STEVE: Today I sit where it all began, at the Sienna Beach Hotel in Entebbe on the north shore of Lake Victoria. It’s sunny and eighty degrees with a moderate breeze out the southwest gently rustling the palm trees. The lake water laps the shore and Pam is wandering down on the beach attempting to sneak up on some unknown variety of exotic bird. This is the hotel where we stayed to recover from jetlag two weeks ago, after our…
On Sunday we had the joy of worshiping at Pakwach Full Gospel Church and the privilege of witnessing the real-life version of a widow’s mite. Located on a dirt path just off the main road, the church was in the middle of a community of round thatched roofs over square mud homes. As we entered the cement building with an uneven cement floor, @70 women & children’s voices filled the air with beautiful African harmonies. The room pulsated with energy…
On Thursday we finished up our first marriage conference in Nebbi and then drove over to Pakwach for 2 days of rest and preparation before a full day of ministry on Sunday. Our second marriage conference kicks off on Monday. Pakwach is a little town that sits on the Nile River at the entrance to Murchison Falls National Park, which is the largest, most visited animal preserve in all of Uganda. So, in the course of a one hour drive…
Good morning, friends, and family. The marriage conference for the pastors and their wives began Monday at noon. But first we had to get there! It was just a short trip from the guest house to the conference. Driving through the town of Nebbi, we passed hundreds of people walking along brick shops that sold everything from minutes for your cell phone to piles of pineapples and avocados. Dozens of boda bodas (taxi motorcycles) wove in & out of traffic…
Good morning friends! Well, obviously your prayers have been heard. I have no other rational explanation for our 2 ministry bags and personal luggage making the 3,700 mile journey from Istanbul, Turkey to Enbebbe, Uganda in less than 24 hours. But we were gratefully informed that our bags arrived at the airport at 2:15 AM on Sunday morning. Thanks for partnering with us in this way! Although each bag had been opened and inspected and the officials attempted to assess…
Good morning everyone and warm greetings from Uganda. After 16 hours of continuous travel, Pam and I arrived safely at 4:15 AM local time. We are +8 hours from you. Here it is 3 PM. For those of you who haven’t been tracking with us… Wendell Stoltzfus, Pam and I are on a 16 day mission trip to Uganda with Equipping Leaders International to hold 2 four-day marriage conferences for Pastors and their wives in Nebi & Pakwach in northwest…
A few weeks ago, Pam and I went down to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Now, admittedly, we’re not particularly artsy. I’m much more likely to get my picture taken in front of the iconic Rocky Statue and then run up the exterior steps to the art museum while loudly singing the Rocky theme… dun, nun, da… dun, nun, da…. But we like to broaden our perspective of the world and love being in each other’s company, and the art…
One of the annual struggles of the holiday season for us is finding a Christmas gift for our parents. Maybe you have the same problem. Last night Pam and I sat flipping aimlessly through endless screens of “suggestions” from Amazon. It’s challenging because my parents and Pam’s dad don’t need anything. In fact, they’re at the stage where they’re downsizing and giving away… not accumulating. Every year they say, “Oh, no need for a gift, we don’t need anything. We know…
Two weeks ago at Bethany, we concluded our fall sermon series, “Right Where You Are.” And hands down, the highlight of the series were the personal testimonies that accompanied each sermon. It was super encouraging. Every week for 13 weeks ordinary men and women from our Bethany family shared about deep struggles and blessings in life and how God is using them to transform their lives and impact their world. Through the fall I kept an informal tally of some…
Sorry for the delay this week, but I had the exact same experience that Sandy shares in her story below. And try as I might on Tuesday, I couldn’t get my head around writing a blog. ******* A devotional by Sandy Martin This may sound like an unusual title for a devotional. So, let me share the unusual story that goes with this unusual title. I was in my “50’s” and headed for my first routine colonoscopy. I had met…