An Easter message — In the early church, believers would greet each other (year-round) with these words: “He is risen,” and the response, “He is risen, indeed.” The resurrection of Jesus was such a pivotal point in history that it immediately changed the cultural greetings of large numbers of people. …

A story of self-harm and forgiveness — I confess. It was me. I don’t know how things got to this point. When did I stray from the path? I know I did wrong, but do you know the whole story? They lied about me; they harmed my family and me. What else could I do? As hatred…

The sign on the door should have been a tipoff — After three and a half years in Rural Africa, I was finally back in America, the state of Virginia to be exact. The land of pimiento cheese, Tobacco farms, and a Wal-mart seemingly on every corner. In Uganda, we made do with what we had. We grew our own vegetables…

Learning from my heroes of the faith — Naser is a refugee twice removed. First, due to the genocide in Darfur, he fled to South Sudan. Then as South Sudan broke into war, he had to flee and seek refuge in Uganda. Incidentally, while in South Sudan, he heard of Jesus, and his life changed forever. He has…

Do you really trust God to provide? — The first time I visited a refugee camp, I met Garing. He was an older man with many children, a refugee from Darfur. He was also a Muslim Background Believer (a Christian who converted from Islam). Garing’s story was one of grace and abundance amid struggle. It was humbling to…

Finding fulfillment in the midst of suffering — When James Abong attended a Church planting training in rural Uganda, his country, South Sudan, was experiencing peace. For 10 weeks, 17 people from 5 countries lived in a community, studied together, and grew into a small ekklesia. But James’s path was different than the others; God had a unique…

A most useful offering — One Sunday, I visited a Presbyterian church in Rhino refugee settlement. It was full of people from the Nuer tribe in South Sudan who had been displaced by war. Unfortunately, I didn’t speak the Nuer language, but one thing I saw there required no translation. After a very tall and…

A typical day in the African Bush — Snakes were a part of daily life in Karamoja. This remote corner of Uganda is filled with beauty and danger. But this particular year had seen an influx of rats followed by snakes trying to eat said rats. A few months earlier, while the local people were burning their fields…

Small town football and beautiful hot rods — After an excruciating loss for the Springtown Porcupines, my teammates and I went to lick our wounds and commiserate our defeat. I don’t remember where we went. (This story happened almost 30 years ago, cut me some slack.) It could have been Howells Cafe for a chicken fried steak and…