MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 02-11-2006

Hello, again! We're back in town again, and getting caught up on things around here. We have a week off, which, it turns out, we need since we've all picked up colds. Our meeting in Tabernacle Baptist Church in Lebanon, MO went great. I would have filled you in on more details sooner, but in West Plains where we were this past week, there was no internet to be had, not even via cell phone. Anyway, I wanted to tell you about this cool thing they have at Tabernacle Baptist every Sunday night for soldiers from Army basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. It's called One Day Away, and once, during basic, they bus the recruits into town, and they get to spend the day at Tabernacle Baptist Church. The church feeds them, lets them use cellphones with free nights and weekends to call their folks, has places for them to play basketball and other sports, lets them get candy out of their vending machines (you don't get any junk food during basic), and just loves on our soldiers for a day. Then, in the evening, they bring them into the auditorium and preach Jesus to them for an hour, and every week, at least a hundred or so soldiers ask Jesus to be their Savior. The night we were there, 126 soldiers were saved. It was one of the most glorious things I've ever seen. Every week this happens. Last year, over 5,000 soldiers were saved. What an incredible harvest of souls! It was especially significant to me, because, as I reported in our last letter, my son, Ethan, also got saved during the invitation, so 126 soldiers were saved, and Ethan.

We were home for two days, and then we beat feet down to Central Calvary Baptist Church in West Plains, MO (Pastor Frank Mulford). It was a precious time. They're a country church, and just made us feel right at home and welcome. The family we stayed with were great. They took great care of us, and we were able to rest a bit. The conference went very well. I showed our slides and preached on Sunday night, and the LORD really blessed, because somehow we left my sermon notes at home, so I had to preach from memory. I could really feel the LORD helping me, though, and it went very well anyway, in spite of me. We heard from some of the other great missionaries that are out on deputation right now, and the LORD blessed.

Our next meeting is on February 19, with Lighthouse Baptist Church (Pastor John Morris) in Sioux City, IA. Pray that the weather will be good for our drive up there and back. The unseasonably mild weather we've been enjoying has lapsed, and real winter is back. We haven't had any snow or ice yet, and we'd like to keep it that way. Pray that the meeting will go well, and that we'll be an encouragement to Lighthouse Baptist, and her Pastor.

Also, I've mentioned missionary Kyle Guimon for prayer before. His heart surgery went well, but his recovery has not. Within days of being released from the hospital, he had to be re-admitted due to shortness of breath. They put him back on a ventilator, and pumped over 2 liters of fluid from his lungs. I have heard that he's had to have a blood transfusion due to the procedures they've had to do on him. Pray that his healing will progress, and that he'll be able to get out of the hospital soon. Pray that the doctors will be able to diagnose the problem accurately, and address the issues he's having properly so Kyle can get well. Pray for Debbie (his wife), and Matthew (his son), as they continue to deal with this, and for Nedra (his mom), who's worried for her boy. Our pastor and wife are down in Arkansas with them right now, and hopefully, I'll have some good news to report on his condition when they get back.