Hi everyone,
for those of you who might still be connected, I have shifted my blog page to the Grace Canberra website. It works better for me that way. To find me you need to follow these steps:
log on to the web page: www.gracecanberra.com.au
Selecdt the Blogs menu
Click on Brian's Blog
its that easy
Brian
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Monday, March 3, 2008
Meet Harrison Medway
Our youngest son Ben and his wonderful wife, Jimena have just given birth to their third (and they say their last) child. They have two girls, aged four and two and now a very precious little boy - Harrison. You can understand how they were hoping for a boy but happy with either. When Ben saw the bits that declared without a doubt that it was male he just lost it totally.
For the people who are into statistics he was 7 pounds 4 ounces and 49 cm. I don't know why the measurements are mixed lilke that with one imperial and one decimal, but that's the way it was told to me. Harrison was presented posterior and when Jimena was in labour she went along for some hours without any change. It was Sunday morning so we were at the church and I asked if we could all pray for her. Within minutes she had fully dilated and the baby was born.
We are fully amazed at the glory of God wrapped up in a little bundle like this. I know it is our own grandchild and that makes a slight difference, but grandchild or not, this baby thing never ceases to be totally awe inspiring.
I will bore you no longer. I hope you like the pictures
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Entering the Weird and Wonderful World of Podcasting
Over the last few days I have been spending my spare moments trying to get around the amazing world of PODCASTING. It came about because I have been wanting a way of providing audio files to people who have a hunger for the fulfillment of God's kingdom purposes on the earth. These are the ones for whom only the ultimate is good enough.
This is referenced in the Bible in a number of places. One of these days I will do a series of blog spots or audio programs on the issue of ultimate things. If you know anything about the God who is revealed through his Son, Jesus Christ, you will know that there has always been a plan. God invented the idea before Stephen Covey put it in a book: "Begin with the end in mind." It is one of his habits of highly effective people. God is at the top of that tree by the way. He was the first person to commit to the idea that only ultimate and complete fulfillment was worth working for.
We have to see how our lives fit into the big picture or we will end up spending time and energy on frivilous and fruitless activities. REALITY can only be defined by ULTIMATE things. I can look back on many days and months of my life and realize that I wasted so much effort and energy and created so much needless pain because I made something other than the ultimate things the most important things. I was watching the last interview Andrew Denton did on the ABCTV program, "Enough Rope." It was with a former high flying lawyer called Andrew Fraser who was jailed for a number of criminal offenses. He was someone who became the epitome of the good life. Now he wants to spend time supporting his kids and helping with Open Family Foundation (rescuing street, and other "at risk" people). It took some years in goal to provide him with a perspective on REALITY.
Anyway, here at Grace we are becoming more and more passionate about less and less things. We might even get to the point where we can say with Paul the apostle, "...this ONE THING I do...." Now there was a man who had his eye and his body on the ultimate.
For us the ULTIMATE can only be the church rising to represent its full potential. That potential can only be measured by the degree to which it becomes the full tangible presence of Jesus Christ to any community or region. That is why we have given up trying to invent the ultimate attractive building and program and we are simply training missionaries to plant churches in their community spheres.
In fact we are pursuing the only things described in the Bible that will ever enable the church to achieve that potential. By purpose reading the Bible over a number of months, it is my ever-deepening conviction that four things must happen togther if the church is ever going to have a chance. The words below are not new, but their definition is new to me. I didn't realize how much we have doctored the Bible and robbed words of their real meanings. Here are the four things:
HOLINESS that can only be defined by Jesus indiscriminate love for lost people (1 Peter 1)
ONENESS that can only be described by the relationship between Jesus and his Father (John 17)
FULLNESS that can only be measured by the power represented by the ministry of Jesus to work signs and wonders and miracles over circumstances, nature and in the lives of ordinary people to produce the kingdom rule of God. The Bible says that this only comes when the criteria described in Ephesians, especially chapter 4 are happening.
COMPLETION that can only be measured by both the will and the strategic plan to reach the nations of the world with the gospel in every single successive generation (Matt. 24,28)
So this is a long way of telling you about my podcast site. It should be up on the iTunes Music Store directory in a few days. It has been lodged there and they have to have a look at it and make sure it is acceptable. I can't think of any reason why it shouldn't get a run there.
Regardless of that, the URL for these audio programs is here:
http://brianmedway.mypodcast.com/rss.xml
To have it working as an automatic download you need to download the iTunes software from their site and register with them. There are a lot of resources there that you may find interesting anyway.
http://www.meitunes.com/index.html
If you have problems, let me know and I will pool my ignorance with yours. That way we will both end up in more trouble. Sounds like fun.
I have placed a few programs there just to test the system, but I will be putting lots of resoures there coming out of various teaching modules that I am doing. I will also add any resources that come from other sites and other people that may help.
At the last Crosslink (the national network of churches we are part of) Conference I spoke about the fact that there needed to be people who were determined to commit to doing what it took to see the church reach its destiny of looking and acting like Jesus. We talked about the four matters referred to above as a mountain that was yet to be climbed. It might be like Everest before 1964. It was there. People had tried. Other mountains had been climbed, but not the highest.
I am thinking now of that great and classic book by Oswald Chambers: "My Utmost for His Highest." I am convinced that the church anywhere has a destiny that is unfufilled. Its like we have a whole raft of base camps and a few are higher than a few others. But as the clock ticks over and days tumble out after each other we can find ourselves going around and around the mountain instead of climbing to the top. We can find ourselves compromising with the comforts of our present experience. We can allow ungodly compromises to rob us of the prize.
I hope you will join those of us who have decided to find the way to the top. For want of a better idea we have called ourselves the "Summit Expeditionary Team." Its not a new organization, but it is a seed movement. We can't imagine how any part of the church should be denied their destiny, so we want to seed every part with the inspiration and encouragement that will see that destiny defined by the Word from heaven, not the circumstances on the earth.
God bless you. Let me know if you are willing to be a part of this team.
lifepurpose@ozemail.com.au
is where you can find me.
This is referenced in the Bible in a number of places. One of these days I will do a series of blog spots or audio programs on the issue of ultimate things. If you know anything about the God who is revealed through his Son, Jesus Christ, you will know that there has always been a plan. God invented the idea before Stephen Covey put it in a book: "Begin with the end in mind." It is one of his habits of highly effective people. God is at the top of that tree by the way. He was the first person to commit to the idea that only ultimate and complete fulfillment was worth working for.
We have to see how our lives fit into the big picture or we will end up spending time and energy on frivilous and fruitless activities. REALITY can only be defined by ULTIMATE things. I can look back on many days and months of my life and realize that I wasted so much effort and energy and created so much needless pain because I made something other than the ultimate things the most important things. I was watching the last interview Andrew Denton did on the ABCTV program, "Enough Rope." It was with a former high flying lawyer called Andrew Fraser who was jailed for a number of criminal offenses. He was someone who became the epitome of the good life. Now he wants to spend time supporting his kids and helping with Open Family Foundation (rescuing street, and other "at risk" people). It took some years in goal to provide him with a perspective on REALITY.
Anyway, here at Grace we are becoming more and more passionate about less and less things. We might even get to the point where we can say with Paul the apostle, "...this ONE THING I do...." Now there was a man who had his eye and his body on the ultimate.
For us the ULTIMATE can only be the church rising to represent its full potential. That potential can only be measured by the degree to which it becomes the full tangible presence of Jesus Christ to any community or region. That is why we have given up trying to invent the ultimate attractive building and program and we are simply training missionaries to plant churches in their community spheres.
In fact we are pursuing the only things described in the Bible that will ever enable the church to achieve that potential. By purpose reading the Bible over a number of months, it is my ever-deepening conviction that four things must happen togther if the church is ever going to have a chance. The words below are not new, but their definition is new to me. I didn't realize how much we have doctored the Bible and robbed words of their real meanings. Here are the four things:
HOLINESS that can only be defined by Jesus indiscriminate love for lost people (1 Peter 1)
ONENESS that can only be described by the relationship between Jesus and his Father (John 17)
FULLNESS that can only be measured by the power represented by the ministry of Jesus to work signs and wonders and miracles over circumstances, nature and in the lives of ordinary people to produce the kingdom rule of God. The Bible says that this only comes when the criteria described in Ephesians, especially chapter 4 are happening.
COMPLETION that can only be measured by both the will and the strategic plan to reach the nations of the world with the gospel in every single successive generation (Matt. 24,28)
So this is a long way of telling you about my podcast site. It should be up on the iTunes Music Store directory in a few days. It has been lodged there and they have to have a look at it and make sure it is acceptable. I can't think of any reason why it shouldn't get a run there.
Regardless of that, the URL for these audio programs is here:
http://brianmedway.mypodcast.com/rss.xml
To have it working as an automatic download you need to download the iTunes software from their site and register with them. There are a lot of resources there that you may find interesting anyway.
http://www.meitunes.com/index.html
If you have problems, let me know and I will pool my ignorance with yours. That way we will both end up in more trouble. Sounds like fun.
I have placed a few programs there just to test the system, but I will be putting lots of resoures there coming out of various teaching modules that I am doing. I will also add any resources that come from other sites and other people that may help.
At the last Crosslink (the national network of churches we are part of) Conference I spoke about the fact that there needed to be people who were determined to commit to doing what it took to see the church reach its destiny of looking and acting like Jesus. We talked about the four matters referred to above as a mountain that was yet to be climbed. It might be like Everest before 1964. It was there. People had tried. Other mountains had been climbed, but not the highest.
I am thinking now of that great and classic book by Oswald Chambers: "My Utmost for His Highest." I am convinced that the church anywhere has a destiny that is unfufilled. Its like we have a whole raft of base camps and a few are higher than a few others. But as the clock ticks over and days tumble out after each other we can find ourselves going around and around the mountain instead of climbing to the top. We can find ourselves compromising with the comforts of our present experience. We can allow ungodly compromises to rob us of the prize.
I hope you will join those of us who have decided to find the way to the top. For want of a better idea we have called ourselves the "Summit Expeditionary Team." Its not a new organization, but it is a seed movement. We can't imagine how any part of the church should be denied their destiny, so we want to seed every part with the inspiration and encouragement that will see that destiny defined by the Word from heaven, not the circumstances on the earth.
God bless you. Let me know if you are willing to be a part of this team.
lifepurpose@ozemail.com.au
is where you can find me.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
JOHN WILLIAMS AND CHARLIE BRAKE
Friday/Saturday October 19,20 2007
Canberra
Nola and I visited John Williams (and Faye) in Canberra hospital. John has had a brain tumour removed during the past week or so and is recovering well from a very significant instrusive surgery. The tests showed that this is a virulent form of cancer and it was a bit of a blow for them and their family.It was Faye's birthday this week and John was allowed home for a birthday party. He has to re-learn all kinds of skills and is giving it his best shot and doing well.
Pray for him. Let's get the better of this stuff in the mighty name of Jesus.
Jonathan and Rebecca Brake had a birthday party and dedication service for their young son Charlie. Charlie has had some big stuggles in his first year with food digestion and a few other things. It has been a challenge for the whole family but they have and are doing really well. He has just started to sleep a whole lot better. It was great to be together with all their family and friends and to commit this little one to Jesus for every day of his life.ANOTHER PRECIOUS BROTHER AND SISTER FROM AFRICA
Thursday October 18th
Canberra
the evening of my first day back Nola and I were invited to a dinner to recognize the visit of Casten's pastor from Zimbabwe. Casten and Rumiko were married there in August. The meal was held in the home of Ben and Linda Milbourne. Ben travelled to Zimbabwe to represent all of us at the wedding. All of these guys are building church down at the ANU and have been reaching oversease students. They are all doing a great job and have seen some wonderful things accomplished.
These two wonderful servants of God from Zimbabwe combine pastoring a local congregation with itinerant evangelistic crusades. They have a audio tape ministry and also videos that have had great impact over a wide part of this very troubled nation. Of course the inflation rate makes it the next thing to impossible to get resources and to make them available at a price people can afford.
They also need sound gear for using in their crusades. We have just had experience of how a good sound system makes all the difference in these meetings. Thousands of people show up and you either have to be another George Whitefield or John Wesley OR have a decent sound system.
It was a joy for me to have breakfast with them before they returned to Sydney to preach there over the weekend and then back home to Zimbabwe on Monday.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
SUNDAY FINALE AND HOME
Sunday October 14th - Wednesday October 16th
Sorry to have taken this long. I did this in the Johannesberg airport and just as I was about to post, my time was up and it was all lost.
As we arose on Sunday morning for the first time we were sent in four different directions. Jaemin had to travel for two and a bit hours to preach in Soroti, Ashley and Julie went back to Malaba, I preached in the morning meeting in Mbale and the other members of the team did ministry with the kids at Mbale.
I preached a message about the lifestyle of the cross. Even in the morning meeting at the church more people gave their hearts to Christ. I am beginning to understand more about the experience of the cross and how this has become a religious icon for us rather than the place of our core identity and the source from which our life in Christ must flow.
I discovered some time ago that the message of the cross for the first three hundred years of Christian history was basically a message of the fact that Christian victory is characterized by the fact that glory and victory come through the embrace of the cross. The cross is the place where the nobodies become somebodies and the sombodies become nobodies. The early Christians were proud to suffer for Christ and serve in his name. Ever thought that the word for witness was taken from the experience of people who gave their lives for the cause of Christ, not just from someone asking someone else if they have heard about Jesus of Nazareth.
After the time of Constantine and the establishment of the church at the political and power centre of the empire this aspect of Christian testimony changed and the cross became a symbol of power and rule. Not so much a symbol of the righteous taking the rap for the unrighteous. The emphasis was on the spoils of victory much more than the opportunity to lay down your life.
Anyway, it was a great meeting.
After the morning meeting, the Aussies had been working on a little special project. One of the guys decided that instead of purchasing some trinket as a gift to Patrick and Christine, we would build them a genuine Aussie barbecue and cook them an Aussie BBQ meal. One of the guys spent the whole day on Saturday working hard in Mbale while we were in Malaba. He produced a wonderful gas powered hotplate and purchased a quarter of beef and they got to work. Everyone pitched in and we had two or three different kinds of meat and onions and coleslaw and all the other bits and pieces. The members of the Mbale church team came with their wives and the house was full of a lot of noise and some really great food. We have left the aussie icon on the back patio of the house and told them that they must practice for when we return.
Final meeting in Mbale
At five o'clock we all went to the church for the closing meeting. There were some terrific testimonies and a lot of gratitude to God and to people. Shannon gave a powerful testimony of an experience she had had in Malaba when she was told of a woman in Malaba who was very short as she is. They looked for this woman and found her. When she saw Shannon she was amazed. They spoke together and a bit later she became a believer. It was such a sovereign thing and very powerful. Good on you Shannon and good on you, Lord. A great testimony to the fact that God has special tasks for all of us in different ways. We are truly his workmanship.
At the same meeting pastor Patrick Ollala, the administrative pastor of Impact Ministries told how there had been a death threat letter sent to the Bishop the night before we went there to the Crusade. He warned that if we came, the Bishop would be killed. Not only was he not killed but many people were saved and healed and the church was built up and equipped. At the end of this story and as he spoke a prophetic word over the Aussie team about taking the fire back to Australia, there was a huge time of celebrating the victory of God. We all danced around the church with the plastic chairs we were sitting on raised above our heads as a testimony to God's might and power.
MONDAY - Seven hours in the bus: Mbale to Kampala and Kampala to Entebbe.
We left at 10:30 to drive to Entebbe. We stopped off at Kampala. People needed to get money changed and then there was some shopping to do in a centre there were there are cultural things to buy. Then we had to travel along some very crowded and washed out roads to drop Edgar (youngest Okabe boy) back at his boarding school. Honestly, one of the roads would have doubled as a very challenging motocross track.
We arrived at our motel in Entebbe by a bit after 7:00. Eating is always a slow process but we were in bed by around ten o'clock ready for an early rise to catch our plane.
TUESDAY - A long walk to get out of Africa: Entebbe - Johannesberg - SAA flight to Perth
Up at 5:00am
Breakfast
To the airport by a bit after 6:00am
A short time for goodbyes to our wonderful Ugandan hosts. Bishop Patrick, Christine, Emmanuel, Sam (fanstastic but driver). Ugandans are not good on saying goodbye. It doesn't seem as much a part of their culture. It seemed strange to be parting when we had spent most of the previous fourteen or fifteen days together for most of the day. Janelle was staying in Uganda to be taken by Compassion staff to see a child she had been sponsoring who lived about four hours from Kampala somewhere to the south west. Troy (from Adeliade was staying on in Mbale)
Johannesberg by 11:00 am.
This was a time for some more partings. Only six of us were going on to Perth on this day. Some were staying in South Africa to do some touring. Jaemin was wait listed on a plane for the next day and was going to visit some connections in Jo-berg. Five of the six were going to go into town and look around.
Me, I decided to stay put and stay focused. We had an eleven hour wait till our flight left for Perth. South African Airways and Qantas have a code sharing arrangement but SAA doesn't fly in to Sydney. So from a bit after 11:00 in the morning until 10:00 pm at night I decided to find a comfortable spot in the airport and work with the help of my computer.
By about 6:00 pm I discovered that the other five people had not gone into town after all. I don't know how we didn't see each other in the departures area but we missed each other all day. Turns out that we were just beyond a divider from each other for a fair bit of the time.
I forgot to mention that Tuija was also travelling from Uganda on the same flight (from Grace working short term in Uganda). She was on her way to do a few more weeks in Mozambique. We had time to talk and pray together before she left after lunch.
There's not much to say about the trip across the Indian Ocean. It started at 10:00 pm and we flew through a short night which was lengthened by the cabin crew who asked everyone to keep the blinds on the windows down. We didn't get cranked up till about 11:00 am Perth time.
We thought we were going to transit at the International terminal, but we had to go through customs and transfer to the domestic. That was a better idea because it meant no long delays in Sydney. We took off again and arrived at Sydney by 10:30 pm. Nick and Ben (my two terrific sons) were there to pick me up and Warwick came back with us. We dropped him off at Goulburn at around 1:15 am and then were in Canberra an hour or so later.
Surreal being in my own house. Thank you Jesus. You are a great, great Saviour. We love you, we love what you do, we thank you for what you did. And we thank you that we are safe, well, and delivered home. Thank you for wonderful, welcoming, hard working Ugandans and their faith to see people come to Christ and their communities rebuilt through the glory of God.
Will this be the last post? Wait and see. There are some photographs coming, but I will wait till I get into our office where we have fastest upload of any network I have ever been connected with.
Thank you for being interested and even more for praying for us. This was a team effort. We felt your prayers, we felt the power of God in so many ways. We felt connected to you in the Spirit. Thanks team.
Brian
Sorry to have taken this long. I did this in the Johannesberg airport and just as I was about to post, my time was up and it was all lost.
As we arose on Sunday morning for the first time we were sent in four different directions. Jaemin had to travel for two and a bit hours to preach in Soroti, Ashley and Julie went back to Malaba, I preached in the morning meeting in Mbale and the other members of the team did ministry with the kids at Mbale.
I preached a message about the lifestyle of the cross. Even in the morning meeting at the church more people gave their hearts to Christ. I am beginning to understand more about the experience of the cross and how this has become a religious icon for us rather than the place of our core identity and the source from which our life in Christ must flow.
I discovered some time ago that the message of the cross for the first three hundred years of Christian history was basically a message of the fact that Christian victory is characterized by the fact that glory and victory come through the embrace of the cross. The cross is the place where the nobodies become somebodies and the sombodies become nobodies. The early Christians were proud to suffer for Christ and serve in his name. Ever thought that the word for witness was taken from the experience of people who gave their lives for the cause of Christ, not just from someone asking someone else if they have heard about Jesus of Nazareth.
After the time of Constantine and the establishment of the church at the political and power centre of the empire this aspect of Christian testimony changed and the cross became a symbol of power and rule. Not so much a symbol of the righteous taking the rap for the unrighteous. The emphasis was on the spoils of victory much more than the opportunity to lay down your life.
Anyway, it was a great meeting.
After the morning meeting, the Aussies had been working on a little special project. One of the guys decided that instead of purchasing some trinket as a gift to Patrick and Christine, we would build them a genuine Aussie barbecue and cook them an Aussie BBQ meal. One of the guys spent the whole day on Saturday working hard in Mbale while we were in Malaba. He produced a wonderful gas powered hotplate and purchased a quarter of beef and they got to work. Everyone pitched in and we had two or three different kinds of meat and onions and coleslaw and all the other bits and pieces. The members of the Mbale church team came with their wives and the house was full of a lot of noise and some really great food. We have left the aussie icon on the back patio of the house and told them that they must practice for when we return.
Final meeting in Mbale
At five o'clock we all went to the church for the closing meeting. There were some terrific testimonies and a lot of gratitude to God and to people. Shannon gave a powerful testimony of an experience she had had in Malaba when she was told of a woman in Malaba who was very short as she is. They looked for this woman and found her. When she saw Shannon she was amazed. They spoke together and a bit later she became a believer. It was such a sovereign thing and very powerful. Good on you Shannon and good on you, Lord. A great testimony to the fact that God has special tasks for all of us in different ways. We are truly his workmanship.
At the same meeting pastor Patrick Ollala, the administrative pastor of Impact Ministries told how there had been a death threat letter sent to the Bishop the night before we went there to the Crusade. He warned that if we came, the Bishop would be killed. Not only was he not killed but many people were saved and healed and the church was built up and equipped. At the end of this story and as he spoke a prophetic word over the Aussie team about taking the fire back to Australia, there was a huge time of celebrating the victory of God. We all danced around the church with the plastic chairs we were sitting on raised above our heads as a testimony to God's might and power.
MONDAY - Seven hours in the bus: Mbale to Kampala and Kampala to Entebbe.
We left at 10:30 to drive to Entebbe. We stopped off at Kampala. People needed to get money changed and then there was some shopping to do in a centre there were there are cultural things to buy. Then we had to travel along some very crowded and washed out roads to drop Edgar (youngest Okabe boy) back at his boarding school. Honestly, one of the roads would have doubled as a very challenging motocross track.
We arrived at our motel in Entebbe by a bit after 7:00. Eating is always a slow process but we were in bed by around ten o'clock ready for an early rise to catch our plane.
TUESDAY - A long walk to get out of Africa: Entebbe - Johannesberg - SAA flight to Perth
Up at 5:00am
Breakfast
To the airport by a bit after 6:00am
A short time for goodbyes to our wonderful Ugandan hosts. Bishop Patrick, Christine, Emmanuel, Sam (fanstastic but driver). Ugandans are not good on saying goodbye. It doesn't seem as much a part of their culture. It seemed strange to be parting when we had spent most of the previous fourteen or fifteen days together for most of the day. Janelle was staying in Uganda to be taken by Compassion staff to see a child she had been sponsoring who lived about four hours from Kampala somewhere to the south west. Troy (from Adeliade was staying on in Mbale)
Johannesberg by 11:00 am.
This was a time for some more partings. Only six of us were going on to Perth on this day. Some were staying in South Africa to do some touring. Jaemin was wait listed on a plane for the next day and was going to visit some connections in Jo-berg. Five of the six were going to go into town and look around.
Me, I decided to stay put and stay focused. We had an eleven hour wait till our flight left for Perth. South African Airways and Qantas have a code sharing arrangement but SAA doesn't fly in to Sydney. So from a bit after 11:00 in the morning until 10:00 pm at night I decided to find a comfortable spot in the airport and work with the help of my computer.
By about 6:00 pm I discovered that the other five people had not gone into town after all. I don't know how we didn't see each other in the departures area but we missed each other all day. Turns out that we were just beyond a divider from each other for a fair bit of the time.
I forgot to mention that Tuija was also travelling from Uganda on the same flight (from Grace working short term in Uganda). She was on her way to do a few more weeks in Mozambique. We had time to talk and pray together before she left after lunch.
There's not much to say about the trip across the Indian Ocean. It started at 10:00 pm and we flew through a short night which was lengthened by the cabin crew who asked everyone to keep the blinds on the windows down. We didn't get cranked up till about 11:00 am Perth time.
We thought we were going to transit at the International terminal, but we had to go through customs and transfer to the domestic. That was a better idea because it meant no long delays in Sydney. We took off again and arrived at Sydney by 10:30 pm. Nick and Ben (my two terrific sons) were there to pick me up and Warwick came back with us. We dropped him off at Goulburn at around 1:15 am and then were in Canberra an hour or so later.
Surreal being in my own house. Thank you Jesus. You are a great, great Saviour. We love you, we love what you do, we thank you for what you did. And we thank you that we are safe, well, and delivered home. Thank you for wonderful, welcoming, hard working Ugandans and their faith to see people come to Christ and their communities rebuilt through the glory of God.
Will this be the last post? Wait and see. There are some photographs coming, but I will wait till I get into our office where we have fastest upload of any network I have ever been connected with.
Thank you for being interested and even more for praying for us. This was a team effort. We felt your prayers, we felt the power of God in so many ways. We felt connected to you in the Spirit. Thanks team.
Brian
Sunday, October 14, 2007
FINAL MEETING MALABA
Saturday October 14th
We were off to Malaba on our own this morning. The Bishop had something to do with his car. There were the regulation two conference sessions. The team went out on the streets with Pastor David (who will be the pastor of the new church there). He is a young man with great potential but he and his wife are living in a single room of a building where the small hall for meetings is in the next room. They have very little money and the rents are high there. Malaba is a very dark town. Being a border town there are the usual excesses related to a moving population and a very high through put of human and vehicle traffic (mainly trucks). The church in Mbale will support them for three months but they are convinced that they will be okay by then. If a quarter of the people who came to Christ show up they will be in good shape for numbers.
We met a great pastor here called Patrick Mabala (from Malaba ??!!). He has been in the twon for fifteen years and has been pastoring a church for a bit more than five. He was my interpreter and has such a beautiful heart for God's kingdom. There is a lot of division and competition in the town, but with blokes like him around there is great hope. My hope is that we can support and encourage these guys. They have so few resources and such poor conditions.
The end of the conference went on and on. One of the pastors from Mbale who works with Patrick wanted each member of the team to say something and then it went on some more. We had lunch by about 3:30 or so.
The crusade meeting was amazing tonight. There was a wealth of worship and dancing talent and it was all given a slot. A local teen challenge ministry have a wonderful group of kids that have been saved off the streets. The pastor is about 24 and the associate pastor is still in year five of high school. Their church meeting on Sunday starts at 5:00am and finishes at 9:00 am. How about that for raising up world changers.
I had my last fling tonight and it was a bit like the first night. There was a huge resopnse and one guy was demonized and had a wonderful deliverence. He had no shirt and no shoes. When they had prayed for him one of the guys in the worship team gave him his shirt and shoes and then when the celebration began he was dancing with an old shirt and no shoes. Powerful.
Tomorrow we have people preaching in Soroti (Jaemin) and Malaba (Ashley) and myself in Mbale. Then we have a closing meeting with all the team at 5:00 pm.
One of the guys from the team stayed back in Mbale today. We all chipped in and he bought the pieces to build Patrick and Christine and Aussie BBQ. He is a butcher and went out to buy a quarter of beef and will cut the steaks for tomorrow's Aussie lunch. Should be good.
Bye for now.
Brian
We were off to Malaba on our own this morning. The Bishop had something to do with his car. There were the regulation two conference sessions. The team went out on the streets with Pastor David (who will be the pastor of the new church there). He is a young man with great potential but he and his wife are living in a single room of a building where the small hall for meetings is in the next room. They have very little money and the rents are high there. Malaba is a very dark town. Being a border town there are the usual excesses related to a moving population and a very high through put of human and vehicle traffic (mainly trucks). The church in Mbale will support them for three months but they are convinced that they will be okay by then. If a quarter of the people who came to Christ show up they will be in good shape for numbers.
We met a great pastor here called Patrick Mabala (from Malaba ??!!). He has been in the twon for fifteen years and has been pastoring a church for a bit more than five. He was my interpreter and has such a beautiful heart for God's kingdom. There is a lot of division and competition in the town, but with blokes like him around there is great hope. My hope is that we can support and encourage these guys. They have so few resources and such poor conditions.
The end of the conference went on and on. One of the pastors from Mbale who works with Patrick wanted each member of the team to say something and then it went on some more. We had lunch by about 3:30 or so.
The crusade meeting was amazing tonight. There was a wealth of worship and dancing talent and it was all given a slot. A local teen challenge ministry have a wonderful group of kids that have been saved off the streets. The pastor is about 24 and the associate pastor is still in year five of high school. Their church meeting on Sunday starts at 5:00am and finishes at 9:00 am. How about that for raising up world changers.
I had my last fling tonight and it was a bit like the first night. There was a huge resopnse and one guy was demonized and had a wonderful deliverence. He had no shirt and no shoes. When they had prayed for him one of the guys in the worship team gave him his shirt and shoes and then when the celebration began he was dancing with an old shirt and no shoes. Powerful.
Tomorrow we have people preaching in Soroti (Jaemin) and Malaba (Ashley) and myself in Mbale. Then we have a closing meeting with all the team at 5:00 pm.
One of the guys from the team stayed back in Mbale today. We all chipped in and he bought the pieces to build Patrick and Christine and Aussie BBQ. He is a butcher and went out to buy a quarter of beef and will cut the steaks for tomorrow's Aussie lunch. Should be good.
Bye for now.
Brian
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