A book review of “The Hole in Our Gospel” by Richard Sterns
“The Hole in Our Gospel” by Richard Sterns
a short book review
Recently I received a complementary copy of “The Hole in Our Gospel” to review for BookSneeze dot com*. I was overjoyed to receive my copy and thought I would get to it sooner than later. I’m sorry I waited so long to finish this book and review it here for you.
It is the story of Richard Sterns, now president of World Vision US and his journey of “What God expects of us” as Christians today. It’s a very powerful telling of Rich’s personal life and experiences with World Vision in third world countries where he boldly asks Christians everywhere to do what the scripture says, take care of widows and orphans. This is what this book is about. There are over 2000 scriptures dedicated to poverty and justice in the Bible and Rich focuses on this insight and leads us to believe, it must be important.
Of the many stories Rich shares, I was amazed at his story about becoming president for one of the worlds largest NGO’s. It’s hard to ignore God when he is calling you. I was encouraged and wondered how I would respond if God were calling me so clearly.
It would be an error to assume that every Christian understands the difficulties of extreme poverty and justice in third world countries. Many minister and pastors fall short of this understanding. Not because they don’t care, rather, they are just uninformed. If you are looking to equip yourself with a better understanding about extreme poverty as seen through the efforts and work of Rich Sterns and World Vision, then this is a great place to start. It gives powerful stories of children in need all over the world and statistics that can sometimes be overwhelming. It has the potential to change your paradigm and ask you to live different and give different.
There are many organization that are working to make a better world for children. This book focuses on what Rich Sterns and World Vision are doing. In all it is very well done.
Keep an eye out for the launch of my new website and a contest where you could win a copy of this book.
peace.
johno~
* I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
July desktop of the month
Another month has flown by. I know many of you are planning vacations and your summers are more packed than mine. Personally, I feel like I need to pick up some Montana brochures and relax a bit. Anyhow, I realized as I looked for photos for July’s desktop of the month, that I’m not to patriotic when it comes to photography. I found a few pictures of fireworks, but who wants to look at that for an entire month? So, what better than a good ol’ american landmark… the Grand Canyon.
If you’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, I highly recommend you go. If you have small children, just strap a harness to them and “belay on.” Seriously, it is a wonderful trip for the entire family. Just remember to drink lots of water.
Until then, you can get the desktop calendar HERE.
Peace.
johno~
June desktop of the month
Hey everyone. I know it’s been a long time and many of you are waiting to see the pics from my trip to Uganda… Well, so am I. I really haven’t had the chance to get a good look at them, let alone do the needed post work on the favorites. I seem to have dropped the ball as they say.
I’ve also dropped the ball on paying for my domain names… Right now I’m having trouble with my “lightexposure.org” site. If you wish to visit that site, you must use, http://johno.smugmug.com and you should find yourself in the right place. I realized this because I’ve been up late nights and early mornings trying to rework my website. I’m hoping to launch something completely different this next month, so stay tuned for something new.
As a peace offering to the many 5 of you who have not tossed a flower on my grave and written me off as MIA or dead, I hope you enjoy this shot taken on lake Atitlan in Panajachel, Guatemala. You can download it HERE.
Peace.
johno~
blessings and…
What a day! Heavily packed with joy and tears.
It began this morning as Hannah and I were picked up by World Vision and set out to meet our sponsored child Zakalyia. Our driver had to make a stop and pick up his tire that he replaced while on his way to pick us up. We headed out to Bundibugyo which is on the way to Rwebasango. The road drops about 5000 feet into the low lands. It’s hotter and dryer. It’s also very close to the boarder of Congo.
It is a busy road. Barely enough room for one car, let alone, buses, taxis, cattle trucks and us… World Vision Land Rover. It was on our way down that we saw a soldier who crossed his arms. I heard our WV staff member say, “Is the road closed?” My stomach sank. How could this be? We’ve driven all this way. We can walk… that was my thought. But, as we drove, we didn’t see any road block… Until, we rounded a curve and were met with many vehicles. There were lots of people and many were gathering around a large semi that failed to make a turn and now the backside was hanging off a cliff. If that wasn’t bad enough, a smaller vehicle tried to get around and ended up getting stuck too.
Our WV staff person called the office and they sent a car from the other side to pick us up. We walked down and around the incident a ways and found a nice shade spot and parked ourselves and waited for our 2nd driver. He rolled up in a 4 door sedan. We placed our packs in the trunk and off we went.
He was taking us to the WV offices in charge of our Area Development Program (ADP). I was amazed that our driver was able to drive the road to the offices. I thought for sure we are getting stuck but that was not the case. On arriving we were given a small tour of the WV offices in charge of 3 ADP’s. We met the staff in charge of sponsorship program and were asked to sit and wait while they thought of a way to get us to our child since our vehicle was not stuck behind a lot of other folks. We were then informed that the car wouldn’t be able to make it to where our sponsor child is… They said, “The only way we can get you there is by motor bike.” Well, if that’s what we have to do. So Hannah and I jumped on the back of some boda bodas and headed into the mountain region to make our visit.
It was a fun ride… for Hannah. All I could think of was, “Her mother is going to kill me.” We went up hill and down hill, up, up hill and down. It was a bit longer than I expected. We arrived at the pathway to Zak’s home and started our climb. Through the coca trees we found homes and then we found little Zaks home. I saw him immediately. He looked just like his picture. I shook his hand and he invited Hannah and I into his home.
We were welcomed by his Father, Kiiza, Mohammad Katsirombi. We sat at a table prepared for us with little stools to sit on. Everything was covered in a nice table cloth with red roses embroidered in it. We were gathered, along with many neighbors, with Zak’s family. It was a special day. His BIRTHDAY! Yes, today is Zak’s 8th birthday. However, Ugandans don’t celebrate birthdays, so when we put up the banner that said, “Happy Birthday” I’m not sure he understood what we were trying to say.
We opened up his backpack and started handing out gifts. It was a blast. I mean, how exciting to meet your sponsored child? After handing out the gifts, we played soccer for a bit, blew bubbles (not sure they got the idea of that one as well as we hoped) and laughed.
We told them we pray for them every night and the father told us that he to prays for us. We said our goodbyes and loaded up on the bikes and headed back. On our return, the car that had dropped us off before was gone, so we had to ride the bikes again to the wreck and cross over to our transportation on the other side. It was a long ride back. I have many thoughts, none that I will share for now. This is the short version.
We made it back to Fort Portal in time to meet up with the other team who had been visiting in a near by village. They were attacked by a cobra that was in a tree. Well, not attacked but it did “jump” according to them, from one tree to another. They tried to find it and kill it but had not luck. Upon meeting Jeff took us to by cookies so we could visit the children’s clinic in town to pray and give cookies.
I must say the clinic/hospital for kids is amazingly remodeled. I could hardly believe it when I stepped in. It looks great. However, it is still sub par for the care that is needed there. Many children simply have Malaria and need treatment. Some have TB, others have broken a limb and some burned.
This is where my heart breaks. After a wonderful day with such a healthy boy, I met two kids, Joseph and Juliet in the burn unit. I must say, I wept tonight for them. Juliet shook with pain as her mother showed us the burns that resulted in spilling a large pot of soup into her lap. Her lower stomach, private area and upper leg were seriously burned. We gave her cookies and she clutched them to her chest and stared at the ceiling. Joseph was rough housing with his siblings and ran into the boiling pot set on the fire. He flip into it head first and the pot turned over onto him.
While I was standing there, his mother uncovered him from dirty sheets and lifted him out of bed so he could pee into a plastic basin. I can’t even type this without tears. This poor child, who most likely will die to infection, just wanted to play with his siblings and now he can barley stand to go to the bathroom which is no bathroom at all. I suppose it’s so difficult because all I can see is my little boy. No mother or father or child should ever have to endure this suffering. Jesus remove this suffering in a way that only YOU can.
All we had to offer was prayer and cookie packs, which this child couldn’t even eat due to his burned face and mouth. I HATE this suffering. My heart is broke.
“Help me God to have a heart that is broken by the things that break Your heart..”
If you find yourself reading this blog, do me a favor and hug your children. I miss mine so much. I feel so helpless.
“I’ve commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the LORD your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go.”
–Joshua 1:9 CEV
Please help me Lord.
Johno~
It’s really difficult to put into words.
We Love Faith Quest Uganda
flown by. The kids have wonderful spirits and their songs are
amazing. Glory to God.
We will clean up as soon as possible tomorrow and return to Fort Portal. We look forward to showers and toilets. Jesus, bless the youth of Uganda to make this a great nation. peace.
johno~
First full day at Faith Quest Uganda
schedule several times… it’s an African thing. The teens are
singing and praising God even though we’ve been rained on and mud is
covering the landscape. African mud clumps to your shoes and you grow in hight and gain about
10 pounds… all due to mud. Hannah (Hannah Texas Walker Ranger) is a trooper. She’s always
jumping in to new experiences. Yesterday she had the idea to rally
the troops to return to camp a 10,000 liter tank that was dropped off
on the side of the road. Workers had intended to deliver it to camp
but were unable to pass due to a service truck stuck in the single
lane road. They just pushed it off the truck and left.) Hannah and Greg returned it to camp. However, the Jinja bus was stuck
in the same place as the service truck got stuck, which was just
pulled out 2 hours earlier. We told them they would not be able to
pass, however, they didn’t listen. They made it though but ended up
stuck again another 100 yards down the road. I was in the Hilux (a ratty true african 4×4) with Hannah T. and
Janet. Jeff and Zach had managed the trail just before Jinja. Greg, earlier in the day paddled a boat across lake Saka with supplies. We’ve all been working hard. We’re dirty and damp. However, God is
good. These young people are hungry for the Lord. Everyone is doing well and I’m glad I have this connection here at
camp for the moment… forgive my grammar and spelling… i’m typing
fast. It is beautiful here. Monkeys are in the trees and the sun is setting.
Clouds on the horizon could be a sign of storms tonight. We are blessed.
We love you all.
peace.
the team~
On Monday…
Well, we’ve finished our Monday and it was full of wonderful experiences. Well, for some that is.
Last night I had a really difficult dream… my first in a long time. Must be the Larium. Anyhow, I woke up just before 6 AM and realized I would/could not fall back to sleep, so I did a little study on my lessons.
Jeff and Andrew have been working hard on getting the camp ready. At lunch I discovered that ALL of the missionaries that said they were coming to Faith Quest are not. It will be Jeff, Andrew and Cheryl… and six white people from the Northwest America. Very concerning as there should be a couple hundred students there. Building at camp Saka has fallen to a snail pace. Rain makes things difficult around here.
As it poured “Africa” rains, Janet, Hannah and My Hannah danced in the downpour. It was fun to watch. I, however, sat on my be counting money and looking at receipts. It seems as if the rain at camp created some serious mud and our supply truck became stuck in the mud. Most of the work crew spent the entire work day trying to get it out… It’s still stuck. This truck is blocking the main road to camp. This will prevent any vehicles from getting into camp Saka. Including the water truck and the food supply. We ordered a 10,000 gallon tank to be delivered to camp. The delivery truck came today to deliver it but was unable due to our vehicle stuck in the middle of the road. So, they just pushed the tank off the side of the rig and left. Now we have a 10,000 gallon tank we have to try to get to camp in a truck that’s stuck.
Several village churches showed up today to do some work to help pay for camp… Yet, they didn’t bring any food for themselves when they were specifically told they would need to provide for all their meals prior to camp starting.
None of the “cabin” huts are finished, which means we will have to use tents, (in the rain). Problem, all the unfinished cabin huts are in the locations where the tents need to go. Is this sounding African yet?
Good news… I finally heard back from World Vision Uganda. I have numbers to the ADP contact that will be handling my visit. I will only be able to visit our boy Zackaliya… Good enough. I will give the WV worker gifts we brought for other children to be delivered. So sorry we will miss seeing Lucy. Next time.
Side note, I received an email from WV that said I would have to pay for the travel of the WV staff and meals $260 US! Ummm. It’s about 4000 shillings, ($4) to take the bus from here to Bundibugyo. I am looking into this to see if this is accurate. If it is… I want a bargain!
It’s a late night and we have a lot to do tomorrow. Non of it will get finished I’m sure of it. We only need to be ready to encourage the youth and bring them nothing else but Jesus. He is the answer to the world.
Here are a few pictures I promised to post from yesterday.
We can feel your prayers. Thank you all. We love you.
Johno~
It was on our way back from Saka to town…
Andrew took me to an overlook that allowed me to see the Congo mountains. It was beautiful. I’ll share pictures later.
On the way out, we saw a young boy laying on a bicycle be pushed by another man. It was obvious this boy was ill. The family was taking him to the local clinic to have a test to see if it was malaria. He could barely move. We loaded him in to the Land Cruiser, with his brother, and rushed him to the clinic.
I asked the boys name and his brother said, “Ronald.” That’s my sons middle name. We hurried down an incredible bumpy road as I took photos of this young boy dying from something that could be prevented with a $5 treated mosquito net.
Malaria kills about 2000 children a day worldwide. Today I was face to face with this tragic reality.
We landed at the clinic and handed some shillings to our translator to give for treatment of the young boy. His brother loaded him onto his back and carried him to the clinic. Jesus, be with this young boy.
We gathered back into the car and headed on our way.
Praise God for Andrew looking and seeing this. I am humbled at this experience. As I type this note, in bed surrounded by a mosquito net, I think of what opportunities I have everyday.. I think of Bono’s statement that says, “No child should die because they were born in the wrong longitude and latitude.”
Take a moment to visit www.worldvision.org and make a donation to their malaria campaign. With enough attention in the right places, Uganda and other countries affected by malaria, could rid their land completely of this weapon of mass destruction.
Thank you all for your support and prayers. We are all very good… a little jetlagged, but good.
Peace.
Johno~
Our First Day in Fort Portal
Today we went to camp Saka for orientation and I have to say, it might not be able to be called a camp very soon. There has been a lot of work on done on the grounds. Huts, shelters, toilets are in many places. Jeff has many workers building projects around camp. There is so much to be done, I have a hard time believing that will be finished before camp on Tuesday.
These are a few pics of the team at camp… although we are sitting in a car you couldn't really tell.
Peace.
johno~
Update from May 30th… (I thought I would post thoughts that we’ve had for the record)
What an exhausting day. Of course we landed in Entebbe and found that Hannah’s personal trunk was missing. Off to the market place to try and buy those items we knew would be her American comfort food. We ate lunch and as Ugandan time means nothing, we left for Ft Portal around 2 pm. As we left Kampala we divided into two teams. Jeff, Greg and the Hailey’s set off to make a large purchase for Faith Quest… Andrew, Keebee, the two Hannah’s and I started the trip to Fort Portal.
The road is under construction for about a quarter of the way. It was slow, bumpy, slow and bumpy.
Trying to sleep in the land rover, on the drive nearly induced a coma. Just as you found that relaxed place, a rut or bump was hit which would then cast your weak, tired and limp body into the side of the vehicle resulting in your head knocking the side window or metal frame of the vehicle. Difficult to sleep unless you owned a crash helmet.
Anywho, three days is a long time to travel. It will be nice to lay flat for the first time in days.
A quick shower and then off to bed
Peace.
Johno~
We’ve got our internet up!
Fort Portal
Arrived it Uganda!
Johno
Sent from my BlackBerry
Boarding.
Sent from my BlackBerry
Landed in London.
Johno Sent from my BlackBerry
First Stage… Complete.
Well, and uneventful trip through BA's check in… We did find out that Janet, Zach and Hannah W. didn't get their tubs checked in. We got back in line and the nice folks at BA helped us through. I specifically wore my World Vision shirt. The lady at my check out was very thankful for us complying to the regulations for humanitarian work. She told me that many groups create hugh headaches trying to push the limits. Anyhow, she was thankful and said so many times.
Faith Quest Uganda
Hey everyone! It’s only hours now before the team of six board a jumbo jet and head past Eyjafjallajökull to Heathrow airport for NINE hours and then fly off to Entebbe, Uganda. I’m not sure how this will work, but I imagine we will have the opportunity to write an email or two, so I’ve set up a blog for the Uganda team and support staff to post their thoughts, updates and reflections on the trip. You can follow us on twitter too.
So jump on over to: Faith Quest Uganda @ Posterous.com
There are already some great thoughts and writings. So jump on over and spread the word to the world… or at least your neighbors.
BTW, it’s a new month here real soon and I’m not sure that I will be able to post much while I’m away, so I’m including in this post my May Desktop for 2010. I thought this was a fitting picture, since I hope to visit this little church again in Uganda, where this small boy peeked in at the Muzungu’s.
Help bring awareness to our trip. You can find the original download HERE. So tell your neighbors… or at least a co-worker.
Thanks everyone for your prayers. We are feeling a peace like we’ve never felt before.
Blessings to you all.
johno~
From my phone
Johno
Sent from my BlackBerry
What things did you do when you were 10?
A few weeks ago I was able to take a short trip, and I do mean short, to Portland. My friend Jason Hill asked me to bring my guitar so we could “jam” together. Jason is doing very well. A minimum of 1 hour a day practice has fulfilled it’s promise.
Although I’ve had my guitar for several years, I’ve not given myself to it fully except for peace and relaxation.
I remember when I was around 9 or 10, a music sales person came to our neighborhood in LA. Selling lessons for the accordion, many kids on my block, signed up. I couldn’t however… We didn’t have the money. A year had passed and I had asked if I could take guitar lessons… I had seen the results of accordion lessons and thought, “only weird folk could ever do anything with that.”
“Not now” came the response from my mother… “We don’t have the money.”
On my 33rd birthday, my mother surprised me with a trip to the local music store and purchase that long awaited gift, a guitar.
I took a few lessons and I’m always finding peaceful tunes to play… nothing to difficult.
Anyhow, I came across this incredible video. I wonder what I would be playing like if I had started at 10… Although this kid is 10.
It’s crazy.
Enjoy!
johno~
Nicknames
I was just thinking about nicknames… I’ve had mine since high school… (Johno) Anyone else have a nickname that’s lasted as long as mine? 20 years?
I think I received mine by default by hanging out with a guy named Dean… We called him Deano. Together Deano and I had a DJ group with two other high school friends, Darryl and Jeff. Darrylo and Jeffo didn’t really click, but Deano and Johno somehow did. I kind of wish it had more of a story. Something with flair.
So, when do you out grow them? Is it OK if you want to keep it? Would it be bad to have it on your tombstone?
Anyhow, I was just curious about others who have nicknames… What’s yours and how did you get it?
btw, my wife doesn’t call me johno, she calls me JT, and when I’m in trouble she calls me Johnathan Matthew.
peace.
johno~
