A Powerful Weekend

Wow. This weekend was really one for the books. We had a visit by a Christian Evangelist from Uganda that was life changing. This man showed us how the power of Jesus Christ has transformed his country from one of famine, blight and poverty. From a country ravaged by an epidemic of AIDS, it has been transformed into a country on the brink of political, cultural, economic, and health-related revival. Uganda was torn apart by the rule of Idi Amin, a tyrant equal to Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden in his disregard for human life and his quest for ultimate power. The country was left torn and broken, with an incidence of AIDS that reached 33% and an economic crisis so bad that the country was almost bankrupt. The country was also left with an epidemic of witchcraft and demon worship that threatened the moral fiber of the country. It was through the power of prayer and hope that comes with the emergence of Jesus Christ in a community that saved the country. Jackson Sonyonga is a powerful speaker that is a world crusader for the power of prayer. His country holds monthly prayer meetings in large stadiums throughout the country where millions of Christians come together and pray from 6 PM to 6 AM and ask for Jesus Christ to intervene in their lives. Through that power of prayer, Uganda is the only country in the world that has seen a decrease in the incidence of AIDS to the point that it is now less than 5% in the country and dropping.

Uganda is still very poor, but many of the demon worshippers and even the witch doctors have seen the power of our Saviour at work and have come to Christ. It is an amazing story and he is preaching the power of prayer and how we need to become a church who is committed to prayer. How we need to have a set time in our homes to pray as a family and not just as a blessing over our meal or a token prayer before we go to sleep at night. We went to church yesterday and were blown away by Jackson and returned Sunday night at six PM to the largest turnout in our churches' history. The 3000 seat church was filled to capacity and every classroom was filled with video monitors. There were people standing in the aisles and double parked in the parking lot. It was an awesome sight to behold. Our life group will meet at church tonight and sit together to watch and listen to Jackson speak further on how to turn our country around through the power of prayer.

It is amazing to see the work that God is doing in our church as we had a special offering last week to help bridge the gap in Ajai Lal's church in India to help build orphanages. He was $40,000 short of his needs and we raised $62,000 in two services to humble Ajai and his family. Jackson is also building some orphanages to house the orphans of AIDS who number over 1.8 million in Uganda. The orphanages will each be manned by a Christian family and will house up to 36 children who have lost both of their parents to AIDS. I'm anxious to see how much money our church donates to Sonyonga. He will be here tonight and tomorrow still to finish his series on prayer.

I played poker on Friday night with the guys and won about $40. I sat and listened to a story of how 6 Roseville teenagers, several of whom played youth football with David, have been charged with the rape of a 15 year old girl in Folsom. The girl was so badly injured that she required 23 stitches. This follows the revelation that nine Woodcreek students have been implicated in a theft ring at the local Best Buy electronics retailer. One of the students worked there and allowed his friends to go through his register and he would not charge them for their electronics purchases. They would come through his line with an MP3 player or a car stereo along with a CD and some gum. He would charge them for the gum and the CD and give them the large item without charging them. Most of the students implicated are Seniors and Juniors and most played on the varsity football team and are friends of David. Our community is morally bankrupt and it is being filtered down to our kids. It was good to see David and Daniel at church praying for the ills that affect our society.

Both David and Daniel were baptized this past week at the home of one of the youth directors at church. They chose Earl to baptize them and there we were on a cool and cloudy Wednesday night gathered in the backyard of a home overlooking the 2nd tee of my golf course, Diamond Oaks, and eight students were baptized and made a stand for Christ. With all that is going on around them, it is so encouraging to see the boys choose a path that is so different from their peers.

The boys are locked into the youth group now, so much so that David has invited one of the girls in the group, Destiny, to his Senior Ball next month. Destiny is a blonde gal who stand almost six foot and is a leader in the youth group. They became friends in Mexico and David has eyes for this young lady. She is a committed Christian, but also a beautiful girl. I'm happy for the choice the boys are making and doubly happy that they resisted the group that stole from the local store. It is so easy for these kids to justify it in their minds. I'm just glad that they got caught and glad that the main offenders are all over 18 and get to be tried as adults. Reality will smack them in the head. Mom and Dad can't save them from this.

I played golf twice this week and I struggled on Thursday at Northridge Country Club. My driving is what sets my game apart. I'm usually long and straight, but I picked up a slice on Thursday. I managed to shoot 43+44=87, but was beside myself after the round. I went to the driving range early on Saturday and realized that I was standing too close to the ball. I stepped back about a foor and was again drilling the ball down the middle. it didn't help me score on Saturday in the wind and wet. I shot 44+44=88, but was glad to figure out my problem on the tee box and look forward to getting back down in the low 80's and upper 70's as the weather improves.

Well, work awaits. Jennifer has updated her blog. She is still a little studette soldier and continues to set personal bests in her Physical Training. She is homesick and looks forward to coming home in the next couple of months. Jen, did you get our package? E-mail me. Be good, hit your knees and pray for our country and for your loved ones. We need the power of Jesus Christ in our lives. He will sustain us and help us to prosper in a world gone bad. Ciao.