Legacy

Over the years, I have grown to place great importance on legacy. What will the world remember me for when I'm gone? What will I leave behind for the generations to come? The word itself conjures up the names of people throughout history who left great legacies. One of the names that comes to my mind is King David, a man after God's own heart.

But take a closer look at David. After establishing Israel as a nation, securing peace, and building his own house in Jerusalem, David formulated a plan to build a temple to honor the Lord. How could David live in such comfort while the Ark of God was kept in a tent? But David, however well-intentioned he thought he was, seemed to have a subconscious ulterior motive. David hoped to secure his own reputation in the history books as a king and as a man of God. The Lord saw through this and told David, through the prophet Nathan, that He did not need him to build a temple. Instead, God was going to make His own name great and establish His kingdom forever through His son Jesus Christ. David would have the privilege of being involved in the Lord's eternal plan because the coming Savior would be his descendant.

It wasn't about what people would remember David for - it was all about God establishing His kingdom for the glory of His name. The danger in my striving to leave a great legacy is that it can quickly turn into building monuments for myself. My focus has been too much on what people remember me for. However "well-intentioned" a legacy can be, as soon as it becomes about furthering my name rather than God's name, it is prideful and selfish. I am learning what David learned: to take my place and be used in God's plan to bring others to Himself through His son. As Dr. Wess Stafford puts it, "Our only legacy is the lives of people we have touched in Jesus' name." All else is a means to accomplish this for His kingdom.

This understanding of legacy is a great perspective for me even as we celebrate the life, death, resurrection, and eternal legacy of our Savior. Happy Easter!

Romans 6:8-11

"Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

Here are some ways you can continue to pray for us:
1)  GSF is still waiting for the land title. Until this is sorted out, we cannot get started on the building. I have been busy with planning and scheduling, but things could come to a standstill soon if the title is not processed in time. This, as you can imagine, can be pretty discouraging. Although I am not here to just build a building, it is a large part of my responsibility and the tasks at hand. I am serving in other areas and will start a soccer camp this week. 

2) Corinne and I are hoping to get to Nigeria soon. Pray for the visa, logistics, and everything else that goes along with planning a trip.

3) Speaking of Nigeria, please pray for Nigeria. This week, over 100 girls were abducted from a boarding school in Borno state and there was a bombing outside Abuja that killed 71. Both of these events were attributed to Boko Haram. This burdens my heart, and it is hard to be in a different country when so much is going on at home. 

4) We are working to finalize the purchase of and pick up a motorcycle this week. We’ve been working on this since the beginning of March and ask that you pray all of the paperwork would (finally) go through. 

Building His Church

Daniel and I have been blessed to be involved in two church building campaigns developing simultaneously. One of the building campaigns is here in Uganda at Light of the World Church where we attend every week. The other is our home sending church, Community Evangelical Free Church. Although each of the building campaigns are different in MANY ways, the core of them is identical. 

First of all, God works through the individuals within the Body to accomplish His purposes. It's true that God is the one who builds His church, but when the shovel hits the dirt, you see the depth of God's movement through His body. But what does that mean for me as Daniel? How do we contribute as His body? I think it's immensely important that we do contribute, but what exactly that looks like brings me to my second point. 

Finding your place among a building campaign, whether the end goal seems larger than life or is something that could be accomplished singlehandedly through your own wallet, takes a whole lot of prayer. Prayer can easily take a back seat when it comes to areas of our lives that seem material/physical. Rather than falling to our knees, we choose to scrutinize our budgets. We can even lose sight of the Provider who put that money into our accounts in the first place! As Daniel and I have participated in these building campaigns, we have seen God use us in everything from contributing financially to counting iron sheets. One is not greater than the other - it's all about moving as an individual within the Body of Christ in obedience to God's direction. 

All in all, it's been a great blessing to be a part of the Light of the World and CEFC building campaigns. As I write this, I am sitting in Light of the World Church. Thanks to the miraculous provision of our Lord and Savior, we completed our building project this week. We successfully roofed our structure with iron sheets and constructed a simple, covered area where the children can worship during the service. As I write this, the Body of Christ found at CEFC will soon wake up and prepare their hearts to submit their pledges. Although Daniel and I will not be physically present at CEFC to submit our own pledge cards, we feel as one in spirit with our Body in Christ. May He open the eyes of CEFC as we begin this building journey where material and spiritual go hand in hand. May we never forget the Provider who blesses and protects His body here in Buundo Village at Light of the World. 

(below is a before and after picture of Light of the World Church)