Our journey through 2009

When a new year begins, many of us review the year that lies behind us and also look forward to the year to come. We think about the things we have to be thankful for, as well as the things we wish we’d done differently. Then we resolve not to repeat the mistakes of the past year in the one to come. We make resolutions to start new things as we dream of fresh starts and opportunities.

As Karen and I look back at the year behind us, we certainly have plenty to look at. It’s been a very busy year, filled with major life-changes.

A year ago, we were both planning a wedding and living in Scotland. I was pastoring a church in Moodiesburn, Scotland and had a great circle of friends in the area.

Today, we’re looking forward to our first wedding anniversary and I’m getting ready to start pastoring a church in Rosarito, México. I miss my circle of friends in Scotland but am also excited about the endless possibilities that await us on this side of the world.

How did we get from there to here?

JANUARY

We had a lovely wedding in Dinuba, California and a fantastic honeymoon in Cancún, México. Even as we rested on the beach, though, something within us was restless. We already knew in our hearts that God was moving us to México eventually, but now God was stirring our hearts and telling us that we had to begin to make our move immediately.

We decided we would announce my resignation from the church in Moodiesburn upon our return to Scotland and leave at the end of April. It was not an easy decision, but to not do so would have been wrong because we were confident that this was what God was telling us to do.

FEBRUARY

We returned to Scotland and began to tell the church and our friends what was happening. To our surprise, many responded well to the news. One godly man told me that he knew God was getting ready to move us and that he could even see it was the right timing. He said, “You’ve done what you came here to do. You’re a church-planter, and you planted this church.” We knew that the people would miss us and that we would also miss them, but their sensitivity to the Holy Spirit helped them to see that it was God’s will.

MARCH

With less than two months remaining before our departure from Scotland, we took advantage of the opportunity to spend quality time with good friends whom we knew we were going to miss terribly. We also had opportunities to continue to share the Gospel. On the last Sunday of the month, we both forgot that clocks had changed and were an hour late for church! That was embarrassing!

APRIL

Our last month at the church in Scotland was difficult. We came under a lot of spiritual attack and it was hard to say goodbye to so many people we loved. Yet, God was faithful and kept us strong. We also had the opportunity to visit one of Karen’s best friends on the Isle of Jersey, which was a real joy for us both.

MAY

Our move to America was an amazing experience. Whereas we hadn’t even known how we were going to be able to afford plane tickets to the USA, somebody in the States gifted us our passage across on the Queen Mary II. This trip, which we could never have afforded ourselves, was something we took as a sign that we must have been listening rightly to God when He told us it was time for us to move.

One day we had actually wondered if we had heard God rightly because the finances just weren’t there. I said to somebody from the church, half-jokingly, “Pray that God gives us $2000 tomorrow so we can book tickets to America.” The next day, I heard from somebody in America who said they were taking care of our travel expenses. They covered our trip on the ship, which was a real blessing and which — interestingly enough — actually cost less than the plane tickets would have.

When we got to New York, we took a driving trip across the states, stopping at churches all along the way to tell people about our call to México. It was a fantastic experience and God used it to get our fund-raising started for the mission.

We got to California just in time to attend my cousin’s wedding. When we arrived at my parents’ house, family members from all over America were gathered together, so we really enjoyed the chance to meet up with so many family members we don’t often see.

JUNE — JULY

June and July were spent with my family. My dad’s health has gone downhill quite a lot, so we committed to spending most of those two months helping my mom with his care. Staying in my hometown gave us the opportunity to catch up with a lot of my old friends as well as a chance for me to speak at several churches in the area and share about the opportunities God is opening up for us. I also spent quite a bit of time preparing materials for our work in México, including the curriculum for a course I’ll be teaching to train up evangelists for the Church of the Nazarene.

AUGUST

August was a phenomenal month! We went to Africa with an amazing team of people. Some of us didn’t even know each other before arriving, but we all gelled together like family and had a great experience serving God together in Tanzania. 290 adults made decisions to follow Jesus Christ, and many children and youth responded too. We also got to see the fruits of many years’ work continuing both through practical compassionate ministries in the communities and the continuation of vibrant churches that had been started during previous visits.

Karen and I both got really sick while in Tanzania and were out of commission for the last two days of the campaign, but we had such an incredible team that the work continued and people continued to come to Christ. Ernie Bayton, with whom I had previously served in Kirkintilloch, Scotland, took over the preaching for those last two days and did a fantastic job. The rest of the team also stepped up and demonstrated marvelous resolve and unwavering faith in the midst of difficulties.

After the team went home, Karen and I had another test coming our way. We spent a few days in Nairobi, Kenya. One day, we took our laptops into a local coffee house, The Java House, which has long been one of my favorite haunts in that part of Africa. While we were there, somebody managed to take Karen’s rucksack without anybody — even the guard who was on duty — seeing what happened.

Among the items that were stolen were our passports, the adapter for Karen’s computer, our camera, and various other things. What followed was an interesting visit to the police station, which included having to fill out our own police reports and paying to have them signed by a policeman, and then we spent two days journeying back and forth to both the American and British embassies to get our passports replaced.

We did manage to get our passports replaced in time, however, and thankfully our spirits also remained strong throughout the ordeal. We knew God was taking care of us, so we just made the best of the situation and went with the flow. We were especially grateful that we got everything in order in time for our flight as we had yet more important work awaiting us at the next stop.

SEPTEMBER

We spent most of the month of September in Spain. I spoke at a retreat on the coast one week and at “each one win one” conferences for the next two weekends. We really enjoyed spending that time in the region of Catalunya, Spain. The scenery was breath-taking, the people were great, and God did some incredible things in people’s lives. For one of the most interesting stories from that time, see my post from the 6th of October.

OCTOBER

In October, we got some more time with my family in California and I spoke at churches throughout Central California. Then, at the end of the month, I preached at revival meetings in Vancouver, Washington. That was a great week as I got to catch up with several great friends and I got to introduce several of them to Karen for the first time.

NOVEMBER

We started November out by going to Loon Lake, Washington. It’s up in the hills of Eastern Washington and is right by a beautiful lake, surrounded by green trees and lots of deer. We had a wonderful time there. Once again, I caught up with old friends, introducing them to Karen, and God did good things in people’s lives at the revival meetings.

The rest of the month, we spent more time with family and friends, and I also spoke at a couple more churches in California. We had the privilege of spending Thanksgiving with my family before leaving for our new post in México. It was Karen’s first Thanksgiving ever, as it’s an American holiday, so I enjoyed introducing her to the tradition.

DECEMBER

Our new life in México finally began after almost a year of preparation. We arrived safely in Chapala, near Guadalajara, on the 5th of December and I preached the next day. The people are so welcoming and enjoyable to be around that our first day of ministry was a great experience. Two people came to faith in Christ, a father and daughter, and the day ended in the best possible way… with a bunch of us sitting by an outdoor taco stand eating carne asada tacos and enjoying each other’s company.

From the 9th to 16th, we went to Panama for an evangelistic campaign in the capital there. The heat was intense, especially with no air-conditioning, but the people were wonderful and the atmosphere beautiful and charming. 17 people responded to the call to trust Christ as their Lord and Savior during the meetings, and we had an incredible time with everyone there. We also got a chance to see the Panama Canal, which was a fascinating experience in itself.

We’re settled into México for the long-haul, though we’re still not at our main destination. Although we had originally planned to be based out of Chapala, we’ve been asked to relocate to Rosarito, just south of the California border. There’s a church there that needs our help so, in addition to my other duties, I will be pastoring that church as of the 17th of January.

Until then, we are enjoying this part of México. After a lovely Christmas in Chapala, we ended our year helping a mission team from America in Monteón, near Puerta Vallarta. Karen helped in the kitchen, serving meals to the team, and I translated for the English speakers and helped them teach the children.

Now, as I walk down the cobbled streets near the house where we are staying, I hear the sounds of México. Mexican music plays on people’s stereos, a horse is parked in the road, the smell of chiles is in the air. We sat down today at another taco stand and, as I ate my taco and drank my Coke, I couldn’t help but think of the journey God’s brought Karen and me on so far in our first year of marriage. We’ve come a long way and I can’t wait to see where God takes us in the years to come!

THIS is what it’s all about!

As we entered one rural village in Tanzania last month, this woman and child were among the first people we met. It was an emotional moment as we heard part of her story and discovered quickly that she was the literal personification of what our work in Africa has been about for the past 14 years.

She is a widow, and the child is an orphan. Through the help of our ministry partner, SEED International, they have been brought together to form a new family unit. They are just one example of many.

When I first started going to East Africa regularly, in 1995, I went just to preach. I told people about Jesus, and a lot of people responded to the message and declared that they wanted to become followers of Jesus Christ.

But this was only the beginning.

We soon realized that a lot of the people who responded then disappeared from the new churches that were being started, so we began training the local churches we were working with. We taught them how they could follow-up on those initial decisions to follow Christ by simply loving the people, giving them teaching and helping them to learn how God’s love applied to their everyday lives.

Soon after, we discovered that the people who made those initial decisions to follow Christ were staying in the churches as they realized that they were truly loved and that God’s message to them was relevant to their lives.

But that still was only a beginning.

The work grew to the point of teaching leaders in these churches how to start new churches and use them as bases to impact their communities in a powerful, transforming way.

Mark Redwine, from Montana, joined our team and participated in the teaching. We taught the church leaders that they needed to do more than PREACH about God’s love; they needed to PERSONIFY God’s love by actively loving their communities.

The Bible says a true relationship with Christ means “to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27b) Some people think that being a Christian is about being separate FROM the world, but the reality is that a true Christ-follower is meant to ENGAGE the world with radical love. The Christian’s difference from the world is particularly in the way he or she loves the people who are in the world.

Local churches started taking the teaching to heart and began projects in their communities to help the poor, the hungry, and the lonely. They were planting crops and raising chickens that could be used to help feed the hungry, working with the orphans and widows, and coming up with various imaginative ways to engage their local communities with radical love.

Mark Redwine also took the teaching to heart. A very practical man, his heart was filled with a compassion for the people and a desire to help them make this vision a reality. He started SEED International as a resource development organization to come alongside these Christ-followers who were serious about seeing change in their villages and towns, in order to help them develop the resources needed and get the education necessary to learn how to make that kind of difference.

Now, whenever we go to East Africa, we don’t just TELL people about God’s love for them. We are able to work together to SHOW them and, long after our teams have to leave the villages, the work of telling and showing God’s love continues.

One of the many successful projects that have been started by the churches there is the orphans and widows project. Due to the many diseases that ravage the land, there are always a lot of orphans and widows in this part of the world. So here’s what’s happening…

Orphans are placed with widows to create a new family unit, and the widows are helped to set up trade in some kind of industry that will enable them to make a living. This way, rather than children simply growing up in an orphanage and widows being left alone until they die, they are all given a second chance at living life and experiencing the joy of family.

This August, we had a lot of wonderful times with the people in the villages. 290 adults made the decision to become followers of Christ, and that was exciting because we knew that they were sincere and that they were going to be cared for by a community of Christ-followers who would truly love them and help them to experience God’s love in a vibrant and transforming way. We also ran medical camps for people who couldn’t afford health-care, provided education about AIDS to the villages, had team members lead exceptional ministry for the children, and met with and encouraged the men and women who are carrying on this vision to see God’s love transform their world.

I’ll never forget the smiles of this woman and this child. Their smiles reminded me, and will continue to remind me, that all the hard work and difficulties we’ve encountered over the past 14 years are worth every moment. They also remind me that, no matter what challenges or difficulties we face, it’s worth the effort of continuing for many years to come.

I wonder what would happen in the rest of the world if followers of Christ everywhere would follow the example of these loving Tanzanians and begin to engage THEIR communities with this kind of love. Is there any chance this kind of revolution could start in your community through YOU?

Poop happens

A bat pooped in my wife’s hair.

This was the first day of the mission in Tanzania. We were at a church in one of the villages. The whole team introduced themselves, and then Ernie Bayton preached the sermon.

As each team member was called forward to say a few words, we could hear the bats behind us constantly. We were sitting along the back wall of the church, facing the congregation. Suddenly, Karen felt something hit her on the head. I took a look…it was definitely bat poop.

Almost immediately after the incident, Karen had to stand up and say her words of greetings. She did incredibly well, especially considering the distraction of having had an unexpected hair “wash” in the midst of a church service.

Karen’s hair seems to attract these kinds of things. A few months ago, we visited Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. In the course of about one hour, Karen’s hair received the special attention of two different sea gulls.

After the service that first Sunday in Tanzania, Karen’s hair received special attention once again during one of the outdoor evangelistic campaigns in the village of Sangera. This time, our whole team was seated under a tree near the platform where I would be preaching. A bird did it’s business right on Karen’s head, but this time at least she wasn’t alone. Fellow team-member, Marilyn Redwine, also experienced the same honour.

Recently, we’ve joked a lot about this special attraction certain creatures seem to have to Karen’s hair. Her hair always seems nice and smooth, so we’ve begun to wonder if maybe these unwanted additions to her hair might actually be serving as some kind of natural “conditioner.” Team-members have even talked about bottling it and marketing it as a special shampoo. However, we suspect that if we had to list the ingredients on the label it might not sell too well.

Seriously though, we’re reminded how these little discomforts can come to us anywhere, but they don’t take away from the joy of loving people. On those very days of the “poop” incidents, we also saw a lot of people come to faith in a loving God who could give them hope and a new life, and we also met a lot of wonderful people who brightened our lives in a lot of ways.

If a moral can be extracted from these incidents, I suppose it is that “poop” happens, but life goes on. I watched happily as Karen joked about her experiences but never let it stop her from loving people and rejoicing in their lives. She could have obsessed with the discomforts, but instead she looked at the big picture and noticed all the wonderful things that were happening around her.

We, too, always have that choice. We can focus on the unfortunate distractions that fill our day, complain about the discomforts that life brings our way, grumble about our aches and pains and regrets…or we can look around us for the blessings that each day brings.

You might not have a bat poop in your hair today, but something will surely happen to try to ruin your day. Don’t let it! Look past the poop to the blessing and thank God for giving you life!

The cross-dressing drunk

One thing that I really love about the work that I do is that I get to meet many different kinds of colourful characters. In Africa, I met a very interesting cross-dressing drunk.

Now, of course, in some parts of the world such a sight might seem a bit more common, but in the rural villages of Africa it seemed very surreal. A crowd had gathered to hear us share the message of God’s love for the village and, while I waited to go up and speak, a series of local choirs were singing. As they sang, at one point a very exuberant drunken man joined one of the choirs and started dancing. The people obviously knew him and simply laughed good-naturedly.

After doing a bit of a dance, he came up to all of the team members and shook our hands with a great big smile on his face. Then he danced a bit more and left. “Where’d he go?” somebody asked. We guessed that he must have gone away and we’d probably see no more of him that day.

However, 15 minutes later, he showed up again. Only now, he had changed into an elaborate African dress. He had a handbag under his arm and was holding a large parasol over his head. He walked right through the crowd, came to us and shook our hands. As he shook our hands this time, he curtsied in exactly the way Tanzanian women always curtsy. Then he sat down with the women and listened quietly throughout the sermon.

I would have loved to find out his story. He was very different from anybody else I’d ever met in the heart of Africa.

This was originally posted in August 2006,
along with “Africa…looking back” & “The Witch Doctor“.