buy clothes and dress smart. Who made the clothes? were they overworked underpaid, is their decency taken away from them so that you can feel better about yourself?

We need to focus on the price we will pay for decency.

that... is an incomplete thought, but i've been thinking it for a few days.

a quick story and i'm out.

there were some visitors at the house today, and as they were leaving, one of the ladies stopped to talk with me. She doesn't speak english, so my host was translating.

a little background first... I have realized that people here have not seen many men with long hair. Since it can be VERY annoying to be called "madame" when i walk down the street, i've decided to grow out my facial hair a bit more. So, i have not shaved in a while and i've got a little beard and moustache thing going. and my hair is just as long as always.... So, that's the background.

This woman stops to talk to me and she says "we have been praying for you. Also, i wanted to tell you that you look like Jesus. Every picture we have seen of him, every carving, you look like Jesus." and then she went on to say "i want to encourage you to live in a way that reflects how you look on the outside."

But, it was interesting. Apparently, I look like Jesus.

that's just kind of funny to me.

pastors corner

yesterday i walked to Pastors corner, a gazebo at a local hotel/resturant. it is a nice place to get away and have some quite time to reflect and read the bible. this is what i wrote in my journal.

"sitting in pastor's corner at masha hotel. drinking a grape soda and observing life. the clouds are far away and puffy, like big balls of cotton, they seem to have soakd up just a little water, they are gray on the edges. the birds are chirping and the ground smells like it has been raining to the point where it (the ground) has drank its fill and is satisfied. a few weeks ago the ground was dry and dead, brown with lack of life. Now it is green and full of water. a bit squishy when you walk on it, like spring in michigan. it shows its contentment by growing greener and greener like to a shade of green contentment. I slowly sip grape soda out of a glass bottle. the cool bottle feels nice while sitting in the shade away from the sun. I sit on a terrace on the edge of a cliff. the fence is two yards in front of me. It calls me to stay back, to peer through to the beauty beyond. 100 feet down is the road. the only paved road in the district. i watch, like a bird, as people drive, rid, and walk by, along the road. Beyond the pale ribbon of the road that snakes away down the mountain, i can see farm land. banana plantations and small houses, made of mud and straw. the green of the banana plantations and open land is quickly contrasted from the red squares of plowed farm land waiting for the perfect combination of rain and sunlight to bring seeds to life. I sit here and one thought comes bubbling to the surface of my mind. Matthews, indiana. For whatever reason, i am reminded of my grandmother's town. It is a small quiet town, with farmland and the smell of wet dirt in the air during springtime. Like a few other places in Indiana, some of my fondest memories come from matthews. Spring time spent there, exploring the banks of the river looking for tadpoles, running through the forest looking for mushrooms. Looking for easter eggs, especially the special one with a dollar in it! The wind through the wind chimes. Grandma fussing about little things. It all comes together like a grand symphony. Springtime and grandma's house, summer at prandpa's hous, thanksgiving spent with all the relatives. Fond memories from my childhood. You don't need money to be happy, you need love. Friends and family. The grape soda i'm drinking reminds me of summers at our lake house picnicing with family. Grandpa and everyone coming for the forth of july. I am so blessed with an amazing family. I knew it, but it never fully sank in until now. You don't realize how much you have until it's gone.

Our focus in life too often is aimed at things. Getting the right car, the right job, the right comforts. But, Jesus didn't focus on things, he focused oh people. He focused on loving people. There is something deep within our souls that only love can minister to, and by loving others, we also feel the ministry.If we focus on loving people because they are suppose to be loved, man, it would change the world. People matter, things don't. 

Love is the basis for ministry. Imagine a tree. the roots are the way we love and the rest of the tree is our ministry. the life of the ministry comes from the roots. If the roots are damaged, the tree will die, if the roots are SHALLOW, the storm will come and knock the tree down. But, if the roots are strong, deep, the tree will withstand any storm and will draw water from the deepest source, the source of life, even in the times of droughts. the water we draw our love from, that the roots of life get their nourishment from is God's love. It is a deep, everlasting source, which will never dry up. Sweet water of life.

Amen.

psalm 98.

time is in the weather

What???

that don't make no sense. time is in the weather?

let me explain...

Time, here in africa, is something different. It's more of an option. All things, even church, start when people are ready. people don't try to be there at a certain time. If you are getting ready to go to church, lets say it's ten minutes till church starts, and you have not eaten, you will fix breakfast and eat and enjoy tea, before you go to church, because odds are everyone else is doing the same thing. So, even if you are the preacher, you can be late by 30 minutes or even an hour. People will wait, people will sing, people will dance, and everyone else will be just as late as you!.

So, that's time. Event to an event. not minute to minute. 

Now, weather, hmmm. The roads here are terrible. If there is rain, it will wash out roads, and make driving impossible even for 4wd vehicles. So, if you are leaving, lets say, on tuesday, to go into the mountains to preach for the week, and the rain comes, you will not be able to leave on tuesday. The day will be "wasted". But, people don't really seem to be concerned if a day is wasted. So, wednesday, you are trying to leave, and the roads are still impossible. Another day wasted, but not wasted. Time here is given freely, there is no hiccup about waiting and wasting time. an entire week can go by and you wil still be in the same place, waiting to leave. But life goes on. People still seem to keep up and keep having fun.

So, if you are ever in africa, make sure you take a book along with you. a good one that you can read for hours. Waiting is something you get use to. i've found to think. think and think. I've been thinking so much. I've discovered so much about myself just from hours and hours of contemplation. I have learned that my thoughts skip along and it is hard for me to pay attention. I've also learned that I like to rush between things. So, i find ways of challenging myself in patience. I also find my unconcious patterns, and i try to reverse them. Lets say that i cross my arms in one certain way, i try to reverse it. Little challenges, like brushing my teeth with the hand that i normally don't brush with. Getting use to these things, and then once they have become a new pattern, i change it back. All because of the fact that i'm waiting. Reading a book and then memorizing different passages in the book. It's amazing what you can do with your brain to keep your time occupied!

So, that's just a little about me. and about my time here. But, i'm doing plenty. I've been preaching my voice out!

love you all.

luke

yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead

So, yesterday, i preached. Today i am resting and catching up. tomorrow i travel, and wednesday through sunday i preach again.

That has been my life.

But, God is great.

I came across a passage that spoke some amazing truth to me.

in the book of luke, after the parable of the sower. there is a passage, that says "to those who have, more will be given, to those who don't have, even what they have will be taken away."

this passage has always struck me as strange, until i caught a little bit of the previous sentence that always had been something read over but never sunk in. 

"consider carefully how you listen"

WOW.

ouch

good stuff.

If we don't actively seek to understand God's word, to "have" we will not be given more understanding, and if we don't listen carefully, even the little understanding that we do have will be taken from us!

So, 

Consider carefully how you listen.

amen

living is simple

The title "living is simple" 

Those are the lines to a switchfoot song. its a great reminder to me. living is simple, if you allow it to be. Too often we overcomplicate living with trying to manufacture our own "better way." The better way of a television, a cell phone where anyone can contact you at all times, a car, a house, a morgage, and we add all this little junk into our lives that we can't help but bump into it as we walk through our lives, and we still have wants. But, living can be simple. Without electricity, without t.v. without a morgage, no problems.  people did it for thousands of years, and even thought more. loved the simple things more and were devoted to loving people. 

We can do that too!

living is simple.

on another note...

i've been feeling some culture shock lately and small reminders from home are always nice. i was in the capitol city of uganda yesterday and now i'm back in Kapchorwa, missionworkin' it up. But, anyway, yesterday. ( i get sidetracked easily) So, yesterday, (but it's so easy to lose track), Yesterday i was at the (yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away...- the beatles, good song) YESTERDAY! i was in a store picking up some supplies that cannot be gotten in kapchorwa, and i stumbled upon some ground coffee, african coffee, processed in a good way. I bought. I tried today. It was amazing. It was like a good cup of STRONG coffee and went deep into my bones and strengthened my intestines and brought my contenance up like a sniffing salts to a passed out boxer. It was an amazing experience. coffee.

wow. simple pleasure.

red bull and a smile

Red bull and a smile

So, let me tell you of the past few weeks.

two weeks ago yesterday, i fell ill. It was pretty bad

I was travelling back from bukwo, a district bordering

kenya. It is a small place with no power and no doctors.

so i travelled to kapchorwa town, 6 hours away, in a 

large truck, cramped into the cab with a man a woman and

two little children. There were many more people yet in the

vehicle, but travelling in the back, with the cargo.

That is what we in africa like to call public transport!

So, travelling upon terrible roads whilst battling diarreha

and vomiting! it was not fun. But once i arrived in kapchorwa town,

i went to the doctor, after a brief stint in the bathroom(TMI!).

They tested for the big two, malaria and typhoid ( in kampala, the

doctor {an englishman} told me that in the bush, to be sick means 

to have malaria, the two words are the same!) and my tests came

back negative for the both of them. Hooray... or so I thought, but

the lingering question in my mind, on the first day of my illness,

is why am i sick if I don't have those. Perhaps allergies,

or food, or a virus. So, i decided to weather the illness,

and take the pills the doctor gave me (which were still

malaria pills, to fight malaria!, they are tenacious with

the malaria!) After a few days, i was still feeling ill and 

the medicine was spent.So, a few more days, still ill.

and a few more... so on and so forth. a week hence, and i was

still very ill. So, we gather our heads together and talk

about a solution, and we come up with one. so, the past monday,

I climbed into a private trasport(thankfully) and headed west towards

kampala. The country capitol, to see a "special muzungu doctor" 

AKA a white doctor! So, i arrive on monday, head to the clinic,

a very posh place right next to one of the few golf courses in

the country! the "rich" side of town. And what is going through 

my head is how much this is going to cost, maybe a pound of flesh! 

perhaps an arm and a leg, but they would surly apply leeches to

my pocketbook to let some of its livelyhood! So, monday, at the clinic

the doctor is busy, booked solid, for the whole day until tuesday at

noon. we set the appt. and head back to where i'm staying. fall asleep 

ill, and wake up ill, hoping for sweet relief! go to the doctor

and wait until half past noon, coincidently, i was early for my 

appt. and it was the first time i've been early since being here

in Uganda! hooray.I see the doctor for less than ten minutes and

he chides me for coming into the country with out the 

simple pills that would cure such an illness in less than

a day! he asks for a stool sample and they take it to the

lab. I feel bad for the lab technician, he's got to have 

a crappy job!(pun intended). So, i wait an hour and a half for

the results that were to come in "ten minutes", again typical 

Ugandan way of dealing with time. ten minutes can mean an hour

or even more. and guess what! it was salmonella! that dirty

little amoeba! and the doctor gave me some pills and sent me on

to the cashier. the worst part, or so i thought. You see, when i

came to the clinic, they had me deposit 60000 shillings, or a little

less than forty dollars american. So, i'm looking to pay a large

bill, for a simple treatment. And you know, God is amazing,

the lady starts handing me money back. It only cost 43000 shillings.

I was shocked. This was a private clinic, the doctor's 

consultation along was supose to cost 65000! plus lab fees

and the price for the medecine. But, they only charged me 43000.

let me put that into a perspective that you might understand.

Imagine going to a private doctor, who has had many years 

of medical training, special training and all that rot.

and to add to that, he is the owner of the private hospital.

He looks at you personally, and gives you consultation, 

he had the lab fees done, and then he gives you the perscription

himself, and also a surplus for the next time you get sick.

all of that treatment.

for twenty five dollars! 

$25

That is unheard of. Unfathomable.

Praise God.

So, today, the day after, i'm feeling good for the first time

 in two weeks plus! and i went to town to look at replacing 

my camera (mine was stolen :( ] and also to check out a bookshop.

I get to town, yet i don't find a camera (very crappy ones, very expensive)

But, i founds some great books, two of my favs. 

(1984, george orwell/ grapes of wrath, John steinbeck)

and i stopped by a shopping center to grab some deoderant,

and a toothbrush ( mine is getting worn to the nub.) these

are the important things to have with you in the bush.

and lotion. skin dries up like the plague and you walk around

feeling like a leper unless you use lotion all the time. and

then moses, the man driving me, and i wanted to grab something to drink

whilst we were shopping. (i've switched from while to whilst, incase it 

bothers you, i'm not sorry, it's a better word) so, WHILST we were 

shopping, we espied the drink cooler and what to our surprise, but 

I found a Red Bull in there. It was even less expensive than

in america! so, i'm thinking... SCORE. So, i grabbed two, one

for myself and one for moses, because the best things 

in life are those shared with friends. i paid

for the merch. and we grabbed some straws (you can't 

drink anything w/out a straw, it's the law in Uganda) and

i had at my red bull like a raving lion at an antelope.

as soon as the first drops of the cool elixer touched

my tongue, i knew that everything would be alright. I felt

my strength returning, like when popeye takes a hit of 

spinich, and my contenance grew to be that of what it should.

(good words huh?) 

See, you never know what things you'll miss once your away

from home for a long time. I don't truly miss red bull,

but, like everything here is a visual reminder of the

fact that i'm not home, not in america, Red bull stands

as a light in the darkness of culture shock(which is no fun)

and reminds me that everything will be alright. It reminds

me that there is probably a billion cans of the stuff

strewn about on some college student's floor as he/she

studies for finals. ( brian wozny!!!) and i remember friends,

and smile to myself because of the love of friends.

So, to end on a sappy note. I am here in africa, Life

is good because God is amazing. I miss home like nobody

knows. Not for all the red bull, or skittles (though i sorely miss them)

But for the friends and especially family. I love you all

and miss you all very much and hope to see everyone 

when i get back. I'll give you all a great big hug and

a kiss if you're not careful. in the meantime, i'll be

heading back into the bush with a machete so that i can

hack my way into deep villages and bring the Gospel to

them. If you are any good with tramping through the

bush, climbing mountains, and enjoying the sunshine

and rain whilst on a mountain in Uganda, Please come

join me, there is plenty of room and the offer always stands.

No Joke!

Plus, if you are  not that daring,

Send me a letter or postcard, it's only a dollar

Luke Ryggs

p.o. box 46

kapchorwa, Uganda

East Africa

or text me/call me at 011 256 752 488 089.

Love from A-country!

luke

God is green:

So, despite being sick, i've been pretty busy for the past few weeks.

I went to a town right on the border with kenya, in another district called

"Bukwo" and the town which bears the same name. I did some leadership training

whilst there. I also had the privelage of sharing the resurrection sunday message

with the people. We have also started working on a christian environmental awareness

message, to the community, the church, and the country, starting in Bukwo. Praise God.

In the rain, in the calm, he is there. 

Amidst trouble and tyranny he is there.

the belief that strength made perfect,

perfected in weakness. If that is true,

how strong are the poor? the oppressed?

The orphan, the widow. That is where we 

should go to learn about true strength,

the humility to rely on the help and 

goodwill of others. To rely only on God,

not trusting in man. To know that when

they look up to the mountains in their live

their help is coming, their God will not

forsake them. He hears the cries of the widow,

the cry of the orphan, the cry for help.

The Lord builds the house,it will stand the storms of life

the promise of trouble is oh so true. We know the suffering,

Our eyes are open to the terrors of evil in this world. 

The grip is weakening,

A day is coming, a day of glory, when everyone will run to the mountain of 

the Lord. They will cast aside all of the things that the clung to, the treasures

in this life that they had to have, that they sacrificed to, the idols they carry with

them every day, casting them aside onto the ground, trampled by the people

Going to the mountain of God. They burdens we carry will only make it hard

for us to run to the mountain.

The day is coming where the sword will be beaten into a plowshare, the spear 

into a pruning hook, and never again will they learn war. Instead there will 

teaching of peace, of a new kingdom that is founded on the blood of the lamb,

in the peace of His Love.

Don't feel forsaken, don't feel that the lord is far away, know that, as switchfoot says

"the shadow proves the sunshine"

if we see war all around us, we can rejoice knowing a day of peace will come,

if we see destruction around us, we can know that God will redeem creation,

if death, hope for Christ, if hate, hope for love. The shadow will pass away

and we will be left staring into the pure light and knowing that the pure light

is within us.

My hope is in the future, in the sunrise.

one last thought,

And you, Child, will be called the prophet of the 

Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to 

prepare His ways;to give to his people the knowledge 

of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins,

Because of the tender mercy of our God,

WITH WHICH THE SUNRISE FROM ON HIGH WILL VISIT US, 

TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKENESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH,

To guide our feet into the way of peace.

Christ came to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Praise HIM!

And at last, morning comes. For a life lived in darkness, the first true glimpse of

the sun is breath-taking. It stings the eyes, it burns the skin, it washes away

all the inky darkness. After seeing it, you would never want to look back into the 

quagmire that you dwelt in for so long. Glorious, painful,

but tender sunrise. Sunrise that brings life to creation. 

the trees awaken to praise,

the birds sing its glory. 

All you can do is stand in awe of the coming day.

Letting true light wash over.

sick o' so

So, i've been uber sick for the past week. But i'm finally starting to feel a little bit better. I don't have typhoid and i don't have malaria, because the doctor checked, but i still feel really sick and i will spare you the details!

other than that, things are going well, i've been doing a lot of teaching, i taught yesterday despite being sick and i spent most of a week teaching in a rural village on the border of kenya.

I did some leadership training and taught through the calling of moses in ex. 3-4. man, there are some great things there.

 I have started to feel some major culture shock and I could really use all the encouragement i can get! so, comment, email, all that stuff.  if you text message, i don't think it's expensive to text me, 011 256 752 488 089. so, i'd love to hear from you, news from home, what the weather's like, and all that stuff.

The weather here is turning into the stormy rainy season, very muddy, kinda cold (in africa! weird) but green and beautiful at the same time.

Praise God for all he is doing here.

I got a phone, you can call, but it might be expensive. so, be warned!

just dial 011 256 752 488 089. peace and love and thanks for the comments. see post below for more information.

update from piswa subcounty.

The past week and a half have been a blur. I’ve been extremely busy. Let’s see. I left Kampala a week ago Monday, and travelled to Kapchorwa. It was a long journey and filled with adventure. We stopped in Mbale and picked up some final supplies before continuing on to Kapchorwa. I arrived in the mountains to a small town. It was much smaller than I thought it would be. The weather is fair, sixties and seventies and there is a beautiful view. From the house I am staying at you can walk out on the porch and see down the mountain and onto the plains of eastern Uganda. That Tuesday and Wednesday I was “resting” and preparing for my first journey deep into the mountains to one of the rural villages. Thursday I picked up some last supplies (mainly toilet paper and drinking water, because there is no t.p. nor clean water) and we headed out. The trip took over an hour on rough roads with a 4wd. Vehicle. The trip was beautiful as we wound on a two track road through the mountains. We arrived at the house I was to stay at. The house was made of mud and had a metal roof. There was no power or running water, so it was a lot like camping. It was a great time. The people, though having very little, are so welcoming and receptive of the Gospel. They were wonderful and we shared in fellowship a lot. I also received a shock to find out that I was not the only muzungu (white person) in this rural village. There were two men from FHI (food for the hungry international) who were distributing blankets, tarps, and jerry cans with water purifying tablets. So, I got to speak with a few muzungus, which was interesting because it was something I had not done in quite a while (three weeks). Friday, the pastor of the church I was teaching at, and I helped FHI distribute the supplies to displaced people. We distributed over blankets, tarps, and jerry cans to over 500 families!!! These people had been displaced when the government came in and tore down their houses because they were living within a national forest. So, they are working on resettling these people, but until then, they are living in camps with poor sanitation, and no clean water. It was a heart breaking thing to see. These people had only the clothes on their backs and only some of them had shoes. The blankets were helpful because in the mountains it can get very cold at night, especially during the rainy season. So, after 5 hours of distributing things I went to the church and taught for an hour. Then we worshipped and the people responded well to the message. Saturday I woke up and fellowshipped with people in their homes. We also walked along a ridge to a waterfall and took pictures. It was a beautiful sight and everywhere you looked you could see the beauty of God’s creation. Then I taught again on Saturday, and we fellowshipped some more. Sunday I woke up early and we went to a school and I gave a brief message and then we went to church. The church service lasted for four hours!!! We prayed, sang, testified, sang, danced, sang and then I preached for an hour on prayer. It was a great service and I praise God for it. Then we visited for a while and went to dedicate a child. After that we fellowshipped again and finally Monday came. I taught at another small primary school and then rode on the back of a motorcycle all the way back to my home base here in Kapchorwa.

Just one interesting story. Ugandan people have a strange understanding of time. They are very lenient with it. If you tell someone to meet you at 11, they will probably show up at 12 or even 1. So, Sam(the pastor of the Mengae church, where I was) told me that I would be teaching at one o’clock on Saturday. We left the house and visited people until 12:45. Then we walked along the mountainside for half an hour to a place where we were probably an hour away from the church. Then we dallied around for fifteen minutes and finally started to make our way back to the church… at 1:30. Then we stopped at his home for thirty minutes and finally arrived at the church around three. For a one o’clock service… and the thing that surprised me was that we were the first people there!

I have been so blessed with my time here and want to praise God for all he has been doing with my mission. If I could, I would ask that you continue to pray for me and also, this week, pray for the displaced people in Mengae village who are struggling to survive. Pray that the government resettles them and that they can be strong and patient as they wait. Pray also that they hear the Gospel and let it change their lives.

Praise God.

sure... i guess

lately I've been thinking about what my future holds. Not just my immediate future, but further on. I've been thinking about a lot of things. I've been very pensive. or, to say it another way, i've been caught up in thought. I've been remembering the joy of the kingdom. I've been devoting myself to remembering Christ in all times. I have been looking at the world around me and thinking about what Jesus said when he came into the world. Last sunday I went to a fellowship meeting for people from Kapchorwa who live in Kampala. It was interesting. They were talking about all sorts of things that were real issues for them. I digress, back to what jesus said in the beginning of his ministry.luke 4.18-19 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Well, i read a book once that told me that this was the key to Jesus ministry on earth. That this laid a pattern for the sermon on the mount, and for his ministry. I think that the more i think about it, Isaiah has proclaimed what Jesus would be doing. Jesus came and was anointed with the spirit. He proclaimed such great news to the poor. News that they can inherit the kingdom. News that they shall see God. Blessed are they! Freedom for the prisoners, release for the captives. Jesus came and freed me from a life of sin and has given me a life of worship. a life where i can enjoy the things he has given and remember him on all occasions. This idea of remembering Christ at all times has, of recent, become very important to me. I've been working on a sermon of luke 22. It is the last supper. I've seen some amazing parallels between the passover and israel's deliverance and communion and our deliverance. God instituded the passover before he delivered them, and by the blood of the lamb he saved them from death... Sound familiar? Jesus is at the end of his ministry and he says that when we take communion, we should remember him. It was the same for Israel, when they ate the passover, they were called to remember God. But, how many times did God say they didn't remember how he brought them out of Egypt? God was calling Israel to remember how he had delivered them, but not just once a year during passover, but all the time. If they had only done that, they would have saved themselves a lot of grief. Hmmm, how does this apply to me. Maybe Christ, during his last supper, the new passover, is calling us to remember him during communion, but also calling us to live lives that are in remembrance of him. I believe that if we lived our lives in constant remembrance of Christ, his ministry on Earth, including his restoration of sight to the blind, freedom for the captives and strength for the weak, if we remembered his Death, and his resurrection, how he was our passover lamb and we are saved by his blood, if we remembered all of those things, if we lived like it was a present reality, and truly thought on those things and truly remembered them. If we did that, it would make a different in our lives and how we live. Sinning would be hard if we were living in remembrance of Christ. If we were living a life of remembrance, we would be more inclined to model our behavior after him. 

So, this has been a reality check for me.

I hope that maybe you've felt something in all of this too!

loads of love.

luke

So, last thursday I went with one of my host's to the place where she works. It is an organization called tiger's club team. It is an organization that offers a place for street children to come and get a meal, to play some football (soccer) and to take some basic education classes. It was a heart wrenching experience. I was there for aprox. 5 hours and I saw so many things that would break one's heart. There were children who were eager just to get some sort of education, so they would sit in class hoping to learn, hoping to have a future. Every thursday there is a big lunch gathering for all the children. These are children who don't know when they will get their next meal, these are children who have not been properly fed in weeks/months/years. This thurday there were 178 children. 178 children who are living on the streets, 178 children who don't have a home, who don't have good clothes, who don't have enough food for today, This is just the number of kids who come on thurday, the actual number is much greater. These children are in need of prayer. I ask that you pray for these kids. I had the opportunity to minister to a few of them and I walked out feeling more blessed than when I came in. I got to hear some of their stories. Some of their hopes for the future. This organization is great. They offer to give the children a future, by taking them to school, by training them for jobs that will provide for them.

please pray for them. and pray for the organisation.

I'm doing great.

thanks.

I'm having a great time here and enjoying the experiences.

yes yes

so, let me tell you a little about Uganda. The people are very nice and eager to be helpful. The food is very healthy and a meal is usually just a mixture of different fruits and vegetables. There are very few meals when you will eat meat or lots of grains. There are so many different kinds of fresh fruits. the pineapple is amazing to taste and is very fresh. You will probably have a meal with avocados twice a day. they cook their food au natural, and don't add all sorts of ingredients to it. It is usually boiled or baked. the driving is quite an experience and drivers keep left. it is a strange feeling to climb into a vehicle on the left side and not have a steering wheel in front of you. Also, there are very few roadsigns and traffic is terrible. People drive around with little or no regard for other drivers. alot of times you will have to keep your feet on the brakes so as not to crash. The mini buses are the worst. they will swerve right in front of you and then stop to let passengers on or off. Also motorbikes are everywhere and have a complete disregard for all other traffic. People are walking on both sides of the road and it is a very hectic time when you ride in the car. Because of the lack of proper road signs and driving laws the traffic is terrible and you will wait for hours in a traffic jam because there are no traffic lights. It is always an adventure.

More to come

Love,

luke

Here I am, live from Uganda

Hello everyone,

 

I want to let you all know that I have indeed made it safely to Uganda. I arrived at nine am local time at entebbe airport. However, only half of my checked luggage made the journey with me. The other half is still in jolly london town. That is alright, because some of my clothes and most of my shower gear and stuff made it, so life is fine. the rest of my luggage will be here tomorrow. It is currently ten fifteen in the morning on friday here in kampala, the capitol city of Uganda. I've been here for over two days. I am finally getting over my jet lag and am really enjoying my time here. Yesterday was a restful day and I spent most of it working on some lessons. I also slept off a lot of my travel tiredness as well. The people here are so very nice and they have been very concerned with my well being. I will remain in Kampala for the next few days and then I will travel on to Kapchorwa. which is about seven hours north and east from here. I am having a great time, and am overjoyed to be able to get out of the house. The weather is Sunny and eighties. NO SNOW!!! how nice. I am a bit scatterbrained right now, so I will try to update better later.

but i don't know when later will be. Perhaps a week.

please continue to pray as I travel to Kapchorwa and start my ministry. I will be busy daily. Aggrey has told me that there is much work there to do and the people there are very eager to hear the gospel. The harvest is ripe and the workers are few, as Jesus said. I look forward to next week when I can start my ministry fully.

I love you all and pray that you are having a good time, and I look forward to hearing from everyone.

if you would like to email me, it is lukeryggs@gmail.com.

Love and Peace,

Beret Lukas Ryggs

departure

We are the departed. 

we are the ones leaving,

the ones wasting our days at the airport.

we are the ones heading off into the unknown.

the new,

the open,

the blank canvas,

with a full array of paint.

The ones writing the stories of our lives on the pages of history.

for one reason,

for one purpose.

there is one driving force in the heart of us.

motivated

strengthened

to walk past the mountain and reach what is on the other side.

to go beyond the call.

beyond what is demanded.

to offer all, complete surrender.

for what reason,

for what purpose?

For GOD, Our LORD.

26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.

basically, i'm leaving monday.

love you all, see ya later

one week closer to living... abroad that is.

I've just finished the first part of my packing. I'm finally getting very excited. "I'll soon be living in a brand new state, a brand new state. OOOOOklahoma." I'm now to the point where I've gotten over my pre-trip jitters and am ready to get a move on. I went through a state of mind where every day I would wake up a bit nervous and realize that it won't be long until I'm leave on what might be the most lifechanging moment in my life. There were times of great panic and for a while I dwelt on the fact that I am not ready and am scared as all get out about this trip. But now I've realized that it's not my battle to fight. God will take care of my needs and strengthen me for this trip. I have come to this psalm many times before and it has always refreshed my spirit and quieted my soul. The psalm I am talking about is psalm 121. It talks about God's faithfulness to his people and how his unfailing love and protection surrounds us as we seek to do his will.

Psalm 121

The LORD the Keeper of Israel.

A Song of Ascents.

    1I will ^(A)lift up my eyes to ^(B)the mountains;
         From where shall my help come? 
    2My ^(C)help comes from the LORD,
         Who ^(D)made heaven and earth. 
    3He will not ^(E)allow your foot to slip;
         He who ^(F)keeps you will not slumber. 
    4Behold, He who keeps Israel
         Will neither slumber nor sleep. 
    5The LORD is your ^(G)keeper;
         The LORD is your ^(H)shade on your right hand. 
    6The ^(I)sun will not smite you by day,
         Nor the moon by night. 
    7The LORD will ^[a](J)protect you from all evil;
         He will keep your soul. 
    8The LORD will ^[b](K)guard your going out and your coming in
         ^(L)From this time forth and forever.

As we look to the mountains, we realize what a journey we have been on and where it will eventually take us. The mountains mentioned in this psalm are the ones surrounding Jerusalem and the Jewish people would sing this song as they were coming to Jerusalem to worship and offer sacrifices at God's temple. The mountains were a sign that the people were close to Jerusalem, only about a day's journey away, but that was not the safest journey. The foothills around the mountains were treacherous and were know to house bandits and theives hoping to prey on the pilgrims and they neared Jerusalem. To look to the mountains was to trust God and know that He was watching over you and that your help came from him. To know that he will not let you foot slip on the slope going up the mountain and that he will not slumber nor sleep. God surely is watching over us still today. I find peace knowing that as I approach the mountains in my life I can look ahead of me to the challenges that I will soon face and know that God is there supporting me and watching over me. Knowing this gives me strength to carry on and allows me to be free from worrying and recklessly abandon trusting myself and allows me to set my mind on the things of God. 

Keep it real, I'm gonna get a tan,

Shalom

Beret

God's blessings

I've heard back from my church and they have decided to help my mission work by supporting me monthly. Another big blessing is that I've found a forwarding agent, so that means that there isn't such a big push to get all my money in by the time I leave.  God is amazing and his blessings overwhelming.

life or something like it

There is a thought that has permeated my life for the past few days. Ever since i started to write a sermon concerning the first five verses of John. One thought, which goes back even further, to sunday when I heard an amazing sermon,  and another thought which came as i read my bible. These two thought dwelt together and eventually came into one continuous theme. Light and darkness, Life and darkness. In him was life and that life was the light of all me. In my story, there is life, and that life is found in Christ. There is light, and Christ is that light. He lights up the darkness in my life and he gave me life. He also gives me the command to be a light, not hidden but shining brightly for all the world to see. That is what has been in my thoughts. But, this concept of light and darkness just permeates scripture, from the very start. This idea that light is good and darkness represents evil. When we look back to genesis chapter one we see light being pronounced good while darkness is left unpraised. The darkness in exodus hangs over pharoah's army while God's light shines for the Jews leaving Egypt. David sings about the LORD being his lamp and bringing light to his darkness. The darkness has no where to hide in the coming light. There are areas in life where we need to let the permanant light of God shine in and take care of the dark. Once the Light of God is in us and dwells with us, It continues its work in us and allows us to be that light for others. We all of the sudden are transformed into that beautiful city on a hill which cannot be hidden. The light shines in the darkness but the darkness doesn't understand it. Sometimes, in our lives, we shine in the dark, but the dark doesn't understand it. When we shine, we shine bright, and we conquer the darkness. 

I'm going to continue to be that lamp on the table, and urge you to one end, "Shine on!"

Love and peace,

Beret