"Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits." - Mark 6:7
Well, if God wants us to travel and minister in two's, then he certainly made that crystal clear this past week. And because of His faithfulness I now have a travel companion for this March's mission trip to Uganda where we will be serving with George and Christie Magera (www.EkuboMinistries.org) by helping distribute 300 Bibles to their village.
Let me tell you a bit about my new friend, and how God divinely wove our two stories together in a way that will bring Glory to Him!
I met Jason Ingle in the market place. The real estate firm for which he works was holding a Strategic Marketing Summit and they asked my company to sit in as a participant in this initiative.
Weeks past and after another business meeting, we made time to share more intimately what God had been doing in each of our lives over the past several years. "A lot of emptying of ourselves" was what we related to mostly. It was obvious that Jason and I had a ton in common. One of those things being a heart for overseas missions. Jason had recently been given the opportunity to serve our Lord in Honduras and of course I had been given the opportunity to serve in Africa. I began feeling a connection with Jason. God would begin to reveal His plan for us as brothers in Christ.
Here's where it get's interesting. George Magera shared with me during one of our phone calls how desperately his village needed someone to help them start a Descipleship and Bible Training Program. I wrote this down and added it to my growing prayer list for his village. I also asked the "Touch and Lift" Prayer Team to begin praying about it.
So two weeks ago, Jason and I set aside time to meet for coffee. We talked mainly about how we, as an American church, share the Gospel of Jesus. But something I learned about Jason during our time together confirmed that God had a plan for the two of us to serve together... HIS plans unfold as quickly as He wishes. I learned that Jason is studying at Liberty University Seminary (Masters in Theological Studies) and has applied for acceptance at Southeastern Baptist Theological to start work on his Masters of Divinity. I learned that God has given him a passion for teaching and education, specifically in His Word. Jason has been studying with a heart for working in ministry as an education minister and eventually as a professor. Along the way, God has given him several opportunities to preach in large group settings and he is finding that he has a great passion for this as well. Over the past two years he has prayed earnestly that God would use him with these gifts.
So, I told him about how I would be serving our Lord in Uganda this March, and shared with him George's desire to build a Descipleship and Bible Training Program. Then I asked him if he might consider joining me. He agreed to pray about it. A couple days later, Jason shares with his Men's Fellowship group this opportunity that God had placed before him, and after praying together, his "Band of Brothers" write checks that would cover most of his plane ticket. And Jason tells me yesterday that his entire trip is nearly funded.
That's how God rolls friends. Jason will join me from March 16 through March 31 as we serve the Ekubo Ministries' village of Bugabo in Uganda.
Our Prayer Requests
Please continue to pray for Ekubo Ministries, Jason and myself as there is still much to do and plan for. Please pray for God's covering on us while we are on the ground in Uganda doing whatever the Lord
leads us to do. We are praying for people to not only welcome us as we present them with God's Word and the message of Jesus Christ, but
for people to accept Christ! We are praying that the Holy Spirit would
fill every team member as we do His work and that all we do will glorify our King... Christ Jesus.