MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 09-29-2008

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Greetings! Our time at home was very restful. We finally got over the jet lag from our trip to Hawaii, although neither of us slept much for a few days. Our church, Grace Baptist Church in St. Louis (Pastor Ken Spilger) had its annual missions conference, and we were participants. Dr. Ron Bragg was our conference speaker, and did a great job preaching. God blessed in the meeting, and we exceeded our giving goal again! The economy is down, and gas is expensive, but God's people are still giving to missions.

Today, we're in North Platte, NE on our way up north to Anchorage, AK. That's right, Alaska. We're driving up for a series of 11 meetings all over Alaska for the next two months. We won't be back until the day before Thanksgiving, which is cutting it very fine, I know, but, barring sudden new developments in teleportation technology, it was the quickest I could get us home. Pray for us. After remembering everything we needed to take, I realized about 30 minutes from our hotel that we forgot to bring the single most important thing for our trip: our passports. They're at home. In our fireproof box. Our LOCKED fireproof box. I have the only key. So, this morning, my Pastor will be engaging in some breaking and entering to get them out so they can be overnighted to the hotel we'll staying at on Wednesday in Seattle, WA. Pray that all goes well, and we get our travel documents. Otherwise, we'll be stuck at the Canadian border, which cannot happen because of the tight schedule we're on for this trip. And we wanted adventure. Pray for our many travels this fall as we seek to raise the support we need to go Uganda, Africa.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 09-09-2008

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Greetings, folks! Our trip to Hawaii is complete. We are busy getting the prophet's chamber we're staying in clean, and packing, so we can fly home to St. Louis tonight. It's been a great trip, and was well worth the effort. Our meeting on Wednesday in Ko'olau Baptist Church with Pastor John Sass went well, as did our meetings in Ohana Baptist Church (Pastor Wayne Surface) and Friendship Bible Baptist Church (Pastor James Reid) on Sunday. God has blessed us with meetings, and has given us ample opportunity to minister in the churches we've visited. Hawaii is a beautiful place, and there are tremendous churches here, holding forth the faith and serving the LORD with vigor. It was a blessing to get to know them. Pray for our flight. It's an overnight flight, which means we won't sleep much, or at least I won't. The seats in most planes were designed by Nazi interrogators, and intended to do maximum injury to a tall man's spine. Pray for the weeks ahead, as we attend our home church's missions conference, and then begin the drive up to Alaska for meetings in 11 churches up there.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 09-03-2008

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Aloha! Our trip to Hawaii is going very well. We started out on Maui, and had a meeting in the island's only Independent Baptist Church, Grace Baptist Church with Pastor Azra Brown. It went great. We showed up for Work Day on Saturday, and helped chop up some out of control greenery on the property. Sunday's meeting went great, and we got to serve the LORD and minister to His people. Pastor Brown is a missionary to Hawaii, like many Pastors here. Like so many resort islands, what you see on the brochure is very different from what actually exists. The islands are beautiful, don't get me wrong, but they are true mission fields all the same. Behind all the glamor, you still have sinful people that need to get saved. It's extraordinarily expensive to purchase land, build buildings, and just live in Hawaii (they're currently paying 4.60 at the pump on Maui), so it is a challenge getting a ministry going. You have both the Buddhists and the Mormons to contend with, as well as lots of very comfortable people who don't feel a need for the LORD. Pray for the churches in Hawaii as they contend for the faith in this very needy mission field.

Next, we flew to Oahu (about a 25 minute flight), where the remaining meetings are all located. We're staying in Friendship Baptist Church's missions apartment here, which is a tremendous help. Our first meeting on this island was at Windward Baptist Church with Pastor Kevin Akana. He is a BIMI missionary to Hawaii, and is doing a tremendous job also. Becuase of Hawaii's enormous problem with crystal meth (top in the country), to which his own Father succumbed, he started an addictions ministry called R.A.M. (Rebuilders Addictions Ministry). They have recognition from the courts here, and are working to liberate men from their chemical addictions, as well as the underlying sin that led to it. We had a great service, and three were saved, including a street hustler and drug dealer who is infamous in the area. God greatly blessed, and it was a powerful service in which we got to play our small part.

I've preached in a couple different chapels at Friendship Baptist's Christian School. This past Sunday, we visited Calvary Independent Baptist Church with Pastor Larry Kaneshiro. The service also went great, and God met with us in the service.

As soon as I send this letter out, we are shoving off for a meeting in Ko'olau Baptist Church with Pastor John Sass. That leaves two more meetings on Sunday, and then we return to the mainland next Tuesday. Pray for us as we seek to minister to these churches. Pray that we will gain more support in the months ahead. Pray for Hawaii, a paradise on Earth that is nonetheless full of lost people who need the LORD. Pray that the LORD will send more laborers to this worthy field where behind all the tourism are people who are precious to the LORD and need a Gospel witness. Pray for the churches, who are prospering here in spite of the high cost of living and the often indifferent people along with the opposition of cults and false religion.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 08-20-208

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Hello, again! Our trip East went well. We had a great meeting with Pastor Barry Pace at Antioch Baptist Church in Sunset, SC. We made it to the service this time, and had a great meeting. On Sunday, we were in Mile Creek Baptist Church, with Pastor Jim Roberts. The meeting went great, and they are going to support us! Wednesday again we were in Trinity Baptist Church in Mocksville, NC with Pastor Darrell Cox. We had a good meeting and God blessed. Finally, on Sunday, the 17th we were in West Madison Baptist Church in Madison, WV with Pastor John Browning. This is the same church where we had to reschedule so fortuitously a year-and-a-half ago when a big Nor'Easter swept into Maryland and the accompanying rainfall flooded the church basement. We had another tremendous Sunday, and God moved and helped us present our burden for Uganda well. It was a good trip, and I think some solid support will come of it.

Tomorrow, Anna and I are flying to Hawaii for meetings in six churches. Our children will be staying with her folks while we are gone. Pray that they will be safe and well, and that they will have fun at Grandma's. Pray that our flight there and back will go well, and that our meetings in Hawaii will be fruitful. Like Alaska, the remoteness of Hawaii keeps missionaries from coming to the islands as often. Yet, the churches in Hawaii need to hear about missions, too. I intend to be a servant to the churches where we are as much as possible. Pray that we will be an encouragement and a blessing as we seek to present our vision for Uganda with the churches in Hawaii.

After our return from Hawaii, we will be in our church's Missions Conference in September, and then we will all be driving up to Alaska for meetings in 11 churches. Our Fall is as full of meetings as the calendar would allow. Pray that all our travels will generate the support we need so that we can be ready to go to the field in Spring of 2009.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 08-04-2008

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Greetings! Our summer break has gone well. It was good to be home for a while, and our church and families were happy to have us around.

We had a great Fourth of July, with much pyrotechnic goodness. We attended our church's 4th of July picnic, which was great fun as always.

Our daughter Elizabeth was baptized. We had been instructing her about baptism for a while, and she was adamant in her desire to be baptized. Her Grandpa Spilger did the honors. He had to lift her up to see over the rim of the baptismal. It's always a blessing to see children following Jesus, particularly when they are your own.

I preached for our Pastor for three Sundays so he and his family could go on vacation. They had a great time out West, and I was happy to be of service. It was a blessing as always to preach God's Word.

Elizabeth turns five tomorrow, but we are celebrating today. She's busy learning to ride her new pink and purple bicycle, so pray for her as she learns the physics of bike riding.

Tomorrow, we are departing for some meetings out East. We will be in Antioch Baptist Church with Pastor Barry Pace in Sunset, SC on Wednesday. This is the same church that we attempted to visit more than a year ago, but missed the service because we became desperately, hopefully lost. Never fear! I have the Pastor's cellphone, and (for sure) the physical address of the church, so we'll be fine. Pray for the meetings to come, and many more to follow this Fall as we seek to complete deputation and be ready to go to Africa next year. Pray that the churches which we have visisted in the past who have expressed interest in joining with us in ministry to Uganda will do so. Pray for our travels. We have had no car troubles in a while and would like to keep it that way.