“Wings area an illusive fallacy.
Some may possess them, but they are not very visible, and as for me,
there isn't the least sign of a feather. Don't imagine that by
crossing the sea and landing on a foreign shore and learning a
foreign lingo you 'burst the bonds of outer sin and hatch yourself a
cherubim.”
Amy
Carmichael (as quoted in A Chance to Die
by Elisabeth Elliot)
Like a lot a people in ministry, I read A LOT. Biography,
autobiography, theology, philosophy, history, devotional – you name
it, I tend to have an appetite for it. This past year some of the
best stuff I have read is by a guy who is neither published nor, as
far as I know, has plans to publish at any time in the future. Kyle
Ashcroft is a former over-the-road trucker who had an encounter with
Jesus, and just as Peter and John left their nets, he and his wife,
Laura, a member of the Mille Lacs band of the Ojibwe, left their life
in rural northern Minnesota, moved to Seattle and enrolled at Seattle
Bible College. Thinking God's plan was to eventually send them back
to Laura's tribe and minister to her fellow Ojibwe, to their surprise
following his graduation from SBC they felt the call of God direct
them to take up work in far northern Uganda where they have been
serving for several years now.
 |
| Laura (with a baby named Laura) |
I met the Ashcrofts in 2008 when they were on furlough. They spoke at
Refuge and I immediately warmed to them. Kyle is a self-described
redneck who loves Jesus and enjoys serving him – most of the time.
Out of courtesy at first I asked to be put on their email list but
now I eagerly await his monthly installments of his journal. If Amy
Carmichael was still with us, I think she'd say Kyle is her kind of
people. I know he certainly is one of mine. Amy lived at a time where
many missionary journals home contained lots of flowery accounts of
service in the field. She would have none of that. When she was
serving in Japan she once wrote, “Last
night as we splashed into pools and knocked up against posts (wind
and rain made carrying paper lanterns impossible) I laughed and
thought of the Romance of Missions. Throw a love-halo round us, as
shining as ever you like, but don't, if you wish to be true, adorn us
with one more romantic” (as
quoted in A
Chance to Die).
I don't know if Kyle has ever read any of Carmichael's works - or
even heard of her – but his journal entries home are a fresh,
sometimes raw, account of how things really are
“in
the bush.”
 |
| Kyle and Laura at Refuge |
4/3/13:
Choda had hit something big with the
lawn mower and bent the plate that holds the blades. He did not bring
it to me right away and ran it with a terrible vibration until it
would not go any longer. By now, besides the plate and blades being
mangled, the bolts for the motor mounts had pulled through the frame
and one of the carburetor mounting bolts had broken off. Fortunately
I had a spare plate and blades. And was able to fix the other
problems. Praise God!
Next we needed more sand so I hauled
2 trips from a neighbor. Pastor John went with which was fun. As
we were finishing up loading the first trip one of the loaders
started making fun of me. This is a very common problem for some
reason here. However I do not like it and jack them up when they
behave that way. After (seriously) straightening out this young man
he apologized and all was well. John just chuckles in the background
when I do this. I believe that the guys learned a valuable lesson. Be
careful of who you fiddle with. The next one just might hurt you.
Finally I spent some time with Opio
(one of our church members) about his plan to start a small business.
That was really fun. Praise God!
4/6/13:
The guard house builders cannot seem
to get straight and plumb figured out. I show them, explain to them,
but when I leave and come back the wall has to be taken apart again.
I think that it is one of those "slowly by slowly" things.
I am still feeling run down and
in a somewhat sizable spiritual battle. I tried to work on a message
for our first speaking appointment in the States. But after
struggling for some time gave up.
4/13/13:
The guys are still quite crooked,
but better. Praise God for that. The walls are now at least fixable
instead of having to tear them down and start over.
John and I went to Katakwi for
cement and some crates of soda for him. We had a good visit. I am
really impresses at how far God has brought him since we first
arrived. Praise God!
He told me that there has been a
problem with one of his leaders who has left and taken some of the
congregation with him. It is not good, but John has a very good
handle on the situation and things are going to work out. There are
many 'wolves' about and one must ever be wary. It is interesting that
these 'wolves' do not go after the old, weak and poor, but the ones
with strength and money.
The really bad thing the leader is
one of our friends and we also know his family well. It hurts to see
him bringing very big problems on himself and his family (his wife
and children are still attending Usuk Worship Center). So it was a
very productive visit. We also went over some of the usual
operational issues that we have here.
Finally Peter came back for a
visit and we had a very good time of discipleship. He is facing some
very big challenges in his role in the local government. As a
Christian he is trying to do right, but the whole institution is
riddled with corruption, including his boss. So that turned out to
be a vary productive meeting as well. This is something that I just
love to do. Praise God!
4/14/13:
 |
| The mango tree church |
We went out to Ayungabella today for
church. This is the mango tree church. We were a little concerned
as we have been getting a lot of rain lately. And sure enough we got
stuck. But we were in sight of the church so it was no problem and we
left it there. We were delighted to find a partially completed grass
roofed building. Praise God! The roof was up, but not completed
and the walls remain to be built. All 4 of our churches here now have
their own buildings which they have built themselves. We are super
happy.
The service was really fun and after
we had a fellowship meal and a time of sharing. It was one of the
better days in church in recent memory. Praise God!
Finally we dug the truck out and
with a dozen pushers were on our way back home. We gained 1 passenger
for the trip home, Wilbur the rooster (I name all the chickens we
get). After reaching home Wilbur found a nice home (of course it will
be a short stay) with Josephine.
What a good day.
I so enjoy reading these reports home. Though I've been to Uganda
twice now, I've yet to get to Usuk. To say that it's off the beaten
path would be an understatement. But how wonderful that God loves
those people enough to send a couple from northern Minnesota to live,
work, struggle, worship, teach, and pray among them. I always get the
sense that regardless of the irritations of intermittent cell and
internet service to say nothing of the daunting challenge of making
disciples anywhere that life is good and that there are more
“Praise God!”s in his vocabulary than the usual way God's name is
evoked by many.
 |
| Milo and points of view |
The
Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster is the witty tale of a bored little boy named Milo
who one day comes home from school to discover that a tollbooth is
sitting in his room as well as a small electric car. Getting in the
car and dropping the complimentary token into the tollbooth he
proceeds to have many adventures in the Lands Beyond. Along the way
he is joined by the Humbug and Tock the Watchdog and at one spot in
their journey they pull over to enjoy the view:
“Remarkable
view,” announced the Humbug, bouncing from the car as if he were
responsible for the whole thing.
“Isn't
it beautiful?” gasped Milo.
“Oh,
I don't know,” answered a strange voice. “It's all in the way you
look at things.”
“I
beg your pardon?” said Milo, for he didn't see who he had spoken.
“I
said it's all in how you look at things,” repeated the voice.
Milo
turned around and found himself staring at two very neatly polished
brown shoes, for standing directly in front of him (if you can use
the word “standing” for anyone suspended in mid-air) was another
boy just about his age, whose feet were easily three feet off the
ground.
“For
instance,” continued the boy, “if you happened to like deserts,
you might not think this was beautiful at all.”
“That's
true,” said the Humbug, who didn't like to contradict anyone whose
feet were that far off the ground.
“For
instance,” said the boy again, “if Christmas trees were people
and people were Christmas trees, we'd all be chopped down, put up in
the living room, and covered with tinsel, while the trees opened our
presents.”
“What
does that have to do with it?” asked Milo.
“Nothing
at all,” he answered, “but it's an interesting possibility, don't
you think?”
(Alex Bings to Milo
in “It's All In How You Look At Things”)
The strange boy (who
grows closer to the ground the older he gets) is right. As we might
say today, “attitude is everything.” During the last few years at
Refuge we've experienced a handful of traumatic events: In 2011, we
were robbed three times by the same individual; in 2012, not only did
one of our core families experience loss when Steve was in a terrible
motorcycle accident but also a water supply line to the men's room
mysteriously came loose which led to the flooding of our basement;
and in 2013, our insurance company dropped us like a hot rock on
account of what happened in 2011 and '12. Though the police captured
the thief and I have since met with him a few times before he left
for prison and though we now have a new, wonderful lower level
facility, still our deacons had to scramble to find a new insurance
policy. And because of our recent claim activity we are now paying
double of what we once did. Frankly, it's a little irritating. In
fact, when Kyle says he had to “jack” some guy up recently, I've
wanted to do the same to the kid who caused all the problems to begin
with as well as everyone at our former insurance company for their
rude and unprofessional dealings with us (seriously, when a customer
service person tells you that she doesn't want to hear your complaint
and offers to give you a web address instead, I was like Mr. Furious
in Mystery
Men
wanting to yell at the lady, “Don't
mess with the volcano...'cause I will go Pompeii on your... butt.”
I refrained from doing so – out loud). But, for all that, if I hold
on tenaciously to the big picture I am reminded that every set back
we experienced in '11 and '12 has turned into a ministry opportunity
or two. In fact, ministry hasn't pulled back at all. If anything,
it's increased. I gotta think that this recent slap in the face will
turn out much the same way.
 |
| I believe the line is, "This little sucker just saved your life!" |
Until the kingdom comes in its fullness, there
will always be difficult people to deal with, stuff will break down
and the most importune moments and you'll just have days that, like
Alexander in the Judith Viorst story, are horrible, terrible, no good
and very bad. As she says, “Some days are like that. Even in
Australia.” So though the truck may be buried up to its axles in
mud, with the help of some good pushers, you can be back on your way
and who knows, maybe with a rooster for your evening dinner. God is
good even on the bad days - even the ones that are terribly bad –
and is able to give each of us a fresh perspective on the place he
has called us to.
“...what
we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just
as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your
advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more
people, more and more praise!”
“So
we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it
often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where
God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding
grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming
good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far
more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today,
gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever”
(Paul as quoted in 2 Corinthians
4:14-18, The Message)
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