MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 03-10-2008

Greetings! I am writing this while sitting on the plane en route from Spokane, WA to Salt Lake City, UT. We finished up our conference with Pastor David Isbell of Eagle Drive Baptist Church in Decatur, TX last Wednesday. It was a great meeting. I and several others from BBTI were there. It was an interesting week for me, though. I was still getting over the flu and the sinus infection that resulted, so I still wasn't feeling 100%. I survived, however, and we had a good conference anyway.

We wrapped up that conference on Wednesday, and then on Thursday, I had to catch a flight out of Dallas to Spokane, WA for a missions conference, and a Sunday night meeting in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. It was a great conference. I was in Foundation Baptist Church in Coeur d'Alene, ID with Pastor Bobby Stanchfield. We met at a missions conference in Faith Baptist Church in Salt Lake City, UT last October, and he graciously invited me out for their missions conference in March. Bro. Chuck Beickel from Faith Baptist was the speaker. It was good to get to see Pastor Beickel again.

Pastor Stanchfield has been Pastor here for six months. This was their first missions conference since he became Pastor. He had taken over for the former Pastor, Kenneth Cox, who had retired. They are a growing church, in a growing town, way up north in the panhandle of Idaho. It was a tremendous conference, and I'm so glad I got to be involved. Pray for them as they continue to grow, and as they seek to raise the funds to purchase their own land and build their own permanent church building.

Friday, Pastor Stanchfield, Pastor Beickel, myself and some others took a trip to Montana to a piece of property belonging to Faith Baptist Church in Spokane, WA. It's a beautiful place, and they are planning on starting a Christian camp there. Adjoining the property lives a woman who shall hereafter be known as the Crazy Tiger Lady. You know how you always hear about old ladies, living in a house full of cats, who die there and are eaten by their cats before the authorities find out about it? I think the Crazy Tiger Lady stands a very good chance of attaining this urban legendary status. You see, here, in Montana, in a hand-crafted chain link cage, live two full-grown Bengal tigers. Yes. BENGAL TIGERS. They have access to her house. She raised them from cubs, and she sleeps with them at night. Hence the term, "Crazy Tiger Lady." I literally stood about two feet from this enormous jungle killer, who would charge the chain link fence, throw his full weight into it and HUFF!!, just to let me know he's there and absolutely in charge, and I'm thinking to myself, "If this fence gives, one of us is going to die today, and it won't do any good running, because you'll just die tired." In addition to the tigers, the Crazy Tiger Lady also has a full-grown mountain lion, a bear cub which is currently hibernating in her home, and some skunks. Only in Montana.

Sunday night, I drove back to Spokane for a meeting in Faith Baptist Church with Pastor Greg Boyle (he's the fellow who has the camp, Camp LottaWatta in Montana, right next to the Crazy Tiger Lady's place).  I had a great service, and showed our presentation, shared our burden for Uganda, and preached. God moved in the service, and it was a real blessing.

It was a very profitable trip, and I’m glad I got the opportunity to come up here. I very likely have two supporting churches in the Pacific Northwest now, which is a very cool thing.

On Friday, we will be in Bossier City, LA for a missions conference with Pastor Dennis Blankenship in Shady Grove Baptist Church. Pray for us as we make the drive. Pray for the meeting, that God will bless, and that we will be an encouragement to the Pastor and the church.
Pray for us as we continue our studies at BBTI that we will finish well in the months ahead.