My apologies for the long gap in blog posts. I have spent most of the last week being sick or recovering from being sick and have not had much time to get to the internet cafe. Also, the internet has been down for more than a week.


Saturday afternoon a week ago I was privileged to participate in an “Pastor Installation Service.” One of the pastors in the area has recently been ordained (though he’s been serving the church for a couple of years) and the Installation Service is a formal way of churches in the area to recognize the significance of this occasion. They held it at God’s Glory Baptist Church to accommodate the large crowd...even so they ran out of chairs! As with most other church services, there was praying, singing, dancing, preaching, and admonishing in the Lord. At the end of the service, they held a “robing” ceremony in which two other pastors took a robe (similar to the one John Fairless wears occasionally) and put it on the newly ordained pastor.

I’ve never seen anything quite like it and felt honored to participate. Such faithful men and women seeking to bring the Gospel to the Wala people are really

needed here. The workers are few when compared to the harvest that awaits those who will venture to go.

Last Sunday the local chapter of the National Union of Baptist Students (NUBS) joined services with God’s Glory Baptist Church to celebrate their inauguration as an official member chapter. There had been a group of Baptist students meeting for the last five years and had finally grown to the extent that they felt it was time to formally affiliate with NUBS. It was an especially energetic service with so many college students participating. The dancing was so intense at one point that someone broke off part of the sole of his shoe! That evening they held a dinner celebration at which I was a guest of honor. I found this out when I arrived and they seated me at the head table. Although I was a bit disappointed at not being able to sit with my friends, being a guest of honor afforded me the opportunity to offer a few words of wisdom to the group later in the program. I urged the students to take time for spiritual development in the midst of their academic pursuits. Academic preparation might grant them success in a worldly sense, but without a firm foundation of faith they will not be able to handle that success in a way that honors God. I don’t know how many took it to heart, but hopefully it was a helpful reminder to someone.

On Monday I was sick, sick, sick! I registered a fever of 103.6 F along with a laundry list of other unpleasant symptoms. I could barely move. I spent nearly the whole day just lying down at Pastor Dan’s house. Tuesday was incrementally better and by Wednesday evening I felt well enough to make it to prayer meeting. Thursday I spent most of the day resting and by Friday I was mostly back to normal. Needless to say, I did not get much else done during that time. I will say this: there is nothing like severe sickness to make you appreciate how wonderful it feels to be healthy. I have certainly not taken my health for granted these last few days.

On Friday I left with Sule to go to Tuasa for to interview farmers. I was expecting for us to finish about 8 interviews before returning on Saturday evening. Amazingly we were able to finish all 15! The Lord truly multiplied our efforts beyond all that I asked for or imagined. I’m left with interviews to complete in Piisi and Nyagli. I am praying that the Lord will bless the remaining efforts in a similar way. If so, I might even finish things early.

Sunday morning I traveled with Pastor David to Vieri for their church service. It was wonderful to worship with them under the shea tree praising the Lord and praying together. I shared with them from 2 Kings 7, where the 4 lepers deliver Samaria from the Aramean army. I encouraged them that if God could use 4 lepers to defeat a whole army, he can surely use them to spread the gospel in their community. Pastor David added a few of his own words at the end and we closed with prayer. It was simple yet powerful. I’m glad I went.

Please pray:

- For good health for me and those working with me

- That God will grant me favor with the farmers I interview

- That I will have opportunities this week to pray with and encourage other believers here