can’t we all just use our brains?

Well, one day after I posted a shout-out to the Judge who threw out one idiot’s lawsuit, another one pops up. This woman is suing the makers of Starburst candies because they do not have some sort of warning on the label about the fact that they are chewy. Full article. Unless you happen to notice that the blessed little things are called ‘fruit chews’. I really wish we could work out some sort of system where people who bring up lawsuits like this have to pay court costs if they lose.

What really ticks me off is the fact that this is going to drive up the price of my favorite candy! Come on, lady!!!

a great day for America!

Since there aren’t many days to celebrate the American justice system, due to the nauseating litigiousness of our society, I wanted to send out a good thought today for Judge Judith Bartnoff. She saved our nation the global embarrassment of letting some blow-hard judge sue the couple that owns a dry-cleaner he uses. But, as you probably know this wasn’t any old lawsuit. This fool, Judge Roy Pearson, thought the trouble he was put through due to his dissatisfaction over his laundered trousers was worth $67 million in damages!

Here’s to Judge Judith Barthoff who, in her judgment, said Pearson’s case was filed “without any notion of reasonableness”! That is a nice way of putting it. Full article.

life in Malakal…one year ago.

I recently came upon this article by Dr. Adam Kushner, who spent 12 weeks in Malakal last year. His report of life in this area, and the medical problems to be dealt with are really eye-opening.

It will be interesting to see if/how much conditions have improved after one year. I will be leaving July 12th and will return from Malakal on August 1st. More info on Nate’s trip

this is a far country.

As I continue to try and understand what exactly the Bible teaches us about heaven, I thought this song by Andrew Peterson is a great summary of one thing we do know. Paul tells us in Phil 3 that our ‘citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ’. The lyrics to this song are a great reminder to me as I continually have to remind myself that ‘this is not my home.’

The Far Country by Andrew Peterson |

Father Abraham, do you remember when you were called to a land and didn’t know the way?
Because we are wandering in a foreign land; We are children of the Promise of the faith.

And I long to find it. Can you feel it, too?
That the sun that’s shining is a shadow of the truth.

This is a far country, a far country… not my home.

In the dark of the night I can feel the shadows all around me, cold shadows in the corners of my heart.
But the heart of the fight is not in the flesh but in the spirit and the spirit’s got me shaking in the dark.

And I long to go there I can feel the truth
I can hear the promise of the angels of the moon

This is a far country, a far country…not my home.

I can see in the strip malls and the phone calls the flaming swords of Eden,
In the fast cash and the news flash and the horn blast of war
In the sin-fraught cities of the dying and the dead
Like steel-wrought graveyards where the wicked never rest
To the high and lonely mountain in the groaning wilderness
We ache for what is lost
As we wait for the holy God
Of Father Abraham

I was made to go there
Out of this far country
To my home, to my home

‘the devil came on horseback’

A new documentary called ‘the devil came on horseback’ is out now about a former US marine who is an ‘unarmed observer’ for the African Union in Darfur. The Janjaweed continues to be extremely active in western Sudan (Darfur). This is the same type of thing that happened in southern Sudan for the past 20 years. Please pray for the people of Sudan!

Clip – Janjaweed

details about my Sudan trip

This past weekend, our team had a long meeting to prepare for our Sudan trip. Here is some information I found out about our team and what we will be doing:

Our team is made up of 7 people. There are 3 women and 4 men. The women will be leading a conference for Christian women in the community. The men, under the guidance and authority of A.L.A.R.M. (African Leader’s & Reconciliation Ministry) will be teaching a 3 to 4-day seminar on Acts 1-5. I will be one of the two primary facilitators for this conference for Sudanese pastors. The other two men, and one of the women, will also be working with community development projects. One of the men works for a ministry called “Water is Basic”, which looks to provide Sudanese nationals with well-drilling equipment & training.

After the rest of the team leaves, Taylor (also an SIM missionary) and I will stay in Sudan for another 4-5 days. We will travel to the village of Atar, which was the site of tribal infighting as recently as January. The purpose of our trip is to gain a better understanding of the area and also to encourage the leaders of the church there. Because of the fighting, SIM hasn’t been able to start any community development projects. However, we want them to know that SIM has not forgotten them and we are hoping to go back into Atar.
We will then fly back into Kenya, where I hope to meet with SIM and AIMAir directors before we fly back to Texas. These meetings will help to clarify our future role and potential placement for the airplane & our family.

Financial support update…
Thank you somuch to those of you who have sent in financial support for our ministry! Thanks to your generosity, we have received about half of the trip cost for this summer ($5,000). This means we are still in need of about $2,000 within the next month! If you are interested in supporting our ministry, please go to the ‘support’ page of our website, where you can give in the way many convenient ways (credit card, electronic withdrawal (one-time or recurring) or you may also print out the form to send a check by mail). As I mentioned previously, any funds we receive over and above the trip cost will remain in our ministry account for our long-term ministry.