In 2013 I was in Afghanistan working under the precepts of a defense contract. This was somewhat routine for me as I had already spent a number of years in the Middle East as a defense contractor. I suppose the major difference this time is that I was a saved man, unwilling to separate myself from ministry. While working on location at Camp Leatherneck, it quickly became apparent that fellowship would be scarce, for bible believing Christians were not exactly in abundance. To remedy this problem, the local chapel allowed me space and time each Saturday to teach the bible. I would create a place of refuge for bible believers interested in the word of God. I put the word out and then each week I would show up ready to teach the bible to whosoever would come.
Now, you may be wondering what on earth this has to do with being a missionary to Uganda. Well, As the weeks went by, men began attending the bible studies. Around twelve men would faithfully attend, all of these men were from Uganda. Over time, they would prove themselves to be kind, gentle and receptive to God’s word. I was so impressed with these men that I developed a strong desire to travel to Uganda and see what was going on there myself. So the trip was planned, I would take my vacation from Afghanistan and go to Uganda. While there, my friends had arranged for me to preach twice per day for two weeks straight. I was very excited, sermons were prepared and ready ahead of time, everything was set.
As the trip was rapidly approaching, the bad news came. Barak Obama issued a sudden decree, he was drawing down the war in Afghanistan and we were going home. All vacations had to be cancelled, including my trip to Uganda. I was crushed, it seemed that the Lord was in this and that I was heading out on an endeavor to do his will. We shut down our operations, and I went back to Florida to jump back into bible school. I love my church and I was content to get back there and jump back into the swing of things. I got busy serving God, street preaching, nursing home services, rescue mission services, Good News Clubs etc.
The best thing to happen during this time, I was privileged to marry the most wonderful woman a man could ask for. Kristin and I were married at the Bible Baptist Church on September 1, 2014. She has become the most cherished aspect of my life, I am not sure I could begin to thank God for her. We would sit at home together at night and watch missionary videos online, we would pull up google maps and search for different parts of the world, praying and asking God where he would have us to go. It seemed that God’s people covered the entire globe. It was essential to Kristin and that we find somewhere to be most useful in the service of God.
When it seemed that there was little room for us in foreign missions, God answered our prayers. I received a message from one of my Ugandan friends, he wanted to tell me about some land that had come available in Northern Lake Victoria, a place called the Ssese Islands. I was mildly interested in the land, but very interested in this series of Islands that I had never heard of. Immediately Kristin and I began doing just what we had always done, we were searching to see if there were any missionaries in those islands. Eighty-four islands, around one-hundred thousand inhabitants, as far as we could tell there was not a single missionary. This was exactly what we had been praying for, the Lord is so good to us.
In September 2016, Kristin and I took a trip to Uganda, we were blessed to spend three weeks in country. We returned resolved in our hearts to serve God in this country. Since returning the Lord has opened for us ample opportunity to present our ministry to bible believing churches for the purpose of support. It all seems so surreal, the goodness of God is so humbling to us!
It is our hope that you will pray for us, we have much to accomplish before we can make our way to Uganda. Your prayer and encouragement is a highly sought after treasure to Kristin and I. We also hope you will check in from time to time for updates and various articles that will be posted here for you to read.
“God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.” II Samuel 22:33
