Nimule, Sudan

Alice and Moses solemnized their marriage while I was in Sudan. This was the first Protestant wedding ever in Nimule. Moses has never been seen happier, and the dancing went on for about 40 minutes!

Honduras

I'm leaving Thursday for Honduras. I'll be in Saba, Olanchito, and La Ceiba on the weekend.
Then I'll go to Cosuna, a Garifuna village on the coast, to meet with pastors on Monday to Wednesday.
After that I'll be in the San Pedro Sula area for about 10 days, preaching in various churches.
It's interesting in that I'll be in conferences for 3 denominations as well as the teaching for the Garifuna pastors.
I'll be away for about three weeks.

Marstrand

I found this nice picture from Marstrand, the island where my father was born in Sweden.

California

I'll be in San Diego Jan 24-28 along with Ingrid at the AGIF convention. On Friday morning they have asked me to present the work of the Herald of Faith.

Evah is a midwife working with the American Refugee Committee in Sudan. We gave her some birthpacks that she will use to reward women who come in for prenatal screening.
The other picture is Charles Okongo's family. His wife, Caroline, and Joe, Charity Ingrid, and Emmanuel. They are on the Nile River at Murchison Falls National Park.

Student in Nimule examining a short concordance that Steve Fitzpatrick donated. The books were a gift from Nelson publishers.

Sudan

In Sudan we taught 25 pastors for 4 days and set up a program for 4 days of teaching every two months through the year. At the end of the year we will issue a certificate to those who attend all the sessions. We will do this with African teachers.
It was quite hot in the afternoons, and it seemed that my attention span was about 5 minutes. I did my teaching in the mornings. The African guys had more discussion, and that seemed to keep people alert on the hot afternoons.
Charles Okongo, Fred Latim, and Kenneth Gong were with me.

Put the X back into Xmas

The fuss over Merry Christmas reminds me of the phrase a friend used back in the 60's. "It's time to put the X back into Xmas."
There is an X-factor that is largely ignored as we solemnly insist on saying Merry Christmas rather than Happy Holidays, as if somehow we are betraying Christ by not saying the proper words. The incarnation is a mystery: How can He be wholly God and wholly man? How can a virgin conceive? How is the New Birth possible?
Certainly we can find linear theological answers, but there is still mystery. The Enlightenment doesn't cover all the issues, and in fact it hinders us from considering the awesome aspects of Christ's birth.
The ancient Orthodox use of Xmas probably reflects the ancient Jewish hesitancy to pronounce the Divine Name. They were so afraid they might take it in vain, so they didn't say it at all. To bandy about the Name, or to insist that the secular stores do so, seems to me like we are encouraging them to use it for merely commercial purposes. I think the issue isn't political correctness; rather, it is a carefulness to not take the name in vain.
Having said those things, I personally rejoice in the Incarnation. The Word became flesh. The baby was born, and He was the Son of God. The shepherds worshipped, the angels sang, and the Wise Men came. Merry Christmas!

Daga, Anna Lisa, and Soffi

My Mother, Daga, is on the left, and her sister on the right. Soffi, the woman God sent to raise the family when their parents' died, is seated.
Mom was born in 1911, so this picture must be from about 1930 

Uganda car

This is the car we bought a few weeks ago.















These are my African grandchildren, Emmanuel, Charity, and Joseph, along with their parents, Charles and Caroline Okongo

Honduras flooding

Tropical Storm Gamma
The gamma storm left Honduras devastated again. Some were killed, and 11 thousand people were evacuated. Progreso, near San Pedro Sula, was especially hard hit.
I talked with Pastor Oscar in La Ceiba, and he said that his house was flooded, and he had to build up a retaining wall that fell.
In Saba, a pastor had heavy damage to his home.
I've helped some, but can't do a whole lot now because of other commitments. But if you want to help you can donate online at charitybox.com/hf
I'll be in Honduras in February.

Uganda unrest

A probable presidential candidate, Besigye, was arrested and put in jail, causing unrest in Uganda. He is charged with treason, and among other things, rape. He laughed at the rape charge, perhaps because rape is so common in Africa that they hardly consider it a crime.
There have also been student strikes at the Makarere University.

Iowa

I had an interesting weekend, visiting a conference for Living Waters ministry, a group that helps society's outcasts in Illinois.
Then I was in two churches associated with my friend Jim Hartman. One is a community church in Whitten, Iowa and the other the Assembly of God in Conrad, Iowa. The preaching (on the servant song in Isaiah 49) seemed to be well received

Uganda

Steve Fitzpatrick is on his way to Uganda, where he will meet McElvain and teach in Kitgum. Mac is already there and is teaching in Gulu this week. Murphy and Eudy are in Bugiri teaching, and will go on to Kenya next week. I would guess that among the four teachers, we will teach about 500 preachers during this two week period

Phillip and Ingrid

This was at Phillip's room at the University of Vermont a couple of weeks ago. 

AGIF

I was at the AGIF conference in Norwalk Connecticut. (Assemblies of God International Fellowship, an independent ministers group of which I am one of the elders) I asked some people what they liked about it, and the response was "fellowship." The leaders sat at the table with everybody else, and they were accessible.
There are preachers who have a need to communicate with peers, rather than competing for denominational positions. We saw that happening again, as it always does in our conferences. George Ekeroth has proven to be a good leader, and Dale Collins has been a good editor and advisor. This is not the direction I thought the fellowship would follow when Ted Lanes died, but I'm pleased with the result. There is a divine hand guiding us.

back from the east

Ingrid and I were together on a driving trip to Vermont and Maine, with Jack the dog and Tess the cat. We pulled our little camper.
We visited with Phillip at the university and then went to Acadia National Park, with its wonderful scenes along the "stern and rockbound coast" of Maine.
We were gone for two weeks.
I'll go back east for a convention in Connecticut, and return on Saturday.
Here is Phillip and Tess outside our little camper.

stormy night

Mattsson-Boze
We had straight line winds and heavy rain last night. A big tree or two fell down into the small forest behind our house. Not far away two homes were destroyed. Hundreds of trees have fallen, many of them a hundred years old. We were without power for about 4 hours.
Now you hear chain saws all over the neighborhood, and people are acting like real Minnesotans, cleaning up the mess.

Sara Gonzalez

Mattsson-Boze
Sara died on September 1, and was buried in Sweden. Jose was there with her. She was a courageous and diligent missionary who often climbed the mountains to minister in remote places. She inspired many young people to go into missionary work.
She had struggled with cancer for the past couple of years.
I was able to have Hans Larsson represent me at the funeral. He had already been asked to sing. I wanted to go, but I had sent my passport in for renewal, and was without it.
Sara was an early missionary to Patagonia, and there are still many people who came to faith through her trip when she was young back in the 1950's.

Job's friends comment on New Orleans

Some people are reacting to the hurricane by calling it God's judgment. They didn't do that when Grand Forks flooded due to a lack of systems to protect it. Funny, isn't it? Grand Forks gets sympathy; New Orleans gets judgmentalism.
Barbara Bush managed to see the cynical bright side for the victims, and will probably be forever remembered by that. It reminds me of Ann Richards' comment on her son, "born with a silver boot in his mouth." It's too bad that her image becomes so tarnished, because she is such a likable lady.
Jesus' reaction to such tragedies was, "unless you repent, you shall likewise perish."