Valley Word Ministries...The Mission Field: 2006 and Beyond...

The Dynamics of the Mission Team.

2009-08-24T01:25:00.002-04:00

There are a number of things that come to mind when one starts talking about a mission trip to a place like Africa. Heat...mosquitoes...malaria...bad water...time differences...pit toilets...sickness...the list goes on...Each of those variables can be difficult enough to handle on its own, let alone mixed in with all of the others. And then we add the personality factor on top of all of that to shape the team dynamics! Sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's not. And sometimes it deteriorates about midway through, even with well-intentioned team members.

We were fortunate enough to have a team that meshed pretty well for the majority of the trip. Each particular group worked well together on the various projects we were scheduled to do. There was a grace or anointing to flow in the task at hand. What a blessing to watch each team member "come into his or her own" on the team.

Debbie:

That grace or anointing started before the team even left Roanoke. One of our team leaders, Debbie - who was with us on our first trip to Uganda, was coordinating our medical projects. What a tremendous blessing she was! I never had to worry that something was going to be missed or be half-done. Debbie oversaw each of the various projects, making sure they met the goals that had been communicated to us by Pastor Doreen. She did a great job!

Debbie was the one who resuscitated the stillborn baby that I delivered the first day were were at Life Link Medical Centre. She was incredible to watch as she overcame insurmountable odds without the benefit of even basic equipment and supplies that we take for granted here in the States.

About a week in to the trip, during a particularly terrible van ride down a REALLY rough dirt road, Debbie suffered a concussion. Her head had bounced off the inside of the van several times as it lurched down the terrible roads. Later that day she started getting headaches and nausea. For the next several days tasks like just bending over to tie her shoes or to wash a few items of clothing by hand turned into painful challenges. Still, Debbie managed to maintain a good attitude and a desire to serve.

Tracy:

Tracy, a first-time missionary, was in charge of the Diabetic Teaching module. Through her contacts we were blessed to have supplies donated and teaching materials available for the program. Tracy also brought a couple thousand Dum Dum lollipops to hand out to the kids. Everywhere she went she brought a comical sense of chaos as children flocked to her. It reminded me of times when I've fed pigeons or seagulls...You start out and there are only a couple, but before long you're literally swarmed with them! Kids would look at her and say, "Sweet, sweet!"

While a mission trip requires every participant to stretch outside of his or her comfort zone, this was particularly the case for Tracy, who'd never even been camping before, let alone thrust into some of the situations you encounter out in the field. What an amazing transformation we observed over the weeks we were there! I'm so proud of Tracy's persistence in overcoming things like wild warthogs grazing outside her tent, learning to squat over pit toilets that require a good aim (or you have the tell-tale splatters on your pantlegs to show your lack of skill), and wild van rides that would cause many grown men to cringe in terror (and which caused Debbie to get a concussion!)

After we'd completed all of our projects we did a game reserve trip to Murchison Falls National Park. By the end of the game reserve trip Tracy was actually dangling from the van by one hand while perched with her butt hanging outside the open window, shooting her camera at lions and elephants a dozen or so yards away. We've affectionately nicknamed her "Rambo".

Natalie:

Hah! I've known Natalie for quite a while at church, and I have always pictured her as a quiet-spoken mommy. Boy, did she blossom. Natalie worked with the Vision Clinic that we held. She was soooo good with that. She just slipped into the anointing and ran with it! And each night at the guesthouse she would sift through boxes of eyeglasses, sorting them, fixing them, preparing for the next days patients.

I did learn that Natalie isn't quite so quiet-spoken once you get her out of her shell. She's fun to be around and has a great personality. And her comfort-zone was stretched as well. Like Tracy, this was her first mission trip. She'd left kids and husband at home to reach out with the love of God in a way that is completely foreign to most people back home. She met each challenge head-on and overcame. I'm proud of her and her willingness to step out into the unknown for the sake of the Gospel.

Suzanne:

This was Suzanne's second trip to Uganda, and she seemed very relaxed. She even brought her seventeen-year-old daughter with her on this trip. And, oh my goodness, what an anointing to teach! Suzanne ran the Low Vision Clinic, which targeted people who had vision problems such as glaucoma, cataracts, etc where glasses don't neccesarily help. Listening to her teach was a treat. Then she organized an entire Low Vision Classroom and testing center with various different stations that helped the people to learn techniques that would improve their quality of life.

Pastor Solomon asked Suzanne to teach the school staff the various signs to look for in the children to determine vision disorders, and then what to do to help correct those problems, such as a pupil's distance from the blackboard, etc. On the Sunday that Pastor Eddie ministered, Suzanne was asked to teach the people in the congregation things like body mechanics, diet and nutrition, etc. It was obvious that Suzanne was "in her element" every time a teaching opportunity presented itself. what a blessing she was to the people of Uganda!

Soyini:

At seventeen-years-old, this was Soyini's first mission trip to Africa. It was a sacrifice for her to be able to be with the team, because she learned prior to traveling that she was being kicked off of the Girl's Volleyball team - Soyi's passion and the source of future scholarships - because she was scheduled to be gone during the pre-season scrimmage game and pre-season practices. That was really tough for her.

I'm proud of Soyini and how she hadled many of the situations on the trip. She actually helped me deliver the baby the first day at the Medical Centre. She also helped Tracy with the patients she treated. Now, Soyini's a beautiful young lady, and it was just a given that the young men would be attracted to her. And, of course, they were. And being the red-blooded American girl that she is (despite African and Trinidadian roots) she was attracted right back to them! Lol! One fine young man, Vincent (a.k.a. Vine), captured her heart, and they continue to text back and forth every day.

Martha:

I first met Martha earlier this year when her husband was running for Attorney General in Virginia. You know how it is when you meet someone in a particular setting, and that's the way you picture them. I'd run into Martha again back at the end of June and learned that she had previous mission trip experience. I asked her if she wanted to go to Uganda with us and she's relpied with a "Don't ask me unless you're serious" answer. I told her that I was serious, and she said she'd check her schedule. I'm so glad she did! What a blessing she's been.

Martha is a seasoned traveler, and nothing seemed to phase her. I never heard her complain about anything, and she was willing to do whatever was needed to help the team. She worked with Natalie in the Vision Clinic to help screen people and fit them with eyeglasses. Again, like Natalie, she just flowed in the anointing for what she was doing.

We're sorry that Martha was unable to take the time for the game reserve trip that we finished our trip with, but she had to head home after the projects were completed. Her presence graced all of us...and I'd still like to read her journal! (She told us that she had a page - or pages - on each team member, from first-impressions on...I'll bet it's an interesting read!)

Rocky:

Rocky is a mission trip "pro". This was his fourth trip to Uganda, and I'm surprised he didn't stay. He did look into property while we were there this time. Rocky was one of our two construction team members. He was in charge of designing and building the solar food dehydrator based upon locally available materials, so that it would be completely duplicatable. He'd built a prototype in his back yard before leaving home, and managed to come up with an inexpensive and easy-to-build model.

It was interesting to watch Rocky in Uganda. While back home his conversations are limited - he doesn't even have a cellphone at home, in Uganda he was a totally different person! The cellphone he bought shortly after arriving was in use constantly. He has more friends in Africa than in the United States, and many of them came to visit him on this trip, coming from as far away as Kenya. Pastor Anthony (from Kenya) rode 8 hours one-way in a 14-passenger taxi van from Kenya to come visit Rocky, and stayed in the Red Chilli dorm so he could actually spend time visiting. I think one of the high points for Rocky was the purchase of a large snake skin to take home for his wall.

Tim:

The other construction team member, Tim is a second-time missionary to Uganda. He was available to help Rocky with the solar dehydrator, provide security for the ladies, and a blessing to King Solomon's Academy as he used his construction talents on things like hanging doors, fixing desks, and more.

Because of his heavy southern drawl or accent, it has been a standing joke since our first mission trip that Tim needs a translator to translate from "Southern" to English and then to Luganda (the official language of that area). This time was no different, and I'm glad that he has a sense of humor about it. I appreciated his willingness to be used in whatever project he was needed without complaint. He did however liken his role in this trip to that of trying to herd a pack of cats...were we that bad, Tim? Lol!

Joshua:

Joshua is a professor at Roanoke College and a native of Uganda. He went with us on our first mission trip, and we adopted him after that. He was already in Uganda when we got there this time, supposedly on vacation/family time...BUT World Bank found out that he was there and put him to work almost every day. He allowed Debbie, Rocky, and I us to use his driver and car one day before the main team arrived. That was a blessing, as Julius, his driver, took us several places we needed to go to purchase supplies and phones.

Joshua met those of us who were in the lead team at the airport when we arrived in Entebbe and even arranged with his brother to act as "tour guide" in Entebbe one day while we were there. He's been a great friend and team member. While in-country this time, Joshua came down with Malaria. After a few days of medicine he felt much better and was able to fly back in time to get ready for the start of the fall semester.

All in all we had a great group and a great trip. I appreciate each and every team member and am honored to have served alongside them!

The Solar Dehydrator/Dryer Project

2009-08-11T00:53:00.002-04:00

This was my pet project. I started studying solar dehydration and food preservation techniques for the mission field in the mid to late 1980's when my husband and I were planning on going to South Africa. Things started getting really bad in South Africa right before we were planning on heading there, so we were never able to go. Which meant that I never got a chance to put any of the information into practice.

Tim building the Solar Dehydrator

Rocky building the trays for the Solar Dehydrator

Now, 20+ years later God is allowing me to use the knowledge I learned to impact people's lives. Rocky and Tim built a simple and duplicatable solar dehydrator on top of the new school building out of locally available and inexpensive materials. I taught area residents and community leaders on how to preserve their foods using solar drying. The people were very interested, and it was encouraging to see them taking notes, drawing diagrams of the design, and asking questions.

Sandi teaching the people

Loading the Solar Dehydrator

We loaded the dryer with tomatoes, bananas, potatoes, and sugar cane. In trying to make the process as easy to perform as possible, and knowing that clean water and charcoal to cook with are precious commodities, I'd tried to do the potatoes without blanching/ pre-treating them. That didn't work, and I had to toss the first tray of potatoes. I tried another load that I'd soaked in water with fresh lemon juice, but had to toss that tray as well. I came to the conclusion that to do potatoes they would have to be blanched so as not to turn black. We decided to do pineapple in place of the potatoes, and also added some ripe bananas that had been pre-soaked in water with lemon juice to preserve their color better, green bananas (used to make matoke), eggplant, and green pepper. Everything has turned out great, and people are very excited. There are even plans of making goat jerky in the future.

The project will help the people to not only extend the food available during the growing seasons so that there is food available in the dry season, but will also provide a stream of income to people as well. One industrious young man is already planning on making the dryers and selling them. Smart man... Praise God! What a blessing to see how God can prepare us with skills years before the door opens to use them. I had at one point given up even being able to use my training, but God is faithful!

A Week In Review...From Natalie's Perspective

2009-08-09T17:20:00.000-04:00

Today is Sunday August 9th. Went to an AWESOME church service this morning! The praise team was amazing, words cannot describe their vibrance & energy during worship. Pastor preached two services back to back this morning. The church was very receptive and welcoming to all of us.

I'm going to backtrack this week...

Sunday Aug 2nd. Arrived at Entebbe airport, got our visas & bags and were greeted by the first team (consisting of Sandi, Debbie, and Rocky), Pastor Solomon and various members of Good News Church. It was dark on the way from Entebbe to Kampala, so I didn't get to see much other than the sides of the busy streets, even at 10pm! We arrived at the guest house & settled in... jet lag caused me to remain awake until 2am!

Monday Aug 3rd. Up at 6:30, only a few hours of sleep, but felt very rested. Went to breakfast and ate outside (it's so beautiful out there). Before I knew it, we were loaded up and all in a van headed to Life Link Medical Center. What busy roads! Shops and vendors line the streets... boda-bodas weaved in and out of traffic & buzzed around us, some within inches of our van. It was sensory overload as I tried to take it all in. Next thing I know, we're climbing out of the van in front of Life Link Medical Center and there are rows and rows of pew-like benches full of people waiting for us. Several people walk up to greet us. I first notice a young lady with a big smile on her face. It was very comforting to be so welcomed as each one took their time to greet us. These greeters became our interpreters (and they are just fabulous!). Since I was to help with the distribution of glasses (along with Martha Foster & Debbie Robinson) we went into a good sized room in front of the medical center and began setting up. We started matching up with our interpreters and I was happy to see that my interpreter Whitney, 15, was the same smiling face I had seen when I first arrived. :o)

Once we were set up, we got straight to work! Debbie took down patients medical history & performed exams, Martha guided patients through the eye chart exam & helped me find the one pair out of 800 pairs of glasses that were right for each individual, and Suzanne ministered to those who had additional needs. After a non-stop, full morning, we took a quick rest out back to down some chex mix & touch base with each other. I noticed a pregnant woman walking around, clearly in labor..., then we were back to it. We had steady patients receiving eye glasses all day. EVERYONE that was seen was fitted with glasses that were perfect for them! No one was turned away this entire week, ever. Once things began to wind down at the center Monday afternoon, we packed up our belongings and immediately became aware of the work still to be done. As previous blogs mention... a baby was born our first day. Before I knew it, the team had moved into the same space we had been all day with a baby clearly in distress. Everyone was working hard to get oxygen and warmth to the baby. Who knew that the plastic cups doctors give you medicine in would become an oxygen mask! Debbie moved swiftly and remained very calm, Sandi held the baby while administering oxygen, Tracey was continuously thinking on her toes through every obstacle the team faced, and Soyini had stayed by the mothers side. It was very touch and go, and I really think that had we not been there, this baby would have survived. Praise God we were!! My favorite part of the evening was hearing that baby make a cry and try to fight off the O2 mask! I was so proud to be among those that were with me all day...

Tuesday Aug 4th. Arrived at the clinic, only to see our room cleared of all the medical equipment that was brought in the night before for the baby. For a second all of our hearts dropped until we were notified that mom & baby were great! They ended up going home, no problems! Many more fit with eyeglasses. That night I emptied two boxes of glasses! I had heard that the sister of a lady who was fitted with glasses the day before had come to the clinic the next day to receive glasses... from 100 miles away! We even had folks from Rwanda coming! Let me tell you, traveling in Kampala is like nothing I have ever seen before; it was not easy for those patients to travel all that distance!

Many of the ladies who needed eyeglasses (reading glasses) were tailors & beaders unable to see to thread their needles. They were so happy to be able to do what they love with ease!! But what blessed me the most were those who needed reading glasses to read their Bibles. Once they tried their glasses on, they would reach into their bags, pull out their Bible, and see if they could read it! Right many people did that! It was awesome! And all around town there are signs, bumper stickers, banners, car decals that say "Praise God!," "Jesus Saves!", etc etc. It's awesome! I think you could stand just about anywhere from the guest house to Good News Church and see something that lifts the name of the Lord!

Wednesday Aug 5th. Refer to Monday & Tuesday... just no babies being born! I helped an extremely near-sighted boy receive a pair of glasses that allowed him to see across the street clearly! Also took our first walk up to the Good News Church. Took a few pics of the students from King Solomons Academy next door. Really enjoyed the pic of Tracey surrounded by the students when she knelt down to look at a child's workbook. ;o)

Thursday Aug 6th. Spent the morning fitting people with eyeglasses, then we moved to the church... it was so great! There, Suzanne lead us in performing various low vision tests while Tracey ran diabetic screenings. Both ladies are extremely professional, yet maintain a coolness about them that put the patients at ease! It's awesome watching everyone in their "element". God is doing amazing things through this team! My interpreter, Whitney & I got to spend some time talking about all sorts of things! She was surprised to hear that we didn't have impalas, gorillas, elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions & tigers roaming around our country! And that we drove on the right side of the road, with our steering wheels on the left! We talked about how both of our schools are set up, and how one day she'd like to become a doctor, and she even tried to help me with my Lugandan! I am so thankful for all of her hard work this week!

Friday Aug 7th. Friday was probably my favorite clinic day because we performed vision screenings for the kids at King Solomon's Academy! The kids there were so well mannered, all of them, and were very good for us. Some didn't know their alphabet, so I thought of creative ways to test their vision, by recognizing shapes & lines. I tested a three year old by pointing to a bird and asking "Is this a bird?" he sweetly nodded "yes", and then I pointed to a bug and asked "Is this a bird?" He looked at me like I was crazy & nodded no! Most of the kids were very happy to be able to read & see the board after receiving their glasses. One boy could not see more than 2-3" from in front of his face. He had to literally stand nose to nose with the blackboard to work at school. After fitting him with glasses, he was able to stand across the room, and read to the bottom of the eye chart! Friday we left the clinic around 4pm, much earlier than our previous days. We rested a bit & then met up for dinner at the guest house, where they were having a cookout! The food was great and you just can beat Ugandan coffee & tea after a nice meal!

Saturday Aug 8th. Went to Life Link, where there is a football (soccer) field. We walked around to the site of the new school (building in progress) while some of our team tested out the goodies in the solar dehydrator on top of the building. A lot of the "neighborhood" kids came by... they know Tracey has "sweeties" in her bag! (dum dum lollipops) They call us Muzungus (white people), and they call Tracey "Muzungu sweetie"! Then back to the field where the soccer, I mean football match, was beginning. I was very impressed by the talent those athletes had! They were amazing! (And the Good News team won!) There were a lot of kids around, wanting to hold my hands, touch my arm. One girl was particularly attached to me & would shoo away any other kids trying to get close, as if to say "my muzungu!". During intermission, Rocky & Sandi walked through a crowd with an interpreter and evangelized. I believe 4 people were saved and invited to come to Good News Church the next day.

We got back to the guest house & then headed out towards downtown Kampala. And I must apologize for not mentioning him earlier, but Bryan is the name of the guy that has been faithfully driving us around all week long. He is an excellent driver, and even parallel-parked in an impossible space so we would be closer to our destination. There are a lot of big buildings, many being built still. We went in what looked like the garment district in NYC... There were bolts of colorful fabrics, lace, and trim at every turn, and tailors sitting on the sides of the street with their sewing machine ready. Can't even begin to describe all of the sights & sounds!

So, now you're pretty current with some of what God's been doing through this team this week. Everyone at Good News Church appreciates us, and the support Valley Word Church gives to them. They keep telling us what a blessing we are to them, but I feel like they've been more of a blessing to me.

Monday, we will go back to Life Link Medical Center and work on training the staff there. I'm looking forward to seeing my new friends again!

They Call Us Doctor

2009-08-06T18:30:00.000-04:00

2009-08-06

Hey everyone! We all send our love to those back home.

Today has been another great day. We continued the Vision Clinic and the Medical Clinic in the morning. Then in the afternoon Tracy held a Diabetic Screening Clinic, and Suzanne held a Low Vision Clinic to help those with particular vision deficiencies to learn how to compensate for them and have a better, safer quality of life.

While the afternoon clinics were in session, Debbie and I rode around with Pastors Solomon and Doreen trying to find the ever elusive suction canister that doesn't exist in Uganda. We had shipped a suction machine over in 2007 and the suction canisters somehow disappeared. When we had the incident with trying to resucitate the stillborn baby on Monday and didn't have a working suction machine, it prompted us to go in search of the items required to make it work. Now we're at the "MacGyver stage" where we're going to have to get creative and make what we need.

It's been very interesting working in the Medical Centre this trip. We were informed this time that Tracy and I were to assess, diagnose, and treat the patients ourselves...not just in support of the facility doctor (who was sick the day we got there). That would be OK if we were doctors, but we aren't. Tracy is an RN, and I'm an LPN. We explained that we are NOT doctors, but nurses. That didn't seem to phase them at all. As far as the people here are concerned the muzungu's from the United States should know how to do everything.

They call us "doctor"...

Despite being informed that we are only nurses, the staff kept calling us "Doctor". If there are any nurses reading this who have the crazy desire to go on to medical school to become a physician, I challenge you to come to Africa first and work in a small hospital. It will either hook you for life or scare you away!

In the last four days I have assessed, diagnosed, ordered lab work on (when the tiny lab had the reagents to do the tests I've tried to order), and treated patients with malaria, syphyllis, fungal infections, complaints of ulcers, hypertension, and a myriad of aches and pains. Of those who were previously on medications for things like diabetes or high blood pressure, many do not take their medications regularly and are therefore not well regulated. It has challenged my LPN nursing skills to the max, and given me repeated excuses for a hastily prayed, "Oh, God! Help me to figure out what's wrong with this person and how to treat it!"

I have to say, I've never had a desire to go on to even RN school, let alone Med School. I'll let someone else have the headache of deciding what's wrong with someone and how to "Fix it"! One thing that I was grateful for was the fact that Tracy brought her Nursing Drug Handbook. I've spent a lot of time in it in the last few days. Which antibiotic works best for such-and-such? Can the 6-month pregnant lady have this particular medication? What's the right dose of this particular drug for a 2-year-old weighing 13kg?

In the end, I accurately diagnosed and treated a great number of people (with the diagnosis being confirmed by the few lab tests I have available to me) with serious conditions. I'm following up on a couple people whose blood pressure was elevated. I have the great choice of starting them on either nifedipine or atenolol. I'm not a doctor, hello! I'm not trained in the specifics of WHY a particular medication is prescibed and WHICH ONE to prescribe. I have gotten good at what to give for Syphyllis, skin infections, and malaria. But I'll be glad when I can go back to being Sandi Bird, LPN.

Anyway, it's late and I'm tired. I'll write about the solar dehydrator project another time...

Thoughts To All The Medical People Following Our Trip...

2009-08-05T14:23:00.000-04:00

Here in Uganda we are all becoming more acquainted. We have had many new and interesting experiences many of which will never be spoke of again. Day one in the hospital was one of those experiences.

For all those medical folks that are following the blogs; we had a baby born at quiting time. Sandi delivered him then yelled for me STAT! He was a meconium baby at less than 6lbs. He had an APGAR of 1 at 1min, 5min and a 3 at 10 min. We had no suction, no warmer and no O2. At 10 min someone found an O2 tank but then Tracy had to figure out how to put a cracked regulator on it.

All my NRP training came back in a rush. To make a long long story short, by the time we left (only because there was nothing else we could do) he had a good HR, decent color but not yet crying and his temp was 95. Fast forward to the next morning he was crying and eating like any good baby should. What a miracle! This was not the team building experience that we expected. We were able to shed a lot of tears together. Both of frustration at our weaknesses and in joy for his survival. The team is cement now.

We have shared a lot of laughs since then. Mostly at Tim and his sense of humor and timing. As of today (Wednesday) we have seen 127 people in the eye clinic and unknown numbers of people in the medical clinic. All with a story. A lot of people want glasses to be able to read their Bible, that is their number one complaint. Some of the faces of these people will be with me for a long time. I took pictures of some of them. The old people with a mouth full of teeth and the biggest brightest smiles and those with no teeth smiling as well. All happy to see again. What a profound feeling. Well that's all for now. I turn into a pumpkin very soon.

And Unto Us A Child Is Born...

2009-08-04T18:11:00.001-04:00

Yesterday (Monday) was Day 1 for our Vision Clinic and our Free Medical Clinic. The vision screening and eyeglass fitting have been slow going, but those workers saw patients all day long for two days so far. I've heard some of the stories about how the people are reacting when they can finally see after being unable to see well for so long.

There was a woman who came in because she was in labor. The staff could not reach the midwife who normally is there at night. That left me to deliver the baby...Keep in mind, I'm just an LPN. and though I've been present at several births, I've never delivered a human baby (Kittens and puppies, yes...not people). I had been monitoring fetal heart tones as the labor progressed. The mom was having strong contractions less than 1 minute apart.

The baby was still pretty high up and the head hadn't yet engaged. I could barely feel the baby's head the last time I checked to see if the woman was fully dilated, so it wasn't really close to time for delivery. But then we lost fetal heart tones. I had a couple other people check her, but they were unable to hear anything either. At this point the labor had stopped being effective. The contractions had weakened. Not good when you can't hear a heartbeat!

The water broke as I checked her the last time. Still very weak contractions. Time was critical. The staff nurse started their equivalent of a pitocin drip which, under the conditions of any rural Ugandan medical center is pretty mind-blowing. There is no such thing as sterile technique. They vent the plastic bottle by stabbing it in several places, then they add the medication to it by just stabbing through the side of the plastic bottle with a syringe needle and squirt.

Mom was fully dilated and the head was coming down the birth canal. It was time for mom to push and for the baby to be born. I felt a sense of dread, as I still had not been able to hear the fetal heart tones. As the head crowned and the baby came out, I grabbed its lifeless body, holding back tears. I yelled for Debbie, "Stat!" and she came around the corner immediately.

The staff finally found an ambu bag, but there were no infant or pediatric masks. The ET tubes we shipped in 2007 were no longer anywhere to be found...they must be wherever the tray of various sized laryngoscopes disappeared to from that same shipment...

I pumped the ambu bag, just to blow air into the nose and mouth. Then Debbie fashioned an infant sized O2 mask out of a plastic medicine cup and O2 tubing. the suction machine we'd sent previously had been used and was missing pieces...important pieces, like the suction canister. We rigged it to use anyway...I won't say how, and got the baby's lungs cleaned out a bit. By this time the baby had a heart beat and gasping respirations. We had to leave just after 7pm and had to leave the baby in the care of its mom and staff, so our hearts were very burdened.

Pastor Solomon told us that, even in the big hospitals, nurses will just lay the baby on the bed next to the mom and observe it. they don't do any heroic lifesaving procedures. This morning when we got there we entered the room where momma and baby had been, and the bed was empty. My heart just sank..."Where's the baby?" We were told that the baby was in the ward on the other end of the building. He'd come back to life with a will to live! The sounds of his crying were like music to our ears. All I can do is praise God for the miracle!

Soyini got to help me deliver the baby, along with Tracy.

Me holding my first delivery...

The Main Team Has Arrived!

2009-08-04T15:59:00.001-04:00

Wow, what a blur the last few days have been!

The main team arrived on Sunday night. It was so great to see everyone and have my "flcok" all in one place. Those who know me know that I have a "mother hen" instinct. I'd called back to the States several times to check on everyone, but once they were on the plane there was nothing else I could do but wait for them to show up. We have several first-timers on our team this year, and I just wanted to make sure they didn't have any problems.

As we waited at the airport for them most of the passengers came out and we still had not seen our group. I was getting a little antsy. Was there a problem with immigration? Maybe it was a baggage issue? Whatever it was, all I could do is stand there and wait. After what seemed like a maddeningly long time, we saw the first of our group round the corner. Praise God! There had been a baggage issue with Sue and Stacey's checked luggage. It had been resolved and the team was free to leave. Yay!

We had Brian's 14-passenger van and Pastor Solomon's 7-passenger vehicle to carry everyone and their luggage. We all piled in and went down to what Rocky has dubbed as the "Kampala IHOP" where we had burgers and finally ended up at the Guesthouse at midnight. There was a little bit of a hassle getting everyone checked in, but I persisted in getting everyone in the same building. We made arrangements with Pastor Solomon to be picked up at 10am the next morning, and trudged up stairs to bed.

Divine Connections

2009-07-31T16:02:00.000-04:00

2009-07-31 23:00 Kampala Time, 16:00 Roanoke Time.

Today has been productive. The Word says that the steps of a righteous man are ordered of God, and we wholeheartedly agree with that!

Step One...This morning at breakfast Debbie began talking with a missions group from Brooklyn Tabernacle. They just finished up a medical clinic here in Kampala, and most of the group will return home Saturday. One family, however, (Roger & Olga and their son David) will be continuing on through Massai Country holding additional medical clinics. Apparently BT sends out medical teams on a very regular basis.

Olga, a Physician's Assistant, had the responsibility of organizing and overseeing the entire Medical Clinic project. She shared with us some of what she'd done and allowed us to view some of the photographs. Somehow the topic turned to nebulizer (breathing treatment) machines. We'd brought machines and circuits with us, but had been unable to bring any albuterol (a breathing medication) with us. We'd hoped to buy it here, but we've been told that it's difficult to obtain in Uganda. Olga generously offered to give our team a box of the medication for our Free Clinic days. Praise God! What a blessing!

Another Step...I had been told of a man who dehydrates food on an island in Lake Victoria. Since the Solar Drying project is my "pet project", I was very interested in meeting someone locally who had already done what we are wanting to do.

By Pastor Solomon's request, our project has a two-fold purpose. It has both socio- and economic purposes. By socio- I'm referring to the aspect that will help the individual families preserve their own food, extend the use of the foods from their growing seasons, and provide a community activity that can be an actual "communal" activity. By economic I'm referring to the income potential that is opened up by the marketing and distribution of the dried food product being produced.

This afternoon I had a 1-1/2 hour meeting with Mr. Ephraim Muwanga, the Project Coordinator for the jali ORGANIC Development Project. I won't go into great detail about what that is, except to say that it is a 14-year, 5-Component project, with it's initial focus being the Agro-Development Project. The Project is being conducted on the island of Busi in Lake Victoria. There is no electricity or modern conveniences on Busi. Many of the people still use lake water for drinking purposes. :-{

The end purpose of the jali Project is that the residents of that area will be self-sufficient through sales from their organic food dehydration plant. The plant provides jobs to the local residents and will provide money for health and education services and for providing clean water. All without having to beg for help from outside sources.

I wanted to meet with Mr. Muwanga because he originally started with solar drying, before switching to a commercial bio-mass-powered dryer for efficiency. He had done months worth of research across Uganda observing other organizations' dehydration methods, which products were best suited, etc. I don't believe in re-inventing the wheel if it's already been invented, so I wanted to pick his brain.

Admittedly, much of what he shared was not applicable to our project at this time due to differences in financial backing...he had investors...we had a challenge raising money just to get here. (It seems to me there has to be SOMEONE out there who'd like to help an impoverished community in a third world country become empowered to not only feed themselves better, but to be able to provide financial support for themselves as well.)

Anyway, I gained some tremendous insight into not only Mr. Mugawa's project, but into how to help Pastor Solomon develop a realistic plan for the Bulenga community to establish a similar project, albeit most likely on a smaller scale. We're thinking in the right direction at least.
This afternoon we went to the mall (yes, a real mall) and bought a couple cell phones and a few other items. we finished the day with the traditional Namirembe Guesthouse Friday Night BarBQue: All you can eat Goat, Pork, and Chicken...and various veggies, desert, and a soft drink. It was delicious. Just like we remembered it from last trip. And only $7.50 USD.

Last night there were no mosquitoes, but tonight I think I was on THEIR menu. I've been bit by more in the last hour than I saw in my whole last trip...I guess I use the mosquito net tonight...yay... :-(

Gonna close. Good night to everyone!

Thoughts From Debbie...

2009-07-31T13:58:00.000-04:00

I am very happy to be in Uganda again. There are many things that I had forgotten about being outside a major city, mainly the pollution. Everyone has to dispose of their own garbage and most burn it. It causes a nasty sinus response. God sent a nice breeze today to take it away so that we were able to breathe easier and see the beauty of the city more clearly from the guest house. We have seen more of Kampala this trip that all of the last trip. The people dress differently in the city, especially the women. There were many who were dressed much like the women in the US. We have also seen far more international travelers. I think it might be the high tourist season.

Plans are coming along well for the projects and we have made contacts with some wonderful people. The schedule for the health projects is set. Ms Doreen is such a wonderful woman of God, she knew what she wanted and how it would work with the school schedule. I think it will be a success.

I must say that Joshua has been instrumental in the success of the trip thus far. He met us at the airport with his nieces bringing us roses. I felt like a rock star. Then revived us with dinner and conversation. I really appreciate all he has done for us and with us.

A Safe Arrival and Hitting the Ground Running

2009-07-30T14:17:00.000-04:00

2009-07-30 It's 9:17 pm Kampala time. (2:17 Roanoke time) I'm sitting in the open-air tiki hut coffee bar at Namirembe Guesthouse, looking out over the city of Kampala. (NOT a Starbucks-type coffee bar. Just plain coffee and bottled sodas.) It's been a great day today. Very productive. But let me backtrack just a bit.

Our two 8-hour long flights were both good. KLM takes good care of their passengers. The only mishap was that something went wrong with the system that runs the toilets on one whole half of the plane, so they were out of order for over half the flight. My only prayer was that the OTHER half of the toilets would stay working! With over 200 passengers and over 4 hours left to our destination it would have been a BIT of a problem if they were ALL out of order. We were still a good 3+ hours from Europe, so there was nowhere to do an emergency landing to change out planes.

As we got closer to Uganda it hit me again how that even if it comes in bits and pieces at times, God DOES still give us the desires of our heart. I felt like I did 2-1/2 years ago when we FIRST came to Uganda...For 25-years it's been a burning passion of mine to go full-time into missions. That door has to open soon...hope deferred makes the heart faint.

We landed at around 8pm last night. Immigration registration took much less time that it might have. All of our luggage showed up, and Joshua was there to pick us up, accompanied by his twin nieces, Ruth & Naomi, bearing bouquets of long-stem roses. Our baggage wouldn't have fit in Joshua's car, so he'd called the guesthouse to send their van for us. The driver arrived in normal "Uganda time" fashion (5min = "oh, maybe an hour or whenever the traffic clears or I decide to get there") and we made our way the hour long ride to Namirembe. Well, we did stop to grab a bite to eat...a Chinese restaurant that Joshua knew of...yummy!

Today Rocky went to scout out availability of supplies for the solar dryer. He's waiting on a call back from a local contact, so we still don't have anything definite there. While Rocky was on a mission to find supplies, Debbie and I were with Pastors Solomon and Doreen Mwesige.
We stopped at a local pharmacy that caters to travelers, and I went "malaria medicine shopping". I hadn't taken anything prophylactically (sp?) due to no insurance and the expensive nature of the medication back home, but here it is cheap (but good quality - mine was Swiss-made), readily available, and requires no prescription. You just walk in and tell them what you want; they show you your available options, and you pay them. I got two-months worth of mefloquine for 39,000 UgSh ($19.50 USD).

After that we headed to the hospital to do the scheduling for each of our particular projects and to meet with the medical staff to determine what types of patients we will be treating next week. "Missions medicine" is a LOT different than practicing medicine in the States. What that means for us is that we as nurses and a respiratory therapist will actually be diagnosing and treating particular diseases like malaria under the guidelines set out by their doctor. We will also be teaching their staff about nutritional factors in healthcare, wound care management, and certain other areas of expertise in which they have not had training.

As we got closer to the hospital, I hardly recognized the area around Life Link Medical Centre due to the growth the area has experienced. The hospital has electricity now, a big improvement from our last mission there. There is still no running water, however. Water must be purchased every day in big Jerry cans. There is a fenced area around the front of the building now for security. They've made some changes in the rooms and now there are actual privacy curtains between the ward beds, a private injection room, and a LOCKED pharmacy room. It was so exciting to see the changes that had been made!

Then we went to the school, which I didn't recognize at first either. The house for which we sent money to purchase to provide additional classroom space (Our 2008 Project) is just a few feet from the back of the long brick building that was already in place on the last visit. It's really big and has allowed the school to expand and add a large number of children.

Next door to King Solomon's Academy and Good News Church, on the left, there is now a High School in what used to be a small row of huts. On the other side of the High School is the huge structure that is being built to house the school, much of which is currently in thatch or open-board walled structures with dirt floors and termite eaten support posts. The new building is approx 160-feet long, 40-ish feet wide, and will eventually be four-stories high. Once completed, the new facility will include flush toilets for the boys and girls on each story and a separate kitchen building. (I'm uploading pictures of the completed first story.)

The top of the completed first story is where we decided that we will build the prototype of the solar dryer and where I'll teach the people how to dehydrate their foods to preserve them for later consumption.

Before we left the compound we got to spend time with some of the school kids. They are great! You can't help but fall in love with them. They get great pleasure gathering around, rubbing our very light-toned arms, chanting "Muzungu! Muzungu!", and giggling loudly. Lol! (For those who don't know Luganda, the language of the area, "muzungu" means "white man".)

We made a stop at the Pastors' house to meet their youngest daughter, Shanna, and were treated to an endless glass of fresh squeezed passion fruit juice. The Mwesige's are a wonderful couple who have such a heart to serve the people to whom they've been sent. They have been given a tremendous vision for the ministries over which they preside (Good News Church, Life Link Medical Centre, and King Solomon's Academy.)

During our recent 2009 FCCI International Ministers/Missions Conference in Roanoke, one of the speakers challenged us to, instead of looking at what we DON'T have, to look at what we do have in our hands to work with and begin thanking God for working with us with what we have. As we are faithful with that, God will begin to bless it and cause it to prosper and grow into what He has called us to eventually step into. Pastors Solomon and Doreen are great examples of that. They started with pretty much nothing, but began to use what they did have and thank God for it. It has grown into a work that touches multiple thousands of people on a regular basis.

When God has someone with a willing heart and an obedient spirit who is not willing to accept failure as an end result, He can change the world!

Well, gotta go for now. More tomorrow...

PS:
Happy Anniversary, Pastors Eddie and Debbie Crabtree! We love you!

And Happy 25th Birthday to my Baby Girl, Zipporah! I love you! Thanks for willingly sacrificing "Mom Time" so that I can be here sharing the love of God with the people here. That's good seed in good ground and every seed produces a harvest!

On Our Way...Sort Of!

2009-07-28T18:43:00.002-04:00

Well, the lead (consisting of me, Chris, and Rocky) are on our way...at least sort of. We're sitting on an Airbus A330-200, ready to make the first of two 8-hour flights that will carry us to Uganda. We started to taxi a while ago, then the plane stopped. We're parked here right now. Apparently there is a weather front somewhere off the coast...approx an hour out if I understood correctly. We're all just waiting until the "coast is clear" so we can take off.

I heard a few people grumbling about the delay. It brought to mind those who tragically passed away earlier this year off the South American coast in a storm. I'm sure that if they could give us advice right now, they'd tell us the delay is so much better than a possible alternative...

Anyway, once we get started we're expecting a great flight... We're leaving!!! Yay!

What's Happening With Life Link of Southwest Virginia?

2009-04-05T01:08:00.002-04:00

I wanted to update everyone on whats going on at Life Link...

Website:

Our new website has been up for a few weeks, Check us out on the Web: http://www.lifelinkswva.org.

Uganda 2009:

The team is gearing up for our upcoming trip, July 31-August 16, 2009. We are excited to be returning to Uganda and have a couple new team members with us this time.

Luganda Language Classes:

This past Thursday night five of the 2009 missionaries started Luganda Language classes at Roanoke College. They are being taught by Professor Joshua Rubongoya, a past and present team member. Classes are being held every two weeks and are $10 each. Even if you aren't going to Uganda with us this year, come on out and join us!

Upcoming Fundraisers:

Saturday, April 11th 11am-1pm Hot dog lunch during the Valley Word Church Easter Egg Hunt.

Sunday, April 12th immediately following Easter Sunrise Service there will be a breakfast fundraiser. Come on out and join us!

Saturday, May 2nd we will be having a yard sale at Valley Word. Donations of items are welcome. We can use some volunteer help to man the sale as well.

We can still accept new team members if anyone is interested in traveling with us in August. Contact Debbie Robinson or me (540-819-8389)...

Blessings to you all!

February 2009 Uganda trip

2009-02-21T20:37:00.002-05:00

This mission trip to Jinja, Uganda was awesome in many ways. Much good was accomplished in spite of the challenges we faced. Several team members suffered illness. One lady became sick on the flight over and as she recovered, another caught it and the bug passed on through the team. I thank God that my health was preserved throughout the entire trip. One night, one of the nurses collapsed and hit her head. She was out of commission for several days. On another night we got the news that the father of one of the team members had experienced two heart attacks back here in the US. With the news of the plane crash in New York, (and another one while we were away), it would have been easy to become discouraged. In fact, Fedex lost our passports before the trip and they were found just in time for us to go. Pastor Rick said that after some 40 trips to Uganda, he has never encountered so much spiritual opposition to a mission trip. One thing that I know for sure is that when the devil tries so hard to come against a mission trip, it is because he knows that it has the potential to accomplish great things for the kingdom of God. It is because of this that I remained in faith that I was in the right place at the right time. We persevered and and thousands of lives were touched because of our work. Many hundreds of people gave their lives to Jesus. Thousands of people received medical treatment. Many people received eyeglasses and shoes as well.

More work was accomplished on the school. The school is a 5 year project, but by comparing the photos from last year with this years pictures, you can really see the progress. I spent some of the time painting, while some others were laying tile. The building was a movie theater built in the 1920's. I found an old ticket stub in a crack in the wall and discovered that the place used to be called "New Town Talkies"! One of the walls is collapsing and the engineers are having that wall torn down so it can be rebuilt. The old stage was on that wall so I was unfortunate enough to be given the assignment of dismantling it. I say unfortunate because the boards were filthy and spiders were crawling all over the place. There were also giant roaches, lizards, and bats flying around in there. I felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie! I thought I was going to find a skeleton under there at any moment. I did find one of my helpers under there after he accidentally stepped on the trapdoor. My friend and I were taking a break, and one of the locals was walking behind me when I heard a loud bang. I turned around and he was gone. After a moment of confusion I heard someone yelling from under the stage! HELP! He landed on a pile of debris and I count it as a miracle that he was not hurt. Thank God that he didn't land on a nail or something. We removed all the boards and the beams from underneath. Because of the loss of trees in Africa, lumber is very expensive, so we salvaged all the wood, removing the nails and storing it to be reused later.

Aside from doing manual labor, I went with the medical team twice. Mission Link brings medicine, medical equipment, eyeglasses etc to Africa. At night we would fill plastic bags with medicine and pack everything up for the next day. The medical team would head out each morning to a different village and set up a clinic. People would come from miles away to be seen by the doctors.

While the crowds were waiting to see the doctors, pastor Jackie Carver would preach the gospel to them. With the help of microphones and speakers, the good news could be heard from afar, as well as some Ugandan praise and worship music. After a patient saw the doctor, they were led over to us so we could talk to them one on one. We asked them if they were saved and if not we led them in a prayer of salvation then we took down their information so local pastors could follow up with them later. We were able to lead many people to the Lord this way, as well as praying with them for their needs. At another clinic I attended, my translator and I travelled from hut to hut for most of the day sharing Jesus and praying with people. For me, the evangelism was the highlight of the trip and I look forward to meeting those people again in heaven.

On Sunday, I was sent to preach at Basaana baptist church right on lake Victoria. The pastor of Basaana is pastor Timothy, a giant man with a giant vision. Pastor Timothy has personally planted over 60 churches on the islands of the lake and in Kenya. Pastor Timothy's father was killed by Idi Amin, and he was even jailed himself. He used to be a boxer but now he builds boats. I was truly honored to have met him, let alone to preach in his church.

Despite the challenges we faced before and during this trip, I am eternally grateful for the experiences, the memories, and the relationships created. I thank God for all those who sponsored me and made this trip possible. This being my third trip to Uganda, it is plain to see that Uganda is a part of me and I am anxious for my next opportunity to return. I hope to be back there by August 2009. Let me end this story by inviting you to come to Uganda. I believe everyone should go at least once, and I know firsthand that you will fall in love with the Ugandans, and you will be blessed too.

School and Clinic Progressive Report From Pastor Solomon

2009-02-19T18:52:00.002-05:00

This is an update from Pastor Solomon regarding King Solomon's Academy and Life Link Medical Centre:

The new year started well with the school opening for the first school term, we were blessed to have new desks for the upper classes, small chairs for the nursery kids and their tables, the kids are enjoying this new development, we were also able to pay the teachers salaries now they are very motivated to do their job.

Can you compare on the attachments the pictures of the type of desks we have been using and the ones we now have, also the carpenters busy working, this is also a way of helping the economy when we put people to work and pay them.

As kids came back we noticed that most were sickly and we have been attending a lot to their medical challenges, thank God for our Doctors that have done a great job.

We have also employed two more teachers to handle the candidate class, we are very happy to have Primary seven and we are very thankful for the support that has come from our kids sponsors that has made it possible for us to help these little ones that deserve a chance in life.

One young boy aged 10 by the names of Joel Kimera reported to school two weeks late, we call him the dancing boy at school and he is easily noticed, two weeks late was too much for the teachers and his fellow kids. When he finally reported to school, we all wanted to know why he started late, his answer was, I was mending shoes and saving the money to help buy the school requirements because I don’t have a sponsor.

Joel was making a few cents a day trying to raise $10, his story was told to the rest of the kids and those with sponsors were the most grateful for the support that keeps them in school.

We thank you very much for touching lives and impacting the next generation.

Here are the kids on their new seats in the new setting.

Life Link Clinic.

The community have continued to receive quality service from our Doctors and staff . I’m happy to report that the District of Wakiso has donated a Fridge to handle vaccines, this helps them remain in the right temperature. The first day we used the fridge using the this Fridge on 11th Feb we had 109 kids.

We have continued to do immunization for free every Wednesday, and lots of kids are coming in.

We have also added on one more Doctor, so we have one Doctor and a supporting nurse during the day and another doctor and a mid wife working at night.

Here are of the pictures of the baby minutes after being born and another little kid being taken care of.

The mother of this baby came to church Sunday 15th Feb attended the morning service and almost delivered in church, very poor and abandoned by her husband without a coin, we rushed her to the Life Link and our Staff took care of her and a baby boy was born. The baby was very big and would have needed surgery but thank God for the situation was handled well, we will in the future need a room where major surgery can be done because of the need we are faced with, can you imagine referring such a patient to a bigger Hospital without an Ambulance, and most patients don’t have cars to run them to a referral Hospital in case of an emergency. All in all we thank God because we are able to give a service to the people who would have died if our Clinic was not there.

After this lady had given birth, she told us that if it had not been a Sunday, she was going to give birth in her house because she didn’t have the money to take her to Hospital, and seeing what our Midwife went through helping her deliver and the size of the baby, she would have been a gone case.

We thank God for the work of ministry through health care, education and the Church because lives are being touched.

I will send you a report on the church. We have one more Witchdoctor who handed to us his tools yesterday and we will put them on fire on Sunday when all the believers are there. I will send those pictures in my next weeks church report.

Thanks for your support.
Solomon

Midweek Update

2009-01-14T18:01:00.001-05:00

We're working on getting the total trip cost figured up for the upcoming trip to Uganda in August 2009. Once we hear back from the travel agency and one of our Ugandan contacts we'll update everyone. This year's trip will be 2 weeks long and the team will have an opportunity to do an overnight on a game reserve too. The staff of Life Link Medical Center, Bulenga Province, Kampala, Uganda are already excited about our group coming back, and we're believing for God to do some great things while we're there.

Please commit to keeping our team and trip in your prayers, as the groundwork is laid long before the team ever steps onto the plane to head to Uganda. Some things that you can keep in your prayers include:

All of God and none of us...
Open doors of utterance for the gospel while we are there and for the team to speak the Word with boldness.
That the Word of God would be confirmed with "Signs Following"
Wisdom for all of us who are in leadership on this trip and that we would hear the voice of the Holy Spirit clearly and obey Him. (I know that seems like a "no-brainer", but we're all human!)
The health and safety of the team.
The finances for each team member. Each team member is responsible for
raising his or her own funds (all tax deductible, of course.) We expect
the cost per team member to be at least $3000 due to the high cost of
airfare to Africa.
That there would be no spirit of strife or division among our team. That we would be clothed in humility and have, as a friend of mine says, a "Gumby" attitude toward the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

That's a start...In my next blog I'll share some scriptures you can pray over our team and trip. Be blessed! Thanks for your prayers

Uganda 2009...Coming Soon!

2009-01-10T23:15:00.003-05:00

Well, we've had our initial planning meeting for this year's trip to Uganda! It will be the first two weeks of August, and you're invited! We have a number of medical projects in the works. We're also collecting old (or even new if anyone wants to donate new ones) eyeglasses to take with us, so please keep that in mind. Anyone wishing to make a cash donation, please email sandi@valleywordchurch.org for donation information. All contributions are tax deductible and checks can be made to Life Link of Southwest Virginia, a 501(c)3 humanitarian medical organization through which our team will be working.

More information coming soon!

Mercy Ministries...11:12AM

2008-08-03T11:26:00.004-04:00

11:12AM Continuation of Sandi's Live Blogging From the 10 AM Service At Valley Word Church, Roanoke, VA. (These are my notes...as fast as I can type...and are NOT a word for word transcript.)

"Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered!"

Using an analogy of looking at Most Wanted posters at the Post Office: We need to hope that we're on the Top 10 Most Wanted list in hell itself!

The program that they share with those hurting girls has changed countless lives. Because they do not accept government funding or insurance money they are able to share Jesus Christ and the life changing power of the Holy Spirit.

Judging...if we are offended by what someone does, then we can't help to change his or her life. God meets people RIGHT WHERE THEY ARE AT!! And we need to do the same! When people come to our church and they don't look like we think they should look, we have to accept them the way that Jesus accepts them.

Nancy just shared a true story about a young lady who had been sexually/physically abused by every man in her life who was supposed to protect and defend her, and they only defense mechanism she had was to dress like a boy and look like a boy...to say I will never let another man get near me to hurt me. Nancy ministered to her and when that young lady got out of the correctional facility Nancy prayed the sinner's prayer with her and encouraged her that when he got home she needed to go to a church near her and talk to the women's ministry and see if they could work with her and let her be a part of their ministry.

Nancy got a call a short time later from the young girl's mom who had come home and found her daughter dead, in the bathroom, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The signed letter she left said that she'd gone down to the church and tried to talk to the women and to be able to be a part of the women's ministry and they laughed at her and rejected her. That young woman couldn't handle any more rejection (especially from those who proclaim Jesus as their Lord) and she KILLED HERSELF!

There's always a "why behind the "what".
"Mercy always triumphs over judgment."

When we receive Christ we are not "recovering" anythings! We are New Creations! We are regenerated. We don't go around saying, "I'm Sandi, and I'm a recovering depressed person. And I'll always be a depressed person..." NO!!!!! We are created in His image. Old things have passed away and all things become new!

We cannot dwell and hold onto our past (nor can we encourage others to dwell on their past lives!)! We have to meditate on and speak the WORD OF GOD over ourselves and OTHERS.

I can't adequately share what Nancy has ministered, so I highly challenge you to get the recording of this service. It has been powerful! And plug in to tonight's service at 6pm!

Mercy Ministries...

2008-08-03T10:56:00.004-04:00

I know it's been a long time since I've written anything in this blog. Rest assured, we've got a LOT going on in regards to missions, both here and points around the globe. But today I felt compelled to live blog as our special guest speaker, Nancy Alcorn of Mercy Ministries, ministers.

We got to hear the testimony of a young lady who graduated from Mercy's FREE (there's NEVER a charge to the girls or their families). She had been hospitalized over 40 times before getting to Mercy Ministries and had been diagnosed as hopeless and needing to be institutionalized for the rest of her life. Her life was completely turned around and now she's 12 credits away from a college degree and has been a worship leader at several churches (her dad is a military chaplain, so she's moved a lot.) Thank God she learned to NOT believe the "experts of the world"!

So, Whose report are YOU going to believe? ...The "Experts of the World"? ...Or God?

1 Corinthians 1:19 says this:

For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

We have heard about generational curses (sometimes referred to by the world as "genetics", "he takes after his daddy", etc...BUT we have an opportunity to start a generation of BLESSINGS!

Continued Next Post...

What does the world see when we are "Squeezed"?

2007-04-30T03:06:00.000-04:00

[Well, I decided I'd put some words on my virtual "paper" while I'm waiting the remaining hour for a video file to finish being converted to Windows Media format...I finally got Adobe Premiere Elements to work for me!!! :-) I know, it's definitely operator issues, but as with most of what I do I'm learning it by the good old School of Trial and Error with myself as the teacher. Oh, the joy of it! I have proven the Word so many times that it's not even funny. You know, that part that says that "with God all things are possible"! ]

There's been so much on my heart to write about, but not enough time to write it all. The last couple weeks have been rough for all of Virginia, but, due to our close proximity to Blacksburg, it has been especially rough for our area in particular. It's just two weeks ago that the Shooting took place at Virginia Tech. Our lead staff writer, Debbie Ruiz, wrote a great account of what the Lord showed her in prayer about that situation; but what I want to focus on is the open door of opportunity, to be a witness, that we as believers have in the days and times like these; and the importance of our lives being anchored in God. It's obvious that we don't have to look far for an open door...there's one every where we turn.

Everywhere we turn people are walking around looking for answers. And even as born-again believers, many of us have been searching for answers...Trying to make some sense out of a situation that, quite frankly, makes no sense. And while we may not have the "whys" that people are looking for, we have something even greater. We have a blessed hope. We have peace that passes understanding. We have a joy unspeakable and full of glory. It is so important that we, as believers, rise to the situation and be the light to the world...the city that is set on a hill that cannot be hidden. How we respond when things seem to fall apart all around us can either point the way TOWARDS Christ, or cause people to look in other directions for the hope that they so desperately want.

I am in the medical profession in my "employment life." Because of my position, I had several hours of direct contact with one of the victims. And I have to admit that it was really hard looking at and working with that beautiful young girl whose life had been so suddenly snuffed out. Honestly, it took me a few days to be able to stop that image from surfacing in my mind whenever the incident was discussed. BUT I have a hope...I have a relationship with a Living and Loving God! He is the God of all Comfort!

I am reminded of 1 Peter 3:15. I like the way that the New Century Version states it: "But respect Christ as the holy Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have," [emphasis mine]. I realize that the context is not quite the same, but I think it is still appropriate for our situation. We have to be able to explain to those around us why we have hope...why we have peace.

Because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we CAN be the strength that others need to see. We can and must be Jesus to the world. We are the only Bible that some people will ever read. What will they read when they see us? My daughter called me up Saturday night as she was driving down Williamson Road in Roanoke. She had just passed a church that had a marquee out front.

Now, I have to admit, I've seen a few church marquees that were pretty goofy, but not this one. I understood why Zip called me. The sign simply stated: "We become what we worship." OUCH!!! Short, sweet, and to the point. Pastor at times uses the example of a tube of toothpaste...you never know what color it is on the inside until you put the "squeeze" on it. Well, we've all been "squeezed" over the last couple weeks. And "what we worship" has become and will continue to become evident to those around us.

Obviously, even if we wanted to do so, we can't go go back and change how we've reacted over the last two weeks. I know there are some things I wish that I could change. But my challenge to all of us...myself included...is to make sure that from this point forward, when "the squeeze is on," it's the hope, love, peace, and joy of the Lord that people see coming forth from inside of us. If we do truly become what we worship, and I believe that is so true, let's take the caps off of our "tubes"(lives) and lead them to our loving Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

I'll leave you with the chorus of If We Are The Body, by Casting Crowns:

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

Come on...let's let the world see what we're made of!

A long-awaited afterglow...

2007-04-12T04:14:00.000-04:00

Well, it's hard to believe that it's been a month and a half since we got back from Uganda. It seems like time has flown by so quickly! I guess with all of the remodeling and the Easter activities that have been taking place, time just got away from me. But I'm back!

We had a missions service the Sunday after we returned. It was really a great time of sharing with the folks who had stayed home and prayed for us. We showed video clips, and each of the team members shared for a couple minutes about what the trip had meant to him or her/how it had impacted his or her life. I know we would all agree that NONE of us came back the same. We were all so touched by the people to whom we went to minister. Those people in reality ministered to us. We fell in love with the people...the country. Many of us did not want to return. Most of us are looking forward to our next trip back "home" to Uganda.

One thing that the trip did for me was to make me appreciate the things back home that so many of us take for granted. I was stuck in traffic in downtown Roanoke a couple weeks ago. In the past I would have got antsy, and maybe a bit irritated at the lack of synchronizing lights properly, but as I thought back to the traffic jams in Kampala, suddenly our traffic here looked pretty good! So I didn't get upset at all. I just relaxed and laughed about it!

And then there is the renewed appreciation of indoor plumbing! :D :D :D Once you have the opportunity to use a Ugandan outhouse, you really appreciate that hunk of porcelain in the bathroom! And of course, there are the really important things, like the fact that all of our children here in the USA have an opportunity to go to school, at least through the 12th grade. In Uganda education is not free unless someone like Pastor Solomon has a heart to believe God for the finances to provide a free education! 10% of the population are orphans, and with an 80% unemployment rate, even the ones who have a mom or dad in the home, don't have a good chance of getting an education.

And the fact that we have good health care available...with modern diagnostic equipment in all of the hospitals. We have so much to thank God for EVERY DAY! Pastor Solomon was in the States recently and was interviewed on The Harvest Show. During the interview he gave some of the updated statistics for Uganda. The one that stood out to me was that the average age of Ugandans is 14 1/2 years old! It's hard to believe. It was very exciting, though, as I listened to the interview, to know that WE had a part in the work that Pastor Solomon was talking about. He mentioned the half-a-million-dollars worth of medical equipment that we had shipped over...the cardiac monitors, blood gas machines, etc. All I can say is, "Praise God!"

Well, It's after 5:00 AM, and I'm falling asleep at the keyboard. So I'd better close for now. See you soon!

Update from the plane

2007-02-23T18:07:00.000-05:00

23-02-2007, 11:30 Uganda time, 02-23-06, 03:30 EST

We’re on our way back home. At this time we’re somewhere east of An-Nuhud (according to the map on the 6” screen in front of me.) We’re 6 hours and 22 minutes from our destination. It’s been a good flight so far. A little turbulence at times, but not bad in comparison to many flights I’ve been on in the past. I’m grateful for pastor’s decision to use British Airways. It has been a pleasant experience. Good food. Friendly flight staff. Clean. We didn’t have any problems getting through security at Entebbe, with the exception of one minor thing that was my own fault. I had neglected to check my waist bag to make sure I didn’t have anything sharp in it. When they x-rayed my carry-on the second time, the x-ray showed a pair of scissors…I’d been carrying them while working at the Medical Centre and hadn’t removed them. They were very nice about it as they confiscated them…at least I didn’t get hauled of to some Ugandan jail!
LOL :D

Although it will be nice to get home, there are several of us who have mixed feelings about leaving Uganda. There is so much work here that needs to be done…that could be done…but at least the groundwork has been laid for our future visits. And, I have to remind myself of the question which Pastor Eddie asked me a couple days ago: “Do you want to impact one nation or many nations?” Of course, the answer is: “Many!” But that doesn’t change the fact, though, that I feel like a part of my heart was left behind with the wonderful people whom we befriended so quickly and easily.

Returning from this trip reminds me of how I felt after returning from two months in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina...So intensely aware of how blessed I am, but also how spoiled I as an American have become. During the last week I’ve spent a lot of time observing the people whom we were around. In the area where Life Link Medical Centre is located, most people do not have running water in their homes—or even on their property for that matter. Water is carried in big yellow plastic five gallon jugs from who knows how far away. And even then, it may not be fit to drink. So much of the water is contaminated. Even the Medical Centre is without a water source.

We saw and treated many patients who were sick with Malaria because of the water. Our Pastors’ adopted child, a little four-year-old boy at King Solomon’s Academy was sick when we were there. He had missed school the day before due to illness, and Pastor Solomon had sent someone to the boy’s home to get him so that Pastor Eddie could see him. When Pastor Solomon saw the boy he realized how sick the boy was and took him up the road to Life Link. He was tested for and found to be positive for Malaria. Because Life Link had just moved in close to the school, the boy was able to be treated and is recovering at this time. If it hadn’t been for the clinic (and the fact that Pastor Eddie wanted to see his sponsored child) the boy might have stayed at home and died of Malaria, like the two children in December. One of the two children whom Rocky and Kandra sponsored died in December due to Malaria.

And then there are the “facilities” which many homes don’t have. The lavatory facilities at Life Link Medical Centre were really good for the area in which we worked. The “facilities” there consist of three stalls with concrete floors built over a deep pit. In the floor of each stall is a rectangular hole with what I call a concrete “splashway” in front of it. You squat over the hole and try to aim at either the hole or the splashway (or both, if the need arises…there’s an art to that!) Oh, I forgot to mention that there is a big enough gap around the door that a whole group of children could gather round and watch if they happened to notice the mzungu (white man) head for the outhouse! Smile! You’re on (not so) candid camera!

Life in Uganda is so much slower…what the team calls “Uganda Standard Time” or UST. Things will get done when things get done. ;D No fast-paced, “hurry to get wherever you’re going” kinds of pressure. The tasks of simple survival – obtaining food to eat, water to drink, and so forth are the main focus of many of the people we observed.

Then there are the houses. Many of the homes in the rural areas are made with bricks that were actually made out of the red clay soil that is so prevalent in Uganda. As you look through our pictures you’ll see stacks of bricks in some of them. They are made by hand and fire-cured right there on the spot. In the States if someone can’t afford housing, he or she might rely on someone else to help out. In Uganda the people don’t have that option…they construct a dwelling of whatever materials they can acquire. As you look at the pictures on the Online Albums, you’ll notice many that are made out of the handmade bricks, complete with dirt floors, no water or sewer, and open holes as windows.

My battery is dying, so I’ve got to go…bye!

02-24-2007, 07:24 London Time

We’re up and getting ready to leave for the airport in a few minutes. As I was showering this morning, and watched the last of the red Ugandan soil ran down the drain, I thought about how a few hour flight and a few thousand miles can change one’s perspective. I have a lot to reflect upon on the last leg of the flight. Have to run now.

Final Blog Post from Uganda...this trip....

2007-02-22T15:33:00.000-05:00

22-02-2007, 23:36 Uganda time, 02-22-2007, 15:36 EST

Wow! It's hard to believe that seven days have gone by already! The bus will be here in six hours to pick us up to go back to the airport in Entebbe. (You remember the movie The Raid on Entebbe? Same airport. It still has soldiers with rifles, but without the rest of the drama.) We had to say our "Goodbyes" today, and it was a very tearful moment for some of us. While we've only been here a week, the people of Uganda have become a part of our lives. They've become our family. And we're already looking forward to "next time".

This morning at the Medical Centre a small baby was brought in for treatment. He had been burned on his face, chest, arm, and leg by scalding water. It had happened on Monday, but she didn't bring the child in immediately, but waited until today... which shows the need for community education regarding health care. Shaun and Debbie dressed the burns, but the baby was badly dehydrated. I was able to start an IV and get IV fluids running. There has been a great improvement since this morning. within just a couple hours the baby was playing with things around him.

We've completed a lot of staff education in the last three days, and they are much better equipped than they were before. The man with the bad decubitus ulcer is coming along very well. He has continued to return for dressing changes every day so far. The wound is looking good, and we are praying that it will continue to heal quickly without any difficulty.

23-02-2007, 05:15 Uganda time, 02-22-2007, 21:15 EST

Gotta love it! Almost done with this post last night (about 10-15 since my last SAVE) and the power went off! When the back-up kicked in, it was off of their solar system, which doesn't power the computers. The generator is back on now (as of 04:30-ish) so I'll try to finish before the bus gets here.

We got to go out to the children's school (King Solomon's Academy) yesterday and the day before to see the children who are sponsored by the members of our church. We got to see all but 2 or 3 who go to another school that is a distance away. The kids were so fantastic! We've got lots of pictures, but unfortunately I am unable to upload this morning because the business centre isn't open for me to hook up with my laptop. And my jump drive won't read in this computer... :D LOL AHhhh, Uganda!

Well, the bus is here to take us to the airport, so I've got to run...One last praise report, though. The first baby to be born in the new Life Link facility was born yesterdy afternoon. The mother was going to name her Debbie in honor of our Debbie, because of the love and support that Debbie showed to her during labor...God is good! See you soon...

Sandi and the team

What's Up With The Team...

2007-02-19T09:03:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone back home is enjoying the snow! We are enjoying the equatorial heat! (The equator goes right through Uganda.) Here is my journal up to this time. I 'm going to try to talk a couple other people into writing, but there's not a lot of time for that. Hope you enjoy the updates!

02-18-07 18:14 Uganda Time, 02-18-07 10:14 EST

Well, our third day in Uganda is almost over! Wow, it’s going by so quickly. Pastor Eddie preached two services this morning, and he—and his two armourbearers—are headed to the evening service right now. Pastor preaches again tonight. He’s ministering on Dreaming the Dream. I’m at the Guest House (I opted for a nap instead of shopping), and the rest of the group is in town immersing themselves in the “African Shopping Experience!” (I’ll have a chance to do that tomorrow.) If the bus gets back with everyone else in enough time, then I’ll head to the service. I’d really like to have been there, but we can’t have everything we want! :D At least there was enough room in Pastor Solomon’s car for William C. and Tim to ride in with Pastor. (To Rev. Karl: I’ve had a reputation here, from day one, as being Karl, Jr.! I’ve even been introduced that way by Pastor, “I know she just said her name is Sandi, but it’s really Karl, Jr.” You and Mz. Lana will know what that means! I’ve only got my toes close to the line once…but, “He ain’t workin’ with me at’tall!!!!”)

The services this morning were so fantastic! I’m hoping to upload the video from the second AM service to the internet, either YouTube or Google Video, but I’ll have to figure out how to decrease the file size, as they were recorded on high quality. As I stated a few lines back, Pastor is ministering on the Dreaming the Dream series. The hearts of the people here are so receptive. Poverty is one of the tools that satan uses to steal people’s dreams, and there is certainly no lack of poverty here. BUT, God has strategically planted Pastors Solomon and Doreen Mwesige, and their ministry—Good News Church—in the middle of enemy territory, and they are pulling down strongholds in the name of Jesus! And through God ordering the steps of our pastor and Pastor Solomon, Valley Word Ministries has such an awesome opportunity to be a part of that work.

During the Grand Opening Ceremony for the Life Link Medical Centre yesterday, Pastor Solomon shared with all of the attending officials, other guests, and patients about how the dream for the medical centre had come into being, but then had almost been abandoned. Apparently there was a point where the finances were not coming in and he couldn’t pay the staff. The enemy was coming against him full force with the same kind of mind games (devil- Gk: diaballo) that Pastor Eddie was teaching on this morning. Pastor Solomon was ready to give up on the dream of providing a medical centre that would be able to treat the whole man. One where patients would not only receive medical care (even if they had no money to pay), but also receive prayer and spiritual counsel. But thank God for a godly, praying wife! Pastor Doreen said, “No! If you’re going to give it up, then give it to me. I’ll take it on.” (She reminds me of my spiritual mom, Pastor Debbie—an amazingly strong woman of God who has been such a godly inspiration and example to me over the last six years that I’ve been at Valley Word.)

So the dream was kept alive, and we’re seeing the manifestation of it during our stay. The clinic just moved into its new location a couple days before our arrival. The government officials who spoke at the opening ceremony spoke of their excitement that the Medical Centre was in their locality and their desire to partner with Life Link. Well, the group’s back and I’m going to go for now. More later!

02-19-07 16:00 Uganda Time, 02-19-07 08:00 EST

I’m back again! This morning we had a wonderful breakfast, complete with omelets made from goat eggs (inside joke)! We’ve had a great day and are resting before going to church. Tonight is going to be great. I never did get to go last night, but William C. and Tim assured me that it was fantastic.

One of the really nice things about this trip is the time that we’ve had to bond as a group. Working together in this kind of setting is totally different than back in the States. We’ve had to depend upon each other to “watch each other’s back.” I can say with assurance that not one of the team members will come back home the same as when we left.

We’re going to start training the staff at the Medical Centre tomorrow. We’re working on developing some short workshops for their staff. They will focus on basic skills, such as patient assessment, IV therapy, use of the Cardiac Monitors, the autoclave, the nebulizer machine, etc. The concrete should be finished curing out at the fish pond by tomorrow morning so that the guys can continue their work on it. God is really opening doors here-are we surprised? No! There has already been quite a bit of talk about our future trips here. Plans for the Medical Centre, the school, and so forth. The Lord has tremendous things in store for the future. Well, I’m going to close for now so I can upload some pictures. We send our love and the love of the Ugandan people. Be blessed!

Be sure to check out our pictures online. Upload speeds are VERY S-L-O-W here so it's very time consuming uploading. We'll get some on when we're here, and the rest when we get home. All of the sets fromthis trip start with "Uganda..." in the title.

Uganda...We're Here!!!!!!

2007-02-17T12:43:00.000-05:00

Well, we're in Uganda. The Team is so excited about what God has been doing already. I'm just going to share my journal entries with everyone to share what's been going on. They start on the plane and continue through this evening....enjoy!

Missions Blog, Stardate…uhm, wrong blog…02/16/07 07:05 Uganda Time, 02/15/07 23:05 EST

Well, it’s light enough to write now, but the turbulence is making it a little challenging. We’re about an hour out from Entebbe. It’s been a long flight, but I did get several hours of good sleep on this plane. This leg of the flight is supposed to be 8 hours and 25 minutes long, non-stop from London’s Heathrow Airport to Entebbe, Uganda. We had a tail wind much of the way, but for the last hour or so we’ve been flying against a headwind. A combination of darkness and a cruising altitude of 33,000 feet haven’t allowed for any great views for those seated by a window, but I did catch a glimpse of a gorgeous sunrise a little bit ago when I looked across the aisle. We’ve flown over the Sahara and Libyan Deserts, and, according to the 6” screen in front of me, we’ve been flying over the Nile River for the last little while.

I can’t speak for anyone else in the group, because I haven’t had a chance to ask them, but as I’ve watched our position on the flight map throughout the night, my excitement has been growing. We flew past Rome several hours ago, and it made me think of the Apostle Paul when he was there…It’s a kind of a rush being so much closer to the places where the Bible was actually written.

I don’t want to say that this mission trip and the preparations up to this point have been “dream-like” until now, but the reality that we’re finally here is just now sinking in. I’ve waited over 20 years since God first called me to the overseas mission field, and I’ve held on to that call and desire throughout those 20+ years without seeing a manifestation of the call. I know that in that time God has had to do a lot of work in me and in my life so that I’d be ready for this. There is no way that I can describe how I feel right now! I want to cry and laugh at the same time—I’m seeing God’s faithfulness in action!

To recap the first part of our trip: Our layover in London wasn’t quite what we’d anticipated. The logistics of public transportation (and the cost since the US dollar is worth so little in the UK. It takes $2.10 USD to buy £1.00 GBD. Just the bus ride from the airport to the hotel ended up being £40 or just over $80.00! The Day Room was great. Most of us hung close to the hotel and napped or went for a short walk.

God did have a divine appointment for Tim, though. He took a narrow pedestrian trail in search of a store/restaurant and stopped to talk to a couple along the way. They invited him in for a cup of tea or coffee, and Tim got to witness to them and explain several areas of scripture of which they didn’t have a good understanding. (i.e. Jesus died for people’s sin, but not for theirs!) God is so awesome! Tim got to plant some really good seed, and we’re believing God for a great harvest there. God is so awesome! Well, we’re pretty close to Entebbe—approximately 100 miles out—20 minutes to landing. Have to shut down for now.

02-17-07 07:00 Uganda Time, 02-16-07 23:00 EST.

Well, we got here yesterday morning. I wanted to get out of the plane and start jumping and shouting, because of what God has done in manifesting my lifelong dream/call. BUT…with Pastor’s word ringing in my ears…”Are you ready for another ministry lesson…Before you do or say anything, you have to think about how it will affect the team as a whole…”, I decided that the armed soldiers at the airport might not take too kindly to me making a scene. I restrained myself!

The pictures that I’ll be posting can describe our experience much more clearly than I can. I can say, it’s all that I was expecting and then some! In the area of Kampala that we’re staying and working, there is abject poverty all around, but the people are a tough, proud people. And it amazed me…in the USA many of our poor are content to live off of government assistance. That has, in my opinion, ruined our people. Here in Uganda there is no government assistance. People have to get out and find a way to provide for their families. As you’ll see from the pictures, everybody has some kind of business… whether it is making bricks in their yard, selling bananas, selling phone minutes, or running a motorcycle taxi service (I’ll pass on catching a ride on that taxi!)

We spent a few hours at the Life Link Medical Centre yesterday. They had just moved into a new (to them) building, and it was their first day open. At least 150 people were waiting for us to get there. Many of whom had walked long distances to get there. It was a very “interesting” first day. Quite a learning experience! There were many people who probably had malaria and, of course, many problems related to poor nutrition. One man had a stump of a foot that had not healed in 10 years! He comes to the clinic every other day to get it cleaned and dressed. He has to be up working on it every day…how many people in the US “call in” to work because of minor ailments? These people are amazing!

I was up early today, at 04:45, to spend time in prayer. It was so strange to hear the call to worship coming from the mosque whose spire we can see from our beautiful hilltop Namirembe Guest House. Shortly afterwards the sound of their prayer being broadcast over the loudspeaker sounded across the city. I felt like I was in a movie…it was so strange! Right now I’m enjoying breakfast with Annette and Howard Fickett, Pastor Eddie, William C, and Rocky. We’re having omelets, toast, fresh pineapple, and freshly squeezed passion fruit. The sunrise was gorgeous, and there’s a great breeze right now.

02-17-07 18:30 Uganda Time, 10:30 EST

Well, our second day at the Medical Centre was somewhat more orderly than the first one. There were more people there seeking treatment than there had been the day before. One little boy had a fever of 104.7˚F, possibly from Malaria…he had a number of mosquito bites on him. We were able to get the fever down, and he was a little more active when his mother took him home. I would like to have seen him stay overnight for monitoring; but I have learned that Ugandans will do what Ugandans want to do, not what someone else wants them to do!

Another man came in who was very frail, weak, and dehydrated. The staff nurse, Annette (not the same Annette I mentioned earlier), was unable to get an IV started because the man was so dehydrated. Praise God for answered prayer—I was able to get an IV in on the second attempt, and we were able to administer IV fluids to the man. He’s still in critical condition, but we’re in faith for him to recover.

The children have really stolen our hearts. They are so friendly and beautiful. And they love having their pictures taken. Suzanne got the great idea of cutting the bubble wrap that we were taking out of boxes and giving a piece to each child to pop. They absolutely loved it!

The Grand Opening Ceremony started at approximately 14:30. There were a number of government officials in attendance, and many of the patients stayed to listen. Pastor Solomon shared with everyone about how God had opened the door for him to meet Pastor Eddie and how God had blessed them with all of the medical equipment and supplies that we’d shipped in the 40-foot container. Pastor Eddie had a chance to greet the people and commit the continued support of Valley Word Ministries in helping to make a difference in the health and well-being of the people of Uganda. It has been an exciting day, and we’re all very tired. But it is exciting to see how God is moving in and through our team. God is so Good!

Well, I’ll close for now. Check out our photos on the VWM Online Photo Album. There will be several albums, so be sure to check them all out. They all start with, “Uganda-”. Be blessed, dinner is calling my name! :D

2007-02-14T15:40:00.000-05:00

Well, we’re off!!! It’s a beautiful day. No rain. Light snow flurries when we left Roanoke, but not much. The Lord held back the freezing rain from hitting Roanoke, even though all the surrounding areas got hit with bad weather. God is so good! We are riding down I-81 right now…just passing mile marker 235. There is such an air of expectation. As we’ve all heard from the prophets, 2007 is the Year of the Open Door, and that is what we are standing on for this mission trip!

Pastor has been preaching a series on the Year of the Open Door (which you can listen to online on the Valley Word website.) This is the season, the set time for spiritual Zion (the church) to walk in favor:

As you pray for us, keep in mind some of the scriptures that Pastor has been using in his messages:

Revelation 3:7-8
7 And to the angel (Gk: angelos- messenger…could be translated pastor) of the church in Philadelphia [Valley Word J] write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

Psalms 102:13
“You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come.”

We appreciate you praying the word over us. We look forward to bringing you a good report!
Until next time…

Sandi and the Team: Pastor Eddie, Chris, Debbie, Suzanne, Aaron, William C., Rocky, Shaun, Joshua, and Tim

T- minus 46 hours and counting!

2007-02-12T23:27:00.000-05:00

Wow! I am so excited! In less than 48 hours our team will be on a plane, Uganda-Bound. Things have been very intense the last couple weeks as we've made final preparations for our trip. A tremendous outpouring of donated medical supplies and medications has come in...roughly an additional $200,000 worth of stuff. Talk about God showing Himself mighty on our behalf! Much thanks to Western Virginia EMS, Carilion Health Systems (yet again!), and the many other companies that have donated equipment, supplies, and medications. One company donated 9400 doses of an antibiotic that (not-surprisingly) is used to treat...you guessed it: Malaria! Since that is one of the major diseases that we'll be dealing with in Uganda, it was definitely a God-thing.

The other way that God has proved Himself mighty on our behalf has been in the area of finances. I have to praise God for the church family of which I am a part. Not only do we have an 80-90% Tither rate, but our people not only tithe...they give over and above the tithe. Actually, we just have a church full of people who love to be a blessing to others, to the Kingdom of God, and the work of the ministry. On behalf of the Mission Team I can echo Paul's prayer over the church of Philippi. They were the only church that regularly communicated with Paul in regards to giving and receiving. They understood the principles of partnership, and so do Valley Word folk! To use the Apostle Paul's words, "my God shall supply all your [those who have partnered with us in any capacity regarding this mission trip] needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." I pray that fruit would abound to YOUR account, because of your willingness to sow into this missions project.

I will be posting pictures and blog entries while we are in Uganda, so check out our Online Photo Albums and click on the album entitled, "Uganda or Bust..." Thanks to all who are supporting us with a prayer covering. We love and appreciate you all! Bye for now...

~ Sandi

Extra! Extra! Read All About Us!

2007-01-05T02:22:00.000-05:00

Get ready for the shortest post you'll ever get from me... :-D

A few weeks ago we were very blessed to have Roanoke Times reporter Jessica Marcy take several hours to interview Pastor Eddie, Chris, Debbie, and myself regarding, not only the upcoming Uganda trip, but also about the church's vision for worldwide ministry and our individual callings. You can read all about it on their website in the article that came out December 29, 2006 in the Neighbor's section of the Roanoke Times. Here is a link to the article: Church reaches out in Uganda - Roanoke.com. If for some reason the link becomes inactive, please e-mail me and I can send you a scanned copy of the print article, complete with the photos that the printed article included.

That Faith Thing...

2007-01-05T00:11:00.000-05:00

Wow! The day is quickly approaching that we've been awaiting for so long. In 41 days from the moment that I'm writing this post we'll be on an airliner somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean! God is SOOOO FAITHFUL and SOOOO AWESOME! We are all in varying stages of getting our immunizations, waiting for passports to be delivered, and RAISING the REST of our FINANCES.

It has always been amazing to me as I have watched God work throughout my life. We as Christians, especially those of us who label ourselves "Word of Faith" people, are such a funny group. Let me explain what I mean. We sense a call of God on our lives to do something. We determine to do it. Then we try to "figure out" how God is going to make it happen. We have our own ideas of when finances should come in and how finances should come in. (I know...for you English majors...dangling prepositions...) When it doesn't happen the way we think it should happen we start to get a little nervous...BUT, we're "WORD" people, so we can't say we're nervous :-D. We might even begin to doubt that we heard the Lord clearly when we felt the call to do something--in this case that something would be going on this mission trip.

But the funny thing about doing something by faith is that...well, it requires stepping out in faith! The writer of Hebrews says it like this in Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him..." (AMP) Throughout the Bible we're given examples of people who stepped out in faith and accomplished great things. As we read Hebrews 11 in it's entirety we see what is commonly referred to as the Great Hall of Faith in our Word circle. Starting with Abel we are reminded of those great men and women of God who trusted God even when the circumstances didn't look favorable.

When the Lord gave Joshua the command to cross the Jordan river to "attack" Jericho the river was in its flood stage. Let's look at the story. It's in Joshua 3:

13When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord of all the earth shall rest in the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan coming down from above shall be cut off and they shall stand in one heap.
14So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,
15And when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were in the brink of the water--for the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest-- (AMP)

I want to point something out that most of you have already seen or been taught, but sometimes we need to be reminded. The Lord didn't promise that He'd part the Jordan BEFORE they stepped foot into it. In fact, He'd told Joshua, "When the soles of the feet of the priests...shall rest in the Jordan, the waters...shall be cut off..." They had to, by faith, step into a FLOOD-SWOLLEN river before they saw the promise of God manifest.

Sometimes when we step out in faith it may feel like we're stepping into flood waters. And sometimes it doesn't look like the waters are parting very quickly...But He is faithful who has promised! Hebrews 6:12 tells us that those who inherit the promises of God only do so "through faith and patience." Verse 11 says that we are to "shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end."

I have to admit, there have been times over the last several months that my faith has been stretched. It's had to go through a growth process...and one day I am believing that my Father will be able to look at me and say, "you of GREAT FAITH." But in the meantime, I'll endure the "growing pains" that sometimes accompany growth of any kind.

I want to encourage all of my readers, those who are part of our mission team and those who are working on "Faith Projects" of another kind. 2 Chronicles 16:9 tells us, "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." God wants to prove himself strong on your behalf!

Now don't get all nervous about the word perfect. It is translated from the Hebrew word shalem (Strong's #8003) which has several definitions. The one that I like is this: "complete (of keeping covenant relation)." Those of you who are Valley Word family know all about covenant relationship, because we are covenant people. What the writer of 2 Chronicles was saying is that the Lord wants to prove himself strong on the behalf of those who have and keep a covenant relationship with him. I know that includes me!

So, all you covenant people...BE ENCOURAGED! God isn't late, broke, or forgetful! "But let patience [Remember Hebrews 6:11?] have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." ~James 1:4 (Perfect here is the Greek word teleios (Strong's #5046), which means "wanting nothing necessary to completeness.") The prophets have declared 2007 to be The Year of the Open Door. Get ready to walk through it and inherit all of the covenant promises of God!

It may seem to some that I've rambled a bit, but I have to believe that I've written what the Holy Spirit was leading me to write. Grace and Peace to all (and to all a good night!)

~ Sandi

Uganda Child Sponsor Thank You

2006-12-26T04:10:00.000-05:00

Well, Christmas "officially" ended just over four hours ago, but I pray that the Spirit of Christmas, which is the Spirit of Christ, will continue to be with us as the days go by. I wanted to give a quick (yeah, I know, "Hah! Hah! Sandi, you don't know what quick is in a Post...") "Thank You" to all of our Uganda Child Sponsors. As I've mentioned in previous posts, the various members of Valley Word Ministries have sponsored a total of 50 children from the orphanage in Kampala. What a testimony to the love of God flowing through our people!

I know from my own past experience as a child sponsor that while sponsorship is a very rewarding decision, as time goes on, it can have its challenges. I heard Joyce Meyer talking about partnership and child sponsorship one time. She made a statement to the effect that it's really easy to make a decision to partner or sponsor while you are in a service and you are looking at pictures of hungry children. It's one of those "feel good" moments. You know, it makes you "feel good" to be able to put your name on the dotted line to help that young boy or girl. But two or three months down the line, when the rent check is due, the car needs a new set of tires, and Christmas has rolled up on you, it's a lot harder to write that $25.00 check.

Statistically, missions giving is one of the first things to be dropped when budgets get a little tight...not only for individuals, but for church budgets too. The worst part is, that's the group that suffers so much when they do get dropped. How do you look at a child who's only been getting one meal a day anyway, and tell her that the person who'd promised to help feed her didn't send any money for food this month? How do you decide which child will eat and which child must go hungry? Those are tough choices...choices that I'm really glad I don't have to make.

But this post isn't about the people who haven't been able to fulfill their sponsorship pledges, this is about those who HAVE done so. Thanks to you, our administration was able to get the money to Uganda in time for them to use some of it so that the children could have something special for Christmas! While we are so accustomed to piles of prettily wrapped packages under the tree, Christmas for those children may simply mean a pair of shoes so they don't have to walk barefoot. Or maybe even a small toy...possibly the only toy they've ever had.

Thank you, Valley Word Family, for your willingness to stretch beyond yourselves yet again, to pour out the love of Christ on "the least of these." You know, in doing so, you are really ministering to Jesus. Remember, Jesus himself, in telling the parable of the sheep and the goats, said, "And the King will reply to them, Truly I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of the least [in the estimation of men] of these My brethren, you did it for Me." Matthew 25:40 AMP.

I'm excited about the opportunity to see all of those children when we travel to Uganda in February. To see the impact that YOU, the CHILD SPONSORS, have made on their lives through your generous sowing. We are expecting a great harvest in Uganda, and you have a huge part in that harvest. On behalf of our leadership, the leadership in Uganda, and the people of Uganda...THANK YOU!

A Pipeline for Ministry

2006-12-21T00:14:00.000-05:00

I'm really excited as I write this post. We truly live in exciting times. A year or two ago, during a meeting with the ministry leaders, Pastor shared his vision of Valley Word being a like a pipeline for ministry. God is developing that concept in the area of missions for us. My Co-Team Leader, Debbie, has been gifted in the area of acquiring medical "stuff." Thanks to that gift of God, we not only have had an excess for our own upcoming trip, but we've had an abundance to share with others.

This past Monday, December 18th, we were blessed to be able to ship a PALLET-FULL of medical supplies to Slidell, Louisiana to assist in treating Hurricane Katrina victims! We anticipate this to be just the beginning of what God has in store for us in this area. As we are able to network with both medical agencies who have equipment and supplies that are no longer needed and agencies that have a need for the equipment and supplies, we are believing that God will use us to act like a pipeline to join the two types of agencies together.

If you know of either type of group please contact:

Debbie (debbierobinson@valleywordministries.org) or
myself (sandibird@valleywordministries.org)

with the information. Thanks, and have a Merry Christmas!

Fruit Baskets...the Rest of the Story!

2006-12-20T23:03:00.000-05:00

It never ceases to amaze me (but not surprise me) when I see the Lord move in really awesome ways. God is so good! I wanted to do a follow-up on the fruit baskets that we delivered to the elderly members of our congregation. I was able to be a part of a group that delivered five baskets on Friday, December 15th. Our group consisted of Rev. Karl Stewart, Geraldine, and myself.

The Word tells us that the steps of a righteous man are ordered of God. We sure saw that Friday night. When we arrived at the house of one of our members who has battled multiple illnesses over a long period of time, we sang our carols, put down the fruit basket, and grabbed Sis. T.B.'s hand to pray with her. As we began to pray, the power of God came down so strong! Part way through the prayer she began to rejoice. She shared with us that when we'd arrived, she had been experiencing chest tightness and shortness of breath. During our prayer the tightness left her. She was able to breathe more easily! Wow! We started rejoicing with her!!! God had arranged a divine appointment. But it didn't end there...

Our next stop was to a couple who'd both had various health challenges for a while. We phoned Bro. and Sis. W. as we were driving up to their door to make sure it was OK for us to stop by. There was some hesitation, but since we were already there, we figured that it would be hard for them to say no... :0) As we enterd their duplex we noticed that Sis. W. was seated in the kitchen, tearful, and in obvious distress.

Her husband explained to us that they'd been getting ready to leave for the emergency room. Our trio gathered around our sister and began to pray...it was on now! No devil in hell was going to attack our sister and get away with it! We prayed in the spirit for a while, and then the Holy Spirit revealed to Rev. Karl what needed to be prayed out in the natural. As he prayed out what the Holy Spirit had revealed to him, a change could be seen in our sister. Sis. W. began thanking God. Her voice was stronger. She stood and began rejoicing! She was breathing better. She was laughing and smiling.

We shared some things from the Word and confirmed to her the authority in the spirit-realm that she and her husband had over their home. By the time we left there was NO NEED to go to the hospital. God had shown up and proved himself mighty on her behalf! Our group was so blessed and honored to be counted a part of that move of God. It is always a very humbling experience to me. I can still hear Sis. W. repeating after Rev. Karl, "God's here. God's here. God's in me. God's in my husband. God's here!"

God is so good!!!

Of Nursing Homes and Fruit Baskets...

2006-12-15T04:18:00.000-05:00

Anyone who goes to Valley Word Ministries knows that Valley Word's people and leadership love the elderly. I wanted to update you on a couple "in our own back yard" activities that took place this month, involving both our elderly members here and also our extended church family (the part of our VWM family that never steps foot inside of our building but still falls under our spiritual care.)

OF NURSING HOMES...

This past Monday the Men's Ministry went to Superior Residences Assisted Living for a time of fellowship with the wonderful residents there. Valley Word ministers there on a monthly basis, but this was an opportunity for the residents to actually visit with our members and watch the movie Jesus. I wasn't able to attend the event myself, but have heard great reports from those who were there. One elderly Catholic gentleman even re-dedicated his life to the Lord. He told Rev. Stewart that he'd never heard the whole story of Jesus! Praise God! I'm so thankful for those who minister to our nursing home folks!

AND FRUIT BASKETS...

Every year at Christmas time the various ministries at Valley Word get together and make fruit baskets for the elderly couples in our church. Each ministry leader brings in a particular kind of fruit or nuts or candy, enough for however many baskets we're making. Then a group of people assembles them after the service on Wednesday. This year eighteen fruit baskets were assembled.

Last night, Thursday, the various ministries started delivering the baskets. But we don't just drive up, hand off a basket, and leave...not Valley Word folks! We sing Christmas Carols also! I wasn't able to be there last night due to my granddaughter's Christmas play, but I'm hoping to join them tonight if there are any baskets that were not delivered last night (and if my electronic leash--my pager--doesn't drag me in to work ;D.) It's always such a fun time, and the folks are so blessed when we show up. Maybe I can convince someone who delivered them this year to write a quick update...

I don't know when my next post will be written, but in case it's after Christmas, I pray the Love of God and the Peace of God be upon you throughout this holiday season. Have a Merry Christmas, and remember the REAL Reason for the Season!

I love you all! ~ Sandi ~

The VWM Special Forces Mission Team

2006-12-15T01:29:00.000-05:00

Well, in less than two months now our team will be on our way to Africa. We'll actually be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean two months from when I'm writing this post. I know that each one of us is excited as the day approaches, and the next two months will probably go by faster than we'd like them to go. There's still a lot that needs to be done, both in the natural realm and in the spirit realm also.

I received a letter from Pastor Solomon, updating me on some of the things that are happening over in Kampala. There are new pictures on the Online Photo Album, so be sure to check those out, and there are more to come that I haven't yet received. One of the sobering bits of news that Pastor Solomon included in the e-mail was that one of the young students at King Solomon's Academy died last week after succumbing to Malaria. It seems so senseless that a disease that is preventable and treatable still claims the lives of so many people. It makes it that much more imperative that our team partners with the staff of Life Link Medical Centre to aid in vaccinating the people and treating those who are already ill.

I know that those of us at Valley Word have a very personal connection with the Academy as various members of our congregation together financially support fifty children on a monthly basis. I am so proud of the outpouring of love that I've seen from our members in the area of giving to others. I have truly seen the love of God shine forth from my church family to those who are less fortunate. My thanks goes out to all who have been a part of this project thus far, and to those who have yet to participate!

Having said all that, I wanted to really share with you what's on my heart in regards to this trip. Of course, we all know that in the natural we are going over to do a medical and humanitarian project, along with Pastor having the opportunity to minister the Word every night, BUT there's more to it in my mind. Let me paint a picture for you...

In your mind's eye, picture a battleground. There are soldiers from both sides in the picture, and plenty of civilians. You're looking at Uganda. Remember, the battle I'm talking about is a spiritual battle, so although we're looking at people, when I refer to the enemy, I'm actually when I'm talking about the spirit that's controlling the people. People aren't our enemies. We're fighting against a spirit of anti-christ that is trying to take over where ever it can gain ground.

When Pastor Solomon was here he shared with us that the Muslim community is planning on building 450 schools in Uganda, not only to provide a free education to those children, but to introduce them to the Islamic belief system/values. Just as most of the kids at King Solomon's Academy have accepted Christ and the New Birth by exposure to the Gospel, the likelihood of children and parents being converted to Islam is VERY HIGH if the are attending the free schools and receiving aid from the Muslim community. Right now, the country of Uganda is a Christian country. Even the wife of the President is a born-again, spirit-filled Christian. But, I've heard it said before that it only takes one generation to win or lose a country. This is a crucial stage in the spiritual battle for Uganda.

SPECIAL FORCES TEAM:

Our team has an opportunity to go in and impact not only the city in which we'll be working, but the entire nation itself! When I look at our VWM Mission Team, I see us as a Spiritual Special Forces Team. Let me explain. Encarta describes Special Forces like this:

"Special Forces, highly trained branch of the United States Army, specializing in unconventional or guerrilla warfare...The growth of the force, most notably through its role in Southeast Asia during the 1960s, reflects the increasing importance accorded guerrilla tactics in modern revolutionary and political developments around the world. Special Forces personnel...were trained to infiltrate enemy-controlled territory and contact and organize local dissidents for guerrilla operations..."

"Special Forces," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2006
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2006 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Guerilla Warfare is defined as: "...military or paramilitary operations conducted in enemy-held territory by irregular forces, often groups indigenous to that territory."

"Guerrilla Warfare," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2006
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2006 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

When we think of "Spiritual Warfare" strategies, we usually think of evangelists, witnessing, etc. Medical and construction projects aren't usually considered warfare tactics. But I submit to you that they are. In the description of Special Forces, it mentioned "unconventional and guerilla warfare." That's the category under which I believe that our projects fall. We are joining with those indigenous "spiritual soldiers" (Pastor Solomon, the staff at Life Link Medical Centre, and the other workers there) to use unconventional tactics to "infiltrate enemy-controlled territory" and take possesion of it.

OUR TACTICS:

As we complete the Chicken - Fish Pond Project we will be helping to change the nutritional status and health of the Kampalan people. By providing increased protein for their diets and additional instruction in the area of proper eating habits and nutritional requirements we will be empowering the people to achieve healthier lifestyles.

By combining the food that the project will produce for them to market to other communities and businesses with instruction in how to market that food, we will be helping to improve their economic status.

The equipment we've shipped over for the Medical Centre will help to make it one of the best equipped medical centres in the area. With that and the training which we will provide to the indigenous staff they will have the ability to DIAGNOSE and treat a larger range of illnesses. That will greatly impact the whole Kampala area.

The availability of that equipment will attract patients who are actually financially able to pay for their treatment. The additional income will allow the clinic to buy more medications and supplies and treat more people.

All in the Name of our wonderful Jesus!

As we share the Love of God through our "unconventional warfare tactics" the Holy Spirit will have an opportunity to use those things to minister to the hearts of the people. We are anticipating a great harvest of souls both from the seeds we have already begun to sow in the lives of the people of Uganda and those which will be sown once we are there. When we arrive in Uganda, we plan to not only hold back the forces of the enemy, but to push them back and take ground from the enemy!

We are...the VWM Special Forces Mission Team!

Missions Blog Facelift ;D and Another Quick Update

2006-12-09T21:37:00.000-05:00

MISSIONS BLOG GETS A FACELIFT

Well, as you can tell if you've ever been on the Missions Blog before, we've undergone a facelift! I'm constantly grateful to the companies that provide this Blog Site for us free of charge (Google and Blogspot.) They are constantly working on ways to improve and make more user-friendly a site that they provide at no charge. As much as I understand about computers and the Web, I'm always amazed at things like that! It's not like there are banner ads all over the place to make up for it...Praise God!

READ YOUR LABELS

If you want to read a post that is on a particular topic, you can look at the Labels section on the left sidebar. As you read a post, if you think that I should add another label to it, just post a comment and let me know! And if you are a VWM member who is involved in Missions of any kind...local, national, or international...and you'd like to be a part of the Blogging team, PLEASE let me know. We NEED you!

UGANDA MISSION TRIP PRAYER GROUP

Well, our Uganda trip is getting closer! I am so excited that I'm almost beside myself! [Hmmm...if I was beside myself, would there be two of me to work on the website? A clone? Just a thought...] Back to reality. We have another team meeting tomorrow after service, and we're going to begin a weekly prayer group for the Uganda Trip. The prayer group is open to anyone with a heart to pray for missions. We'll meet 15 minutes after the Sunday morning service and pray until we feel a release.

DEADLINE FOR AIRFARE APPROACHES

We are quickly approaching the deadline to turn in our airfare to British Airway. The check has to be mailed in this coming week. As always, God is proving himself faithful on our behalf! The money is coming in for the team, as we knew it would. That having been said, it's not all in yet, and we still need your help! If you've already sown, we say, "THANK YOU"!!! It would be great if we could just write a check to the airline company and "believe" that the money will come in before it hits the bank, but I think that would be a felony offense! Instead, it takes people just like you, my reader, to sow your finances into things like the Uganda Mission Trip. If you haven't already done so, I so strongly encourage you to make that commitment and do it. Even a seed of $1 or $2 adds up!

I have been re-visiting the subject of supporting my mission trip expenses with my co-workers this last week. And I asked them if they would consider giving a contribution of any size (even $1.00) towards my trip. One of my co-workers said that she might be able to give $5.00. I let her know that that was great. Well, the next day that I saw her, she handed me a check. Before I had a chance to look at it, she told me, "My husband and I talked about it, and we decided that there were some things that we could do without." When I had a chance to look at the check later, I realized it was written for $100.00!

My thoughts immediately shifted to the Apostle Paul as he wrote the letter to the church at Philippi. If you're home folk (Valley Word members) then I know that you're familiar with the story, but I'll summarize it for those who aren't familiar with it. You'll find the account [not story, but that's a topic I'll save for a different post] in Ephesians 4:10-19. If you'll remember, the church at Philippi had sent financial support to Paul on a number of different occasions. They were, in fact, as Paul said, the only church that "communicated with me concerning giving and receiving." (verse 15) The people in that curch had expanded their vision beyond their own four walls and supported and partnered with the Apostle Paul during his missionary journeying. That's when Paul prayed that familiar prayer over them that is so widely misused. "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." A missionary praying for his financial partners. And the partners have an equal share in the reward.

I know that, as the holiday quickly approaches, we all have a multitude of things that are calling for our finances. But I encourage all of you to ask the Holy Spirit if there is something, or something more, that He wants you to do in regards to missions, even if it isn't the Uganda trip. My co-workers words challenged me, "...we decided that there were some things that we could do without." I've made a couple returns to Wal-Mart already...the things I want I don't always really need! A Soulwinner's Crown will look much better on me than that pretty dress, anyway!

COMING SOON...KENYA ORPHANGE CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS

Tomorrow, December 10th, is the deadline for turning in the stockings for Kenya. Last year we sent backpacks with school supplies, but much of the expense went into shipping. This year our Children's ministry handed out small red stocking with the request that people would save their change and return the stockings full of money! The money is going to be wire transfered to the two orphanages in Kenya. They will be able to use 100% of what is collected instead of having to pay shipping costs. The goal is $5000.00. I'll update you as soon as all the stockings are collected!

Anyone who is not a Valley Word member, but would still like to contribute, may e-mail the church at contactus@valleywordministries.org for the Kenya project, or uganda@valleywordministries.org for the Uganda Missions Trip. Or, you may call the church office to get instructions on how to make your tax-deductible contribution!

A Long Overdue Update

2006-11-15T06:31:00.000-05:00

Did anyone miss me? Isn't it amazing how quickly time can fly by! I've been all over the mid- to north-eastern US in the last couple months. And things are like a whirlwind of activity here at home (Valley Word.) Our Website is up...YEAH!!!!! WHOO HOOO!!! There are still a large number of "Under Construction" pages, but what's up is looking great! Thanks to all of the Literary Development Team and the NetMinistry Team who helped to bring it to a reality. It takes a team of people to produce anything of greatness. "One is too insignificant a number for greatness." ~ John Maxwell

We had a very successful community outreach on October 31st. We had our Second Annual Festival of the Nations, with eight countries represented. Everyone did such a great job of preparation, and the kids who attended had a fantastic time...Actually, so did the adults. Kudos to all who gave of their time, energy, and finances to reach out to the kids in the Roanoke Valley with a fun and safe alternative to halloween! Please check out our pictures from the event--especially Pastor in his private VW Airlines Jet!

I've got a lot to report, but not a lot of time in which to do it. So here goes! Following is a Synopsis of the Uganda 2007 Mission Trip giving, broken down by project:

Shipment of Equipment and Supplies

Shipping of the 40ft Container filled with medical equipment and supplies: $5000- paid

Purchase of Storage Container in which supplies will be stored in Kampala: $1500- paid

Customs "Fees" for clearance of shipment when it arrives in Africa: $2000- in hand

Chicken/Fish Pond Project

Cost of excavation and pouring of concrete: $3000- paid

Purchase of Well Pump: Shipped--sent in Shipment listed above

Final Project costs (materials for chicken coop, purchase of chickens and fish): $2000- in hand

Medication Purchase

Purchase of adequate medications/immunization supplies for team to use to treat patients for one whole week: $1000- in hand

Praise God for His faithfulness!! And for the faithfulness of all who have sown into this project this far. Thank You!!!

Our Team is so excited as the departure day approaches. We are each still involved in our own fundraising efforts for our airfare, food, lodging, and travel insurance monies. So, if you aren't called to go to Uganda, please consider sponsoring one or more missionaries with a seed of whatever size the Holy Spirit lays on your heart to give. Every financial seed you sow helps to produce a harvest in the Kingdom of God! And you receive the same reward as those who physically go to the Mission Field.

Well, I have to go...it's getting late, ehh...Early...Whatever! I'm tired, anyway! May the Blessing of Abraham operate in your life. We are truly blessed to be a blessing to others!

Quick Uganda Update

2006-09-19T19:34:00.000-04:00

[This is a quick update before I leave for my three-day backpacking trip. I apologize in advance for not having active links for the scriptures which I'm going to quote. I'll fix that after I get back.]

I am so excited! We've paid the down payment on our airline reservations for February 5-February 14th. We have a core team gathered, but WE DO STILL HAVE SOME OPENINGS TO JOIN US ON THIS MISSION TRIP. If you are interested in joining us, please email me for more information.

Much of the medical equipment that we've set our faith towards has already been promised to us by several different equipment suppliers. I just want to give God all the glory for gving us favor in this area and for divine contacts and appointments!

Please continue to lift up our team in prayer as we prepare ourselves for this mission trip. While there is a great deal of work that must be done in the natural to prepare for this undertaking, the most important preparation is that of our hearts. It is not enough for our team to just fly over to Uganda to "help some people out." WE MUST HAVE OUR HEART TUNED IN TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.

It's not too early to be praying for all of the divine appointments that Father God has for our team. If we were just wanting to reach a handful of people it might not be such a big deal, but, THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, we expect to impact the entire nation of Uganda. Not only are we believing to affect the health status of those to whom we minister in the natural, and not only do we expect to affect the socio-economic status of those who will benefit from the Chicken/Fishpond Project, but we EXPECT that SPIRITUAL STONGHOLDS WILL BE TORN DOWN AND THAT THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST WILL FLOOD THE NATION OF UGANDA!!!

You may be asking, "Who do you think you are?!?! What makes you think you can have an impact like that? You are only a small group." Well, I'm glad you asked me that question! ;D ;D I'll be more than happy to answer it for you!

We've been commissioned by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords as His Ambassadors. We have full diplomatic authority and immunity. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:19-21 (AMP)
We have the power of the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwelling within us, and our steps are ordered by God, Himself.
We are the Light of the World and the Salt of the Earth. We are like a city set on a hill and the Light of god that shines forth from us cannot be hidden
We are assisted by a host of angels that were given to minister to and for us as heirs of salvation, and they harken to the Word of God that we speak forth to perform it!
The favor of God goes forth before us and surrounds us like a shield, and no weapon formed against us shall prosper.
The enemy that comes in against us one way will have to flee against us in seven different directions!
We are spiritually minded which brings life, not carnally or fleshly minded which brings death.
Our very feet are anointed because we bring the Gospel of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I guess I'll let you do a little homework with the Strong's Concordance to find the scripture references for what I've just referenced. The Appalachian Trail is calling my name, and I need to get a couple hours sleep before I start backpacking for three days. I'll see you all when I get back!

The Challenge to Take the Gospel to the World

2006-09-10T07:03:00.000-04:00

My, how time flies! I started this post on the 27th of August and am just now able to get it finished...it's already Sept 10th. [These first couple paragraphs are something God's just spoken to me as I type. More bloody toes...] My delay in completing this post is a reminder to me of the many good intentions that we have throughout the day or week. They somehow get pushed aside until "tonight", "tomorrow", or "as soon as I get time."

I'm preaching to myself as I'm typing this post. It's so important that when the Lord speaks to us to do something, that we don't put it off. So many times it gets forgotten completely. I did that last month with an offering that the Lord told me to send in to a certain ministry with which I'm partnered. I was busy. I tried calling it in, but it was after business hours. I said, "Lord, I'll go online when I get home and do it." But, I forgot when I got home.

A week later I thought about it again. "Darn! I still didn't get that offering sent in! I've got to get that done this week!" Then I heard the Lord say something that cut to the bone. "Don't bother. The need they had was a 'right then' need. I used someone else to meet it that gave when I asked them to." I thought about all the 'right then' needs that I've had over the years. What if God didn't switch to a Plan B (someone who hears and obeys right away) to meet them. NO CONDEMNATION, but certainly a challenge to come up higher!

ORIGINAL POST TOPIC

Hi, Everyone! What an exciting week this last week has been at Valley Word! For those readers who are "Home Folk" (a.k.a. Valley Word members or attenders) you probably know that Pastor Solomon Mwesige from Kampala, Uganda was here the weekend of August 20, 2006. This time he was "the Main Event", and if you were here for that service, you know that he really kicked some bu...uhm...stomped on some toes! (What's left of my toes are still a little bloody ;D )

Over the course of the last few days I have really had a tremendous opportunity to meditate on many of the things of which I heard him speak, not only during service, but during the several conversations I'd had with him while he was here. A special thanks to the Lord, my Pastors, and Greyhound (for changing their bus schedule). Because of a change in the bus schedule, Debbie Robinson and I had the opportunity to drive Pastor Solomon to his next engagement in Pittsburg, PA and spend six whole hours soaking up information and wisdom from him! God is so good! I want to re-cap a few things that Pastor Solomon shared with us about Uganda and then share some of what God has spoken to my heart.

Although the nation of Uganda is 90% Christian, there is a strong Muslim foothold. During the Idi Amin regime, most of the businesses were turned over to the Muslim community. So, the economy of Uganda is still strongly controlled by non-Christian business owners.

Then there is the educational system. Pastor Solomon shared the following information (from a news article) with me in an e-mail: The Ahmadiyyah Muslim Association plans to build about 250 primary and secondary schools in Uganda. The plans are similiar to what they have already done in Ghana. “Our target is to transfer the same development to Uganda and we are now in the process. We shall construct and renovate as many schools as possible to see that the education sector is boosted in this country,” an Associatioin representative, Amir Inayatullah Zahid, said. Each school compound will also include a missionaries’ house. Ninety-percent (90%) of the scholarships that they have given out so far have been to non-Muslims.

Pastor Solomon commented: "Here is a challenge we are facing as Muslims target kids and, as their plan is explained, they build a school and a missionary house. We Christians wait for kids to grow into adults and then we spend on Evangelism, training soulwinners etc. [Emphasis mine ~SLB] With our one school, we have 450 kids... Muslims are planning to build 250 schools. [You do the math! ~SLB] This is a challenge indeed, and we, as Christians, cannot watch and see our Country and continent slip out of our hands."

During the message that Pastor Solomon brought us Sunday morning, he shared that of the 450 children who attend King Solomon's Academy, almost all of them have received Christ. Now turn that around. In a school that is run by Muslims, teaching a Muslim doctrine, what would the numbers show?

Adolf Hitler made the following statement in his speech on November 6, 1933, "When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to your side,' I calmly say, 'Your child belongs to us already. . . . What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community.' "

I have heard it said that it only takes one generation to turn the heart of a nation...either towards God or away from God.

We MUST get busy being about Kingdom business. Today's generation of Teens (called the Mosaics) are the Church of Today, NOT Tomorrow. According to the Barna Group (a Christian research group), "Commitment to the Christian faith changes considerably with age. Of those who attend church, only 27% of Mosaics say they are absolutely committed to the Christian faith, compared to 43% of Busters, 58% of Boomers and 68% of Elders. (2006)" Did you see that? Only 27% of our church-going young people admit to being committed to the Christian faith!! Add to that the number of non-church-going teens...what will the numbers be like in another generation?

The battle-cry has been sounded. It has given a loud and certain sound. It can not be about us and our agendas any more. We have been given a challenge to take the Gospel to the World. God didn't ask us if it fit our schedules. Or if we'd mind penciling Him in sometime in the next month or two. David, in Psalm 11:3 (NKJV), asked the question, " If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do? " When you think about it, a nations' young people are the foundation for its future. If we lose THIS GENERATION, "what can the righteous do?"

What can we do? Lots! Here are just a few suggestions in regards to missions.

GO! Remember, the mission field is everywhere, not just in a remote part of Africa. It even extends into your own back yard.
SEND! If you don't feel the call to go to some far away land, support someone who has been called to short- or long-term missions. The whole world has to be reached with the Gospel before the Lord comes back for His church.
SPONSOR a child! Your gift of $25.00 per month not only helps to feed, clothe, and educate a child, but also provides an opportunity to draw them into the Kingdom of God.
PARTNER! Through ministries like Pastor Solomon's, John Jacob's, and so many more, your giving helps to preserve this generation for the Lord.

[My soapbox is stuck, I can't seem to get it kicked back in... ;D ] We could all probably "write the book" on excuses for not going or doing:

1. "not enough money"... 2. "not enough time"... 3. "I can't get off work" (have you tried?)

4. "I have small children at home"... 5. "I don't have any skills that could be used on the mission field",

6. "I'm afraid to fly"... 7. "there are snakes and bugs over there"... 8. "What about the water..."

Here are some responses: 1. God says, "I'm your Jehovah Jireh [the Lord our Provider], your All Sufficient One. I see ahead to the need and make provision for it before it ever comes to pass." 2. He told the people through the prophet Haggai that it was time for them to stop saying, "It's not time." 3. Throughout the Psalms we're told that we have favor with God (and with man-i.e. your employer) He is our Jehovah Elyon [the Lord, the Blesser] . 4. Get your kids involved in missions projects, too! 5. Q: Have you checked to see what skills are required? 6. "Fear not!" [Jehovah Shalom- the Lord, our inner and outer peace!] 7. Pastor Solomon said, "We have snakes everywhere. We have bugs everywhere," but God is Jehovah Sabaoth- the Lord, our Protector! 8. Mark 16:18 addresses Excuses #7 and #8.

Isaiah says this in chapter 6, "1In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." What are the King Uzziah's in our lives? What is holding our attention and keeping us from seeing what the Lord wants us to see? It wasn't until King Uzziah died that Isaiah saw the Lord in all of His majesty and glory. Is there something in our lives that needs to die in priority so that we can see the Lord and how He wants to manifest His glory in and through us to a lost and dying world? Jesus said, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. " When the world sees US they should see the Father!

Well, I've preached long enough. Are you ready to take the Challenge? Let's get ready and take the Gospel to the World!

EXTRA...EXTRA...Read All About It! Uganda Travel Dates Confirmed!

2006-08-19T02:19:00.000-04:00

Whoo Hooo!!!!!! We've got 'em! The travel dates for the mission trip have been decided. Available flights have been verified. We are leaving February 5th, 2007 and returning on February 14th, 2007. There is still a need for people to join the Construction Team the Medical Team. Please see Pastor Eddie, Chris or Debbie Robinson, or Sandi Bird if you are interested.

I've spoken to many people about the mission trip. Most people give me the "cow staring at the new gate" look when I ask if they're interested in going to Africa. Grown men have cringed in terror! OK, slight exageration! But, really, some people have reacted as if I'd asked them to go on a camping trip to Iraq or Lebanon right now! FYI: Kampala, Uganda is a large metropolitan area- you know, skyscrapers, lots of people, internet cafe's, etc. We will not be out in the bush some place with the lions, and tigers, and bears (Oh, MY!!) We'll either be staying in a hotel or a house. There will be indoor plumbing and food that doesn't remind you of the "gruel" that you may have pictured in your mind. There are even, gasp...cellphones! over there! (Drat! Can't get away from them even in Africa!)

Then there are the people with whom I've spoken who have given the, "I don't have the money to do that," answer. If you are one of those people--yes, I'm about to step on your toes! The rest of this post is JUST FOR YOU! ;D ;D But what I am about to share is being shared in love...and a desire to see you walk out the full call of God on your life. I'm writing this just after having gone to hear Pastor Cynthia Brazelton at the Woman To Woman Conference at Family Life Church in Lynchburg, VA. So "the preach is on!" Get ready to: "Take Off the Limits!"

I want to start with a simple analogy that Pastor Cynthia shared. I love picture stories!

You can take an apple, cut it open, and count how many seeds there are inside of it. BUT, you can't take an apple seed, cut it open, and count how many apples are inside of it!

People of Faith have No Limits! When the Hand of God is on you, and it is if you are born-again, then the impossible has been made possible in your life. There is limitless potential in our lives as believers. Think of Abraham (Abram) in Genesis 12. The conversation went "something" like this,

GOD: "Abram, pack up and leave your family. I'm going to bring you to a new place. I'm going to make your name great. I'm going to make of you a great nation. Because of you ALL OF THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH WILL BE BLESSED."

ABRAM: "But, Lord, I don't have enough money in my money pouch! How am I going to move all my stuff? And what about my family. Mom and Dad are getting up there in years! And, I don't even have any kids, Lord. How are you going to make a great nation come from me? I'm 75-years old! And Sarai is 65! You know, Lord, we ain't quite got it goin' on like we used to. And, what do you mean that ALL of the families of the earth are going to be blessed because of me?!?" NO! That's NOT what the Word says! The Word says, "4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had directed him;" It doesn't say he fasted and prayed for a week to make sure it was the right move. It doesn't say he checked all of his accounts to see if he had enough money. He just did it because God said so!

Look at what Psalm 78:41 has to say about the Children of Israel. "41Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel." How did they tempt God? The writer goes on to say that, "42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy. 43 How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan." If God has ever provided for us before, He can and will do it again. But when we don't keep those instances fresh in our minds, WE LIMIT GOD.

Bro. Jesse Duplantis, in his teaching on Word Seed, shared a conversation that he had with the Lord one time. He'd heard a minister state how many 1000's of promises there were in the Bible, and he determined to look up all of them. Suddenly, he heard the Lord speak to him. "They're promises to you and him, but they are prophecies to Me." Bro. Jesse questioned Him about that, and the Lord made an unusual statement to him. "My Word does not return unto me void. But My Word can return unto you void." Startled, Bro. Jesse asked the Lord why it could return void to a believer. The Lord answered him, "Because you don't believe My Word like I believe My Word!"

Ouch! What an indictment on our lack of faith in God's Word. We'll believe the limitations that the World has placed on us: "...because I'm a woman..."; "...because I'm poor..."; "...because I don't have an education..." But, we don't believe, "with God all things are possible"! (Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27) Or Ephesians 3:20 (KJV) "20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."

I know I've gone long with this post (what else is new?), but it's so important to grasp this! Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:5, "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. " Our faith cannot stand in our limitations, our wisdom, our abilities, or our finances. It's NOT about US, but the POWER that WORKS IN US! The Word of God takes the LIMITS OFF! Jesus didn't ask the man at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5) what his limitations were, all He wanted to know was, "Do you want to be made whole?"!

He's not asking us what's in our checkbooks (shudder!) He's not asking us if we think our boss will let us off from work. He's not even asking us if we think we have anything to contribute to a team. All He wants to know from you is this, "If I call you to Uganda, or any other place, will you go?" Jesus didn't stop at the edge of the water because His feet got wet. (Matthew 14:22-34) Come on, all you Peters! Step out of the boat! The Master bids you, "Come!"

TAKE THE LIMITS OFF!!! NO MORE LIMITATIONS!!!

Mission Field... Kids' Camp! Part 2

2006-08-19T00:39:00.000-04:00

[OK, I'm back. This is Part 2 of a post that began several days ago. If you haven't read Part 1, I highly recommend that you do so before reading any farther in this post. ]

During our inital staff meeting we were each asked what brought us to camp. In my previous two years at camp, I had seen the Holy Spirit TRANSFORM kids right before my very eyes. It was like night and day; and I was addicted to the moving of the Holy Spirit. I replied, "I came to get my 'Fix'. I'm like a 'Spiritual Junkie' who can't get enough of the working of the Holy Spirit in changing people's lives." Maybe not the most "theological, hermeneutical" (to quote Bro. Jesse Duplantis ;D) answer, but it did describe why I was there. (If we can't be real as Christians, we may as well pack up our Bibles and go home!) I wanted to see God change these kids' lives!

Back to the kids. As with any Summer Camp, we had a wide assortment of children from many different backgrounds. Some were quiet and shy. Others were outgoing and making new friends immediately. As I met each one, my heart cried out for God to do whatever work needed to be done in that precious life. I've heard it said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. As I looked into the eyes of some of those kids, I saw a hunger. A need to know that God is real. A hunger to know that there is hope. A hunger to know that God really loves them, as an individual.

You see, we sing those great little kids' songs like " Jesus Loves the Little Children" and so forth, but there's a difference between singing the words of a song and knowing and experiencing the reality of those words. That's what Spirit Wind Children's Camp does for kids. It helps them to experience the love of God in a way that they may never have experineced before. Ministry on a kid's level is far different than ministry on an adult level.

I know, many of those kids were from good churches with good children's programs, but sometimes it's hard for a child to open up to an adult who has a relationship with his/her parent. There's a certain vulnerability...a fear that if something personal is shared...something that is happening in his/her family or a personal struggle...it might get back to the parent. (I know in my own family, there are things that my kids have confided in other adults with whom they were close that they would never share with me. And I'm so thankful for other Christian adults who have come alongside, mentored, and been there for my kids.)

Over the course of the week I saw "masks" removed. The Holy Spirit was drawing those kids to Himself. Of course, He uses people to orchestrate that drawing. The counselors spend 24/7 with those kids. A counselor has such an opportunity to sow into a child's life. And the counselors this year were great. I saw such a heart of love for the children. Even the two Junior Counselors, who were in their early- to mid-teens, had such servants' hearts towards them.

Then there was Pastor Ben. He was fantastic with the kids. Those of you who are Valley Word folks may know him from when he and Gary and Shannon Casola came to do VBS in 2004 and 2005. He has a true anointing to minster to kids on their level. I want to share just one of the many analogies that he used during ministry. It was so simple, yet so powerful. He was talking to the kids about knowing the voice of God. He presented this scenario:

Suppose there was a phone here, right now (without caller ID), and it rang. It's your mom calling, but you aren't expecting her call, and you don't know who's calling before answering. You pick up the phone, and the voice on the other end of the line simply says, 'Hello.' Would you probably know who it was by that one word? [Most of the kids said yes.] How would you know it was your mom? [Because we recognize our mom's voice.] Why do you recognize her voice? [Because we spend a lot of time with her. We live with her.] Well, then, how do you think that you might learn to recognize God's voice? We learn to recognize and know His voice by SPENDING TIME with Him. The more time we spend with Him...in prayer, in reading His Word, in Praising and Worshipping Him...the more we begin to recognize His voice when He speaks quietly to our hearts.

Jesus talked about how sheep know the shepherd's voice, and then He said in, John 10:27 (KJV), "27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:" Pastor Ben's analogy was a simple example to bring it into modern terms, but so effective with the kids (and the adults, I might add.) That's just one small part of the many teachings that were shared that week.

There was a young boy there who admitted to not wanting to be there at first. When he came he had the "I'm tough. I can take care of myself, and I don't need NOBODY!" attitude. By Thursday night his tough shell had been penetrated. He was crying and broken before the Lord during the time of ministry. He didn't seem to care that all the other 10 and 11-year old boys were seeing him like that. Of course, they were also in a similiar state.

Brokenness before the Lord was being evidenced every where you looked that night. Strongholds of pain, fear, rejection, and abuse (in some cases) were pulled down and destroyed by the power of the Holy Spirit. I knelt down between two young girls for almost thirty minutes and just hugged them as they sobbed before the Lord. The presence of God was so heavy in that place that it was almost like a thick cloud. Afterwards, you could see the change in the kids' faces. But it was most evident in their eyes. The pain and sadness that I'd seen earlier was gone. There was a peace in its place. God is Awesome!

[Well, I'll finish up in Part 3. This post has taken a different turn than I'd originally intended, but I prayed that the Holy Spirit would speak through my fingers on the keyboard, so I have to trust He has spoken through me. ]

Mission Field...Kid's Camp! Part 1

2006-08-11T22:27:00.000-04:00

[This is Part One of a three part post. I felt like I needed to give a little background information in this post, for those who are not familiar with Spirit Wind. And, of course, I've added my own flavor to the story. If you've ever volunteered at kid's camp, you'll be able to identify with much of what I share.]

"...In perils of bee stings, in perils of sunburn, in perils of fevers, in perils of asthma attacks..."

2 Corinthians 11:26 [paraphrased by a camp nurse]

EVERYONE ought to volunteer at kid's camp, at least once! What an incredible opportunity to sow into the lives of what I call "The Church of Today." (I know, some people say that our kids are the church of tomorrow, but when we look at it that way, many times they take on a "tomorrow priority", as well.) Kid's camp is not for the faint at heart. You'd better be ready to go non-stop 24/7 for the 5-7 day duration of your tour of duty!

I had the honor and privilige to volunteer as camp nurse for Spirit Wind Ministries Children's Camp this year. It was my third year with them. Years one and three with children's camp and year two with youth camp. Spirit Wind Ministries was founded by Gene and Judy Smith of Life Community Church in Christiansburg (formerly Christian Growth Center) after the Lord spoke a God-Sized Vision to Gene's Heart in 1983. The first Children's Camp was held in 1989, and since then God has done some truly miraculous things in and through Spirit Wind. We are all looking with expectation for the completion of their camp facilities in the next couple years!

My tour, this year, started at 10:00am on July 30th. This year and last, camp has been held out at Camp Tuk-A-Way off of HWY 460, south of Blacksburg. Pastor Ben, from Delaware, was the Kid's Minister. What a heart for serving God and ministering to kids! And high energy as well. I could tell from the initial Staff/Counselor meeting that we had a group of top-notch people. Everyone was excited and had a great expectation to see God move in the lives of the kids. The kids...they started showing up at around 3:00pm. They were from all over Virginia. Sixty-five 7-11 year-olds! Most of them wanted to be there, but there were a few who, admitedly, did not.

Now, I should have prefaced this post by saying, I'm not a pediatric nurse. In fact, I've always tended to shy away from peds. I hate to admit it, but they've always kind of scared me as a nurse. Their condition can change rapidly without any warning signs, and it's hard to get concrete answers when you're trying to assess them. "Can you describe the pain, honey?" "It hurts." "I know it hurts, but is it a sharp pain, a pressure, or a throbbing pain?" "It just hurts!" Yeah, well...God, you want me to be a Kid's Camp Nurse? Father God does have a sense of humour!

Back to my story (the names of the kids have been changed for confidentiality)...camp ran from Sunday to Friday. Sunday was kind of a laid-back day for the kids...meet you cabin-mates and counselors, enjoy the cookout, and so forth. As the nurse, however, you stay busy from the moment the kids arrive. Checking the Health Questionaires for allergies and medications is tops on the list. The sinking stomach when the parent hands you an Epi-pen and says that Junior's highly allergic to bee stings ("Lord, we're in the WOODS! There's LOTS of bees out here!") Or, "Sally will stop breathing within 10 minutes if she eats pecans." (But, God, we're 20 minutes from the hospital!)

Now, I know, you're probably thinking, "I thought you were a Word of Faith person! How can you think like that?!?" Fifteen-plus years in healthcare...I've seen it all. Now before you think too badly of me, let me say this...Just because those thoughts flashed across my mind, doesn't mean that that was where my faith or confession was. I would certainly never have given voice to those thoughts at the time. My faith, expectation, and confession were that no one would have any serious illnesses or injuries.

[Please join me for part 2 for a look at some of the awesome things God did during my week at camp.]

...Tijuana or Bust!

2006-07-30T01:57:00.000-04:00

Rocky Stanley just left for Mexico yesterday, but, Praise God, we have the opportunity to hear from him with some pre-trip thoughts. The following post was written by Rocky just a couple days before leaving. Remember to keep him in your prayers throughout the next week!

Here's Rocky...

Rocky Stanley’s Mexico trip – July 29 through August 5

I have partnered with Teen Mania Ministries by accepting a position as a missionary advisor for a mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico. We will be leading a group of twenty to thirty teenagers in reaching out with the love of Christ by physically building homes for underprivileged Mexican nationals. During the course of the week we will also be playing sports with Mexican children and working with local pastors to minister the gospel through children’s teaching programs and young adult bible studies.

Some thoughts on missions

God said, " My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge" Hosea 4:6. God also says it is not his will that any should perish; 2 Peter 3:9. As Christians we have the greatest knowledge available to man; the knowledge of how to receive eternal salvation through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. How can we deprive our brothers and sisters of such a wonderful free gift? Jesus said "freely you have received, freely you must give" Matthew 10:8. Jesus also said "neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house" Matthew 5:15

It is our duty as Christians to go out into the world and minister life to people. Jesus said "go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15. It’s the great commission, not the great suggestion! Jesus also said "herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples" John 15:8. Finally, Jesus said this gospel of the kingdom must be preached to all the world before he returns. We’ve been commissioned. We’ve been equipped. We’ve been empowered. Let’s bring glory to God. Lets reach out to the lost. Let’s obey the Lord. What are we waiting for?

With Faith and Patience

2006-07-14T13:51:00.000-04:00

I'm sure there are many of you out there who have heard or sensed the call of God on your life for some particular area of ministry. For me it is missions--for you it may be something else. But after a time, when we don't see it happening as quickly as we are expecting, we begin to question what we think we've heard. "Maybe God didn't really say that." Or, "Maybe He was just testing me, to see if I was willing." I'll admit, I've done that a few (million?) times myself! But sometimes we have to realize that just because He's given the call or promise to us, doesn't mean that the timing is right for it to happen.

I've heard Joyce Meyer say that we live in a "microwave society"; we want it all right now! And when we don't see it manifest within the first few moments, hours, days, or weeks, we are tempted to give up and say that it wasn't really God. Or, worse yet, we complain to Father God. "I don't know why I didn't get to lead the choir (...get to preach in the sanctuary...or get to go on that mission trip). God, it's just not fair! I thought you loved me. You said you'd give me the desires of my heart, and it didn't happen!" [Pout, sniffle, sigh, stomp!]

I really like what James said in James 1:2-4 (KJV):

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

I've thought about that scripture, especially the part that says, "let patience have her perfect work," . How does patience have her perfect work? Let's look at what the author of Hebrews had to say in Hebrews 6:10-15 (AMP): [Bolded Emphasis Mine]

10 For God is not unrighteous to forget or overlook your labor and the love which you have shown for His name's sake in ministering to the needs of the saints (His own consecrated people), as you still do. 11 But we do [strongly and earnestly] desire for each of you to show the same diligence and sincerity [all the way through] in realizing and enjoying the full assurance and development of [your] hope until the end, 12 In order that you may not grow disinterested and become [spiritual] sluggards, but imitators, behaving as do those who through faith (by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises. 13 For when God made [His] promise to Abraham, He swore by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom to swear, 14 Saying, Blessing I certainly will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you. 15 And so it was that he [Abraham], having waited long and endured patiently, realized and obtained [in the birth of Isaac as a pledge of what was to come] what God had promised him.

Did you see what it said!?! Faith people are to put "absolute trust and confidence" in God's power. We can't look at the clock or calendar and say, "Well, God hasn't come through, I guess I'll have to take care of the arrangements myself." (When we do that we end up with an Ishmael situation!) Nor can we say, "It didn't happen, I guess it just wasn't meant to be." And then go off and forget about the call.

In order for patience to have her perfect work, we must not give in to the temptation to give up! I heard someone share her testimony one time and she simply said, "I'm still here! I haven't given up!" It's hard when it seems like we've waited for "forever" and still haven't seen a manifestation of the promise or fulfillment of the call. But Hebrews says that it is "by practice of patient endurance and waiting" that we inherit His promises. The following picture was taken in 1986...TWENTY YEARS AGO...when I was training at Food For the Hungry's Missionary Training Center to do overseas missions and relief work in Africa.
Sandi in "The Kitchen"

At that time the call on my life was already several years old, and I was impatient then. It's twenty years later... I haven't set foot on African soil YET. But the call and the dream are still as fresh as they were 20+ years ago. And I'm Still Here! I haven't given up!

Part 3...Mission Destination: Your Own "Back Yard"

2006-07-10T16:40:00.000-04:00

Well, back to my story which began two posts ago... I actually had part of it written yesterday, but thanks to a computer glitch...Anyway...:{ We headed off towards Mount Rogers to take Romulus back to his truck. During the 2 hour drive there we had a great time talking. Romulus is a Theology Professor at Berry College in Georgia, a ministry candidate in the Episcopal Church, a husband, and father of two children. He'd been homesick and wanted to get back as quickly as possible- thus the shuttle. He could have ridden back with his hiking partner the next day (at no cost), but felt an urgency to go home...by the end of this post you'll see how God moves even when we're clueless! Anyway, Jed, Romulus, and I had an interesting conversation (we had a lot in common), and of course we got to talk about the Lord and how He works in our lives.

During our conversation Romulus asked me if he could send me a check when he got back to Georgia. He didn't have much cash on him, just plastic. Being as I try always to let the Lord lead in regards to shuttle fees, I said that was fine, as long as he could cover my round trip gas before we dropped him off. (He did that plus $30 cash before we left him.) I gave him my address so he could send a check to me. One thing that I've learned over the years is to trust God, not the people to whom I'm ministering, when it comes to finances. If I have a peace about something, it doesn't matter whether or not it looks in the natural like I'm going to come out on top, I always do! You can't out-give God! Anyway, we got to Romulus' truck, prayed with him, and headed back home. That seemed like the end of that story, but God wasn't done yet.

When I got back home around 11:30pm, Tin-Man and Scarecrow were already camped out in the spare room. In the morning I had an opportunity to cook them a good breakfast before they left and then brought them back to the trail about 7:00am. (I had to be in Lexington by 8:00am) Before I'd dropped them off, I'd gotten their email and blog information, and later that evening I logged on to check out their blog entries for the trip. I'm going to share an excerpt from it and the comment that I was able to make in response. I mostly minister to people by Love in Action, but in this caase I was able to share a little of my heart in words, too. Here's part of Scarecrow's blog entry:

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Trail Magic comes knocking.
There's a little thing called "trail magic" out here, and it comes in many forms. A gallon jug full of water sitting on the trail in a dry stretch, a surprise cooler of sodas and juice, even a fresh pizza delivery straight to a shelter or campsite around dinnertime. You never quite know when it's coming, but we've found there to be an endless source of trail angels out here to provide such welcome surprises. Don't have much time, and I'll hope to give a bit more explanation later, but I'm sitting at the computer of such a trail angel right now, by far the most helpful and generous we've encountered, Mouse's Motor. She lives in Salem, VA, and what started as a half mile lift back to the road ended up as multiple shuttles around the area, a warm and dry place to stay for the night (shower! i got to shower!), and a hot breakfast of sausage and eggs. Might we upgrade this to "trail miracle"? Think so. .... For now, we're happy, healthy, clean and dry, and immensely grateful to Mouse's Motor!!!

I was surprised to find myself (Mouse's Motor) as the topic of her journal entry, but it gave me an opening to minister. Here is part of what I was able to comment in response:

Sandi said...
Hey, Tinman and Scarecrow,I didn't expect to be the topic of your post- I'm only one of MANY people who are blessed by meeting people such as the two of you. My pastor preaches that, as Christians, we are blessed to be a blessing. That's what I strive to be to those around me. It's not saying much if you just do something for someone with expectations of getting something in return. When the experiences of your hike are just a distant memory, I pray that the knowledge of God's love for you will live on strong in your hearts. Anything good that I am or do is all because of Jesus.

Their lives have been touched by the Lord, and I believe that the seed sown into their lives will not return void.

I know I'm running long again, but I've got to get back to "the rest of the story" on Romulus. I went to the mailbox a couple days ago, and there was a letter from Romulus. The following is an excerpt from the letter:

6/27

Dear Sandi,

Thanks again for giving me a ride to my truck last Friday night. I was really eager to get home and you made that possible. My cell phone battery was basically dead, but I was able to check one message as I drove & learned from it that a friend of mine had died (not unexpectedly) & that the funeral was Saturday at 11:00. With the help of Coca-Cola, I drove all the way back, arriving about 3:30AM, & could therefore go to his funeral. That made getting back that much more important to me.

There was more to the letter, but that was the gist of it. It's an awesome thing to see how God orchestrates our steps to bring something together for someone when they don't even know they need it done. It was important to Daddy, God, that Romulus make it to his friend's funeral, because it would be important to Romulus. Oh, yeah, he was true to his word about sending me a check. In with the letter, which itself is priceless to me because it represents God's love and caring for his children, was a check for $100, which was a total blessing to Jed and I.

I stand in awe of the one who created each one of us. The one who knows the numbers of the hairs on my head, the one who cares about even the sparrow when it falls. Pastor always says, "We are blessed to be a blessing." And that is true. But it's a circle, because we are also blessed while being a blessing.

There's a story about a little boy who's walking on a beach. The beach is literally covered with starfish that had been washed up on the sand. As a man watches, the little boy picks up one starfish after another and throws each one back into the ocean. Finally, the man walks over and says, "Young man, you know you can't save all these starfish. There are just too many of them." The boy smiles as he reaches down and picks up one and then another. He turns to the man and replies, "No, I may not be able to save all of them, but I can save this one...and this one...and this one."

If we each reach out to "this one...and this one", all of those people whom God places in our paths, together we can impact OUR OWN "BACK YARD" for Christ. My heart for "Back Yard" ministry is in Trail Ministry...Yours might be the Moms at your child's school, the kids who play basketball down the street, or the guys at work. Be prayerful, be sensitive. If God could use a donkey, a raven, a fish, and even ME, I know he can use you, too! Grace and Peace!

Mission Destination: Our Own "Back Yard"...Part 2- Tin-Man, Scarecrow, and Romulus

2006-07-10T14:21:00.000-04:00

Wow, time sure does fly! I didn't plan to take so long to post Part 2. But I've got more to add, so that's OK. In my last post, I had started to introduce you to the Trail Ministry that I've been able to do since 1998, and I was going to share some of the things that the Lord has done in the last month. Please read that last post before you finish reading this one.

My previous post mentioned giving rides to thru-hikers and even taking them home with you. Keep in mind, I'm speaking specifically about Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers, NOT ordinary hitch-hikers (although I've picked up many of them, also) or other people groups. And remember my disclaimer: I only do things as led by the Holy Spirit. Some people I just smile at and drive on by!

The first group of hikers I want to share about includes a couple who stayed with me the night of June 23 and another hiker I picked up that same day. (That was during the several-day stretch of torrential rain that we got last month.) Earlier that day I had given short rides to several hikers...trail to store and store to trail. Two of those hikers were Tin-Man and Scarecrow (a.k.a. Andy and Lauren in the "real-world".) They had asked if I knew of anyplace to stay in the area, and I'd mentioned that The Homeplace in Catawba lets hikers camp out after 8:00pm and sleep on the gazeboes. In all, our conversation lasted all of about 5 minutes. About 15 minutes after I'd dropped them off, I realized...Duh! They could stay at my place! I drove to the next place where the trail would cross a road and left "Trail Mail"- a note in a Ziploc bag- hanging on the stile that crossed over the fence there. My note said I'd be at the NEXT road crossing at approx. 4:30-5:00 and that they could stay at my place.

I arrived about 15 minutes later than I'd planned, and they weren't there. A quick check of the trail register (~0.10 mile back down the trail) showed that they had already come through, so I headed down Catawba Mountain. I found them partway down and gave them a ride to The Homeplace. It wasn't raining much right then, so they said they'd stay there for the night. When I left them I went back to the first little store in Catawba, picked up two guys, Romulus (Harvey) and Coyote Paul (Jeff), and dropped them off at The Homeplace. As Romulus got out he asked if I did any long distance Professional Trail Shuttles (providing rides for hikers for a fee) and I said, "Sure!" He had just completed a section hike on the AT and his truck was parked at Mount Rogers. I made arrangements to come back later that evening and pick him up to shuttle him to his truck.

Normally, I call my son first to check his availability to ride with me when it's a guy, but I had a peace when I answered and I was sure Jed would be available (and he was). When Jed and I came back later to get Romulus, it was raining pretty hard and blowing. Even the protection of the gazeboes was not enough to keep the hikers dry. Tin-Man and Scarecrow came over to see if my offer was still good, so all three hikers and packs were loaded into the car. On the way to my place I learned that Tin-Man worked for the US Patent and Trademark Office for 3 1/2 years and that Scarecrow had just graduated from Yale. I dropped Tin-Man and Scarecrow off at my place, explained the idiosyncrasies of my shower knobs, showed them where the internet was, gave them the spare house key, and headed out towards Mount Rogers.

Well, I've gone long again, so I'm ending this post...in hopes that I've drawn enough of your interest that you'll read the next one...and I'll finish my story in Part 3.

Mission Destination: Our Own "Back Yard"- Part 1

2006-06-29T03:29:00.000-04:00

In my original post I talked about the mission field being anywhere that we are at. In the last week I've had an opportunity to minister in my own little corner of the world. Pastor Eddie often says, "We are blessed to be a blessing!" I believe that that's true. And, I've also read Matthew 25:

35For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you brought Me together with yourselves and welcomed and entertained and lodged Me, 36 I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me with help and ministering care, I was in prison and you came to see Me. 37Then the just and upright will answer Him, Lord, when did we see You hungry and gave You food, or thirsty and gave You something to drink? 38And when did we see You a stranger and welcomed and entertained You, or naked and clothed You? 39And when did we see You sick or in prison and came to visit You? 40And the King will reply to them, Truly I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of the least in the estimation of men] of these My brethren, you did it for Me. [AMP.]

Well, Praise God, there are food pantries, clothing rooms, hospital visitation ministries, and prison ministries in almost every larger town or city. But there's another part to what Jesus said. And that's the portion of that scripture that I've taken on over the years as a part of my own personal ministry. It's the part where Jesus said, "I was a stranger and you brought Me together with yourselves and welcomed and entertained and lodged Me."

Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows that I love to hike and backpack. Completing the 2,170+ miles of the Appalachian Trail is STILL on my "TO DO" List (With almost 600 miles of it done, I have only about 1,600 miles left!). What many people don't know, though, is that I combine that love with an opportunity to minister the Gospel as well. No, I don't carry a pulpit out to the trail crossings, but I do impact nations. Every year over 2,000 people either go to Springer Mountain, GA and attempt to hike the AT to Mt. Katahdin, ME or start in Maine and work their way south. They come from all over the world and from every aspect of society. And they are a virtually untapped mission field.

If you live close to the AT you've probably seen them...scraggly, sweaty, smelly. And they have weird names, like Sundance, Frisco Kid, 10 Bulls, and so forth. [Or even weirder ones like my Trail Name, which is Mouse's Motor! Yeah, there's a story behind it!] Yep! Yep! Yep! That's a Thru-Hiker! What an opportunity! Since 1998 my kids and I have ministered to hikers as, what they call, "Trail Angels" doing "Trail Magic" [Don't let the name freak you out!]. What it actually is, is being a living example of the Love of God and the Hand of God in action.

Being a Trail Angel can mean anything from leaving some cold sodas in a cooler at a road crossing to...loading a smelly hiker in your car to give him or her a lift into town or back to the trail...or even to bringing one or two (or more) of them home with you for the night [Disclaimer: ONLY as you are led by the Holy Spirit!.] Offering a hot shower, a non-Ramen noodles meal, and a dry/safe place to stay. In the last week I've been blessed to host three such hikers in my home overnight, and I've given rides to several others. In the process, I just live out my life, and my walk with God, in front of them, like I always do.

This post is getting kind of long, so I'll make this "Part 1" of a two part post. In "Part 2" I'll introduce you to the hikers to whom I was able to minister. I know you'll be blessed by the way God ministered in each case.

Update on Shipping of Medical Supplies and Equipment & Update on Tentative Departure Dates

2006-06-29T02:01:00.000-04:00

God is such an awesome God! The 40-foot shipping container is full of medical supplies and equipment, donated from across the country. We are certainly going to impact en entire nation for Christ! Opportunity for Harvest: Due to the amount and weight of the items being shipped, there has been a slight delay in the container being shipped overseas. We continue to thank God in advance for a manifestation of the $10,000 needed to cover the shipping expenses...a.k.a. an opportunity for all of us to sow Our good seed into very good ground!

It takes 4 - 4 1/2 months for the container to make it's journey once it leaves Tucson. It will travel by rail or truck to the Pacific Coast, where it will be loaded onto a huge cargo ship. From there it will travel to the coast of Africa, to Kenya. From the coast of Kenya it will travel by land through Kenya to Kampala, Uganda. It's a long journey, but the shipment will have such a tremendous impact once everything arrives.

That having been said, I'll update everyone on the other topic of this post...our Tentative Departure Dates. I've heard it said that much of Missions has to do with Patience on the part of the missionaries. That was confirmed even more strongly for me tonight as I (Finally!!!) got to watch End of the Spear. Since many of you may not have seen the movie, I'll do a quick synopsis of it. It is the true story of the Waodani Tribe in Ecuador, the five missionaries who gave their lives trying to share the gospel with them, and the spouses, sister, and children of the missionaries who went in after the massacre to finish the work that their loved ones had begun. Years later, the man who had killed one of the missionaries was led to the Lord by the missionary's son. The missionary's son later moved his wife and children down to Ecuador to live with the very person who'd speared his dad to death.

What a tremendous example of Patience on the part of the missionary wives and children. Trusting that one day the work that was started would produce a harvest of changed lives. I've said all that [...Because I like to talk? No! <Although, I do like to talk :0) >], but because I am learning a lesson in patience through all of this.

We have been given the awesome responsibility of training the Life Link Clinic staff in the use of the Cardiac Monitors, the Blood Gas Machines, and the other equipment that is being shipping there. Even though they are very well trained in what they do, they have never had access to the type of equipment that's been donated. It is critical that WE be the ones to set up the equipment, so that it is done properly. And that we have adequate time to hold training sessions. Well, if the equipment isn't there when we're there, then we can't do that.

Depending on the exact shipping date and transit time, it looks like we're moving our departure date back to November. That's actually a blessing to me, despite my initial response (groaning) at the delay...there's a few "Toys" I'm sowing for before I go over there (...a good digital camera, laptop computer--to post pics and info to the Blog while we're there, etc...). So, I'm applying the lesson that Pastor Eddie taught on yesterday evening: Being Positive in a Negative World. But, what I want to know is...has someone been praying for patience for me?!? Thanks alot! ;-p

Pictures from Pastor Solomon Mwesige's Visit to VWM in June 2006

2006-06-22T03:52:00.000-04:00

Pastor Solomon Mwesige ministering at Valley Word Ministries
Pastor Eddie, Pastor Debbie, and Pastor Solomon

Uganda Missions 2006: Where We're Going and Why

2006-06-21T23:36:00.000-04:00

During the last two weeks of September 2006, a team of highly-skilled, anointed, on-fire-for-God (and did I mention Humble?) people from the Roanoke Valley will embark upon a Life-Changing Adventure of Epic Proportions! OK, so maybe I've watched a little too much LOTR or such lately, but it will be an adventure. And it will certainly be life-changing for those of us who are going.

We are partnered with FCCI (Faith Community Churches International) and Good News Ministries in Kampala, Uganda. The medical part of our team will assist the staff of the Life Link Clinic in Kampala, treating up to 400 people per day. The construction part of our team will work on "The Chicken/ Fishpond Project". This project will provide chickens, eggs, fish, irrigation for crops, and an extra income for an entire village.

Just a little over a week ago we were able to ship over $200,000 worth of supplies to a central staging area at Faith Community Church in Tucson, AZ where other churches have also shipped supplies. From there the supplies will travel in a 40ft shipping container, first by land and then by sea to Africa. The cost of overseas shipping is $10,000. We know that that sum is no problem for the God who "owns the cattle on a thousand hills."

If you are led to partner with us in the shipping costs, cost of "The Chicken/Fishpond Project", or our other missions expenses, such as airfare, lodging, immunizations (Ouch!), etc., please email us at Uganda2006@valleywordministries.org or phone us at (540) 562-1500. We will provide details on how you may sow your finances into this awesome mission trip and have a part in the harvest of souls that we will see brought into the Kingdom.

My Mission...Which I've Chosen to Accept!

2006-06-21T21:33:00.000-04:00

Well, this is the start of a new adventure for me. But, as (like most women) I love to talk... I think I'll survive! The intent of this Blog is two-fold:

To share with the rest of the world what Valley Word Ministries is doing in the area of fulfilling the Great Commission.
To encourage others to step out and take their own part in fulfilling it.

As I start out, I'm not really sure what shape this Blog will eventually take, but I know that, as with any work in progress, there may be challenges to overcome and changes that need to be made.

My Pastors have a Vision for an Extended Church. One that reaches far beyond the walls of our building that's located at 1928 Loch Haven Drive in Roanoke, Virginia. An Extended Church that reaches, not only across our own city and state, but across oceans and borders, as well, to touch the World with the Love and Power of Jesus Christ. It is a Vision to "rescue and equip a generation for the harvest."

As I share things with you in future posts, I have to fall back on what the Apostle Paul said, I'm not coming with fancy words and man's wisdom [my paraphrase]. I'm coming with a desire to see the Lord Jesus glorified and lifted up and to excite YOU to become involved in missions wherever you are. Remember, the "Mission Field" begins in your own back yard, down the block, at the Wal-Mart, and in your workplace.

We're all called to be witnesses [ Acts 1:8 ] and ambassadors [ 2 Corinthians 5:20 ] for Christ . A witness simply tells what he or she has seen, heard, or experienced first hand. We can all do that. Now, to be an ambassador is different. An ambassador is "A diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and accredited as representative in residence by one government or sovereign to another."

God has appointed YOU as His diplomatic official to represent the Kingdom of God here in the World. With that Appointment comes the Authority that the position carries with it. The U.S. Ambassador to, for example, France doesn't have any authority on his own, but the title and position to which he's been appointed Gives Him Authority. But, as Christians, we don't just have government-given authority. Jesus said in Matthew 28:17-19 (King James Version):

17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [Emphasis mine]

In other words, He said, "God's given Me all power, and I'm giving it to YOU. You go and teach..." How can we go wrong with God's authority in and over our lives?

Well, I hope I haven't [as Pastor Eddie says] "quit preachin' and gone to meddlin' !" But, I believe that as you journey with us, you will be inspired to step out into whatever mission field you have been called, armed with the knowledge that you can impact your corner of the world for Christ.