Cape Point, South Africa

This is the farthest South and West you can go in Africa. 
We are on the Cape of Good Hope. It was a balmy 50 
degrees F (15 C) and over cast with wind around 10 mph. 
Great view of the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

A Much Needed Reminder

I just read this weekly devotional from the pastor of Calvary Chapel Cape Town in South Africa. It really hit home with me and I just wanted to share the blessing.

Trials and Triumphs
July 7th, 2011

"He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze" (Psalm 18:34).

The great military commander of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, once said: "To have good soldiers, a nation must always be at war." Prolonged periods of ease and inactivity do not produce strong armies. In our Christian lives the same is true. We need to be actively "fighting the good fight of the faith" in order to grow and become spiritually mature (1 Tim. 6:12).

This is the reason that God permits trials and tribulations. Growth happens in adversity. Tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance produces Christian character (Rom. 5:3-4). Never seek to avoid the battlefields of life. They are essential for the strengthening of your faith. It is there that Christ trains your hands to make war. As the Captain of your salvation (Heb. 2:10) and the Commander of the army of the Lord (Josh. 5:14), He stands with you and strengthens you in the battle.

Look at Simon Peter. When Satan wanted to sift Peter as wheat, Christ stood with him. He prayed for Peter. "And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.'" (Luke 22:31-32). Why did Christ allow this severe sifting? Read the verse again. It was essential for the strengthening of his faith. Through his sifting, Peter would learn to depend less on himself and more upon Christ. He would learn to rest in the unfailing grace of God. Furthermore, his battle training would equip him to effectively minister to the other disciples. In this sense, Peter's great trial ultimately became his triumph!

I hope that these scriptures will help you to understand why you and I encounter many trials and challenges in our lives. Trials lead to triumphs! James tells us that hardships, more than anything, produce perseverance in us, and make us "perfect and complete" in Christ (James 1:4).

In His strong love,
Demitri

Our New Son!!

As many of you already know, on 03 March 2011 we had our first child, Robert Scott IV.

Bobby happy in his Michigan State Spartans outfit!!

We are very thankful for all of your prayers and support over the past several months. He is such a joy from the Lord and we are very, very blessed to have him as our son. Suzanne will give more details on the story of his birth very soon.

Grace and Peace,

The Scott Family

Some Great News

We just wanted to share with you all that our unborn son is doing great! We had a 3D ultrasound and everything looks normal. We are still scheduled for a March 3rd delivery date and really couldn't be more excited. We praise God for this tremendous opportunity to raise this child in His name.

We thank you for your prayers and covet them even more.

Grace and Peace,

Bob and Suzanne

Merry Christmas

We just wanted to take a moment and wish you all a very merry Christmas. We know how busy the holiday season can be and we pray that you would just take a moment and remember why Jesus came to Earth. We are so grateful that He made Himself a little lower than the angels and took on the form of a bond-servant. He did this so we can have sweet fellowship with the Father, Praise God!!

We hope that you enjoy this special time with friends and loved ones.

God is in the little things

Monday I had the opportunity to meet with one of my students from the Bible College at his "house." I was heading downtown in the morning and he was eager to meet with me to show me his place. Now, this is a traditional Ugandan custom. For someone to invite you over, they are truly opening themselves up to you. As the average Ugandan has really nothing, no earthly possessions to call their own. They will literally give you a meal even if it means that they don't eat for the rest of the week. With this in mind, I told him that I would meet with him only if he would allow me to buy him breakfast. He humbly agreed. (Thankfully, breakfast here runs about one to two U.S. dollars.)

After breakfast, he was ready for me to come and see his place. He asked if I would like to take a taxi, I respectfully declined and said that walking was okay with me. I asked how far...he said "far." So I said, "about 20 minutes away?" He said "yes." 

45 minutes later we arrived at his place. Now, Ugandans are not known for keeping time so it was my fault for trying to put a time limit on his walking distance. But, I did know that "far" meant that we would be walking for some time...albeit not 45 minutes.  

Arriving at his place I got to meet his brother. They both lived in a one room, a 10 feet by 10 feet living space. No bathrooms, showers, closets, kitchen, etc. They had a queen size bed that they shared (completely normal here) and a bunch of Christian movies they had stored up when the church here went to all DVD. But, the best part was the worship music playing on the radio when we walked in. What a blessing!! 

Him and his brother proceeded to tell me how they were humbled by me leaving the U.S. to come to Africa. I was in shock. I live in a house, with bathrooms, kitchen, etc. I was the one who was humbled!! He was very proud to have me there for the morning and I was even prouder to see the work that the Lord is doing in his life. It is great that since we have the same Spirit, the same Lord, no matter where we come from, we have the most important thing in common...Jesus Christ. The whole time I was there, neither man complained once about what they did or didn't have. They were eager to show me where they did weekly outreaches in the community and to meet some of the people they encourage daily. 

This is just one way the Lord is using us here. We often have chances to meet, pray with and disciple people on their level, really showing the love of Jesus. We pray that the Lord would continue to use us here; to encourage the believers to stay strong and keep their eyes fixed upon Jesus. 

Grace and Peace, 

Bob 

Our Trip to the North

This past weekend, Suzanne and I had the opportunity to take a trip to Northern Uganda and visit some friends of ours. They live in Gulu. Gulu is about six hours North of where we live in Kampala. It was heavily affected by the long war that took place here and the people are now starting to show signs of recovery.

Our friends, Keith and Lisa, have lived up there since 2006 and have seen a lot of change. They have invited us up there several times, but it wasn't until now that we had the opportunity to go and visit. On Saturday night, we went out to the village to show the Jesus film. Now, let me tell you, this was a proper village. No electricity, no running water, mud huts to live in and almost nobody spoke English. It was a wonderful time! There were about 100 children that showed up for the film and about 250-300 adults that made the trip to see it. The nice thing is, we just hung a white sheet between two trees, started up a generator, plugged in the overhead projector and the movie was on an iPod. The people loved it and many gave their lives over to Christ that night and some the next morning.

The next day, Sunday, we had the opportunity to go to a village church. This was a great experience. The mud hut was about 30 feet long and about 15 feet wide. They had straw mats on the ground so people can sit and listen to the message. Keith had asked me if I wanted to give the message that morning and I was proud to oblige.

These people were hungry for the Word of God and needed encouragement. The teaching was on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:1-16 encouraging these Christians how to live in this world but with their eyes on heaven. You see, the Muslims are starting to outnumber the Christians in the North. It is hard to go over 100 meters and not see a mosque. Though they are not persecuting the Christians, they are starting to overwhelm them with sheer numbers.

It was awesome to see the hand of God work in these fellow Christian's lives. Please pray for them to continue strong in the faith and to finish their race with joy.

Grace and Peace,

Bob