Tag Archives: James 4:15

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Seven years ago, Cindy and I responded to the call to become foreign missionaries and made a seven-year plan that would see us finally on the ground in Uganda, East Africa. The seventh year is here! Seven years ago we made our intentions public. We called things that are not as though they are, and now the seeds we cultivated are budding and will be in full bloom very soon. 

Three days ago I tendered my resignation from the hospital that has been my second home since July 17, 2017. My last day in the E.R. will be April 14th, exactly seven years since we prepared to board a plane for Uganda the first time. Since I notified my coworkers of  intentions, I’ve had to answer a lot of questions, the answers to some of which are still up in the air. 

"I tendered my resignation from the hospital"

Since I count on those of you who read this to be in prayer for us, I will fill you in on our human plans so far. In keeping with the teaching of James, I will not be so vain as to say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there…” (James 4:13-15*). We are responsible, however, to plot our course for the Lord to direct our steps (Proverbs 16:9*), and here I will articulate the general course we have set. 

God willing… I will travel alone to Uganda April 24th, spend six weeks at a mission in Karuma, helping where I can, and assessing where Cindy and I can best be used in that mission. I will return June 5th, and spend the next several months in resource development, recruiting the mission sending partners we need to make our ministry a reality. Then, if it suits the Lord and the mission in question, the long-term deployment will begin in September. It is that close! It’s practically here!

"I will travel alone to Uganda April 24th"

Now the bad news. Cindy will be staying behind in Florida, taking care of her aging parents for a time, and will join me at a later date. We understand this takes a toll on a marriage, but believe we are divinely equipped to make even a long-distance relationship work. We recognize the importance of honoring parents and not deserting them in the name of ministry (Matthew 15:4-6, Mark 7:10-13*). While Cindy has a duty to her parents in their unexpectedly changing circumstances, I am reminded of Jesus’ words:

“No one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Luke 18:29, NIV*, emphasis mine; see also Matthew 19:29 and Mark 10:29*). 

I am not sacrificing merely to receive what these verses promise, but I do see Jesus’ teaching as approving of a missionary’s deployment, even without his precious bride when necessary, for the sake of the Kingdom. Please pray with us that all will go according to God’s will and that our every thought, word, and action will bring Him glory through Christ Jesus, in whose name we do all. 

*Scripture references

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Dear friends of TLC Uganda, 

Pandemics have a way of altering even the best made plans. Don’t they? I imagine many of you have had your lives, homes, and schedules more than a little disrupted. We can relate. We had expected to travel to a mission compound this fall. As James 4:15 recommends, we were careful to say, “if God wills..” when speaking about our intentions. This season of uncertainty seems to be proof of the vanity James warned against. 

Uganda remains closed to outsiders. Furthermore, Uganda’s President Museveni has taken a position of abundant caution, so our trip will likely be pushed back to next spring. Meanwhile we wait, cautiously optimistic about our future in Uganda. We are reminded that God’s timeline is not ours and His ways, perspectives, and purposes are loftier than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). So, we submit to wait until the Lord opens the door for us to proceed. Meanwhile we pray that His will is done and that a way will be made clear for us even in this present darkness. May His Word be a light to our path and a lamp for our feet (Psalm 119:105). 

God’s timeline is not ours and His ways, perspectives, and purposes are loftier than ours.

Please pray for us. We, like many of you, have come under attack in this season where discontent, like a cloud, overshadows our communities and one hateful act justifies itself into a flood of others. It is not only our plans that got tossed in the current storms. Our families, marriage, jobs, church, finances, physical and emotional health are all at risk in this tumult. We crave the relief the Spirit brings when God’s people pray. Thank you in advance. God bless each of you reading this, and may He protect you and yours from the deceiver running rampant (1 Peter 5:8) in our culture. May He empower you to be bold influences of grace, salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16) in a bitter, dark world.

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three strikesIt is said that bad news comes in threes. I hope so, because today I received a gut punch that wears that number, and I could use a rest.

It happened this morning when I confidently strode into the Nursing School Administration office to submit my application for the Fall semester. It was promptly rejected by the director of the program, who informed me that the classes in which I am currently enrolled must be completed before I submit my application. This sets back my admission into Nursing School another semester, to Spring, 2016.

Bad news number two was the kind that rattles faith and shakes foundations. I have been engaged in what can only be described as fervent and faithful intercessory prayer on behalf of my cousin, who was expecting a child with complications. I was forced to concede the battle Tuesday, when the news came that my unborn second cousin graduated directly to Heaven without taking a breath.

Bad news number one was merely an appetizer for these later two disappointments. It had to do with a mechanical failure on my 1997 pickup truck that amounted to about $1,200 in repairs. This seems trivial next to the loss of a baby and a rejected Nursing School application, but when one doesn’t have $1,200 and is trying to find a way to pay for school on a fixed pension income, it at least constitutes bad news number one.

I know that God’s will is better and higher than mine, and that there is surely some concealed reason for these hiccups in what I would vainly call “my plan.” I am certain that I am doing what I was called to do, and that God’s purposes, not my vanity, will be served. I am critically searching myself for any sins of the flesh to which these annoyances may be trying to direct my attention. Perhaps I said, “I start Nursing School in the Fall,” too many times without adding, as James 4:15 exhorts, “If it is God’s will.” Maybe I suffer from a case of overconfidence in self. Maybe God is just trying to protect me, my cousin, and my budget from unseen struggles we will never be fully exposed to. Whatever the case, I am content to offer up my expectations as sacrifices to God, and to let Him operate the universe as He sees fit rather than as I would have it. Still, though I am not a superstitious person and do not believe in luck, after this very disappointing week, I sincerely hope that three is the limit of my bad news for a while.