Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Matthew 28:19

"The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become." — Henry

The last couple days of our trip revolved around a pastor's conference which our host had invited us to. The Pastor's Discipleship Network (http://www.pdnafrica.org) is a program that Ronnie and Richmond Wandera created in hopes of helping pastors in Uganda lead stronger congregations. Richmond was a child who lost his father at age 7, and had to struggle with hopelessness until a program called Compassion International came and trained him in the ways of the Lord. He is currently at a seminary school in America, working on his thesis in discipleship.

Richmond explained that many of the problems in Africa revolve around witchcraft, even though it seems like everyone is a Christian in Africa. There is an African saying that many have one foot in the temple and one in the shrine. In effect, many of the African Christians were pulled out of culture of witchcraft, yet still face temptation to go back. It's similar to when I devoted myself to the Lord, but still had a desire to spend all my money on drinking and cars. I learned that the more I invested into reading the bible, prayer and being mentored by older men, the less I was drawn to selfishness. Richmond believes the lack of discipleship allows many Africans to remain with one foot in the shrine, and he is prepared to fight for discipleship. Richmond and Ronnie created the PDN to help pastors train young men and women in the ways of the Lord.

Richmond helped me realize the potential of discipleship.

My final days in Africa were bitter sweet. I had met amazing and warm people, but I experienced a lot of heartaches in the process. God revealed a lot to me, especially my dependence. Near the end of my trip, I started reading a book on cross cultural mission work (something I wish I would have read before I went). The book started with the story of a monkey on an island. One day the monkey was climbing around in the trees and looked down to see a fish struggling to swim upstream in a strong current. This monkey had a gentle and delicate heart that felt compassion for the fish, so the monkey reached down, grabbed the fish and placed it on a dry piece of land. The monkey was encouraged to see the fish hopping around in excitement, and as the fish finished "dancing," it fell into a peaceful rest. The monkey was so proud of his charity, that he patted himself on the back as he walked away. Now, we realize that the monkey did more harm than good, but many times we play the role of the monkey. The book went on to explain some of the struggles of cross cultural mission work. The biggest lesson for me was that you need to study the culture before you act, lest you become like the monkey.

And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."

--Matthew 25:40

"Let my heart be broken with the things that break God's heart" — Bob Pierce

Ever since we got to Africa, we noticed that we could barely go a day without someone asking us for money, or to participate in a project to help Africa. My first experience was a random guy at our hotel calling me over to discuss my devotional study on Romans. Being an American missionary, I thought, "Wow, this is a great opportunity to share the gospel;" um…that's not what the guy wanted. It was clear within two minutes that he wanted my help to develop a program to help all of Africa (his words, not mine). That was the day my heart became hard to their plight.

Every day was like that, and now we were sitting (on our "tour" day) in a village where people asked us for more money to build a school. “Come on!” I thought. We were already giving our time and money to the medical clinic; what's enough? Not every white person is rich, and yes, our country's infustructure is awesome, but that says nothing about my personal bank account. In a month, I'm leaving the country I was born in, selling most of my possession, losing a lot of money by quitting my job, and spending close to ten grand in order to be a full-time missionary. I wasn't upset with the villagers though, I was upset with my tour leaders for bringing me here. This was their fault (see that blame again?)

And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."--Matthew 25:40

The last person to address our group was a young girl with a heavy accent. The last words out of her mouth were, "please look at Matthew 25," and then she read it. I felt conviction when she read the verse: "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me." In this passage, Jesus is telling people that whenever you give to the poor and orphaned, you are giving to Him. Wow, did I need to hear that passage right then. My selfish heart immediately melted, and I was reminded what it meant to give. “How much can I give?” That depends on how grateful I am for His gift.

I thanked the Lord that He used her to soften my heart, and helped me realize that I can't love people like I think I can. I can love children, because their gratefulness makes me feel good, but I can't love my enemy. I can‟t even love the friend who makes me impatient, because I'm so concerned about my own feelings. Love isn't a feel though; it is a conscious choice to treat someone created in the image of God with dignity and respect INHERINTLY deserve, instead of the dignity and respect they EARN. Thinking about that makes me realize how impressed I am by the men and women who get up in front of their families and loved ones; who stand before their congregations and their God; who stand and look each other into the eyes and say, "until death do us part," and last. Both people have made a choice to make a daily choice of submitting to the other person's needs. Not everyone can do that. I know that I can't by my power alone. That day I discover my selfishness, and dependence upon God to change that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRqDmDohTLM&feature=related

Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

John 16:23-24

"The history of missions is the history of answered prayer." — Samuel Zwemer

The remaining time at the clinic became much easier to handle, even though it became much worse. I saw so many people that I was unable to help. I saw glaucoma, blindness, pingueculae, pink eye, and all sorts of other things. I saw a man who was unable to stand because polio had crippled and stunted the growth of his legs. It was hard, but I realize that my job isn't to save them, instead it is to treat them with the dignity and love that someone created in the image of God deserves. I became much bolder in my prayers and realized that I could help people find comfort by turning their focus on Jesus. He doesn't always remove us from suffering, but He came to earth to experience it first hand in order to bring us hope and comfort.

Dickson became a much closer friend in the later days of the clinic, because he was so wise and experienced in the ways of the lord.

One day a young man approached me at clinic and described his vision problems. I told him that I believed he was experiencing eye strain, but the patient asked if it could be due to witchcraft. I was taken aback by the question, because he was serious. So, I asked him whether he was involved in the witchcraft and he responded that he wasn't, but kids from the school will cast curses. I asked Dickson to help me with the situation, because of my inexperience with witchcraft. Dickson and the young man spoke for a bit and then began to pray. I have never experienced a prayer as powerful as the one Dickson presented. Have you ever seen those movies that show Baptist preachers down south yelling "I heal you in the name of Jesus," and then showing the lame, walking; the strong, falling, or the blind, seeing?

Well, that's what Dickson sounded like, although I don't know whether that young man's eyes became healed. It was a remarkable experience either way, because what those movies can't portray is the way your whole body tingles and feels like you were just injected with steroids when you hear that prayer. I was shocked, and amazed by the faith Dickson had. After the young man left, I expressed my admiration to Dickson, stating that I've never heard someone pray with that kind of authority. Dickson went on to explain all sorts of things about prayer, and specifically praying in the will of God. I hope I never forget the teaching that I received that day, but I do know that that was the day I realized the power of the Name.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

Isaiah 55:8

"The best remedy for a sick church is to put it on a missionary diet."

— Unknown

(part 3 from my time in Uganda)

We arrived at the clinic, excited to be out of the public, only to find hundreds of people waiting for us. But this is why we came here: to save people. I thought to myself, "Wow, this is going to be awesome." That's the one thing I learned on this trip: my thoughts are wrong…a lot!

I worked in the vision center during the clinic, which meant that we would give glasses to

people who needed vision correction. Sounds easy, right?

People from prior clinics said that the vision center was one of the busiest sections, but after 30 minutes, we only saw 2 or 3 people. I didn't understand, and became frustrated. I traveled thousands of miles only to waste my time standing around. As the day went on, more people started showing up, and my frustration shifted away from boredom to helplessness.

People started explaining their problems, which included tired eyes from reading, itchy eyes from dust, eye sensitivity from the sun, etc. The people were genuinely concerned about their vision, but didn‟t need me to help: rest your eyes after 15-20 minutes of reading, wear goggles when traveling in dusty areas by motorcycle, wear sunglasses and don't look at the sun. Why would God bring me here in order to tell the patients (what I thought) were common sense solutions. Not only that, but these people were tired and upset after traveling miles and sitting for hours, just to hear, "I‟m sorry, glasses won't help you."

I don‟t like telling people "No," but unfortunately, it didn't matter how easy the solution was. I didn't have the tools to help them, and therefore spend my day disappointing them.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

Isaiah 55:8

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6

"Never pity missionaries; envy them. They are where the real action is — where life and death, sin and grace, Heaven and Hell converge." — Robert C. Shannon

By 11 am, I was at the end of my rope. I thought I was going to cry, because I felt so helpless. “I can‟t help these people,” I thought. That‟s when I remembered that one of the locals was running a prayer clinic, and decided to try that. "Hey, I know how to pray," I thought. (Remember what I said about my thoughts?)

I found Dickson, and asked him if I could pray with his team. He quickly said yes, so I asked where the prayer room is. To clarify something here, I need to explain that before I asked him whether I could pray with the team, I was under the impression that a group of old ladies were making petitions to God in some secluded room. I mean, that's how we pray in America...interestingly enough, that's not how they pray in Africa.

Dickson interrupted my train of thought and said "Here Josh, pray with this guy," and introduced me to a man that spoke English in a very heavy accent. "Where do I begin," I asked. "Ask him if he wants to accept Jesus," was Dickson's reply. WOAH...let's take a step back here. My name is Josh Wheeler, but I think you have me confused with Billie Graham.

The first guy I spoke with told me that he was a Christian and wanted prayer for his health and the dreams he was having. I asked him about his dream, and he told me about a lake of fire with his family walking towards it. I prayed for him and moved on to the next guy, who said he needed prayer for health and dreams as well. This guy experienced repeated nightmares involving monsters that woke him from sleep. Finally, I spoke with another person who said he was struggling with the news that he has AIDs. My helplessness went from bad to worse. I can't help these people; in fact, I had become helpless and scared. I got myself into a situation right out of a Stephen King novel. I am way out of my comfort zone, and praying for these people was emotionally, spiritually, and even felt physically draining. I realized that I needed to take a break, and as I left, I felt as though I was wading through chest-high water. I couldn't even hold my head up. "What am I doing here," I thought?

As I sat down to eat my lunch, I prayed, "Lord, I don't understand. These people have problems that I can't solve, and in fact, it must hurt them more that I can't even relate to them." That's when I felt God say, "Pay attention Joshua. Look at these people before you pray with them. They are scared; they are distraught, and trying to hold it together. Look at them after you pray; they are comforted and full of peace. It's not because of you, but it's because the Holy Spirit will comfort them." That's the day I realized that there is power in prayer.

The Under Appreciated God

I have been doing an inductive bible study through Romans (which has helped me grow a lot) and learned something exciting today; God loves me in more ways than I realize.

Now, I will warn you that I am not a biblical scholar. I've never been to seminary, never read the whole bible; I haven't even studied the book of Romans with a group. So please don't take my thoughts as the gospel, but instead appreciate that I have found excitement by reading Romans 5:5, "because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

So, why does that excite me so much?

Well, after looking over different bible translations, asking the question of what this say about God, and thinking about what i already know of God; I realized that the Holy Spirit is a gift that I don't yet understand or appreciate like i should.

I don't fully grasp "how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ" (eph 3:18), but today i also realized that i don't even fully grasp the various elements of His love (His manifold wisdom). And how can i, when i don't even take His entire nature into account?

In the past i focused (almost exclusively) on the fact that God showed me His love through the willing sacrifice of His son, because of verse 5:8, "God showed His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

This is an amazing verse (one i don't yet fully understand or appreciate) and states that He sacrificed Himself for the opportunity to develop a relationship with us. Jesus is the reason I have a relationship with God and gift of the Holy Spirit, but amazingly, Romans 5:8 says there is more. There is another element of God's love.

Romans 5:5 "because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

God uses the Holy Spirit to pour out His love into our hearts: my heart. The same Spirit that I can grieve by my actions. The same Spirit that I ignore when i don't heed His conviction or caution. Yes, God uses this Spirit to reveal His love for me. The One that I fail to acknowledge or thank daily, despite the fact that the Holy Spirit resides with me daily.

I am amazed at what LOVE means to God. Not only did He sacrifice His Son in order to restore a relationship with His enemy, but He chooses to have His Spirit (His Power) lives inside my heart daily. Even though some of my actions are known to grieve Him, He chooses my heart as His home. That's amazing sacrifice; amazing love.

http://forgottengod.com/