Back from the Coast (Jan '09)
Thanks for all of the prayers. We made it back safe and sound. Also, everything at the house seemed to be in order. PTL!
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January 31, 2009
January 30, 2009
FROM MOMBASA (2009)
If all goes according to plan, we will be making the drive from Mombasa to Moshi tomorrow morning. Along the way we will stop at Nakumatt Nyali to do some shopping. Please pray that all will go well on the roads, at the border, and with our arrival home. Thanks!
January 29, 2009
NEWS FROM NAFTARY (01/2009)
Pastor John Naftary's works in Bariadi, Shinyanga, are going well. This Tanzanian church planter is always on the go. He is overseeing three churches, which keeps him hopping. Recently, he was able to buy a motorcycle to assist him with his preaching circuit. John is solely supported by seven churches in East Africa.
Please pray for this dear servant of the Lord when he comes to your mind. Thanks!
January 27, 2009
THE FOUNDATION OF A PARSONAGE IN LAMADI
I am praising the Lord because the foundation of the parsonage in Lamadi was completed this weekend. Pastor Joas is very excited about having a residence where he will not have to be troubled with rent. It is also a strong statement to the community that Rehema Baptist Church is there to stay!
Joas has been able to see three new faces in the congregation lately. These three men are from Lamadi, but had been away in Musoma for a period of time. When they returned to their village, they were delighted to see the church near their homes. Joas is elated that these men have volunteered a good amount of their time and energy to help him complete the foundation. PTL! During the month of February we will be transferring funds from PARSONAGES FOR PASTORS to Joas's bank account so that he can start laying the block for the walls.
January 25, 2009
WAGONER WEEKLY 090125
The Schultzes and we are conducting services in Mombasa, while the Kingereka faithful hold down the fort at International Baptist Church. Brother Majaliwa will be teaching during the Sunday School hour. He also has additional faith promise commitment cards for anyone who may need them. Please pray that next week, February 1, we will have a considerable promise from our people who will be engaging in protracted missions giving for the first time. It is so exciting to be involved with young believers who are applying biblical principles to their lives.
The church will be blessed with a visiting speaker, also. A preacher from the Baptist Bible Church next door to our house, Moses, will be bringing the Sunday morning message.
(NOTE: I am speaking in the future tense because... I am drafting this post before leaving for Mombasa. If anything out of the ordinary happens I will update you next week.)
January 24, 2009
TO MOMBASA (2009)
We are heading to Mombasa. We are going with our friends, the BJ Schultz family, for some relief from the Moshi dust! LOL We always enjoy these opportunities to pull back and take a look at what the Lord has been doing in our lives and ministry while praying about that which lies ahead.
There may also be an opportunity to begin a new ministry near the hotel where we stay. One of the security officers made a profession of faith last year after receiving a Romans booklet form Bro. Schultz. On my last visit to Mombasa I visited him and his wife in their home and asked him to find out if there were any other Bible believing churches in the immediate area.
On a family fun note... We are so hoping that the dolphins are still close to the shore. We have heard reports that they are. It would be such a blast to see these friendly fins frolicking in the water.
We would appreciate your prayers as we travel on the treacherous East African roads. Thanks!
January 22, 2009
MARTIN, Martin
In our devotion time this evening we sang Blessed Assurance followed by A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. The second hymn was written by the Father of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. So... I took the opportunity to see if any of the kids knew anything about him. I should not have been surprised, but was a bit, when Abigail began to relate what she had learned in a recent history class. (I'm just the homeschool principal, I don't know exactly what all they are learning. LOL!) She says, "He became a Monk after he prayed to Saint Anne to save him during a thunderstorm. He posted his 95 Theses on a chapel door. He disagreed with Catholicism's doctrine of transubstantiation. He had to diguise himself because some people wanted to kill him. He was the Father of the Protestant Reformation." WOW! Pretty good, girl. I asked some other questions...
"What did his dad want him to be?" "A lawyer.", replied Joseph. We were all amazed, but he admitted it was a lucky guess.
I taught the children that though we are thankful that Luther was enlightened to salvation by grace through faith, he had a very contemptible view of Baptist believers. He saw our Baptist forefathers as a radical band of heretics who deserved what they got. (Many were martyred by drowning or by being burnt alive.)
A very light moment came when I asked if anyone knew the name of Martin Luther's friend who organized Lutheranism. After a moment of brief silence I told them his name was Phillip Melanchthon. Joseph, very inquisitively, probed... "Was he black too?" The devotion time was over at that point... as the room erupted with laughter! Through the chuckling we let Joe know that Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, Jr. were two different men!
January 21, 2009
A Call from Pastor Delphinus on Daudi's Ministry
Pastor Delphinus informed me that three souls were saved this week in Daudi's ministry. Thank you for praying for this work that we told you about on December 18th.
January 20, 2009
MORE PIX FROM SUNDAY, January 18, 2009
Passed this pick-up on the way to church. Check out the Big Ole' Catfish hangin' off the right side!
Mama John, Esta, and Anna receiving their Baptismal Certificates.
January 19, 2009
WAGONER WEEKLY 090118
This Sunday started with an electrical power outage and ended in like manner, but... in between we saw some powerful evidences of God's presence @ INTERNATIONAL BAPTIST CHURCH - KINGEREKA!!
At 7a I had to fire up the generator so that Paige, the kids, and I could finish making our preparations for Sunday morning church. I was excited about the Faith Promise commitment cards I was printing off for 2009. With the power issues, I thought we would be late getting to the church; however, we were able to arrive before Sunday School was completely finished.
Today was our second week of messages on Stewardship. I explained the Faith Promise commitment cards as well as the envelope tithing method we would be using in 2009. The people really seem to be excited about this giving plan. Almost everyone came forward during the invitation to pray over their Faith Promise commitment cards. Amen! Please pray that we will have a great Victory Sunday on February 1st when the Faith Promise commitment cards are collected. (We are hoping for a promise of at least 100,000/=, or $80.)
Following the service, there were two other matters of ministry that we tended to as a congregation... First, we meandered over to Mama John's property. She acquired a plot of land about 1/2 a kilometer from the church and is building a house. We held a brief service of prayer and dedication for her property and construction. After that, we all made our way to Brother Nasson's house. He and his wife were blessed with a baby girl, Esta, in September. His wife, Anna, got very sick after the delivery, but is better now. PTL! When we arrived at the house, we conducted another short service on behalf of blessing Baby Esta. We also enjoyed some sweet fellowship and laughter around a meal of pilau and meat the family prepared for us! (Pilau is a Semi-Spicy Swahili Style Rice Dish.)
We made it home in the early afternoon and the power was still out. No problem... I started the generator... again. However, at 10p I had to re-fuel the generator and it wouldn't start. Ugh! Thankfully, the power company came at 1a and reconnected us to a functional power line.
January 18, 2009
GREAT NEWS FROM GERVAS!
Pastor Gervas Bugabola, Independent Baptist Church - Igoma, informed me that they baptized eight new converts @ his church today. Praise God! This church is the second church we ever started... way back in February 1999. Last year, the church went through some turbulent times (For more information, click on "Continue Reading" wich follows this post), so... It is a great joy to see the Lord working there. He also told me that there have been 25 professions of faith since the start of the New Year.
Dr. Bill Brouwer, our fellow BIMI missionary, has been assisting Pastor Gervas during Wednesday afternoon soul-winning efforts. Dr. Brouwer has also been preaching through the book of Revelation in Igoma on Wednesdays.
March 3, 2008
AN UPRISING
Your prayers will be much appreciated for a situation in the second church we ever started - The Independent Baptist Church of Igoma. Some of the people have risen up in defiance against the pastor (Whom they elected, btw.), seeking to oust him from his place of leadership. They have no grounds of any immoral action on his part. Their actions do not demonstrate any resemblence as to something of the fruit of the Spirit.
We are asking Pastor Gervas Bugabola to stand his ground and continue serving in the office of pastor for, at least, two reasons: (1) It is the right thing to do; (2) If he submits to this unreasonable request, the fallout could be very harmful to the stability of the other Independent Baptist churches.
Please pray that the Corinthian Spirit, which seems to be ruling over the Igoma assembly, will soon give way to the Holy Spirit of God.
Posted by Greg at 9:53 PM
March 4, 2008
AN UPRISING, part 2
After several phone calls and much prayer there is a plan of action in place for calming the recent trouble in Igoma. Pastors John Naftary and Joas Kibaba will be going to Igoma on Friday and meet with those who possess the spirit Korah. They will try to reason with each one, individually, from the Scriptures and a mind of spiritual sense. On Sunday there will be a meeting without Pastor Gervas present in order to persuade the people to follow the man of God. Hopefully, the outcome will redound unto the glory of God.
Please keep praying.
Posted by Greg at 5:56 PM
January 16, 2009
PRAYERLETTER - January '09
January 15, 2009
Not Enough Wings
Abigail had to catch us, and I had to catch them. We were talking about a movie. We thought about fairies first, and then we thought about elves, because there weren't enough wings. We had fun at the playground.
January 14, 2009
Yesterdays Playground Fun
Yesterday, I went to the playground with Abigail, Christine, and my Dad. We played "jail" until we got tired. Then, we sat down to rest. Then, Abigail thought of something to do. She thought of making a movie! We came up with names and then it was time to go home. We had a lot of fun!!
This is what Joseph was doing when we left...
He was tired from watching the Steelers playoff game and fell asleep doing his homework.
January 13, 2009
Uhuru Playground & Movie Inspiration
This evening, Dad went to meet Pastor John Naftary at a hotel called Uhuru. He asked Susanna, Christine, and me if we wanted to go play on the playground there. We said that we did. So... We got in the car and drove a couple of blocks to the hotel.
When we got there, we girls headed for the playground. Dad followed us, and Pastor John joined dad not much later. First, we just swung and climbed the monkey bars. Then, when we did not want to do that anymore, we played a game of cops & robbers, the robbers had escaped from jail. We all took turns being the police. By the time we finished, it was getting dark. That was when I came up with the idea of making a movie! (I will tell you if it was a brilliant idea after we have finished production.)
I told the girls about my idea, and we immediately set our minds to coming up with names for the characters. Originally, it was going to be about fairies, but... due to the lack of fairy costumes, we had to switch to elves. LOL! I would love to tell about the plot and all the little "thingies" involved in the movie, but, that would take way too long. Also, wish us luck as this will be an unscripted production! I will try to keep you up-to-date as we begin shooting.
January 12, 2009
Here We Go Steelers! (2009)
The Pittsburgh Steelers put it on the San Diego Chargers @ Heinz Field yesterday. The Chargers started out hot with a 41 yard touchdown pass from Phillip Rivers to Vincent Jackson. But, the Steelers soon responded with a punt return for a touchdown by Santonio Holmes. From then on it was ALL Steelers, especially, the 3rd quarter when the Chargers only had :17 seconds of possession. The Steelers won 35-24, but it really wasn't that close.
January 11, 2009
WAGONER WEEKLY 090111
I woke up unusually early today. As I sat up in bed, I had a sense that we were in for a special day at International Baptist Church in Kingereka. I put my final thoughts on paper and knew that the people would respond to this first of two messages on Stewardship. The Kingereka faithful have already shown themselves to be generous givers; therefore, introducing them to missions giving, is going to provide another opportunity for them to prove the sincerity of their love.
When we arrived at church, I was delighted to see almost all of our regulars in attendance with others making their way to the building. This is the first day I can recall (without checking attendance records) that our attendance has been over 40. PTL! After a lively song service, the people honed in on the message. The main emphasis was the act of giving is to be motivated by love, the same type of love that moved God to give His Son. We touched on tithing, faith promise missions giving, and other offerings. I challenged the church to be ready to give a faith promise commitment on February 1st. Please pray... I am hoping that we can see a total promise of at least 100,000 Tanzanian Shillings for 2009. (That is about $76 US.)
During the invitation, I was delighted to see Filemoni put down his song book, and make his way to the altar. I greeted him and asked why he had come forward. His reply was - "Ningependa kumpokea Yesu awe Mwokozi wangu." ("I would like to receive Jesus as my personal Savior.") Brother B.J. then led Filemoni through the plan of salvation and the sinner's prayer!
This was a good day to wake up early. It was a good day to be in church. Today, something special happened in Kingereka!
January 7, 2009
The Kids See Grandpa Harry @ JKIA
If you liked yesterday's video, this one will not disappoint. After Paige and Harry said "Hello." We brought the kids into the airport to see Grandpa.
DISCLAIMER: The other video thumbnails that appear in the box after viewing this clip are advertisements for various videos on You Tube. Therefore, some of the content may be objectionable and/or offensive. Please know the only video we are endorsing is the one involving our family.
January 6, 2009
SWEET REUNION - BIRTHDAY SURPRISE
I hope you enjoy this video which I finally got uploaded on You Tube. To set the scene for you...
Paige's dad, Harry, paid her and the kids a surprise visit last year around the time of 3 birthdays. (Paige, 9/26; Joseph 9/29; Abigail 10/4) We are picking him up at the airport in Nairobi. Amazingly... Harry's arrival coincided with a trip to Nairobi which we had already planned. Still setting the scene... Again, Amazingly... Some new missionaries in Tanzania had arrived that day on an earlier flight. So... I staged a phone call with Rob Howell, a veteran church planter, with whom the new missionaries would be working. During the phone call, I would offer to help them out by going to collect 2 pieces of luggage which did not make their flight. (They did arrive with all of their bags ;-)
When we arrived at the airport I went in to "collect the baggage." Well, when Harry's flight arrived and he had cleared customs, I asked him to wait while I went to get Paige (who was patiently waiting in the car with the kids). I told her that the airport authorities wanted a copy of my passport which was in her purse. (That's why she is looking through her purse.) As she is looking in her purse for a copy of my passport... Well... enjoy the clip...
DISCLAIMER: The other video thumbnails that appear in the box after viewing this clip are advertisements for various videos on You Tube. Therefore, some of the content may be objectionable and/or offensive. Please know the only video we are endorsing is the one involving our family.
January 5, 2009
To Chemka with Tanners
On Friday, our family headed out to meet up with our friends, the Tanners. We went to a swimming hole that was filled by hot springs, so the water was not cold, but just right. When we got there, the first thing we did that was really interesting was jump out of a tree about 25 feet above the water. The hardest part about doing that was getting up the tree. When I finally got up there, I made sure to jump really fast so I wouldn't think about what I was about to do! Once I jumped, the rest was fun. I even went again!
After that we got out and had a picnic lunch. Once our food had digested, we got back in. When we were back in the dads rigged up a swing with a really long rope and stick. After making several adjustments we were all lining up to try it. For the last hour we were there, the line was always long, and almost everyone tried a backflip, dive, or spin. Well, then it was time to pack up and, for me, time to go to a sleepover.
Once we got to En-Gedi, Arusha, the compound where the Tanners were staying, everyone pitched in to help get dinner ready. (Chicken and rice... yum! yum!) After that we tried to decide what we kids wanted to do more: play Mission Impossible or watch Prince Caspian. Eventually, Prince Caspian won. So we gathered in the living room, set up the projector, and watched our movie. After that we went to bed.
The next morning we had breakfast, then did some chores assigned to us. When that was done we invented a new game called Enemy Alert. Since it is too hard to explain all the rules, I will just say it was a mix of Capture the Flag and Kick the Can. We played that until my family came to pick me up. I had a great time, and I hope I might be able to do it some other time in the distant future.
January 4, 2009
WAGONER WEEKLY 090104
This New Year got started off right @ International Baptist Church in Kingereka! For me, it was probably the most encouraging service we had at this young church. Most of our regulars were in attendance, which was a blessing. Brother BJ taught a Sunday School lesson from the book of Mark, and his wife, Cathy, was singing with the children when my family and I arrived. Following Sunday School the morning worship began. The Lord gave me an opportunity to preach a message which I have been wanting to deliver for many years, but never had opportunity... "and He made the stars also." (Gen. 1:16) The people received the message with joy and were challenged to be like the stars in three areas:
1.) Sing to God!
2.) Send the Light!
3.) Stick Together!
After the service we chartered the church by receiving eight official members of International Baptist Church. Amen! Please pray that this congregation will grow as new people move into this up and coming village.
Once the charter members were received, we all moved outside where Brother B.J. baptized four believers: Anna, Esta, Helena, and Mama John.
January 3, 2009
The Twin Babies Next Door Turn 2
On December 31st was the babies birthday next door. (They are the twin babies of the Pastor of Bible Baptist Church - Kilimanjaro.) They were two on that day. I took a cake over there for their birthday, and a present. One baby, Mariamu, started eating one piece after another. It was really funny watching her. The other baby, Miriamu, wasn't so sure about the cake until she tried it, then she was like her sister... eating as much as she could! I had a lot of fun!!
January 2, 2009
An Unbeliever's Perspective of Missionaries in Africa
The following article was written by Matthew Parris of THE TIMES, London, U.K...
As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God
Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's biggest problem - the crushing passivity of the people's mindset...
Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it's Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.
It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I've been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I've been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.
Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.
I used to avoid this truth by applauding - as you can - the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.
But this doesn't fit the facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.
First, then, the observation. We had friends who were missionaries, and as a child I stayed often with them; I also stayed, alone with my little brother, in a traditional rural African village. In the city we had working for us Africans who had converted and were strong believers. The Christians were always different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world - a directness in their dealings with others - that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall.
At 24, travelling by land across the continent reinforced this impression. From Algiers to Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic, then right through the Congo to Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya, four student friends and I drove our old Land Rover to Nairobi.
We slept under the stars, so it was important as we reached the more populated and lawless parts of the sub-Sahara that every day we find somewhere safe by nightfall. Often near a mission.
Whenever we entered a territory worked by missionaries, we had to acknowledge that something changed in the faces of the people we passed and spoke to: something in their eyes, the way they approached you direct, man-to-man, without looking down or away. They had not become more deferential towards strangers - in some ways less so - but more open.
This time in Malawi it was the same. I met no missionaries. You do not encounter missionaries in the lobbies of expensive hotels discussing development strategy documents, as you do with the big NGOs. But instead I noticed that a handful of the most impressive African members of the Pump Aid team (largely from Zimbabwe) were, privately, strong Christians. “Privately” because the charity is entirely secular and I never heard any of its team so much as mention religion while working in the villages. But I picked up the Christian references in our conversations. One, I saw, was studying a devotional textbook in the car. One, on Sunday, went off to church at dawn for a two-hour service.
It would suit me to believe that their honesty, diligence and optimism in their work was unconnected with personal faith. Their work was secular, but surely affected by what they were. What they were was, in turn, influenced by a conception of man's place in the Universe that Christianity had taught.
There's long been a fashion among Western academic sociologists for placing tribal value systems within a ring fence, beyond critiques founded in our own culture: “theirs” and therefore best for “them”; authentic and of intrinsically equal worth to ours.
I don't follow this. I observe that tribal belief is no more peaceable than ours; and that it suppresses individuality. People think collectively; first in terms of the community, extended family and tribe. This rural-traditional mindset feeds into the “big man” and gangster politics of the African city: the exaggerated respect for a swaggering leader, and the (literal) inability to understand the whole idea of loyal opposition.
Anxiety - fear of evil spirits, of ancestors, of nature and the wild, of a tribal hierarchy, of quite everyday things - strikes deep into the whole structure of rural African thought. Every man has his place and, call it fear or respect, a great weight grinds down the individual spirit, stunting curiosity. People won't take the initiative, won't take things into their own hands or on their own shoulders.
How can I, as someone with a foot in both camps, explain? When the philosophical tourist moves from one world view to another he finds - at the very moment of passing into the new - that he loses the language to describe the landscape to the old. But let me try an example: the answer given by Sir Edmund Hillary to the question: Why climb the mountain? “Because it's there,” he said.
To the rural African mind, this is an explanation of why one would not climb the mountain. It's... well, there. Just there. Why interfere? Nothing to be done about it, or with it. Hillary's further explanation - that nobody else had climbed it - would stand as a second reason for passivity.
Christianity, post-Reformation and post-Luther, with its teaching of a direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God, unmediated by the collective, and unsubordinate to any other human being, smashes straight through the philosphical/spiritual framework I've just described. It offers something to hold on to to those anxious to cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.
Those who want Africa to walk tall amid 21st-century global competition must not kid themselves that providing the material means or even the knowhow that accompanies what we call development will make the change. A whole belief system must first be supplanted.
And I'm afraid it has to be supplanted by another. Removing Christian evangelism from the African equation may leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete.
January 1, 2009
The Hat Says It All...
