Their time came: Chipolopolo of Zambia


If the Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire had won
this 2012 Africa Nations Cup, the sorrow of the Zambians could have
overshadowed their celebrations.

Not far from the field of play, off the
coast of Gabon, in 1993, the Nation of Zambia lost 25 souls, all members of their
entire national football team in an air crash. Africa wept!

The Africa Nations Cup of the following year
saw a brand new Zambian team make it to the final. Most people predicted, prayed
and wished for a Zambia victory. But they lost to Nigeria.

It was a memorable match, fueled by passion
for the dead and hope for the living. But it was not their time.

Truly, there’s a time for everything.

God has made everything beautiful in its
time (Eccl
3:11). Sometimes this scripture is misapplied, misquoted and misunderstood.
It appears to some, if not most, to mean God makes things beautiful in His own
time.

But is it really a matter of God’s time,
seeing that the Almighty is not bonded by time and space?

This scripture underscores the wisdom of God
as He displays the appropriateness and beauty of a purpose, a person or a
people whose time just arrived.

This is not to say that God cannot or does
not make things happen when He wants them to but it’s more expressive here the
fact that the Kairos moment of a
purpose which is foreknown to the Omniscient God is always a spectacular time.

Aided by hindsight and a rich God-centered
theology as we investigate current affairs of great delight to us, we can’t
miss the fingerprints and footprints of a loving, faithful and all sufficient
God.

Some lessons from the Zambian victory:-

 1. Even if the Ivorian team had an
extra man from the beginning of that final game, Zambia would still win. Their
time had come and they won’t be robbed of it. Jesus came at the best time in history (Galatians
4:4) Herod, all Jerusalem and even the hosts of hell could do nothing about
it.

 

 2. This Zambian team may not have won this
tournament without a 19yrs old tragedy which became the binding cord that kept
them united, focused and also determined. Don’t
mock tragedy when it arrives first, you may be ridiculing the wisdom
of God. (Acts
7:17)

3. Your underdog status today is part of
God’s matchless strategy. Don’t force
yourself to be something when you are better-off just being nothing
or the lesser. Like David, allow God to make
you! God showcases
His strength through the weak and His wisdom through the simple at heart. (1
Cor 1:27-29)

4. 18 years (as it was for
Zambia) could seem a long time to wait for anything, but consider the beauty of
the end result when God pulls the curtain. The longer the wait, the sweeter the
victory in the end. Your waiting time is
God’s working time. He works for those that wait for Him. (Isaiah
28:16)

5. The delay may be as a
result of your unpreparedness for the beauty God is planning. There’s need for adequate preparation not
just to facilitate the time of glory but more so to be humbled before it dawns.
(Remember
Joseph)

6. Sometimes, the
circumstance may seem right and the preparation seem apt. But if it’s not time,
it’s not time! We build our faith while waiting. In 1994, the Zambia national football team and probably the
whole world could have felt and acted as though their time had come; but no. Even the Lord
Jesus , despite His passion, understanding and focus; waited patiently for
18years to finally and fully engage His Father’s business and finish it. (Luke2:40-51)

May your waiting time not be wasted time,
may your time come, may it be soon, may it be on God’s terms and ultimately,
for His glory.

What lessons have you learnt about waiting?

90mins movie of your life

After watching the movie Real Steel with my family few
weeks ago, I wondered at what a 90minutes movie of my life’s journey so far, would
look like. Which events of my existence must make the cut within the 90mins
film?

The more I thought of this, the more it dawned on me
that the key elements of my life’s trip had been in the ever so uncomfortable and
solitary arenas where God and I made a clear and unforgettable connection.

For me, it’s been a great blend lonely moments of pain
and pleasure, uncertainty, fear and even shame. I love thrillers and action movies but I don’t think mine would make a
blockbuster. My assessment here may be wrong but I’m comfortable with my progress.

The world’s idea of a hero is badly skewed, relative
to the Kingdom of Christ. “So Jesus spoke to them:
“You are masters at making yourselves look good in front of others, but
God knows what’s behind the appearance. What society sees and calls monumental,
God sees through and calls monstrous.” (Luke 16:15)

The
legacy of our lives will be found in the mundane more than the seemingly
miraculous or grandiose. God doesn’t miss anything and acts of obedience done in
secret, which are the highest level of worship, grab His attention.

As
I look at the lives of men and women whom God took time to tell their story in
the scriptures, I’m awed by this reality. Those through whom God displayed His
glory and told His story had significant private sessions with Him. Their
resolve to obey Him set them against the established systems of their day. They
were the bad guys.

In
fact, it would seem that He carefully led them towards Himself in some rather
strange ways, but always left another option beside Himself. They could walk
away and be the world’s good guys.

Take
a random pick of the greats in the scriptures and you’d trace the unique moment
of God’s presence to their private and unpopular hours.

What
events would make the cut in the 90mins movie of your life, directed and
produced by you?

What
are the most precious memories of your encounter with the Almighty God, which
you’d want the world to learn from?

Could
it be your birth or childhood? The birth of Jesus though in a smelly manger made
the headlines all the way to the Far East and many babies lost their lives because
of Him. These made the cut for Him.

Could
it be your education or career or ministry? Jesus didn’t go to school but His
wisdom was unparalleled in all history; such that at age 12, He dazed the
lawyers of His day. He started the most successful ministry ever, with ignorant
fishermen from one tribe and surrendered it
to them in the end, even when it seemed they didn’t understand its purpose.
He said it pleased His Father like that. (Matthew 11:25)

Could
it be your wealth or spouse or children? A man like Jacob lost all three,
wealth, spouse and children (Reuben and briefly Joseph) in his life time and
yet, the most significant event about him was that all night lonely encounter
with the angel that changed his destiny forever.

40
years a fugitive, Moses heard God at the burning bush and gave another 40years
to all he heard and when he died, God Himself 
buried him (Deut 34:5-6). David, fleeing from King Saul wrote many
Psalms hiding in several caves; Paul’s time in prison was Abba’s design to
produce timeless Epistles. Noah, Job, Abraham, Isaac, Hannah, Ruth… The list
is long.

The
hidden truths and glories of the Living God are found in secret and lowly
places not in the limelight. When you feel rejected, defamed and misunderstood for
Christ’s sake, you are rightly located for a great story, one more suited for
heaven’s audience.

 What could we learn from the 90mins movie of
your life, if ever there was one?

6 Lessons from my battle with depression… 19years ago today.

Flipping through my journals
earlier in the week. I stopped to reflect on the recorded events of this
season, exactly 19years ago.

I’d not slept for as little
as 10minutes since mid October the previous year and on the 24th of January
1993, I was on admission in hospital diagnosed with acute Malaria and acute
insomnia. I thought I was going to die. The emotional trauma made me hate
life. Death seemed the best option.

My problems that season took
a drastic twist when I learnt from my Head of Department on campus that I had
an outstanding elective course which I’ll not be allowed to take that final
semester; consequently, I won’t graduate with my classmates.  

I was just a few weeks
into my courtship with Sola,
and we were both struggling to understand the whys of our inevitable and
immediate “call” into an intimate relationship. The complications of
that season were just too heavy for my mind to manage.

I had every reason to be
happy; my final exams were over, project done and a sweet girl I didn’t ask for
offered moral support. But no, I was the most miserable soul on earth. Too many
issues invaded my thoughts and slowly, I began to spend my day and night hours
just thinking, fantasizing and wondering what could have been.

The idea that I’d failed
couldn’t leave me.

In those days, there were no
mentors and those that could have played that role were like submarines- too
deep for quick access, always in war mode, too busy with official assignments
and too strange in appearance for ordinary people.

As I narrated my ordeal to
the doctor, my dad who’d brought me to the hospital couldn’t take it anymore.
He slammed his fist on the doctor’s table and shouted, “Why didn’t you
tell me all this since…!?”  As close as we were, there was an
invisible chink that made a huge difference.

                Lesson 1:
Close friends, mentors and family (your tribe) could be the ladder leading out
of the dungeon of depression.  You
need a tribe. Don’t ignore their grace. Granting them permission to speak
into your case is humility. God lifts the humble.

                Lesson 2:
I felt I could “think my way out” of my challenges. I tried to, but
realized my efforts were powerless to the seductive nature of depression. It
makes you both the subject and the object of the issues. You are like a boat
lost at sea and also the turbulent storm tormenting the boat. You can’t have
the peace that passes all understanding by trying harder to understand. Until
you surrender, the storm is you. Sadly though,  people around you will
suffer your blasts too. They don’t deserve it.

                Lesson 3:
As I lay on that hospital bed, thinking of my life. I said, “Lord, you
know I could have maneuvered my way out of this mess. I didn’t have to tell my
department the whole truth, thereby punctuating my journey like this.”
 Victory is not far away when we engage the Lord in an honest dialogue.
He longs for it!!  

He said, “Yes I know,
but you are not here because you told the truth, you are here because you
believed a lie.” Which lie?

“You believed your
joy and peace come from doing good, achieving set goals and seeing your plans
work out. But your joy is in me. Nothing else can satisfy.”

 “You are not a
failure. I’m the only one that can define you to you. I love you in your
weakness and in confusion. I love you not because of what you can accomplish
but because of me. I love you for me.” I couldn’t understand this.

                Lesson 4:
The Bible was stale and prayer meetings were a bore those days. I spent many
nights listening to any station broadcasting in English language from my small
transistor radio. Depression reveals how wide our focus shifted from Jesus to
other gods.

                Lesson 5:
You are not immune from depression because
you have a successful career or ministry or a happy home or healthy children
etc. Like we willingly choose Jesus as Savior and Lord, we choose worry
that soon leads to depression. The feeling of hopelessness is just a
feeling. Faith and feelings don’t mix well.

                Lesson 6:
The only antidote to a lie is truth, not commonsense. Knowing the truth
 does more than set free, it makes free! The difference between the two
states is profound. The persistent application of truth regardless of
present circumstances honors God. That’s what faith is all about.

 Do you have any memories
along this troubled path? What did you learn?

A Christian strategy against terrorism… Boko Haram

Current affairs in Nigeria may threaten her unity but if her total disintegration will further the course of the gospel of Christ and hasten His return, let it be! If her unity will honor Jesus and give Him His due in this Country and other Nations, NO ONE and NOTHING can split us.

I read with delight, the beautiful piece- Another Perspective, written by Joseph Thompson, where he responded aptly to an earlier Call to Prayer for Nigeria against the “spirit of Sudan”, which has been making rounds on the internet.

I’m saddened by the call from some church leaders here to take up arms and defend ourselves and physically “push back” our enemies. I’m utterly appalled at our loss of focus, having failed to see what the real issue is.

I woke up this morning with three different dreams all about bombings in large Christian gatherings and very many people died. Multiple nightmares in one night… I may need to treat myself for malaria if this is not a message from heaven.

Interestingly, the bomber in these dreams was not a stranger. The face was someone I know. He’s not even a Muslim. He successfully executed his plots each time and disappeared into the crowd of wounded and weeping worshipers. I leave this to dream interpreters and prophets to decode.

The insecurity occasioned by Boko Haram and other national issues like the economy are mere distractions, tools of war fashioned specifically against the Nigerian Church aimed at forcing it to engage in fisticuffs that will surely derail its ultimate assignment; which cannot be done with a heart filled with hatred, anger or bitterness.

If we as followers of Jesus Christ ever take up arms against our neighbors today in the quest of our safety, we forfeit the right to bear the gospel to this generation and the next.

It’s unfortunate many Christians have lost their lives and limbs and precious possessions to the rampaging horde of our enemy disguised as Boko Haram and their likes; and many more horrors are coming.

However, their death will be a waste if we fail in our duty to take the gospel to those that slew them, with the sole aim of bringing some to saving knowledge of Jesus. There’s no greater and sweeter victory than this.

The how tos, when, where and who, is what our leaders MUST spend their time, resources, and energies discovering, discussing, and engaging. Leadership is about influence and vision. One without the other will birth frustration.

It’s time for the Nigerian Church to refuel and oil its missionary vision and reignite a dying passion for the lost in the North, the homeland of Boko Haram. This strategy is not and should not be to ambush them with the gospel, thereby forcing them to retreat and stop the bombings. No! But their souls are worth the cost of the cross of Christ.

This is the time to cry out to God to forgive our sins and selfishness and indifference to His will; time to plead for the souls of lost Muslims (young and old) in the North. Can’t the Lord give us souls in the Caliphate… is it too great a thing to ask? Can we have Emirs love and follow Jesus publicly?

It’s time to equip Christian youths and young ministers with a clear understanding of the mandate to the ends of the earth by taking them there and overseeing their transformation.

This is time to focus 80% of our efforts on the mandate to go and make disciples beyond our comfort zones. Oh that our thrust and drive will be northward, to the difficult places that have remained so because no one is praying or going.

This is time to re-launch Vision 5015 with renewed zest and push it to the next level.

If the Nigerian Church continues to maintain this passive attitude to missions, thinking, and teaching that God is committed to our comfort and safety, more than His eternal cause in Christ’s global reign (which will cost more lives), we’ll spend more time mourning our worthless treasures.

Jeremiah lamented of Jerusalem and its people, “The enemy has spread out his hand upon all her desirable things; for she has seen the nations enter her holy place, whom You commanded that they should not enter into Your congregation. All her people sigh; they seek bread. They have given their desirable things for food to relieve the soul. See, O Jehovah, and look on me, for I have become vile.” Lam 1:10-11 MKJV

The gates of Hell, even if they suddenly appeared and are mobile, CANNOT prevail against us as we labor for Christ’s name and fame in this world He loves.

May we not miss our chance and regret these days.

Happy New Year but…

It’s a new year again and we are as
usual, extending good wishes to friends and loved ones.
 
I have no doubt in my mind
that “Happy New Year” is the one wish or greeting that cuts across
religious divides, carrying expectations that linger longer than any seasonal
tidings on earth.

But do you think there’s a
connection between man’s capacity for happiness and his understanding of the
essence of life?

We’ve wished many people a happy New
Year within the first four days of this 2012; yet, some of them are now
overwhelmed with grief occasioned by a fresh event within this New Year.

Nigerians awoke on 1st January 2012
to a bad news. Government announced the immediate deregulation of petroleum
products. Many are yet to recover from the shock and some are gearing for “war”.

There’s an overbearing superstition
here that suggests that bad news, or misfortune, or pain, or creditors, or solicitors
seeking financial assistance in particular, at the beginning of a week or month
or the New Year, is an evil omen. This is a lie. We’re as Christians are under a far superior
government and covenant.

The pursuit of happiness is the
cornerstone of most cultures and world ideologies. It is simply human to seek a
life without pain.

“Please this is a New Year, let’s
not…” “I don’t want to start 2012 with…” are some comments people make as they plot their way out of conflicts or challenges that may actually be the stepping
stones to unimaginable joy in the course of the year.

Should happiness be our primary
objective since its very nature is ephemeral and often dependent on circumstances
or events over which we have little control? 
I think not.

As disciples of Christ, should our
definition of happiness be anchored on having all our prayers answered and
things going as planned? Is craving a happy New Year simply another wish for
“my will to be done, instead of God’s”?

If any disciple of Christ desperately desires
happiness this year, his or her obedience to Jesus cannot be subjective. Recall
the Hymn, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in
Jesus…”? Think again on the lyrics of this great Hymn.

Each year will serve us its own
dose of challenges that will attempt to ridicule our faith in God’s ability to
perform. Let’s remember that every offer
of happiness at the expense of truth and righteousness is a sweet poison.

The signs and songs of last Christmas are beginning to fade, but
Emmanuel is still here. He’ll still be present when our birthday gifts and
presents from last Christmas are old, broken or lost. He’ll still be here when
the loved ones we started this year with pass away.

The question is, “How close
will you be to Him as the year grows old?” Better and brighter should be the end of this year than however it has started for you.

I wish you and yours a Year filled with
God’s overwhelming and calming presence, one who’s sour and sweet events, all
working together, will showcase the great wisdom and glory of this God that
calls you “Mine”. 

The challenge of going home

After
a long sojourn in the USA back in 2004, I returned home to a great and
unforgettable welcome from my family and friends.

I
was oblivious of the complicated challenges of a new life n the mission enterprise that awaited me. I soon began to
feel everything and almost everyone was different but not me. I knew absolutely
nothing of culture shock.

For
instance, I couldn’t drive on Lagos roads within the first week of my arrival.
I wondered why the roads weren’t marked and road users were so aggressive.

The
blaring of horns were driving me insane; the unstable electric power supply,  the noise of generators and the soot from
them, the dust, the heat, worsened by the high humidity of Lagos, the bad odors
here and there and many other issues seemed to make home a most unwelcoming place.

“This
can’t be what I’ve been missing!”

“How
can anyone survive this madness?”

“Is
something wrong with me?”

“Why
am I so moody?”

“Can’t
these people see this and that is wrong?”

As
Neal Pirolo put it in his wonderful Book – Serving As Senders, “He [the missionary]
returns. He is not prepared for the changes at home. He tries to cope. He
internalizes all his frustrations. Alienation whispers, “Nobody cares or
understands. Forget them!” He argues with himself, “No, I have to get
out and share a vision for the world among the church people.” “But
they are so ungodly,” Condemnation thunders. “This isn’t getting me
anywhere,” he yells back at himself. Reversion reasons, “Okay, let’s
just forget it. I was there. You were here. We’re back together. No big deal!“”

I
suffered serious traumatic stress disorders and didn’t know it. But those were
a kind of initiation into the often very confusing life of cross-cultural work;
which has led some to abandon their call, end relationships, depart from the
faith and even commit suicide.

Despite
the lavish reception my wife plans and executes each time I return from these
mission trips, I’m still harassed by a barrage of re-entry issues that leave my
emotions in tatters.

For
instance, I can’t understand why my weight loss should be a better subject for discussion. Maybe my frail looking physical appearance makes louder statements. 

I wonder why friends who rarely checked on my
family while I was away, suddenly arrive to hear my testimonies and stories?
Why should I spend 2hours in traffic, driving myself home from the airport?

Debriefing
with my mentors has been of immense help. We are looking forward to a team that
will co-own this thrust and shoulder our
plans, pains and progress with us.

May
Abba gift us a Home Support Team who would invest their experience, wisdom,
time and treasures to help with our re-entry challenges. It’s a serious affair.
I’m certain we’ll do better with such friend.

If you are interested, kindly post your comments and we’ll
connect with you.

May
Abba’s love, which we celebrate this season, renew your zeal for the lost in
this World He loves.

Merry
Christmas and a most fruitful 2012!

Can I Trust Him?

My journey back home from Yei has began. As usual, I’m
reflecting on lessons learned and they are several. But it seems one looms
above the rest.

My time at The Furnace (our discipleship and mentoring group)
and other informal meetings with several young disciples highlighted the one issue most of them were
wrestling with– Trust.

There’s an emerging generation of young disciples whose
questions about God and life seem to reveal the appalling state of family structures
and parenting in general.

They are disillusioned by a system they’ve been told to
trust by the elders, their leaders, teachers
and their parents. The wounds from this
failed or failing system are deep because people they trusted were the main
culprits.

So what we have is a growing vicious cycle. They’ll give
what they got from those on top; failed promises, shallow love, poor
commitment; resulting in dashed hopes and expectations. The answer to this
heart question, “Can I trust him/her?” is often NO!

I asked them in one session we had, “If I post a notice
on my door saying, “Please Come In, Don’t Knock” how will you respond
when you visit me and see it?”

I was surprised when a sizable number said they’ll still
knock when they visit. “Why?”

One said, “I’ll think it’s a trap” Another said,
“I’ll think it’s not proper.” One asked, “So what if you are
changing clothes when I enter?” Another asked, “What if you don’t
want to be disturbed at the time?

These questions and views seem legitimate but they failed to
see how their trust in me was challenged with it.

Don’t we treat God the same way?

God lavishes love on us and we wonder, “Is this a
trap?”

He makes great promises to us and we ask, “Can I trust
Him to do it?”

He says, “I paid for your sickness on the cross; you are healed.”
But you think this sickness is from
God. “He’s punishing me for my sins.”

He says your sins are forgiven, but we are looking for a sign
or a feeling to confirm that.

He says “My strength is perfected in your
weakness.” But we think being weak in public is too risky, so we prefer a
show of strength or wealth or wisdom.

Despite several notable spiritual encounters with God, like
Jacob, who trusted no one, not even God but himself; we still struggle to hold
God at His word because we feel His response time is always too slow or He’s difficult
to please or we feel so unworthy of His blessings or we think we must lie and
cheat to get this or that.

But building our character is God’s main goal, not our
comfort.

“Pure gold
put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this
suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your
faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.”
(1Peter 1:7)

People we love and admire may disappoint us, but not God.

How stable is your trust in God this season? Can you see His hand working to make you a worthy Bride for His Son?

Bitter lesson from the Marathon

Our students’ marathon in Yei was not without drama. A runner
who had come in 7th, was eventually disqualified. The lesson of which I pray
stays with me till the end of time.

This boy lost his registration slip at the starting
line!! He fell down as the race began but desperate to catch up with the rest,
he didn’t wait to find his registration slip and continued with the race.

The rule was that all runners must return to the
finish line with their registration slip that had their details, our ministry
logo and the paint marks of all four stages along the marathon path– Black,
Red, White and Green; as proof that they ran past those stages.

As we received the winners and registered them, each
provided their slip. But this boy comes and shows me the paint marks on his fingers and began to explain:

“I ran past all the stages, see the paint marks
on my fingers, I used my fingers to touch the paint at all the stages…”

I asked, “Where’s your slip?”

He went on and on, explaining his predicament and
pleading. Sadly, he’d broken one of the cardinal rules of this marathon.

I was devastated. Right before me was a scenario that
must not play out in heaven for any disciple of Christ. He was in tears but the
rule had to apply.

I’ve continued to ask myself since then, “Should
I have let him have his place? “After all this is a sport we organized to
win students to Jesus and he proved he ran the distance, going
through the four stages, though without his slip.”

Was it fair to have disqualified him? What do you
think?

We didn’t plan for
disqualifications or even think there will be any. This was too simple a race for
anyone to go wrong; so we thought. But isn’t that why laws are made? They
aren’t made just to catch offenders but more importantly, to show and maintain a standard.

This marathon awakened me again to a harsh
reality– making it to the finish line
doesn’t guarantee the prize yet. Apostle Paul said he wanted to finish his race with joy. (Acts 20:24)

Jesus taught this lesson when
He said, “When the Judgment Day comes,
MANY will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord! In your name we spoke God’s message, by your name we drove out many
demons and performed MANY miracles!” (obviously new testament believers)

Then I will say to them, ‘I NEVER knew you. Get away from
me, you WICKED PEOPLE!’ (Matt 7:22-23
GNB my emphasis) Wicked…? How? Why?

Apostle Paul knew something of this
fact, so he said, “… I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 
(1Cor 9:27 NIV)

You may not be stirred like I am,
since you didn’t witness the agony of this boy. But I hope your imagination is
good. It may be time for a pit stop.

 

We won the Students’ Marathon in Yei

It was tagged The Race of Life and that’s exactly what it was in many ways for 290 secondary school students in Yei, South Sudan; who took the challenge of a 5km race last Saturday and dared to win one of the 20 slots for a year’s scholarship.
 
From 12 different secondary schools, they came pumped and seemingly prepared for what has gone down as one of our best organized and focused events among the students in Yei. Many government officials and key members of the community are delighted. We are too.
 
Here are some memorable shots that tell the story in brief.

 
 

 Accreditation was needed to weed out cheats and unserious fellows. Each racer was given two packets of glucose sugar and a bottle of water.

 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
It was equally very gratifying to see many young girls registering and prepped by their games masters and teachers for this race.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We had the privilege of ministering to more important dignitaries than earlier planned through this event. They heard a call to engage the Race of Life with their eyes on the Prize Himself–Jesus, the Christ!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  We let go the girls first and what a wise decision it turned out to be.
 
  

 

 
 
As they raced off from the start line, some dashed out as though the distance was a few meters off…
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
a few got hurt and were treated…
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
some fainted at the finish line…
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The winners were a marvel to many. Among them, a 14yr old girl in Class Two, small in stature but gifted in this arena above her peers.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
…and their efforts were well rewarded.
 
Paul said, “…they did this for a perishable prize, but we are aiming for an eternal glory, Christ Himself.” (1Cor 9:25) My paraphrase
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Group photo with all the winners and the guests of honor.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our goal was not just to gather students, run round the town and award prizes. NO! We are aiming at connecting with these students are a higher level. Bringing them to a point of no return in the quest to win Christ and be found in Him. This and this alone is our core motivation for this marathon and subsequent ones. But we know we can discover golden talents among them, who could make it to the great arenas some day.
 
 
 
Thus, we invited all the winners to our church the following day for lunch. There, we cast the vision of our pursuits and also launched The Furnace Sports Club. A Christian youth sport forum, for developing world champions and future leaders in the sport arena.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We celebrated God, who gave us victory here and will see to it that we make it Home, finally.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
All the winners bought into the plan to connect with the vision of a youth sports club. Trusting we’ll deliver our promises and achieve our goals. Thank you for your prayers and support that has brought us here. We are still on course.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A prize or the Prize?

Isn’t it sad that many people spend their energy, time and talent for trifles; while He who has ALL, who gave ALL, who demands and deserves ALL, gets little or nothing from the prime beneficiaries of His wisdom? It seems worthless things look more grandiose now more than ever.

It is lamentable indeed, knowing that God has set mankind in such a race where heaven or hell is their certain end, but they sit down and loiter, run aimlessly or after the childish toys of the world, forgetting THE PRIZE they are created to inherit.

This weekend in Yei, we set out on a small but major outdoors adventure we’ve called: The Race of Life.

Students in all secondary schools here are being asked to register and partake in a 5km marathon race. Every student is free to sign up. The prizes include; one academic years’ scholarship for the first ten boys and the first ten girls; a certificate each and instant cash.

Aside discovering hidden talents gifted with endurance-running who could make it to the international stage in time to come, we intend by this program to communicate the virtues of preparation, discipline, focus and endurance as core necessities for excellence in life.

Participating students and their friends who’d come to witness this event will be taught to see life on earth as a race, lasting as long as one lives. This is a gospel outreach of a unique kind but they don’t know it yet.

Teachers from the various schools and a few dignitaries will witness this inaugural event. Oh that God will show up!

We expect this sport event to run yearly and plan to use it to connect with winners and future winners in discipleship meetings crafted for them and their kind. Someone’s destiny beckons.

The race of life is offered to all men. The prize is not just heaven, but the fullness of God Himself. What will heaven be like without God?

When we read Hebrews 11 and continue into Hebrews 12:1-3, we notice the heavenly arena consists of the Triumphant Ones, all who’ve run the race before us. I once wondered if they are just “witnesses” in the sense that they are watching and cheering for the contestants or witnesses in the sense that they have left examples for us to follow.

It may be both. The word “witness” does not mean spectator. It is a word from which we get the English word “martyr.” Not all were martyrs but all are witnesses to us of God’s passion for God, showcased by the faith of great souls who wanted Him and nothing more.

They knew that cheers or jeers of people could become distractions if the ultimate prize- GOD Himself, is not placed in proper perspective.

Apostle Paul put it clearly, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Phil 3:8 NIV)

Some gave all, should we be specified just giving some?

What or who are you running to win… gain?