BLeach

Happy Birthday Mom

She's the youngest looking grandmother in Michigan.  Thanks to my expecting sister for officially putting the grand in front of mother.

Hope you have a great day today mom! 

Thanks for all the car rides, loads of laundry, and home cooked meals.  Thanks for the toast with melted butter that was cut up into little squares when I had the flu.  Thanks for spoiling me for one full week after I had my tonsils removed.  Thanks for cheering the loudest when I scored and writing the encouragement notes when I didn't get enough playing time.  Thanks for the late night trips to the emergency room after all the ankle injuries.  Thanks for the packages at college.  Thanks for always making my birthday so memorable.  Thanks for the chocolate on Valentines Day and the baskets on Easter. 

Most of all, thanks for always sacrificing, always praying, always giving and always believing. 

I love you! 

Thanks for Asking

There's at least one advantage to jet lag.  I can get alot more accomplished when I start my day at 4.00 am.  When I walked into Starbucks the barista asked me what I was doing there so early on a Saturday.  It turned into a great opportunity for conversation. 

I really want the stories from my two weeks in Uganda to bring Jesus more fame here in Detroit.  I'll be sharing some stories tomorrow in my message as well as on my blog.  My prayer is that believers will find their faith boosted.  But I also want to redeem the trip in the lives of my unchurched friends and neighbors.  Africa makes them curious. 

Why go to such a remote region?

What did you do?

What did you see?

Why are you the only customer here at 4.45 am on a Saturday?

So glad you asked:)  I took a long trip in order to tell some new friends about the God who took an even longer trip.  I served some people who had nothing to offer me in return.  I prayed for a blind man who was completely healed.

Personal evangelism is made most natural by questions that trace right back to the love and power of Jesus.   

Home

Toilets.  Showers.  Clean clothes.  There's no place like home:)

After a few days of travel my last flight finally landed in Detroit this morning.  I want to thank everyone who's been praying for our team these past few weeks.  Our experience in Karamoja was amazing.  We saw 6,000 people in this unreached region of Uganda respond to the gospel.  Over the next week I'll be sharing some of the stories that really stand out.

As for the rest of today, I'm focused on whipping jet lag.  I am emptying my inbox while holding my eyes open:)

It's good to be back!

A Soul-Winner

Last night I had the opportunity to preach at Calvary Temple for Steven Sebyala.  Steven grew up during civil war in Kampala.  He started Calvary Temple about 12 years ago.  Today the church has several thousand members.  Their passion for God was palpable.  I loved the energy.

Steven's vision for the next forty years of his ministry is to win one billion souls to Jesus.  Yep.  You read that right.  When he first shared it with us I thought he said million.  He quickly corrected me.  When I asked if there were even one billion people who live in Africa he said that he would have to go into the Middle East as well:)

Steven breathes soul-winning.  Yesterday he turned forty-one.  When we asked him what he wanted for his birthday he simply asked for souls.  He preaches about ten crusades a year throughout the continent of Africa.  The average attendance at each of them is about sixty-thousand.  Out of those crusades he has also planted several hundred churches.  Most of his church planters come out of the training school he's developed through his church. 

Spending the past several hours with Steven was memorable.  My dreams have been enlarged. 

Jeff Leake, Ron Heitman and I will meet Johannes in about 30 minutes to drive north to Namalu in the Karamajo region.  The pastor's conference and outreach festival starts tomorrow.  I'm pumped to see what Jesus is going to do!

A Weekend in Kampala

Well, it's true.  Africa is warmer than Michigan:)

We finally arrived in Kampala late last night after about 20 hours of travel.  Kampala is the largest city in Uganda.  I'll be staying here tonight and then bringing a greeting in the morning at Calvary Temple.  Calvary is a church of about 12,000 people.  Jeff Leake will be preaching.  I've heard fantastic reports about this church and can't wait to experience it personally.  A few others from our team will be preaching in some small village churches tomorrow including Katie Trapp and Christy Hamlin.

After the service we'll start the 8 hour drive to meet the rest of our team in Namalu.  Today we met one gentleman who told us that Namalu is about 100 years behind Kampala.  No internet connections in Namalu:)  It also has the largest population of guns in Uganda. 

Next week will be busy.  I'm be teaming up with a few other pastors during the day to teach about 350 pastors from Northeast Uganda.  During the evenings our team will host festival services.  We're expecting crowds of several thousand.

Can't wait to tell you all the God stories:) 

Off to Africa

Just a few hours left until takeoff! 

I think the hardest part of traveling is the work it takes just to get out of the office:)  But I'm almost there.  My Outlook inbox is empty.  My voicemail message is ready.  My email auto response is setup.  I guess I'm officially offline.  Does anyone know how long email and cell phone withdrawal lasts:)

My hope is to blog an update or two but it's unlikely.  We'll be in a remote region of Uganda.  Your best chance to see what's happening is to check out Jeff's blog.  He plans to call back home with updates for his wife Melodie to post.  In the meantime I'll be turning comments off.

I'd really appreciate your prayers on behalf of our team and the Karamojong people.

Adios!

 

Turning One

I'm feeling old!  This coming Sunday our first daughter church turns one. The Oaks will be celebrating one full year of ministry in downtown Royal Oak. 

I'm so proud of Chris, Nicki and the leadership team.  Church planting is the extreme sport of ministry.  It's not for the faint of heart.  But these guys have embraced the challenge and poured themselves into the dream to bring transformation to one of the more obvious mission fields in Metro Detroit.

When I turned one my parents bought me a cake.  But everyone who gathered to celebrate my first birthday was disappointed because I wouldn't touch it.  I hated getting my hands dirty:)

Not The Oaks.  This past year they've learned that ministry is messy.  The people they've reached are people our church hadn't touched.  Many of them have come out of difficult backgrounds.  Many of them are still seeking.  But our pioneers have accepted them, embraced them, and pursued them with God's love. 

To all of our Royal Oak radicals: I appreciate the risk you took to try something new.  I'm proud of all that Jesus has done through you.  You're making a difference.  You'll keep making a difference.  So don't stop dreaming.  Keep your imaginations active.  And believe that year number two will be historic!

The Karamojong

This morning I had breakfast with Tim Way.  Tim has lived in Uganda.  He's also led several teams on trips into various parts of the country.  I wanted to pick his brain in preparation for my upcoming trip to Northeast Uganda.  Can't believe it's almost here.  We fly out Thursday!

We'll be working in the Karamoja region.  Tim was a little jealous:)  It's one of the few regions of the country he hasn't visited.  He did let us know that within Uganda, the Karamojang are actually stereotyped as backwoods and primitive.  They've just recently started wearing clothes. 

Tim also said they have a warrior mindset.  Apparently they are typically excluded from national scirmishes because the government knows they'll fight back.  In fact, the rite of passage for a boy entering manhood involves killing a lion. 

I like that.  I'm thinking we should adopt something similar in Michigan.  Of course we'd have to hunt something more common to us than lions; maybe Ohio State fans:)

A Good Friday in ICU

I spent Good Friday with my grandma in intensive care.  My grandma has had a tough life.  I might share a bit of her story in the services tomorrow.  Most recently her struggle has been with sickness.  Over the past week she's been in the hospital twice.  But she still shines:)

The weakness of her body seems to highlight the strength of her spirit.

After reading Matthew's story of the crucifixion and spending some moments in prayer I realized something.  Most grandmas in the same position would have labeled yesterday Bad Friday.  Hospital beds, IV tubes and machines that don't stop beeping aren't good things.  Isn't it just like Jesus to make Good Fridays out of bad days:)

Easter weekend covers the whole spectrum of life's experiences.  It closes with a bang.  Resurrection.  New bodies.  My grandma's is coming. 

But Easter weekend starts in the dark.  Broken bodies come first.  Before lifting us up the passion of Jesus touches us in life's lower places.

It occurred to me yesterday that without the dark, the light at the end of the tunnel would be lost.  Hope would lack perspective.  A life without suffering would also be a life without rejoicing.

Tomorrow Church of the King will join Jesus' global group of disciples to celebrate resurrection.  Some of us might even dance:)  Then I'll drive back to Botsford to have Easter lunch in ICU.  And in some strange way my grandma and I will find context for the celebration. 

Cold Bodies and Warm Hearts

I've spent most of today thawing out:)  We're in the midst of some April snow flurries.  Not exactly the best time for the heat to go out in my house.  Climbing out of bed this morning felt like climbing out of a helicopter in Iceland without a parka on (or anything else for that matter:)

I didn't stop feeling sorry for myself until this afternoon at the airport.  Several of us gathered to welcome David Okai's family to America.  After waiting 16 months for their arrival David had to wait 45 more minutes.  Everytime the doors opened his face brightened.  Finally Dinah, Angie and Mike walked out of customs and David shouted.  Then I got to witness the best 4 person bear hug I've ever seen:)

We'd come prepared with extra clothing.  So after several emotional greetings reality set in.  Dinah, Angie and Mike put on winter coats and gloves...for the first time in their lives.

Welcome to Michigan.