LITN II, Verses 8 - 20

8. As it turned out, there were some nomadic shepherds who had set up camp out in the nearby fields to keep watch over their flocks throughout the night.

9. And as they sat, sleepy, silent and still, an angel...a celestial being...just manifested right in front of their surprised eyes. At the angel's appearance, the very glory of God completely enveloped them, glowing and vibrating like an intense, electric force field, and they were utterly shocked and terrified.

10. But the angel spoke immediately and authoritatively, saying to them, "Do not be afraid! I am here to announce good news to you...good news of a great and joyful event, and of a new reality! And this good news...this new reality...is for all people everywhere...it is for the entirety of humanity!

11. This very night a Savior has been born in the City of David...a Savior who will perfectly embody the Christ, and will be known as the Lord!

12. If you seek Him you will find Him...and this is what you're to look for: a baby swaddled in a blanket, and lying in a feeding trough for animals!"

13. As soon as the angel made this declaration, the sky above the shepherds' heads lit up, and was filled with a seemingly infinite number of angels who formed a thunderous, mass choir, singing God's praises, and shouting,

14. "GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST PARTS OF THE HEAVENLY REALM...AND IN THE EARTHLY DIMENSION, PEACE...PEACE TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THE EARTH...AND A REVELATION TO THEM THAT GOD'S WILL TOWARD ALL OF HUMANITY IS ONLY GOOD!"

15. And then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, they were gone. When the stunned shepherds eventually regained their composure, they said to one another, "Well, let's go to Bethlehem right now and see for ourselves this thing that the Lord has revealed to us!"

16. And they did just that, leaving the sheep, the campsite, and all of their belongings behind. They literally took off running, all the way into the city, and were able to locate the stable. And, sure enough, there they found Mary and Joseph, and, lying in the trough as the angel had said, the infant Savior.

17. They gazed at Him, transfixed, for an indefinite period of time, until they eventually felt released to go. But as they returned to their campsite, they told everyone with whom they came into contact what they had just witnessed.

18. And their delivery of the news was so compelling that all who encountered them on their way were simply amazed at how these common shepherds...men who were normally quiet, isolated and reserved......carried on about what they had just seen.

19. But Mary was not as expressive...she just remained silent and contemplative, treasuring up all the mysteries of the night in her heart, and thinking about what the future would hold for her newborn baby boy.

20. The shepherds returned to their campsite and their sheep, but they couldn't settle down for the rest of the night. They praised and glorified God on into the morning light for all the things they had heard and seen. Everything that the angel had told them was true.

LITN II, Verses 1 - 7

1. Anyway...getting back to where I was in the story...right about this time, for some reason, Caesar Augustus decided to order a census to be taken throughout the entire Roman Empire.

2. This enrollment was unprecedented...the first ever of its kind, at least on such a grand scale...and it was made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

3. So it meant that everyone in the Empire...regardless of where they lived at the time, or of what their current conditions were...had to make the journey to their own ancestral hometown to be accounted for.

4. This, in turn, meant that Joseph had to leave the Galilean town of Nazareth where he lived, and travel all the way up to Bethlehem in Judah, the City of David, to participate in the census. As a descendant of David, that's where he had to go.

5. And he took Mary, his pregnant fiance, with him on the long journey, even though she was in the third trimester of her pregnancy.

6. Their plan was to move as quickly as possible to Bethlehem, and then attempt to get back home in time for the baby's delivery. But it turned out that while they were there, she went into labor, and there was nothing they could do about it. She was going to have to give birth right there in this overcrowded city of strangers...with no connections...no acquaintances...no family...no doctor...no midwife...no place to stay...just lots and lots of inconvenienced people who were also there only because of the census.

7. And so Mary gave birth to a son, her firstborn, and she swaddled Him in a blanket, and laid Him in a feeding trough for animals. It was her only alternative, because she and Joseph ended up having to go into a stable for the delivery. There was absolutely no vacancy in any of the local inns or hostels, so they just did what they had to do with what was available to them.

More Pics from Uganda

I added these shots from P. Chad to what P. Ernie sent me...will add more as others from the group share their pics with me (also posted on Facebook)

We're Back!

Hey bloggers...we're home...trip was long, but everything was great...I don't have pics yet...when I get them and sort through all of them, I may put them in a new slide show and post it here...

I did post these three on Facebook, and several people have already commented on them there...they are just some random shots that Pastor Ernie sent from his phone to mine on the way home from the airport...

Here's one of Pastor Ben presenting the ordination candidates to me in the Sunday service at Good Shepherd's...

Here's one from one of the services in Bewenge...this is the church with the bats...you can't see them in the pic, but they were there...


We gave back packs filled with school supplies to each of the kids at the children's home...in this pic I'm putting one of them on the back of one of the younger student's...





I watched the DVD from the Sunday service at CITN...very cool...Pastor D.E. had a great word, and the excitement in the place was palpable...thanks for all the texts and tweets and FB messages about it...I like to hear good reports like that, especially when I'm very far away...

After I get the rest of the Uganda pics posted, I've got to get back into the paraphrasing flow and hit the rest of LITN hard...got to get this project finished...

But right now I'm going to lay down...

Thanks again for all your prayers...

Greetings from Holland!

Hey bloggers...I'm writing this from the airport in Amsterdam...we have a five hour layover here, after an eight hour flight from Entebbe...then a nine hour flight to the ATL...

Still processing all that happened this past week...can't imagine how it could have been any better...thanks for the prayers...the ordination service was very beautiful and anointed...the choir did songs they got from CITN, which was very touching...we installed about nine deacons, and 24 pastors...really sweet people...some from Good Shepherd's...others from different parts of Uganda, including the north, where they have been at war for the last 20 years...

In a word, the whole week was totally flawless and in the flow...

Spent some time with Pastor Ben discussing what we want to do next year...we're going to be in some different places ministering, and I also want to build a soccer field at the children's home...

When I get back, I'll post some pics from the trip...

I've been getting some great texts, tweets, and FB messages about yesterday's service @ CITN...I wanted to stream, but we couldn't do it because of getting to the airport at that time...

Sounds like everything was awesome...would love to hear more...

Got lots to tell you...

Love you all...