At home, faith has often felt like a choice. Here it is a necessity. The things I chose to fall back on education, family, a home were my first line of defense against fear. They were my strongholds. My trust in God offered some sense of comfort but for the most part what I owned and who I had by me were my securities. If I was in trouble or in need I could always get back on my feet. I was secure in my possessions, in my abilities and in my relationships. So many in Uganda have only God as their security and I've been questioning what it would be like if I truly relied on God for...

            When our leaders read off our ministry opportunities, and I heard the words “preaching on the radio” my eyes lit up. You must be thinking I bet this guy really enjoys talking to people if he got excited about speaking to hundreds of thousands of people at a time. Well, your thoughts would be wrong. Actually, I hate speaking to crowds of people, but for some reason when radio ministry was brought up, I was the first to volunteer. Why, you ask? Well I find myself asking the same question. I first thought that the God we serve has a...

Hello! Guten Tag! Servus! Dobre den! Hola! And of course, from the local language of Lira, APOIO!!!!   I love languages. Maybe not enough to become a linguist, but they still intrigue me. Luo, which is Lira and much of northern Uganda’s language, is completely different than any language I’ve tried to learn. I have no idea how the grammar works, but their greetings alone are crazy. “Apoio” is the most common greeting, which actually means thank you. Then they return the greeting with “Aber” which means fine or good. What would that look like in...

Welcome all blog readers! This section is free so if you enjoy it, subscribe to author Zach Brown’s blog website, thezbletters.com. Only 20,000 Ugandan shillings a month! Just kidding of course, thanks for reading.   Things are great in Uganda! I am reminded everyday of how blessed we are to be here serving our Lord.   I was thinking about football this week. I’m not talking about the kind of football where you have to buy expensive equipment and bash each other’s heads in; I’m talking about the football (we call it soccer) that brings joy and hope to so...

Touch, like prayer, is a powerful force. Visiting the referral hospital where free services are offered to those in desperate need of medical attention, it’s hard to ignore the might of both, especially in tandem.   Many of the patients there have no visitors, no support. There is no one there to touch them. There is no one there to cup their shoulder in prayer or embrace them in their pain. I am reminded again and again in Uganda of how lucky, how deeply blessed I am to have so many who love me. I am blessed to have a support team who would be at my bedside if I was in need. The...

Ten days! Ten days in Africa and it's already been mind blowing. We've had chances to minister to hundreds upon hundreds of kids; we've had chances to minister to starving and sick hospital patients; we've had chances to minister to highschool kids and younger students; we've had chances to minister to the working class of Lira; and we've had chances to minister to eachother as a team. I have learned so much about my teammates, myself, and so much about God. There is one thing in particular I learned that has really blown my expectations out of the water. It...