ITEM Ministries

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.

From the beginning of ITEM’s ministry, there has been an awareness of the challenge of African Traditional Religions’ (ATR) influence on the church and Christianity in general. This morning I learned that it is making a comeback.

Happy Saturday to you! I landed at the airport last night, Friday, at 10pm and made good time through immigration, customs, and to the guest house. And I slept pretty well.

Today, Saturday, the main event was a meeting with Dr. Kevin Murrithi, (See picture album.) Do an internet search on his name…. he’s everywhere. I know him primarily as the head of Apologetics Kenya. I brought some apologetics books as a gift to his ministry and we talked awhile about doing apologetics in Africa.

All of this was expected but what wasn’t expected was Kevin and I talking about his future

On Sunday, April 24, Chris McMillan and I will be setting out on separate trips to Africa. Chris will be in Malawi conducting a second seminar (ITEM Conference on Ministry and Preaching) and in Zambia conducting an initial seminar (Institute in the Foundations of Church Leadership). Chris will be accompanied by Pastor Jayson Derowitsch, from Eastern Oregon. It will be Jayson’s first trip with ITEM.
CLICK READ MORE to read of the trip preview.

Dear ITEM Partners, The power went off again this morning, here at the guest house and once again their generator did not kick in. So, I have been sitting in a warming room (without AC), with little to do (no Internet) waiting for it to come back on and/or be picked up to be taken to the airport. I am grateful that the power stayed on all night so the room stayed cool. The coordinator, Nok, was supposed to be here around 10am to finish up with left over financial issues. Now after 12 noon and he’s not shown up. Since I do not have internet there is no way he can let me know what is going on. So, while I wait, I want to briefly reflect on what I saw this morning as I walked across the parking lot to the restaurant.

Dear ITEM Friends, I have been reminded today that as modern as Abuja is and as well cared for I am here, this is still Africa. For one big reason I had been given a false sense of security. Now, today, one day before leaving for home, reality entered the room.

Dear Friends and Family, I am starting this report at 9:45am on Monday in Abuja, Nigeria. Why is the time significant? It is because I was told we would start about 9am. Then when I was picked up today at 8:30, I was told we would start about 9:30. Now I am told it will be later because, suddenly, there is no gas at the gas stations and so the public transportation is mostly shut down.