Scotty, We Need More Power!

We just got back from Kigumba, Uganda. It is in the northwest of Uganda, and it is about 200 km from Kampala. It took about 3.5 hours to get there. The road was quite good for 100 km, but terrible the last 100 km. Thankfully, they are working on repairing it. Pastor John is a very good driver and he got us there safely through potholes and dodging trucks, cows, goats, monkeys, children, boda boda drivers, chickens and bicycles. You could meet all of these things in the space of 1 mile, so you need to be careful!

When we got there, we were brought to our lodging. Pastor John checked it out with us and he decided it was not suitable - for which we were grateful. The rooms were ok, but they only locked from the outside with a big padlock. They were also right off the bar...Not sure if it was an old jail or what, but I was happy to avoid this place.

The next one that we went to was much brighter and cleaner! The power had been out in the whole town for 1 or 2 days already and never came back on in the 2 days we were there. No one seemed to know why it was off or when it would come back on. They just kind of live with it. Can you imagine if that happened in Canada?! The coke was warm, the fans and lights didn't work. I could picture the Captain of the Enterprise calling Scotty for more power. (if you don't know what that is, I'll pray for you... :-) )

The conference we did went very well - and I'm not just saying that because we were the presenters! There were about 100 - 125 pastors and leaders from various churches. Some came from very far away just to be further trained! The people were so receptive and responsive. Pastor Scott did a fantastic job on teaching about the church. It is a passion of his and it shows in his presentation!!

We also team taught and taught about church issues, personal and leadership development. We had a great time of prayer at the end with a sense of God moving in a powerful way. The people were so grateful that we (Northgate) would leave the comparative comfort of the city to come out into the hinterlands. Truthfully, we are so grateful to be a part of this.

I will write more later about some of our experiences there. There are some things that are just different in Africa...

Crazy Drivers

I've traveled a bit in my life. I know that in many other countries driving is really interesting. In fact, in Mexico I love the challenge of driving a trailer and a 15 passenger van through the narrow streets and cars cutting you off. I've driven in Germany and loved the experience of 150 km/h on the Autobahn, only to be passed by someone going 200 km/h plus. I've driven in Ghana and you have to pay attention and be good with beeping your horn. Yes, every country seems to have its challenges.

Uganda has taken this to another level of seeming insanity! People pass on the inside and outside. They will cut you off. Yesterday we narrowly avoided hitting a man that bolted in front of us and we slid to a stop on the muddy, wet pavement.

People pass and play chicken with buses and semis, darting in at the last minute. In the past two weeks there have been 50 plus deaths in traffic accidents in this city of 2.5 million. That is apparently not that unusual. Pastor John had a colleague killed last week as he was filling his car with gas and a truck went off the street and hit him as he pumped his gas. There was a fire and other cars were hit and all told 6 people died.There were 18 killed the day we got here when a bus lost its brakes and plowed into cars and then into people. There were pictures of bodies on page 2. Yesterday, a young man was hit on the side of the road as he sold charcoal. They put his splayed and bloody body on the front page. These people were just going about their day and did not make it home.

Can you imagine if there were 50 traffic deaths in Greater Vancouver (equivalent population nearly)?

Please continue to pray for us. We are grateful to God for his protection in every and all areas.

Ever Wonder What that REALLY meant?

Hi there. We are in Kampala, Uganda. It is not nearly so hot or muggy here as Ghana (35). It was rainy and cool today (around 23)

We flew from Ghana to Dubai (8 hours overnight), 3 hrs on the ground. Then, 3 hours to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to drop some folks off. Then finally about 2.5 hours to Kampala. Needless to say, we were tired. When we finally got to bed in Uganda, we had been up nearly 24 hours. We went to bed around 8 and needed an alarm to wake us at 6:30! I haven't slept that long in years. Pastor Scott has an update on the day here. It went really well!

On a side note, while out in this village today, we were joking to each other about now we know why Jesus had Mark 16 in the Bible.(regarding ingesting deadly poison and it not hurting you). We had boiled and mashed bananas, ground nut (peanut) soup, corn boiled and mashed into a paste, rice, a 'stew', and some sweet potatoes. Nothing was bad, but when eating in the village, you are always a bit more concerned. People eat with their hands and get their food from a common dish with their hands. We were blessed to use forks and get our food first. You might wonder why I mention this? While, I read in a newspaper in Ghana that over 90% of people don't wash their hands with soap after using the washrooms. And, not to be too graphic, the outhouse didn't have any TP...I'll let you guess the rest. I'm a bit of a germaphobe at times...Ok, lots of the time! Needless to say, I was really blessing my food and praying Mark 16 over my life. :-)

The food was actually good. We are very thankful! It reminded me of when I tell my kids, "If you want to travel, you have to be willing to eat things that are set before you." Well, girls, dad got to experience that personally today. And, praise the Lord, I'm feeling great!!

It has been so great to see and hear testimonies from pastors that are encouraged and excited at what God is imparting to them through the ministry. They are going to go back to their churches and build these things into their churches. One of the highlights for me is that there have been many different denominations represented at the conferences. The churches of the community are coming and gathering together in worship and training. It is exciting to be part of equipping the church of the city!

Thank you all for praying for us and supporting us here and always. We really are blessed to be able to extend the reach of Northgate in this way. We could not do this without you holding us up! THANKS!!

Addicts?

Here is a picture of us in Dubai airport enjoying our first Starbucks in more than a week.
Apparently, we enjoy a good cup of coffee. The baristas didn't have guns, but we wondered if they were joking at first..
It would be robbery any other time except we paid willingly...$5 for Pastor Scott and $6.40 for me (extra shot)...

African way...

I thought I'd post a couple of the different things that happen in Africa.

1. Everything starts when people get there. We were - and the Ghanaian team - ready to go at various times, but people got there whenever. (maybe that's not that different...)
2. Someone can really mean to be somewhere at a certain time, but stuff happens. A car breaks down, there's an accident, a friend stops them and wants to talk, etc.
3. Internet is a luxury
4. You can buy pretty much anything out your car window. Water in a bag, pop, sunglasses, nuts, gum, you name it. It's their version of drive thru window.
5. When you're a guest, they treat you amazingly well. I have hardly been able to carry my own backpack or suitcase. They get you a drink before you can even ask. They speak with such honour when introducing you.
6. Car maintenance is done on the side of the road when your car has totally broken down. If it cannot be fixed, you just leave it there.
7. Funerals are a big deal. They take TIME! Friday they have an all night wake - with the body in the room. Saturday is an all day service, complete with brass bands, choirs, 4 or 5 preachers, family speaking, etc. Then there is a graveside service with great loud mourning. Sunday is a 'memorial' where the church service is dedicated to that person. Afterwards, there is a 'bbq style' gathering at the home of the family.
8. Cell service is relatively cheap (and VERY cheap by CDN standards). You can buy a chip for your phone for $2 and a $5 card that lasts about 1 hour talking to overseas. Within Ghana it lasts a LOT longer than that.

Hope all is well back home. We need and appreciate your prayers. Thanks!

Feel Like Chicken Tonight?

Pastor Charles is doing a good job taking care of us here in Ghana. Two of the greatest risks for dysentery and such are water and food...kind of necessities for life. The water is actually pretty clean to the eye. But there are tiny little nasty creepy crawlies in it waiting to attack my intestines (now that's a visual picture). So, needless to say it is bottled water only. Actually, I've drank some pop - 4 or 5 - which I pretty much never do ordinarily.

Food - Breakfast is usually tea, jam and WHITE bread, which I never eat at home. Sometimes we have a fried egg with bread.

There are some interesting foods here - fufu, bangku, shito (yes that's right), red-red, Ghanaian sauce, ground nut (peanut) soup, etc. Most of them would make us quite ill apparently. However, I have eaten ground nut soup and this trip we have eaten red-red and shito... (dangerous ground I'm treading here).

Red red is actually fried plantaine. Shito is dried shrimp and herring ground up and combined with a type of gravy (garlic, ginger, onion,) and ground hot dried peppers. It sounds gross, but it is actually quite tasty and hot on rice.

So, overall, I've just been eating lots of chicken and fried rice and veggies for which I am very thankful.

We are eating well and enjoying ourselves. I may go on a chicken fast when I get home though...

It's launched

It's Official! As promised here's the address for my campaign website. I encourage you to check it out and leave your feed back. Thanks again for everyone's support. www.craigmillar.ca .

Don't Forget to Vote!

Tomorrow - October 14 - is voting day in Canada. This is a great privilege that much of the world does not have. Let me encourage you to get out and vote! As Pastor Scott reminded us yesterday, it is our responsibility as believers to be participatory in what is happening in our nation. Also, don't forget to pray as you think about the election tomorrow. Pray for those voting, the candidates and our nation as a whole.

Click here to find your answers about where to vote, when to vote, ID required, etc.

Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart

It is so important to be thankful people. Veggie Tales philosophy puts it this way, "A thankful heart is a happy heart'. At our dinner on Saturday we talked briefly about what we are thankful for. The answers were great to hear...'freedom, family, friends, food, clean water, safety, salvation, heritage of faith, etc.'

Always, but especially in economic uncertainty, thankfulness reminds us that we are not in charge of running the world. :-) We are reliant on the goodness of God. God is our source and He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. In every situation, as we submit to Him, He is working things out for our good. Thankfulness reminds us of that.

Here are a couple of quotes to ponder...

Who does not thank for little will not thank for much. --Estonian Proverb

You say, 'If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.' You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled. --Charles Haddon Spurgeon

You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink. --G.K. Chesterton

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" --William A. Ward

Do you have any good quotes on thanksgiving or thankfulness to share? Let's hear them!

Another Announcement..

Check here on Monday afternoon at 5 PM to get the address for my campaign website. Adam Ziegenhagel did a great job on it! Can't wait for you to see it! :-)

Random stuff...

Here's some things going on.

1. As for the poll vote, Shanda only spent $20 on herself at Bath and Body works. The Lord answered my prayer and the things that she wanted were not available. :-)

2. We had the kick off for my campaign for a city council seat here in Courtenay. It was well attended by many friends. Shanda and I were overwhelmed with the support offered. it is going to be a fun ride!

3. Shanda and I got to cover the nursery for Sunday. It was interesting putting a little baby to sleep - it's been awhile He was crying and sniffling and rubbing his hands in his face. I guess that he got some on me because afterwards Shanda was pulling the dried snot off my face. I'm a bit of a germaphobe so that was interesting. It was really enjoyable with the kids for the most part (once we figured out how to get them to stop crying).

4. My election website should be ready to launch by next week. Watch for the official launch time here on the blog.

5. I'm heading to Africa on Sunday with Pastor Scott to do some training for pastors and leaders.

Take Away

Here's some of the 'takeaway' thoughts for me from this conference.

Monday night - Pastor Jack reminded us that Foursquare is a distinct family with a distinct call from God. He talked how we live this best when we serve the Body of Christ because this purpose transcends sectarianism and denominationalism. He challenged us then to begin to pray with conviction that there is something to possess. Move beyond passive acknowledgement and pursue the call of God. Obviously, the same would apply to us as individuals.

Tuesday morning - Jack talked a lot. But, what I took away is that we are always in a battle. The spirit realm is real and there is a spiritual enemy that does not want to see us succeed. Live aware!

Tuesday night - Glenn Burris, Jr. spoke how often we go off on our own 'great ideas'. We may have pure motives, but our actions can be totally wrong. There is no greater pursuit than to hear the voice of God - and do it! It may not always make sense to us, but God is leading and working things out to His purposes. It is a challenge sometimes to stop and listen - but the results are only what God can do.

Pastor Jack Interview

This is not your usual interview with Pastor Jack Hayford, president of Foursquare USA.