I am aware that some people live with the assumption that missionaries have only good days, prolonged seasons of bliss and rejoicing. The truth is something different. Some days we are down, discouraged, impatient with God and man.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was killed in a Nazi prison just 21 days before Hitler’s suicide. He wrote these words in his journal a few months before. Though I have faced anything like a Nazi prison I have asked similar questions.

march-2011-update

Years ago when Jeanel and I were new missionaries in Ethiopia we met a man named Malcolm Hunter. He has seen God work in amazing ways to reach some of the words most isolated peoples. You will enjoy his story!

God Goes Before Us from U.S. Center for World Mission on Vimeo.

For a number of years I have been drawn to those passages of scripture which place God’s great transcendence in direct juxtaposition to his nearness and tenderness to His own. For instance, God manipulates the actions of one of the most powerful men in the world in order to bring Joseph and Mary to the Bethlehem the prophetic place of the Messiah’s birth then turns around and sends and angel to Mary with tender words of explanation and comfort to sustain her in the coming days. Psalms 147 is another passage in which we see God’s tenderness and power side by side. In verse one the writer urges his readers to praise the Lord. Then going on to explain some of the reasons for praise in the next verses the psalmist reminds us that God builds up Jerusalem and comforts the broken hearted – nearness, and determines the numbers of the stars calling them each by name – transcendent greatness. God is great both in His great power and in his gentle tender love.

Exodus 40 tells us that the pillar of fire was with the Israelites throughout their time in the wilderness. This wonderful and strange phenomenon was nothing less than the manifestation of the very presence of God. I am amazed that God continued to show up even after the incident with the golden calf. In spite of the failure of God’s people He remained with them and fulfilled His promises to them.

photo by Ken Cooper

As we snacked on some peanuts for lunch I said, “Well we got a lot of things started this morning,” we both chuckled with a combination of frustration and amusement. What we both knew I meant was, we are running into snags with everything we are trying to do today so we have to continually shift to another project to avoid losing momentum altogether. We had stopped for lunch not because we were hungry but because we needed the pause from activity, the break from seemingly spinning our wheels, and we needed to pray for God’s help. Days in which an inch of progress takes a mile of effort are not unusual; however, neither are they meaningless. Hours later we sat at the same table to give thanks for our evening meal. As we prayed we thanked God with the realization that all those things that had us stumped in the middle of the day had been completed in the end. God is our strength and our help!

Last week storms brought heavy rains to Uganda resulting in nearly 300 deaths and the displacement of close to half a million people. The Uganda Assemblies of God sent a team to bring spiritual encouragement to those who are grieving and to see how the church can offer practical help as well. Here is the report they brought back.

We don’t have DSTV so watching the Super Bowl at our house was not an option. We called the nicest hotel in Kampala and found out that the game would be on in their lounge. We went to bed on Sunday night with the alarm set for 1:45 AM. When the alarm went off our resolve was tested but we stuck with our plan and drove into town for the game. When we arrived at the hotel six US military guys, who had only been in the country for three hours, were already awaiting the game. The beer was flowing freely as they anticipated kickoff. When the game started the money came out. They guy who had played college ball at Alabama would say, “I bet the Saints score within the next six plays.” The pot grew as the night went on. For these new arrivals Ugandan schillings were like monopoly money removing all restraint. The guy from the south kept controlling the wagers and the yankees kept pulling out their wallets. When the cash flow slowed the southerner told his buddies that the money he was winning from them would be their drinking money for the days they would be in Uganda. This announcement inspired a new wave of bets. Around 4:30 AM they began to ask us who we were and what we are doing in Uganda. We told them that we are missionaries and described some of our work. When the game ended just before 5:30 they decided that they should give the pot to missions. We plan on using their drinking money for Restore Hope in Northern Uganda. Their offering definitely ranks among our top three most unusual offerings we have received. Its right up there with the lady who pulled a $100 out of her bra on an airplane and gave it to us.