If someone told me three months ago that I would be completely filled with joy when stepping into a prison in Uganda to preach to over one hundred criminals, I would have thought they were crazy. As soon as I walked through the gates and heard these men and women worshipping God, I was overwhelmed with peace and comfort from The Lord, and all the nerves I had about preaching vanished.  Preaching has been a fear of mine God has been breaking down this whole trip, so when I was informed I would be preaching at the prison as we were on our way there, joy and peace were not the first...

When God wants to teach me something, He seems to send an innumerable amount of lessons until it becomes abundantly and undeniably clear. Throughout the course of the trip, I have learned countless lessons about control, God's character, rest, blessings, grace, and so many others, but  this time, the lesson was about giving, and it manifested itself in just about every possible way.    It started a week or two ago through the ever-present topic of school fees. I knew before ever coming to Uganda that kids were often forced to drop out of school or were never even...

Things I expected to have happen in Africa: people getting healed, demons being cast out of people, tons of people coming to Christ. Things that have I have not seen happen in Africa: people getting healed, demons being cast out of people, tons of people coming to Christ. But living a life for the kingdom of God and following His call to a place such as Rukungiri, Uganda does not mean that what I expect is going to happen happens. I'm learning that its about the little things, the little ways God moves, and the fact that God moves in huge ways EVEN IF I CAN'T SEE IT. There is no...

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but over the course of these past 2 months, my role on the team has come to include frequently reminding everyone that God is sovereign. I think part of the reason that I am so quick to offer up this simple but life-changing truth is that so often I need to be reminded of it myself. So it's no surprise that God has used pretty much every minute I have spent on this continent to teach me something about His sovereignty and complete control.    Before I moved to Africa, I might have described myself as a bit of a control...

One thing I have been extremely thankful for this week is that our God is a God of both great joy and laughter, and also spiritual, fruitful conversations and moments.   In one of my previous blogs I talked about how God has really been breaking down walls inside of me pertaining to prayer. And this has not stopped at all. The team has had a few opportunities to go to a clinic to pray for patients, something before this trip I would have been so nervous and even reluctant to do. But each week we go, I am more and more excited to go and see how the Holy Spirit will work. Earlier in the...

Isn't our creator amazing? Not only has he created such a glorious planet, but he chose to create us and be in relationship with us. He could have chosen to create us as his slaves without a choice. But instead he created us in His image with free will. And we can choose to be in relationship with our Mighty Heavenly Father. Isn't that amazing? The Most High God who created the beautiful Nile River, the Rocky Mountains, sunsets and sunrises, and our bodies that are so complex and perfectly designed WANTS to know us personally and allows us to serve him and be a part of His...