Pastor A

It is now Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. as I prepare this update. Fatigue is really noticeable today. Everyone is walking and talking much slower. The oppressive heat (especially at night) is beginning to show. However, no one is having an attitude or getting “snippy” with each other. There is still great, great camaraderie within our team.

Last night we had a beautiful rain storm that awakened just about everyone. Those who were outside had to finally retreat and come back inside. We thought this was a really great rainstorm until the preacher boys said it was nothing but a drizzle. That burst our bubble.

Our day began with our midweek service at 7:30 a.m. today! Notice the “a.m.” as this is not a misprint. Due to the difficulty of travel (walking, busses, bicycle) at the end of the day, they must begin their day with the midweek service. The message from Colossians 3 by one of the preacher boys was outstanding and a great blessing this morning.

Jack, Pastor Woody, and several of the Ugandans are continuing to fabricate metal for doors, windows, and buildings. This group has cut and welded much metal. Jerry and his crew still continue to work on the apartment cabinets. Al is painting away.

I finished my third day of three hour classes with the five preacher boys. They have such enthusiasm for the Word of God!

We have had a two foot rat, 18 inch lizard, and four foot snake all seen today on the property. Such excitement…

Shelli, Lisa, and Cassie are helping Jewel Wright patch the children’s clothing. It is so exciting to see these ladies help with the cooking and clean up. They have helped the missionary’s wife all day long. They even had a “shopping” trip to the market to buy material. The three ladies have never once complained about the heat or conditions and have all been a great help. Cassie is preparing to celebrate her one year anniversary and my what an unforgettable anniversary celebration this will be. She has learned so much on this trip and it has been great to watch her grow. Her sweet attitude is great!

After I returned from teaching today, there was a young man by the name of Feni Emmanuel waiting to talk with me. He is 19 years old and rode his bicycle five miles from the village to speak with me. At the soccer game last night I spoke to all of the people present. He was one of the soccer players from the town of Aura. He rode his bicycle through all of the heat to speak with me about Jesus. After talking for an hour or so, he still had many questions. He did not make a decision to trust Christ as he is still somewhat confused. However, he is very soft and open to the Gospel. I am going back at 4:30 p.m. today to speak to his soccer team. If you think to pray for Feni, please pray that he might understand so that he can trust Christ.

Pastor Woody is speaking at 5:00 p.m. at a local high school. I’m praying that the Lord will use his message from John 3:16. This is a unique privilege and honor for him to speak in Africa.

We are ready for lunch so I must go now; besides, they usually shut off the electricity during lunch. Thank you for praying for our group.

Since my last update we have had another very full day of activities. Last night I was asked to go into town to referee a soccer game. We played on a full 120×80 field. My feet and body hurt after running sideways back and forth for two 40 minute halves on an uneven gravel field. However, at half-time I was able to preach for 15 minutes to well over 125 people who had gathered to watch the game. That was thrilling!

The game ended with the home team winning 3-1 and no fights or incidents. Soccer is such an incredibly awesome game; especially when people know how to play the game!

All of the bunkbeds have been completed (fabricated, constructed, primered, and painted). Jonathan won the award for hardest working yesterday as he was the last one finished and was covered in oil-based red paint. The carpentry work is coming along well and Jerry and his crew are feverishly working to complete their project by Thursday noon. Chris and his crew are still working on the wiring and trying to help get fixtures and fans working properly. Al has completely painted the outside of the buildings twice.

I had the joy again to teach for three hours to the five preacher boys in the Bible Institute. Time goes by so quickly!

We are ten hours ahead of Tucson; thus, the odd times at which I post my blogs.

Jerry, Rick, and Todd all are set-up to sleep outside tonight. With no electricity or air conditioning or ice – the buildings are quite warm inside. We are so spoiled; yet, we do miss the air conditioning, ice, and hot showers! However, we are all still thrilled to be in this place serving Him and the missionary.

Last night two teams from the team of Arua came here to the missionaries compound to play soccer. It was incredibly entertaining to watch (and actually referee) three games. After the second game, Jonathan gave a devotional to all of the people present (103) and then the championship game was played.

The game was played to a 2-2 tie (Jonathan had a beautiful goal in the second half) and the game went into overtime. No goals were scored in overtime and it was dark outside so we went straight to penalty kicks. The church team beat the Aura club team 4-3 in penalty kicks – there was crazy celebration as if they had just won the world cup. It was fun to be a part of these games.

After the games we ate supper and it did not take long for everyone to head for bed. Can you imagine going to bed at 8:30 p.m. every night? When there is no electricity… it is easy to do. We did send the snorers to the outside and my, oh my was the sleep so much better.

It is after 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday here in Uganda and it is blazing, super hot today! It is difficult to explain the kind of heat we are experiencing since it is so different than other parts of the world. Since we are only three degrees from the equator, the sun is brutal; almost like it penetrates you. Today is by far the worst since we arrived; yet, no one is complaining! Al Reynolds and Jonathan Armstrong are lobsters – they are both working out in the sun.

Here is the latest update and tidbits on our group:

• Jerry Wilbur – continues to sleep outside; is the “supervisor” of the group and relishes his role; loves to talk; is very knowledgeable and a joy to have in our group. He wanted me to say that last part =)
• Jack Wilbur – just finished his fourteenth bunk bed; they look awesome; had problems with one of our welders or actually the user of one of the welders (not on the team by the way); is now working on a project with the pig pen; there is simply too much to accomplish in our short time and many more welding projects but he is having a great, great trip. He is a super fantastic hard and meticulous worker!
• Pastor Woody- has been Jack’s helper in the bunk bed project; has worked super hard; cut what seems like miles and miles of steel into various lengths; hates spiders; has been willing to help wherever needed; is speaking tomorrow at a local high school for about 30 minutes.
• Cassie Woodward – has been pushed miles and miles outside her comfort zone and is still keeping a “stiff upper lip;” screams at bugs or spiders; has learned many new things about cooking and working in the kitchen; is willing to help whenever needed and has maintained her smile throughout the trip.
• Rick Ritz – was banished last evening to forever sleep in his own newly constructed “Jack bunk bed” outside under the stars with Jerry. Rarely has anyone ever heard someone snore like Rick. He is helping Al with the painting project; and Rick loves to talk… he edges Jerry by a foot or so.
• Al Reynolds – is one of the hardest working men on this trip; skips lunch to work; loves Pepsi and has a couple hidden just in case…; loves his work so much that he paints himself too; has radically transformed the outside appearance of the missionary’s buildings.
• Dave Deschamps – is at the beckon call of his supervisor, Jerry Wilbur; smiles all of the time; has a great attitude; is making a difference in the cabinetry work in the apartments; snores at night.
• Benjamin Armstrong – is our videographer and has been capturing our trip on video; has enjoyed getting to know new people; and dad has loved spending this time with his son!
• Jonathan Armstrong – has been a great worker on this trip; cut metal for Jack; painted the bunk beds with primer; led the soccer matches yesterday; and is sicker than a dog with either allergies or asthma and is still working with a smile.
• Shelli Armstrong – did it! she actually cut off the heads of two, very much alive, chickens. She stood on their legs and then held their head and sliced their heads right off. On the second one her left foot was bloody from the chicken and she almost – lost it! However, she did something that she thought she could never do!
• Todd LeBeuf – came to Uganda when I made my first trip back in 2005; has been a delight to have on this trip; has worked with Jerry Wilbur on carpentry; Chris on the electrical part; Jack on the bunk beds. He has been willing to help wherever needed – in spite of his lack of sleep by all those who love to snore.
• Chris Traynor – came to Uganda when I made my first trip back in 2005; has been a “jack of all trades” on this trip; has worked with numerous electrical problems; helped carry the tools down the mountain to repair the well pump; been available to fix and repair tools for our team.
• Lisa Traynor – has been a marvelous addition to the kitchen staff; is an amazing worker and smiles all the time that she is working; has been a terrific addition to this team.

Since our last update we have had two more services, slept (or tried to), and now worked a half-day! Yesterday afternoon we drove to a village with incredibly sad living conditions. We saw girls with babies and children severely malnourished and several sickly people. I asked Al Reynolds to preach the message under the mango tree. He preached a message on prayer as we sat under the tree in the withering heat. We were all taken back as we watched and observed these people who have absolutely nothing – and I mean nothing! It was a most humbling experience to realize how blessed we are and how these people are living.

After Al preached a teenage young man, wearing a Clemson t-shirt no less, came forward to trust Christ. Then, a lady who was the wife of our interpreter’s brother came forward to trust Christ. It was so awesome to see Al kneeling under the mango tree praying with these souls to receive Christ. I hope the pics will show just how sweet this experience was for all of us.

Jonathan then presented the village leader with a brand new soccer ball and all of the children went ballistic. We gave everyone two pieces of candy and it was like Christmas… only better. To see the sheer excitement of receiving candy was humbling! The filthy, dirty living conditions and the happiness over receiving this candy was a remarkable experience by all on our team.

We hurriedly returned to the Wright’s home for the evening service. We also met outside on the green grass. One of the preacher boys from the Bible Institute spoke from Revelation 2 and did a fantastic job speaking in English. As soon as everyone left, the ladies fixed our evening meal after which we sat around and listened to the Wright’s story of coming to the Aura area. This is truly an amazing missionary family doing an unbelievable job for our Lord in this area of the world where they are the only white people.

The electricity goes out around 8:00 p.m. and it is DARK here. I cannot describe how dark it is when there are no lights anywhere. Our flashlights seem so inadequate against this darkness. Spiritually speaking, it is the same darkness here in this area. Praise the Lord for the work that the Wrights are doing. Several were sitting out on the back porch after the electricity had been shut off. They heard our formerly “Muslim” bus driver call his sister back in Kampala. He speaks very good English and he told his sister, “I got saved today and I’m so happy right now.” It was a touching moment for all! He did not realize anyone was listening to him.

Off to bed most of us went… only we could not sleep because the snoring is out of control. God bless all of those who have spouses who snore and they have to listen to these weird, strange, and unsettling noises each and every evening. In our group of 14, only about 6 slept last night. SO… tonight we are putting the snorers outside with the pythons, elephants, and wild creeping things!!

Today I had the privilege to teach for three straight hours in the Bible Institute. Everyone else is feverishly working, although there have been some setbacks with equipment failures this morning. Still, everyone has a marvelous, fabulous attitude.

Everyone is healthy and there have been no physical injuries. Jerry Wilbur has been harangued since we arrived so his pride may be injured. Everyone is truly doing remarkable and we praise Him for His provision and help on this trip. We have had some learn new skills (peeling an apple, cutting metal, wiring, painting, etc.) and even one who learned that pickles come from cucumbers. There has been a sweet, sweet spirit among our team and I’m so thankful for all our team members. God has been good. We are not quite at the halfway point of our trip and there is still much work to accomplish so please continue to pray for us.

Again, I’m sorry we are unable to upload pics at this time but our connection speed is only 256 kbps. Enjoy a super fantastic day!

The ox fell into the ditch – the men had to carry a welder and many supplies down the side of the mountain to the well pump to repair. May the Lord forgive these men for working on Sunday? I believe the Lord understands!

However, the reason for this update: Three adults trusted Christ during the service this morning… including the Muslim bus driver! Hallelujah! There were many tears! It has been a great day of rejoicing. He was actually the first one to walk down the aisle (the front veranda of the missionary’s house). There were immediate tears as several in our group were praying for this man’s salvation.

There were at least 77 in the service today! It was a grand day and I cannot wait to show all pics and video of our trip.

We are now headed to a village to have a service under a grand ole mango tree. 

It is Sunday morning and our team is up and getting ready. There are several weary team members this morning… they are moving rather slowly. We will have Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. and one of the local pastors will teach. Our team will have the 10:45 a.m. worship service. Today we are meeting outside for church. It is going to be an exciting day.

At 2:30 a.m. this morning, someone tried to steal the water pump. This would have been disastrous as we would all be carrying water. The guard distracted the thief but he fell in the process. Marvin and a couple of the team members are accessing the damage as I write this email.

As you prepare to go to bed, we are preparing for a new day. We will pray for you and look forward to hearing of a great day of services at TBT. I know Pastor Howard is looking forward to preaching today. Please be faithful and be in church!

A couple of random thoughts from our group:

We have only seen women carry water from the wells. We have never seen one single man carry water. They are lazy here in Uganda! The women do all of the work. We have met men who do not even know the names of their own children. Strange culture… however, the children are beautiful. Everyone in our group wants to bring at least one back to the US with us. Some are talking of smuggling one of these babies in their carry-on luggage. Probably not a good idea…

Have a great evening. It is time for breakfast and then a busy day of ministry from our team.

We have now taken over 1,000 pictures. It truly is a shame that we cannot upload to FB or on this website. I forgot how slow dial up service is and how grateful I should be for the speed we do have at the church!

These thoughts are about bugs, lizards, and spiders! We are just off the equator by three degrees; therefore, there are no seasons here in Aura. It is beautiful all of the time. That means that the bugs, lizards, and spiders grow very, very large. They killed an eight inch lizard in the room where Shelli and I are sleeping. Pastor Woody killed a baseball size spider in his bathroom this morning.

Jonathan has been chasing this twelve inch lizard throughout the day. He is getting the best of Jonathan. Jonathan is determined to catch him before the week is over. I am gong to side with the lizard. He has an orange head, black body, and orange tail. Every time he stops, he does push ups as he looks around. It has been quite comical to watch Jonathan chase him around the building.

Neither Cassie nor Shelli are so impressed with the bugs. It is quite obvious that these two city slickers are not from the farm. They have provided entertainment as they scream, and try to be brave when a new bug appears.

There are numerous bugs in our rooms so we are sleeping under mosquito nets. We can hear bugs zooming by us all night long. These nets are really a neat invention. They surely do spare us many bites while we are sleeping. 

We had a filthy crew after today! Pastor Woody has been cutting metal all day and he is hilariously dirty. Everyone else was dirty from metal, woodworking, or painting. Al was completely covered in paint… I do think he had as much on him as on the wall.

It was a great, great day and more was accomplished than expected. This is good news for if we can get ahead then we will be able to plan a short excursion into the Congo next week. We have been invited to visit the home of one of the Bible Institute students. We shall see…

Time for bed… Pastor Woody, Jerry, and Chris are singing in church tomorrow. I have the privilege to preach. After lunch we are headed to the village (clothing optional) to have an afternoon service. Al Reynolds is going to sing and again, I have been asked to preach. We should be able to capture some great video to share with our church family upon our return.

Pray for us and we will pray for you!

This morning I had the privilege to speak and witness to our bus driver. His story and life is quite unusual. His father was killed in the war and a Muslim man took him in and gave him clothes and food to eat. He was given a Muslim name at that time. So, by default, he is a Muslim. We have not seen him pray or dress in the traditional Muslim garb. Therefore I am not so sure how devout he is and that means that we have a real opportunity to see him won to Christ in the coming days.

What we did is to rent a bus for the entire time that we are here in Uganda. Transportation is somewhat difficult and with all of our luggage it would be nearly impossible for the Wright family to transport us anywhere. Since we rented the bus, the driver also comes with the bus and will stay with us the entire week… we should have a great opportunity to get to know him. 

He told me his story as we talked this morning. He has a nine year daughter and a five year old daughter. His wife left him and has moved to Rwanda because she is very pretty and a rich man came and “stole” her away from him. He is very poor and she was tired of being poor. His sister died and he is taking care of her children. He is a single father with eight children. He struggles mightily to make ends meet. If there is work (people like us) then he makes 20,000 shillings per day or around $5.00. Notice I said – per DAY! When there are no visitors to Uganda, he does not earn anything. So we have hired him for 10 days at 200,000 shillings. This is so sad to think that he is trying to feed nine people on $5.00 per day.

We obviously will give him a tip at the conclusion of our trip – assuming we return safe and sound to the EBB airport on Saturday, March 24. In the meantime I am going to continue to witness and pray for him. 

I was just informed that the electricity is going off so I have to run for today! We are praying for all of you and thank you for your prayers on behalf of our team. Good Night! 

We are nearing completion of our first day of work in Aura, Uganda. The day actually began before sun up. Most in our group were up and unpacking trunks and getting ready for the day.  We have a total of 30 trunks and crates so there really was much work to do. Once the sun was up many immediately went to work.

Breakfast (apple pancakes) was served at 8:00 a.m. and enjoyed by the entire group. This was followed by group devotions from Colossians 3. Instructions were given and everyone went to work. Jonathan pumped up one of the soccer balls and a soccer game broke out right away. We have not seen the soccer ball since…

Jack and Pastor Woody are working together in cutting the metal and welding bunk beds. There goal is to manufacture 14 sets of bunk beds. Al, Jonathan, and Rick are working together on painting the buildings. They have had a day full of problems – too hot, paint gun not working, junk in the paint, etc. Monday will be a better day for them. Benjamin is filming and helping with the carpentry work. Chris is doing odd electrical jobs around the campus. Jerry, Dave, and Todd are all working on building cabinets from some very rough lumber. I can’t wait to see the finished product. Shelli, Lisa, and Cassie are all helping Jewel in the kitchen and have done a fine, fine job cooking and cleaning up after the meals. I am sitting on the back porch with my feet kicked up and drinking lemonade!

The locals have been in and out throughout the day, checking us white folks out. The babies are adorable and we have been able to hold them… without any diapers and no accidents as of yet.

I had the privilege to pray with the workers on this 114 acre farm this morning. It was quite a special time to listen to them pray. They do not know that there is a basketball tournament in America AND they do not care. They are trying to eke out an existence that allows them to live one more day. We have seen so many malnourished children that it tugs at your heart’s strings!

We are all in a trance… mile upon mile and the same scene… people walking along the road carrying yellow water containers on their heads. No one has running water so they must all walk to the community well. Suddenly, someone yells, “Elephants!” The bus driver slams on his brakes and finds a place to turn around. We head back down the road and yes, right in the trees and brush there were at least seven elephants right out in the wild. It was an incredible, incredible scene. We jumped out and began filming and taking pictures. The elephants were not very happy with us and they let us know; however, we still were able to get incredible pics.

The bus was abuzz as we finally got back into the bus and headed North. Only we turn the corner about a mile away and there are baboons along the banks. We take another zillion pics and are fascinated yet again. A few feet away there are monkeys. It was absolutely an incredible experience by everyone in our group. We then see the mighty Nile River – splendidly beautiful, yet powerful beyond words. We are able to take pictures along the Nile River and walk across the bridge. This river is simply awesome and needs to have a whitewater rafting trip sometime in the future. We stop for lunch and eat sub sandwiches underneath a mango tree alongside the road. We drive for some distance when we stop for fuel once again. Another 220,000 shillings later we are ready to board the bus. Only Jonathan and Pastor Woody are passing out candy to the children and the children are eating up the attention. I hope our pics turn out of this interaction.

After driving for a couple more hours we see the Nile River again. It is wide and powerful. It is beautiful too. Suddenly right out the window to our left is a monstrous elephant eating the grass alongside the road. We stop and have a blast taking more pics and enjoying the awesome power of this huge beast. This wild creature is not impressed with us being so close; Shelli was also not impressed when I tried to hand her a clump of dried elephant’s dung. She refused to hold my hand on the bus.

After reboarding we started to cross the Nile River when we saw two hippopotamuses fighting in the edge of the water. This is just more than we ever expected and an added bonus to behold such amazing creations of God. There really is such excitement in the bus over seeing so many of these magnificent animals on this long, hard day of travel.

We finally arrive in Aura at the Wright’s home. It is very nice and she fixed us tortilla soup and brownies for our first meal in her home. It does not take long for most to head to their beds. The electric went out some time ago so I am writing my update on my computer using my battery. Since there is not electric I cannot post my updates until tomorrow. Once the electric is up and running, I hope to be able to update all of you. For now, its lights out and I will be up in about five hours.

A new day arrives after a few hours of sleep at the Le Petit Village. With this new day there are new challenges and adventures before us. The group was to meet at 9:00 a.m. for breakfast. Everyone was up and ready to go by 8:15 – 8:30 a.m. We took all of the groceries from Marvin Wright’s room and the team loaded them on the bus. We then had our first meal as a group and it was an acceptable breakfast, nothing spectacular, of eggs, toast, fruit, and fruit juices. It tasted really good since we had not had a meal yet. Then it was off to the bank to exchange money. The rate was 2,430 to 1. This trip is going to require a lot of mental calculations. Then the guys picked up the meat from the meat market… 561,154 was our bill. We finally loaded up the bus and with everything from the night before, plus all of the groceries, meat, and lunches; we were very full.

Kampala is a city over three million people. There are people everywhere. All of the side streets are just dirt roads. People are in busses, on the back of motorcycles, taxis, on bicycles, and walking. They all look just alike so it is difficult to know if you have seen someone before… probably not. We stop to get diesel… 3,500 per liter. The brainiacs on the bus figure it out to be around $6 per gallon. Our bill was 228,000 shillings.

We drove for hours and the scene is the same… people walking everywhere. Once we left Kampala and headed to the countryside, there was a stark contrast with the building, landscape, and even the people. It became mile after mile after mile of round huts covered with grass. Every once in a while we would see a square building scattered in with the huts. People were burning everywhere. The smell or stench of smoke really filled the air for the ten hour bus ride. Yes… we crammed eight hours into ten hours!

This means that by the time we arrived in Aura, Uganda (seven miles from the Congo border) we have spent 53 and ½ hours traveling. That is a long, long time AND no one in our group has complained, even once. They are remarkable troopers. But there was a pretty cool reason it took us ten hours instead of eight hours to get to Aura. More on that in my next update.

We finally left the Brussels airport and flew eight hours to Rwanda. In Rwanda we waited on the airplane for forty minutes as they refueled, unloaded passengers, and reloaded new passengers. Once all of this was completed, we then flew less than an hour to the EBB airport. There was very little going on at the airport so we all quickly paid our $50 visa entrance fee and then reclaimed our luggage.

ALL of our luggage arrived and only two trunks had their zip ties removed which was pretty incredible considering the contents of each trunk. Each one of us grabbed a cart with trunks and luggage and headed for the exit. We were briefly stopped by a customs official to inquire as to the contents of the trunks. Once he was satisfied that we were not bringing anything illegal or any contents that required payment, he let us go. Missionary Marvin Wright was waiting on us and off to the bus we went.

Now this was quite an adventure, the bus (as is usually the case) was simply not large enough to accommodate 31 trunks and suitcases, 14 pieces of carry-on, and 16 passengers. Pastor Woody jumped right in and began to organize the back of the bus while Todd and Chris handed the luggage through the back window. Yes… it was a giant jigsaw puzzle and it finally was put together. The bus was very, very crowded but we all made it into the bus. The drive from the Entebbe airport to the hotel in Kampala was another 50 minute drive. Did I just say, another 50 minute drive? Yes, we finally made it to the hotel around 01:00 a.m. Friday morning.

Even at 01:00 a.m., the hotel was pretty nice… they only have 12 rooms and we took eight of the 12 rooms. The shower was simply delightful as it was wonderful to get the scum off of our bodies after sitting in airplanes, airports, and busses for some two days. Most enjoyed hot showers and a very firm mattress.

Thus concludes our second day of adventure… this team is amazing for they have not complained at all. This has been somewhat of an awkward start with our meal situation. As of going to bed in Kampala in the wee hours of the morning, our team has not had a meal yet. We have raced through airports, sat in a dump of an airport for four hours that did not even have a restaurant, and been served airline food that simply would not count as a meal. A new lesson for me on this trip is to check-out the new airport before traveling to it. The Brussels Airport is simply dreadful. A small coke bottle was $5.50 in US dollars. There were no restaurants and nothing to do in this airport.

The Uganda team has been working for months in preparing for today’s big trip. Today finally arrived and at 5:00 a.m. we pulled into the TUS airport. The ten members from TBT had 27 pieces of luggage – way over the limit. We also had nine pieces weighing 70 pounds. Several were praying that we would not have to pay luggage charges. We waited nearly one hour in line just for our group as there were great computer problems. United went to a new computer system on March 1 and it has been not only really slow, but several are still struggling to learn the new program. From experience we can say that it was really slow. 

Steven and Chad helped us at the United counter and both were extremely kind to our group. In the end, we owed $1,200 – they waived the fees since we had to wait in line so long while they were struggling with the new system. Who says God does not answer prayers? HE IS AMAZING! All of our luggage (weight and too many pieces) were loaded on to the plane.

We had an interesting ride from TUS to Houston but that will be for another time. We had to walk very quickly to the gate and boarded just as we arrived. The flight to Newark was uneventful but we arrived 20 minutes late. They were already boarding the plane for Brussels as we were getting off our plane. We all made it safely and the other four members of our team also made it on the plane.

It was a long flight to Brussels! There is nothing significant to report… once we landed here in Brussels… wow! What a disappointment. This is a dumpy airport. There are no restaurants for us to eat so we had to have a pastry at Starbucks. We have not had a real meal since yesterday. Great weight loss program I guess.

We are all zoned right now as it is 2:00 a.m. Tucson time. We board in about two hours and most of us will definitely sleep. We will update once we land in Entebbe and arrive at the hotel in Kampala. 

Parents, you must love your children enough to discipline them. A lack of discipline demonstrates a lack of love for your children. Be consistent in your discipline and make the punishment fit the “crime.” In other words, there will be times when a spanking is appropriate, standing in a corner is appropriate, or sitting in time out is appropriate. And please, please, please do it privately. Do not scream or smack your child in front of the rest of us. It is embarrassing to your child and to all who have to witness it.

Having said that, DO make sure that you discipline every time that discipline is required. That means that there will be many times that you need to excuse yourself, with your child, and go to a quiet place and discipline them. Too often we laugh and excuse the behavior of our children to the detriment of our children. Children today are coddled and allowed to get away with whatever they desire because parents are irresponsible, lazy, and afraid to confront their responsibility. Parents today always find someone else’s children to compare their children with and then say, “My children are better than theirs so I must be doing okay.” Hogwash! Lovingly discipline your children every time your child exercises his will to disobey you.

Several years ago my wife called me… in tears and distress. She had had enough. Jonathan was continuing to give us fits – in every way. He knew he would earn a spanking and he would still sin. Shelli was at the grocery store with Jonathan (the other two were in school in Georgia) and Jonathan was acting or behaving terribly. After refusing to obey his mother, Shelli pulled her full grocery cart to the side. She pulled Jonathan out of the cart and asked the lady at the check-out line to watch her cart as she would be back in a little while. Shelli drove all the way home, spanked Jonathan, prayed with Jonathan, and then loaded him up and headed back to the grocery store where she resumed and then completed her grocery shopping. Shelli was weary of the constant battle. We both were tired of the battle. However, we did not stop. The spankings, standing in the corner with his nose in a circle, and time out eventually won out as we broke Jonathan’s will (not his spirit) and he finally began to obey the verbal commands or instructions from his parents. Parents are no longer willing to break the will of their children – just like a thoroughbred racing horse. You never break the spirit but you must break the will.

I had a parent tell me, “I’m tired of spanking ______ all of the time.” I replied, “You do not spank all of the time; you spank every time.”  Every single time your child chooses to willfully disobey your instruction, simply obey the Bible. “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” The purpose of discipline is to lovingly change the behavior of your child. Corporal discipline will do just that.

Our liberal society wonders why our society is so messed up. Their hatred of the Bible and refusal to obey the instruction of God’s Word has led to at least two generations that defy today’s blog. Here is what I do know: discipline works! Excusing bad behavior reinforces that a child can do whatever they want to do – there will be bad dividends later on for this irresponsible parenting.

Just consider… do I want to obey God’s way or man’s way? Once you figure out the answer to that question – Do what is right!

Don’t try today; DO today!