July 2022

I will conclude this set of travel diaries with a big thank you, first to the Lord, secondly to you. My departure from Liberia was scheduled for 6:40pm on Thursday. I had a scheduled transit through Ghana to connect with the larger international carrier, KLM, up to Amsterdam then Portland.

Hi Everyone,

Before getting to the report about today and what I learned when meeting with the Liberian team, I have a serious prayer request so I am putting it on this side of the READ MORE link. Here is the situation. I am scheduled to leave Liberia at 6:40pm and fly to Ghana. I am scheduled to arrive in Ghana at 8:30pm and catch a flight my flight to Amsterdam at 10:10pm.

THE INBOUND FLIGHT INTO LIBERIA HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY LATE THE LAST FOUR TIMES INCLUDING MY FLIGHT MONDAY. IF IT IS THE SAME TOMORROW, THURSDAY, I WILL PROBABLY MISS MY FLIGHT TO AMSTERDAM. I SEEM TO BE AT THE MERCY OF KENYA AIRWAYS. PRAY THAT THEY WILL BE CLOSE TO ON TIME FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE ABOUT JULY 16.

It was an informative time with the Liberian team today. As much as I’ve learned about African Traditional Religions in the past 24 years, I learned more today.

Hi Everyone,

This is a Monday-Tuesday report and I have to admit that it is hard right now to stay objective and unemotional. It has been a hard two days compared to the rest of this trip and most recent trips. There has been some positive and that needs to be the emphasis but it’s difficult to see through the good through the cloud of challenges.

A short but encouraging report today. We have broken new ground. Our team in Bujumbura crossed the border into the DRC and conducted our first seminar in the far eastern city in the Dem Rep of the Congo. I am including the coordinators report in my report today. Plus I am adding maps to the photo album to give you a picture of where all of this is happening. Plus an additional map of Burundi that explains what is going on and where, there.

Dear Prayer Partners,

Saturday has been a slow day and it was planned that way. After four flights and two, two-hour car rides in five days, I put a slow weekend into my schedule before heading to Liberia on Monday. The only activity was a 2 mile walk to and from YaYa Center to get a healthy Center at Java House; a repeat of last weekend. But I used some of my free time to write up a worldview response to the questions I’ve heard regarding war and genocide.

Hello Beloved Partners,

I am seated in the airport lounge in Kigali, Rwanda awaiting my flight back to Nairobi two hours from now (8:40AM PT, Friday). It was an interesting night (Thurs). For awhile I was wondering if I would make my flight Friday. But things worked out OK.

Dear Friends and Family,

I am at the end of my one day in Rwanda. I flew here early this morning, arriving from Kenya shortly past 8am. My only agenda item on the day was a meeting with the ITEM team. We met for about 3 hours around the lunch hour.

I am always encouraged by my time here with these men and today was no exception. But when I was talking about bringing apologetics into ITEM’s ministry, a question, unique to Rwanda came up.

Hello Everyone,

I am settling in for the night near the Nairobi airport. I need to be back for my flight to Rwanda early do didn’t want to stray too far from the airport tonight.

I started in Busia, Uganda where I’ve been for two days. I stayed around to have lunch with our missionaries (the Glasscocks). We had pizza. Then, Tom, an ITEM team member from Kenya, and I got in his car and headed to the border where we both had to clear immigration and start to 2 hour trip back to Kisumu, Kenya for my very short flight back to Nairobi.

The day’s highlight was my conversation with Amber Glasscock, Jim’s wife. She is meeting with various women’s groups and seeing some really good things happen as wives are applying the principles of 1 Peter 3:1-4.

Dear ITEM Partners, I am halfway through Tuesday. I’ve taken my Covid test for entry into Rwanda on Thursday. It came back negative…. as expected. I met with the teams from Kenya and Uganda and heard some encouraging reports. And in just about an hour I leave for Pastor Hillary Wafula’s church to try out what I’ve learned in the area of apologetics. This will be my first “test under fire,” so to speak.

Click on READ MORE to hear more about my meeting with the teams and about my time at Hillary’s church.

If I told you that I would meet you on the other side and when and when you got to the other side I wasn’t there and after about 30 minutes you asked a policeman to call me and ask where I was and when I was coming and I told the policeman said, “I’m coming.” What would that communicate to you? It is different here, I think.