Chuck Smith: A Memoir of Grace

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This was probably one of the most inspiring books that I have read as Chuck opens himself and his faith in God for all to see. It takes you from the beginning of his life and how influential his parents and siblings were in every area of his upbringing. I persoanlly love how Chuck opens up to the reader and allows us to see the personal internal struggles that he and Kay went through while starting his ministry. It is encouraging to know that Chuck Smith, as popular and loved as he is today, started off trying to find where the Lord wanted him to be. It didn't happen overnight as it took him almost two decades to come to the realization that God called him to a grace filled life; and to teach others the same things.

One theme that is repeated over and over again is "everything is preparation for something else." We may not know or understand what God is doing in our lives right now, but we must have the faith to know that He is in control and that He has the plans for us. It is that faith and hope that I found while reading these pages.

 Thank you Chuck.

Grace and Peace

Local Kids of Sudan

There is one thing that Africa has plenty of...kids!! Just under half of the population of Uganda and Sudan are children. With the life expectancy so low here, not even 50 years old, people just don't live as long as they do in America.

These are some of the local kids in Sudan that we had the opportunity to just get to know. Being one of the only white people in the area, when you step outside the gate you tend to get a lot of stares and looks...especially from curious kids.

Grace and Peace,

Bob

Great work team for Sudan

I just wanted to let everyone know that we all made it back from Sudan in great shape. The work crew was awesome and got done more than was anticipated. I wanted to once again give my personal thanks to all five of the men who took time out of their lives to come to Africa and serve the Lord.

These five men from Washington, Illinois and Florida have stored up for themselves treasures in heaven with the good works they have done. From painting to electrical to putting up ceilings and putting in windows, there was plenty of work to be done and no one hesitated to help out. We even had a professional mason who got to play with some cement and learn some new techniques.

Once again, thanks for the hard work and no complaining, Glory be to God.

Grace and Peace,

Bob

Traveling to Sudan.

A lot of people have asked me where I am going to be while I am in Sudan. Here is a map of the area, it truly is in the middle of nowhere.

My trip has changed a couple of times, but now I leave on Tuesday the 16th and will return two weeks later. We are putting in windows, doing some painting and some other construction jobs. Please pray for the work that is going on there, to be safe and fruitful in all that we do.


View Larger Map

Grace and Peace,

Bob

Brother Andrew - God Smuggler

This book really spoke to me about having faith in what you are doing and giving God the chance to work in your life. Brother Andrew never went ahead of what God was doing and he was always provided for. This is an inspiration to all Christians to follow God and the calling that He has put on your life.

Also, what I got from this book is the difference between a calling and choosing to do something because it needs to be done. All around the world there are things and projects that need to be done, and most of us are capable of doing a lot; but that may not be where God has called you to be. You see, Jesus called the apostles to Himself, not everyone, just a select few. Though there were many disciples of Christ, not all were apostles. Even within the select 12, there were some who were even closer to Jesus; chosen for an even more specific work. They were not just simply filling a need, but following the call from their Lord.

If we are to fully serve Jesus, we need to follow His calling; and be satisfied with what He has given us to do. All around the world they need Bible teachers, carpenters, administrators, Bible College teachers, etc. but that doesn't mean that we go because of the need, we go because we are called. Much like brother Andrew, he saw the need, prayed, and that was his calling, to get the Bibles under the communist rule.

I hope that you are as blessed as I was after reading this book. Please share how God has impacted you from this book, or any other book you may be reading.

Grace and Peace from Uganda,

Bob

From the coffee shop

Today we are at a local coffee shop. I must say that Uganda has the best coffee I have ever tasted, cheap too. They have WiFi here and it is pretty fast, almost up to cable type speeds.

Yesterday I got to do my first teaching, it was a 30 minute devotion. The audience was mixed with Africans and Americans. The Africans were Sudanese men, 6 of them, 5 who are in the South Sudanese Army. All have been in the army 20 + years and only one is over 40 years old. You see, they all joined the army before they were 15 years old, one joined when he was 9 years old. As I sat around the room, these were the most kind and gentle men that I have encountered while here in Africa.

All these men have been in over 10 years of war and all have fought in many, many battles themselves. Most of their brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers have all died due to the war. The thing that amazed me the most though was their love for Jesus. They had this unconditional love, a love that you read about Christ having for us. They didn't love Christ because they had nice cars (for none of them had a car), because they had nice clothes (they had to buy new clothes when they got to Kampala) or because they are rich (most make yearly what we make in a month). No, for them the love was only predicated on the fact that Jesus loved them first, that's it.

The text that I taught from was in Philippians 3, speaking of our citizenship in heaven and our identity in Christ. These men don't have much, but they know their scripture well. I couldn't help but wonder how much better off we (Americans in general) would be if we didn't think that every bad thing that happened to us was God turning His back on us or that when we really, really needed something or things went bad we prayed. These men said nothing without mentioning Jesus, and one carries a literal cross with him wherever he goes. I was simply awestruck at the faith, compassion and dedication I saw yesterday. They really have the "God is good all the time" attitude and when they need something, they know that God will always provide.

For me, I pray that the Lord would continue to show me people with this unbelievable faith, unwavering faith. It truly is a blessing to be around people like this. I will be posting some of the chaplain profiles over the upcoming months. I would like to introduce you to some of the men who are changing my life.

Here in Africa

We have now been here for two weeks and feeling right at home. It is such a blessing to be serving the Lord right where He calls you to be. Though it has been unbelievably hot and humid, we are getting along just fine.

The best part of running the guest house is all of the other missionaries we get to meet. We have already had the opportunity to get to know people from Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan. They had to stay at the house to do some business here in Kampala.

Overall, we are doing really well and already making some new friends and renewing our old friendships that we had started when we were here 18 months ago. The people here are great and a real blessing to work with.

Please continue to pray for us, that we will continue to be a blessing to the ministry here and that we will continue to walk in the grace of Jesus. As we are here, we are hoping to get more and more involved  in the Calvary Chapel in Kampala, pray the Lord would give us wisdom in what to do.