Hello Friends! We had an incredible time in Uganda (and now Israel), but have been pretty wifi-deprived, so we haven’t had a chance to post any updates along the way. Rather than post a million photos and stories at once, we are deciding to post as much as we can over the last few days of our trip, and then the rest when we get home. Below its the first batch from Uganda. We hope you enjoy!

Here we are in front of the Nile River on our way from Kampala to Gulu. The Nile starts in Uganda, flowing out from Lake Victoria. 

One of our Favorite places that we visited was the village of Alero Cuku. Richard and his wife Lillian pastor this church, and it is one of the village churches planted by and connected to GBCC. This place truely is home of possibility, as they bring education, healing, and hope to this village. 

One of the bet parts about Uganda is the overwhelming hospitality. The kids of Alero Cuku danced and sang for us to ensure that we felt most welcome. If you want to hear one of the songs, ask Bethany to sing the Mango Song. 

Our team also led some worship and shared testimonies and encouraging words.

After that we did so door to door (hut to hut) evangelism. This was a great way to meet people in the villages and hear their stories as well. 

Thanks for praying for us. More posts are on the way!

We are leaving for Uganda and Israel today!! Thanks for all the support and prayers. Be praying for us, and check back here for updates along the way. 

We are still about $500 below our fundraising goal, and you can still donate while we are away! Click HERE to donate.

We are so excited for this adventure! 

– B&B

As I write this post we are at 80% of our fundraising goal. I am floored by the generosity of friends and family. It is so cool to see people believe in us and what we are doing. We need $1,910 to be fully funded, and we are definitely feeling the mantra “every little bit counts”. The fundraising process has made me rethink how I give to others. I often think, “I can’t give ___ and so I guess I can’t give”. On the receiving end of these gifts, the thing that has been most amazing to me is not simply the large amounts given by individuals, but the sheer number of people who have given (for the sake of transparency- we actually don’t see the amount given by each person). There have been 57 people who have given to our trip, and that is incredibly encouraging. I am realizing that it is more powerful to see many people giving because it helps us to feel like there are an army of people who love us, and are happy to come alongside us as we seek to love others across the globe. THANK YOU so much to all who have given. If you would like to help us reach our goal, CLICK HERE to donate!

In my last post, I got to share some of the reasons we are excited to go to Uganda. In this post, I want to share some reasons that we are thrilled to be heading to Israel. As followers of Jesus, we are incredibly excited to journey to the places that Jesus lived, preached, and brought healing. We are flying into Tel Aviv, and will be traveling around the region to places such as Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. As we go to the places where Jesus walked, we will be exploring the Beatitudes, which are a group of teachings out of the book of the gospel of Matthew.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad,because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Up until we began preparing for this trip, I thought that the conflict in and around Israel was primarily religious in nature. I assumed, like many Americans, that the conflict was a centuries old fight for land promised to specific people in the Jewish and Islamic scriptures. Recently, we learned that this is not primarily the case. In our preparation, we  learned that the conflict is more complex than simple, and more multifaceted than one dimensional. Without attempting (with my limited and evolving perspective) to give a summary of the present situation, I want to share a few things that I have been learning. To those who are more well educated on this subject, please give me grace as this is all very in process for me.

One of the first things I learned was that there are Palestinian Christians living in the area. I learned that the region of Palestine has not been in perpetual war for the last 2,000 years, but has had both times of conflict and times of peace (peace here characterized by Muslim, Jewish, and Christian people living alongside one another as neighbors throughout the region). I learned that the region was previously controlled by Great Britain, and before that the Ottoman Empire. I learned that, in the wake of the Holocaust, many Jewish people were yearning for a modern-nation in which they could live and belong. I learned that Palestinian people were forcibly removed from their homes when world powers at the time determined to turn the land into the modern-nation of Israel. I learned that there have been attempts to reach a compromise. I have learned that people have acted inappropriately on both sides of the conflict. I learned that real people have been hurt, are experiencing sadness, persecution, and forms of suffering.

It is in this context that we will also be reading the beatitudes. Jesus came to this region over 2,000 years ago preaching the good news that the Kingdom of God had come. The question is not “how can we solve this problem”, but rather how can we embody the gospel of peace, and become ourselves peacemakers. This is what excites me most about the trip. It is an amazing opportunity to connect our past with our present and future. In this sense, it is a true pilgrimage. We want to learn from Jesus himself, to learn from him what it looks like to be peacemakers.

As a couple, we want to learn how to be bearers of peace in all aspects of life, wherever we find ourselves. I believe that this trip will give us such a cool opportunity to learn from people from various walks of life, with unique perspectives on faith and life. It will be an amazing opportunity to learn from and encourage our Jesus-following brothers and sisters across the globe. It will be an amazing opportunity to support and partner with their ongoing ministry in the region. It will be an amazing to connect with Jesus himself-through his Holy Spirit- in the place where our faith began. And I believe it will greatly impact- even transform- the ways we minister to people as we return home.

Ways to Pray for us: Pray that God would show us how to minister to people “along the way” as we travel, that we would be sensitive to him as we engage with different people. That God would unify our team and increase our love for each other. That God would use us to encourage believers in Israel/Palestine. That we would reach 100% funding. That this trip would transform how Bethany and I minister to and love people.

To learn more about our trip or to give financially CLICK HERE.

This is part 2 of a series about our trip to Uganda + Israel. To read the first post Click Here.

Bethany and I are heading out to Uganda and Israel with our church ROCKHARBOR at the end of the month. We are raising support for this trip and we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and family. We are about 70% funded as I write this, so if you would like to give towards our trip and the ministry we will be a part of there, please follow this link! I wanted to do a series of blog posts before, hopefully during, and after the trip to give you a little more insight into what God is doing in us, and in the lives of the people we meet along the way. This post will be about Uganda- and the next one will be about Israel.

Have you ever heard so much about a place that it feels like you’ve been there? That’s what Uganda feels like to us. Uganda has been a place that has been close to Bethany and me for the last 10 years or so. For me, it started back in high school. My older sister came home from college with a documentary called Invisible Children about a then war torn country in Africa. That documentary significantly impacted me and and many others in my generation. Over the next 10 years I would see dozens of my friends go to live in Uganda for months at a time, my sister help start a jewelry company (31BITS) to help empower Ugandan women, and become part of a church that helped to plant a church in Uganda (GBCC- more on them in a minute). When I met Bethany, she was working with an organization called Krochet Kids, that was- you guessed it- based out of Uganda. When you are this close to a place- it feels as if you’ve been there- but the funny thing is, we haven’t!

People have been asking us what we are most excited about for Uganda. I think I am honestly most excited to stand in one spot, do a 360 degree turn, look up, look down, and see the place with my own eyes. I am excited to meet the people and to hear their stories. To hear about the pain, the perseverance, and in the midst of hardship, the presence of God.

One of the unique parts of this trip, is that we are going to celebrate. Ten years ago, ROCKHARBOR helped plant a church called Gulu Bible Community Church. A church that has itself planted 17 more churches (or campuses) in the villages surrounding Gulu. We are going to join with our brothers and sisters at GBCC to celebrate their anniversary. This will be the first time that all the village churches will be meeting together in one place. And from what I am told, Ugandan people know how to celebrate! There will be lots of singing and dancing- so pray for us- that we can keep up!

One of the things I am most excited about is to learn from my brothers and sisters in Uganda. Some of the most impactful times in my life and ministry have been being taught and prayed for by Pastor Martin (the lead pastor at GBCC). He has an amazing story, and a gift of giving to others what he has received from God. I am excited to continue learning from him and to grow in ministry. We are also excited to meet Gerald- the child we sponsor through Christ the Center Ministries. We are excited to encourage, and be encouraged by him, in person. We are excited to jump in wherever we are needed- whether that’s spending time with kids, praying for the sick, listening to stories, or dancing and celebrating. We are excited to step into whatever God has for us there. We know that God is going to do so much more than we can hope for, and we are excited to jump in!

Ways to Pray for us: that we would make the most of every opportunity, for unity in the team, for health and energy, for power from the Holy Spirit, that we would be an encouragement to the people of Uganda and GBCC.

To learn more about our trip or to give financially CLICK HERE.

Other Links: 31Bits / Krochet Kids / Invisible Children / Christ the Center Ministries

This is a re-post from a blog post I did in January 2015. I later adapted this material for a discipleship course called Kingdom Culture at ROCKHARBOR Church. I thought I’d post it again here. Enjoy.

I am reading through Center Church by Tim Keller. I really appreciate how he brings different streams of gospel thought together, simply by seeking to be faithful to the whole of the bible witness. In thinking through the gospel, he points to three aspects of how we are transformed by it. Let’s take a look at each of them briefly and then observe how each of them play out in the story of a wealthy guy who meets Jesus but has a hard time embracing the sort of Kingdom that God is bringing.

Incarnation / The Upside-Down Kingdom
When the Kingdom comes it flips the world order- the way things work day in and day out- on its head. The God over all-creation humbles himself and becomes a baby. The King of the world dies between two thieves. A nobody from Nazareth heals all sorts of diseases, restores sight, speech and hearing, and even raises the dead (we should take note that his followers do the same sort of stuff). He claims that the lowly people of the world are blessed. He spends time with society’s disregarded, sinful, rejected, and marginalized (we should also note that his followers do the same- and that it is precisely these outcast sort of people who make up a large chunk of them!) He chooses high school dropouts to be his apprentices, sinners as friends, and those rejected by religion to be His Kingdom people. And this is only a fraction of it. Wherever Jesus is, the world is being flipped upside down.

Atonement / The Inside-Out Kingdom
When the Kingdom comes, lives are transformed- but not from the outside in (as is the way of religion) but from the inside out. Jesus transforms the human heart. This is why He seems to up, rather than diminish, the call to righteousness. He moves from speaking to outward murder to inward anger, from outward sexual affairs to inward lust, from loving our neighbor to loving our enemy. His call to righteousness goes deeper than religion because it requires a deeper transformation than religion can bring. Jesus transforms our hearts, and will settle for nothing less. The cross covers our broken, alienated, and rebellious reality at the core of who we are. God’s love is like a geyser that bursts out of us. We can’t work our way into God’s love, but when we receive Jesus by grace through faith, his love works its way out of us.

Resurrection / The Forward-Back Kingdom
When the Kingdom comes our future hope is realized in our present circumstance. The Kingdom has already come, but it is not yet here in full. Jesus brought the Kingdom, is bringing the Kingdom, and will bring the Kingdom. Wherever Jesus is, His Kingdom is too. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee that this is so- our down payment, and the first fruits of what’s to come. In other words, The Holy Spirit is securing the spot of the new life in the midst of the old. He is the evidence that Jesus is on the move, reconciling all things to himself in the here and now. We don’t just look forward to the future, but get to live out of its fullness now, regardless of what we see in the present! This reality fills us with faith to see signs and wonders and is our hope when the presence of God seems absent. Whether by faith or by sight, we trust that the future reality is breaking in to the present one.

Mark 10:17-30 / The Kingdom Comes
Let’s look at how these three aspects of the Gospel are extended to and rejected by a first century man of wealth.

The wealthy man refuses to flip the order of things in his life. He cannot give up the things that give him worth to receive the wealth of God’s Kingdom. Jesus calls him into a radical reorientation in which he releases what the world counts as valuable to receive what it considers to be foolish. He can’t fit through the door marked “Kingdom of God” because he wants to bring the whole world with him. Jesus offers Kingdom treasure but the young man won’t let his world be flipped upside down to receive it.

The wealthy man has worked hard to be good, and so he comes to Jesus as one good guy to another. But Jesus strips the outward qualifications for goodness and gives a set that require a transformation of the heart. All but one, the man has managed to keep by gritting his teeth and working hard- but not this one. Not the one, that requires him to lose his wealth, his identity, and more than likely, the surplus from which his goodness is flowing. His heart is tied to his stuff, and his good behavior is dependent on keeping it. Jesus wants to give life from the inside out, but the man wants to live life from the outside in. The grown man wants to stride big and tall through the tiny door marked “Kingdom of God”, rather than by crawling through like a little child.

And so the man goes away sad because he had great wealth. He is trying to enter the Kingdom through his present resources, rather than through the resources of the new Kingdom that Jesus himself brings. His present life has no room for God’s future. For him, the new way is impossible, but for God it is the only way possible. In God’s kingdom, it’s not just that the first are the last, but that the first must become the last. We can only receive the Kingdom by embracing the humility of the cross. It is at the cross that we receive what is possible for God in place of what is impossible for us, and walk through the door marked “Kingdom of God”.

Every day is full of choices, and today is a normal day. The sun will rise and set. Plants will grow, TV’s will be turned on, and kids will play. But today, just like every other day, is a day full of eternal choices.

I’m not talking about predestination or fate, determinism or destiny. I’m not even talking about freewill or of final destinations. I am speaking of the present. No, not of the present’s impact on eternity, but of the present’s impact on the present, on the here and now.

I’m talking about today. Today: the day of eternal significance.

I’m not talking about good or bad decisions, about healthy habits or ethical quandaries. I’m talking about the choices that we make without thinking, the ones we make on autopilot. Even more, I’m talking about the choices made when we do think. The choices that programmed our autopilot in the first place.

Autopilot has a funny way of doing the things we would have done had we been thinking, while taking all the blame as if we hadn’t been. “I didn’t mean to…” we say, but here we are again in the same old mess, the same old despair. We got here by a choice. A choice to embrace or to deny, to live or to die.

Sometimes our despair is on autopilot too. Numbness. It’s a vehicle we use to fight feeling, while en route to our favorite places of hiding. We have lost the power to cry out “the good I want to do, I don’t do. And the evil I do, I don’t want to do!”

We have forgone repentance for deadness.
We have exchanged life for death.
Peace for…

Hostility. Can you feel it?
“Where are you?”
Can you hear it?

Hiding. Blame. Numbness. Blindness. Unbelief. Original Sin. Human Nature. It’s the way we are. Autopilot. Choices.

“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Can you hear it?
It’s the still small voice.
His voice, invites a response.
No, it evokes a response.

How will I respond today?

After we fall, repentance is turning. Before we fall, repentance is leaning. But always, repentance is receiving.

It’s turning from the depths of sin to the arms of the Father.
It’s leaning on the Spirit in every thought, action, and moment.
It’s receiving everything that the Son- the one called Jesus- is freely giving.

Grace. Truth. Love.
Kindness. Acceptance. Mercy.
Discipline. Power. Forgiveness.

Our choices do not determine our reality, but they do determine which reality we are living in. Sin allures. It whets our appetite. It deceives us into thinking that evil is good. It deceives and destroys- one choice at a time. But the Kingdom has come. Sins are forgiven. The Father’s love is poured out. His Spirit empowers our choices. The Kingdom is in our midst.

How will I respond today?

Lord, By your Spirit help me to put to death the misdeeds of the body, so that I might live- not someday, but right now, here, in the present. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! My eyes are ever fixed on the Lord, for only He will release my feet from the snare. Amen.

References: Romans 8:6, 7:19, 8:7 Genesis 3:9 Matthew 4:17 Romans 8:13, 7:24-25 Psalm 25:15

I once met a man who used to slay dragons,
the kind everyone was afraid to confront.
But for his courage there was no honor.
People passed him by and went on their way.

As he stood up like a lion,
and died like a lamb.

Fighting our dragons means fighting our demons,
the ones in our wisdom we refuse to believe.
In freedom’s name we’ll break our promises,
and from fiery breath we’ll willingly flee.

But if we stand up like a lion,
we’ll die like a lamb.

The heroes of old, they died poor and alone.
buried like seeds, deep underground.
Hidden from us, and watered by the rain.
living by faith and awaiting the day that they’d..

stand up like like the lion,
and rise like the lamb.

Darkness has taken over your land,
but I’ve come to bring light in abundance again.
I’ll shake the earth and the earth will shake me.
We’ll be cast out like fools because we believe…

when we stand up like the lion,
we’ll rise like the lamb.