My 2016 in Review, Happy 2017 to you

I love social media yearly reviews but they only get to capture moments that one posts. What of those moments that do not get to be posted? I have thus decided to draft my moments of 2016 to be able to share them with you all.

I boarded my longest flight with a total duration of 21 hours. Thank you 2016 for teaching me the meaning of Jetlag!!!. It was my first main lesson in the Genesis of 2016. I now understand the meaning of different time Zones. I remember when I almost went to ask the Pilot about why he forgot to land. (Will be my story for another day).

I’m so grateful for friends and family here in the USA who made my transition so smooth. Some people have been asking me whether am home sick. To answer your question, how could I be home sick when I have people here who I call family and who take me as part of their family?. I got to spend my first Christmas out of Uganda here and I was so overwhelmed by the gifts that I got from my American family. Have you ever been in a situation where you do not know how to express your sense of gratitude? Where thank you seems to be an understatement? That’s where I have been this season. To all the people that I have met in my 10 months’ time here in the USA am glad I got to meet you and long to keep in touch with you.

I’m so grateful to God for using me as a child advocate. I got to travel to over eight US States and advocated for children in extreme poverty. I got to increase my effective communication and presentation skills and helped Sponsors, donors and Compassion International staff better understand the impact of their partnership with compassion International. Being a member of the Quality Assurance team at Compassion International has been such a blessing and the best gift that I would ask for and the best gift that 2016 would give to me.

2016 also saw me became a member of Toastmasters International, gave 7 speeches and got voted as best speaker and best table topics speaker most of the times. I got to learn to constantly let people evaluate me after every speaking engagement which made me a better story teller. This increased my cross cultural competencies by engaging with several people. Consistent feedback's from the people I have interacted with have shaped my point of view. I have learned how to build mutual understanding and human relationships which are necessary for achieving my future professional goals. I got so many people added onto my friends list and am so grateful for having you (One reading this post) as a friend. God made you and I know each other for a purpose. We just have to listen to him as he speaks and allow him do in us what he alone can do.

In 2016, I became a Scaled Agile Certified Training Practitioner, a Certified Social Marketing Manager, a certified google AdWords professional and enhanced my information Technology knowledge and skills.

I got to see all the Star wars Movies (Waiting for Star Wars 8 next year) this year and got to watch almost all the superhero movies. I guess you agree with me that this is also an achievement.

Whereas I do not know what 2017 has in store for me, I know the one who holds the future. He will lead and I will follow. I await him to open doors for me and am convinced that the doors he opens always have more to offer. He alone knows the end from the beginning. Not even the best New Year resolution makers can comprehend the Lord’s dealings and way of planning.

Wishing you a divine inspired, fire filled, happy and prosperous 2017.#Happy #new #Year

My Journey to the USA started as just a dream.

If you have ever had a dream put your hand up.

Let’s ponder on the meaning of the American Dream……

The year was 2002 when I traveled to the USA for my first time. I neither had a passport nor a visa. It was the shortest distance that I have ever moved. The speed on which we traveled was so fast that even the speed of light would be considered slower. No one can fathom it. No fastest thing can comprehend the speed on which we moved. It was the cheapest flight that I have ever taken in my life. It costed 0 cents only. I can’t remember the flying machine that I used. May be it was an airbus! 

I was fascinated by how experienced the pilot was. All the crew members were so smart (I mean smart upstairs in addition to being smartly dressed). I do not know how they could even tell of where we were because the sky looked the same wherever we were!!! I was still an infant to travel overseas alone (without my parents).

 It was only just a dream!!! (Sung Nelly). When I awoke from my dreams, I hoped that the dream would come to a reality someday. I did not know about the American dream then but the more I recalled my dream the more I would get thoughts of being in America. In 2012, I got a Ugandan passport; a travel document that would officially allow me get to my dream land (America).

In 2015, I got the opportunity to travel to America in the palm of my hands. You know what? I love doing what I can and can’t what I can’t. I tried my level best and excelled in all the interviews that I had to be involved in. As fate would have it I got the American visa and came here in February 2016.

I do not know what you believe in; Luck or karma. One thing that I know is that there is a God who turns dreams into realities. The one who knew you and me before we were in our mother’s womb. The one who knows the end from the beginning.

Dreaming has been and still is one of my greatest gifts. I have had night dreams and some times day dreams. Why are dreams always beautiful? The reality can also be beautiful only if our dreams are bigger than our fears. We should live our dreams other than dreaming our lives. Our faith ought to be stronger than our feelings. If we follow our dreams with grit, we will achieve whatever we focus our mind too.

Keep your hopes alive, stay better not bitter, keep dreaming and your dreams will turn into realities. Never let go of your dreams and as C.S Lewis put it,” you are never too old to set another goal or to dream another dream”. Let your heart make a wish today and follow the dreams as they know the way.

The power of a minute

On 13^th October, I set off to visit my mum and friends in Michigan. I was to spend the rest of my time with them up to 17^th and then fly back to the springs. I must confess, I had an incredible moment with them.  Each day was filled with its own adventures and excitements. From the Hot Tub, to working out, visiting the sand dunes and walking around one of the great lakes (Lake Michigan). Most importantly, having conversations with people.

On the 17^th, my friend Tyler got me to the airport so early. I had checked in on my phone, went through security and had to wait at the departure gate. The plane in which I was to fly in delayed and that changed everything about my schedule. I hoped I would be able to get hold of my connection flight in Texas but I could not. No sooner had we landed than my connection flight departed Texas.  It took only about 10 Minutes to miss my flight. It was sad to see my name on the screens showing those who missed their connection flights. It was late in the night and I had to spend a night in a hotel. Thankfully they put me onto the next flight that would leave at 6:57am.

As we flew in the morning, I began meditating on the power of a minute.  I realized that every minute is important. Friends you do not need a PHD to make an impact. Use the small increment of your time wisely. Remember, time is priceless, use every second to make a difference, impact, purpose or set a new goal. Commit your time to doing God’s will wherever your influence is. You do not need good looks or any special level of intelligence. We all get similar number of hours every day (24 hours). You can wreck or redeem a life in a few seconds. 5 Minutes are enough to show your character. When we missed a connection flight, you could not believe the bad words that were coming from the smartly dressed people including old people that commanded much respect. I do not use such words and so I can’t write them in this post.

Time is the most significant gift given to us; make significant choices. We have to use it carefully and intentionally ((Ephesians 5:15). If you are to serve, do it diligently.

Each minute is made up of seconds. Several minutes then make up an hour, which make days, months and years. Effective use of any minute is thus so important in any en-devour. I think when they say time waits for no man, it literally means “Use that minute effectively".  As you know time has no best ally and waits for no man. Will you focus for the moment and make good use of it? Blessings

Away from home experiences

Am not comic but some people have told me that am funny and have a great sense of humor. I would love to request for your honest comments (Feedback) on whether my “funny” is on point or not.
Two people from different walks of life met. Their names were haves (from extreme poverty) and have-not's (Wealth background). 

The conversation begins:-
Haves: How many children do you have?
Have-nots: I have 10 children. God has for sure blessed me. In fact they are not my children, they are God’s children. That’s why 5 of them are under Compassion International. My family was the first one to travel to USA without a plane. Don’t you know that the Lord is the provider and he cares for us?
Haves: Of course he is the provider. He has blessed me and he is forever faithful. 

May be that conversation above should cause us to ponder on all the blessings that we have. You may not have all that you need but I guess each one of us has what to be grateful for. Go for it!!!!

You know in Uganda we speak British English commonly known as the queen’s language. As I planned my travel to America early this year, I made several reflections on the American English. I think American English is a king’s language. That’s why it has several slangs that have a different meaning to me especially as I do a direct translation. One time a friend said that she wanted to visit with me. I thought to myself, “it must really be fun to visit with you”. So where will we be going? Only to be answered that it was to be a conversation that could even be done via video conferencing (Skype). On a scale of 1-10, my interest in the visit moved from 10 to 2. I nearly fainted.

In June I traveled to Louisiana and I had a hard time with the king’s language. As you all know Louisiana English could be a relative to my Rufumbira English accent. Why do I say this? As my accent can be hardly understood, I found it hard to understand Louisiana accent. Thank God, I was at the airport earlier and had ample time to check on the many monitors at the airport.

You know English is my second language and 1’m glad I can connect some words to make sense. I can now construct a good English sentence even though I still speak Rufumbira English. My English is neither queen’s language nor the American King’s Language. You know every construction needs a foundation. My sentence construction foundation was Rwaramba elementary (Primary) school. I’m grateful for all the teachers in Uganda who are professionals in teaching using a second language.

One of the things I do not like doing during my stay in the USA is ordering food in restaurants simply because of the many questions asked. I know, the many choices can be confusing. Even when I want specific things I get several questions as though am not clear on what meal I really want. During my first days here I was asked about the kind of dressing that I wanted. I thought to myself, do gentlemen put on dresses in the USA? I wondered whether I looked naked. Thankfully I have built mutual relationships and have always had people around me. This has made my transition smooth and my experience worth while. I will keep sharing my experiences with you and can’t wait to share it all with my family.
#Proudly Ugandan, Proudly Mufumbira.

You have got all it takes to be happy

Today I had a chat with two friends of mine on whatsApp and Facebook and they seemed to be going through difficult situations. As always I have got a positive feedback from them about how chatting with me relieved them.

So I have just decided to have an encouraging write up to whoever may be hurting. I may not be knowing the exact situation you are going through but I’m so sorry for you if you are feeling lonely, depressed or having suicidal thoughts. It may be a relationship breakup or a feeling of inadequacy. Whatever the case may be, just know it’s all for your own good even if you can’t see it yet (Romans 8:28).

First of all you need to have self-acceptance and stop counting on the people around you for joy and happiness. I know it’s hard to do but happiness should come from your heart. Can you try to be patient with yourself and replace those bad feelings with pride, even in small accomplishments? Begin appreciating yourself for any achievement you make.

Knowing about your indicators of depression or knowing personal indicators of rage and anger may be great but not good enough. They should propel you into action preferably talking about it with those close to you. You should also get involved with some community service, social or sporting club and try to interact with people physically. At times people on social media can be too picky and may not respond to your posts simply because they do not know you fully. As you interact with others, you will realize that great people who like you and care about your feelings do exist. You may also consider talking with a therapist or a counselor.

Just know that you can overcome your circumstances and achieve extraordinary success through determination, grit, and some bit of luck but inner happiness has to be the center of it all. To all going through difficult situations, be reminded that tough times do not last but tough people do. There is no situation that is permanent; even that will pass away. I will be praying for you to have peace of mind.

The greatest Search Engine ever

Guess what the most powerful and greatest search engine is? Its neither google nor yahoo. It is the Mind. It finds what you focus it on to look for and your search results are your reality, your outcomes and ultimately your life. 

As George Lucas wrote in Star Wars episode one, your focus determines your reality. The focus of your attention and thought like the search engine is in putted in your mind which later late on pulls specific amount of data. Queries are inputted in the mind which scans the strings of data in relation to what you put in your search box. 

We are all presented with a blank page and what we spend time focusing on and thinking about matters a lot. As a search engine it does not play games or favorites. It seems it’s the rule of the universe. Terrible search results can simply be blamed on bad input/search inquiry. We need to stop thinking that it’s who we are or its the cross we are meant to bare, doomed for poverty, or failure (Let go of the excuses). Change your inquiry and you will get great results. 

Do not dwell on what ifs or blaming your background. Your mind will not care what you search for. It will deliver results marching your inquiry in forms of success, joy, and happiness to mention but a few. If you do not like the results you are getting, you do not blame the search engine but instead have to change the inquiry and you will get required results.

 Will your focus your mind on what is positive today, what’s possible and the ideas, people and actions you need to make it happen. Remember to strive for results over everything. Keep your search engine (the Mind) working on the positive results that you seek. Register on http://www.darrendaily.com/ to for daily mentorship. You will be inspired on a daily basis.

Different stories one Message

Every human being has a story and can tell it better than anybody else. Truth be told, there is no saint without a past. Our backgrounds, our struggles and our achievements are ingredients of our stories. (For good cooks, you can choose to call them a “recipe” for our lives). The good news is that we are all God’s workmanship irrespective of our indifferences, strength, weaknesses, inadequacies and “accent”.

Each one of us has a value stream and a dent to fill in the world. Is there need for competing with one another? Certainly not but rather a need for complimenting each other. Is there a need for self-righteousness? Certainly not but rather a need to have each one of us to be more like Jesus. Is there a need of taking ourselves as of a high value than others? Certainly not; but rather a need for humility (Philippians 2:5-6).

As people created in the Image of God we have to respect fellow “images” irrespective of the different classifications of the world (Name them; Economic status, cultural differences, level of education..etc). We ought to have the common denominators of Love, Care, Compassion, and Kindness or simply put the fruit of the spirit as in Galatians 5:22-23.

It’s my prayer that each one of us uses his/her story for the Glorification of God not for personal drives or egos.

The Power of a Positive Attitude

I have discovered that so much of my life is my attitude. With the areas where I have had a positive attitude, I have achieved immensely. I have found it easy to change my ideas and behaviors and learned to be responsible.

Wherever I have not succeeded as expected; it has simply been because of my negative attitude. Negative thoughts like, it’s not meant for me, am not good enough for that. I often times have had excuses of why things do not work or even blamed others or my background for my Mistakes.

The determinant factor for a good or bad day in my life has been my attitude. For each of the days I wake up with a good attitude, I have a happy and successful day no matter what hurdle that day may bring.

With a positive attitude, I easily cope with the daily affairs of life. It makes me happier, and brightens my day. I always expect the best to happen. It’s certainly a state of mind that everybody should develop.

Action for you Today:  Ask yourself these Questions; Am I doing my best today? Am I Optimistic? Do I see the positive side of the life I go through? Will you change your mindset and heart today? Read Philippians 4:8 and Romans 8:28

My first dog pet friend -Puppy.

My friend Puppy

My first dog pet friend -Puppy.

I had never had too much love for having dogs or cats for a pet till when I came to America.

My favorite pets were domestic animals like goats and sheep.  Even though I like them, I had never seen some body give them too much care.  I cared about taking them to graze, making pegs for them and their pen wasn’t fancy simply because I did not stay in a fancy housing either.

The first time I landed in America a land where many say the dream land; I could not fathom how people have close attachments with their pets. For the first days I could hear statements like, she is a cute little girl, she is simply awesome, he is the best walking companion, he is fun to hang around with and I would be like wait a minute, whom are you talking about?. I would surely love to meet him or her. Whenever I would be told that, my dog pet or Cat Pet, I would quickly rush to say, “Okay, that’s cool though I thought you were referring to a human being”.  I would wonder how a cat or dog would be that nice!

I wanted to experience the niceness myself though it seems I was not ready for it. All the pets here have names and the pets are so disciplined. So I had to ask my host family to tell me the name for their dog pet. Oh; the little cute “puppy” they said. I was like what a cool name.

Puppy welcomed me in the Phillips family. For the first days I could not understand her ways of communication opening a learning room for better communication skills. Puppy makes my moods zoom sky-high with her loving and waiting BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK. Her barking in the first days would scare me but my host family explained to me how it was her sign to welcome me back home and an expression of how happy she was to see me.

I’m in love with Puppy’s nonverbal communication and vocalizations and I do enjoy doing games with her especially the fetch game.  Even though the big sized pets scare me by their size; I now accept that pets are great members of any family. Great appreciation to my host family (puppy inclusive), for shaping my view on pets.

Living a focussed life

Everyday Life presents opportunities for learning. That’s why a popular saying goes, “life is a lesson; learn it”.  When I was young I wished I would get an opportunity to get into an aero plane.  
As I get used to the use of air transport I have gotten to learn how different it is from other forms of transport. When it comes to observing time, everyone has to keep time. Air transport does not have “African time” where if you are 20 or 30 minutes late you will still be on time.

I’m always fascinated by the consistency of the signs and symbols on the airports. You have to follow the right direction to get to your boarding gate or to your required exit gate. Simply put, you have to be focused! You can hardly go wrong if you follow the arrow signs that point to your intended gate.

So why am I sharing this?

Friends I may not know what you are going through but would like to encourage you to stay focused. It does not matter how many mistakes you have made in life, it matters if you get back on the right path just like the case for following arrow signs at the airports. It does not matter how you have meandered along the way. What matters is getting to your required destination on time.

Apostle Paul said in wisely in Philippians 3:13 “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” May be its time for you to forget what is behind you. It may include limitations and hindrances that prevent you from moving forward (Discern what is hindering you).It’s time that you narrowed down your priorities. What is your pursuit and are you determined to get it.  Paul forgot the past and pursued the prize for his call.

Focus may be defined as letting go of nice things that do not matter to pursue what you think matters. Leaders who change the world have this sharp focus!Let’s ponder on men of the bible like Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Paul and Jesus; they all focused on what they dimmed necessary. To get back on the right track of focus we have to work on our selves, work on our priorities basing on our strength and learn how to work with our colleagues. May you start this week with a focused mind. Blessings.

A Heart full of Gratitude

If you are reading this, just know I appreciate our friendship.  A few days ago I was asked if I would share in a devotion of a team that had a meeting.  I can’t tell you how grateful I was; for sure I was humbled by the invitation, meditated about it and God used me to prepare a message which I think was a great encouragement. When the time came for sharing, I shared and had to continue with my day’s Schedule.

Yesterday I received a card and was wondering who could have sent it. On opening it, I realized that it came from the group I shared with.  The words on the front cover of the card went like this; “As you serve the Lord, our greatest blessing is to receive God’s Love; our greatest privilege is to give it away to others”. What a great message this is. I pondered on it for a while before opening the card to see what would be inside. I was greatly humbled by the comments saying they are thanking the Lord for me and the faithful way I show his Love.

I felt encouraged to model Christ’s Love in all that I do. The encouragement and words of appreciation from the card motivated me to serve God diligently. I got to ask myself of how many times I have said thank you to people around me. I remembered the words of my Mum that “Thank you is a lovely word even to the son of God”.

How often do you say thank you?  Colossians’ 3:17 one of my greatest memory verses says “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”.

In 1 Corinthians 1:4; Apostle Paul expressed how grateful he was to the Church of Corinth.  In Ephesians 1:16 Paul again said” I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers”.
It’s my desire that we will count it a great privilege to give away God’s Love to others in all that we do. Remember Love is an act and a package of a heart of gratitude may be that one needed act to show it. Blessings to you all as you serve in the Lord’s vineyard.

Passion for ministry

Over a year ago, I had a friend resign from his former Job and got another Job in another ministry organization. As soon as he left; his former boss rushed to say “he had no passion for ministry after all”.

This got me to start wondering about what the word “Ministry” really means.  This put me into a serious time of thinking and meditation.

Allow me share with you my realizations of what ministry is:-

It’s about what you are willing to sacrifice. (Mark 12:43-44; calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴ They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”)

It’s not only about what others will comment about it but about the Joy and happiness that it will leave on your heart.

It’s not about how much you gain from it but about the impact your small contribution can make to the great commission.

It’s not about pleasing your boss or superior. It’s about pleasing God to whom Glory, honor and majesty belongs. To note is that if your actions please God, God will make your subordinates and superiors be grateful and thankful to have you on their team. (Mark 12:41-42, ⁴¹ Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴² But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents).

It’s not being selfish egocentric but it’s about valuing the contributions of those whom you share a cause; call it your partners in the ministry.

It’s not about the adverts, connections or number of people who know you. It’s about who can testify about the impact of your work and ministry and God’s endorsement upon it.  

It’s not being judgmental and self-righteous but it’s about recognizing that with our Christ you are full of filthy rags.

It’s not about complaining but about having a heart full of gratitude and positive thoughts. (Psalm 50:14, Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High).

It’s not about your net worth but rather about working towards your eternal reward and prize.

It’s not about the type of car or gadget you hold today, it’s about walking towards God’s crown.

Does one need to be in a particular organization to be a minister of God? I guess not, we are all called to be ministers of God 24/7(Mathew 28:19). Do we need to compete each other in ministry? My answer to this is also a no; we should rather complement each other and walk worthy of the calling we have received (Ephesians chapter 4).

As I conclude as honorable ministers in God’s kingdom we are called to be the salt and light of the world. We should be oaks of righteousness; a planting of the LORD to display his splendor (Isaiah 61:3).

 

What if all Christians behaved like Jesus

I will begin my write up today with the population percentage of Christians in a few selected countries according to different research findings. We have 88% in Uganda, 73% in USA, 95.6% in DRC, 92% in Mexico, 92.4% in the Philippines, 70.3% in Russia, 92.7 in Argentine and 95.7% in Poland. A Christian ought to mean Christ likeness.

Most of the people call themselves Christians because they attend a particular church. Others say they are Christians because they work with a Christian organization or because they adhere to a particular church tradition or culture.

There are higher chances that some of the evil we see in our communities are done by “Christians”. Uganda for example with an 88% population of Christians is known for corruption and embezzlement. I mean why is there so much evil and sin in communities with Christians? God as Christians we have fallen short of your Glory. May you cleanse the world and restore it to order.

Should a Christian be without concern for others and remain selfish? Have you pondered on how the world would be if all the Christians were like Jesus Christ? If all Christians get to be like Christ, it would simply mean walking in broad day light. None of us would be found with any spot on the day of his return.

We should thus see God as much bigger than our tiny views. As Christians we are supposed to be followers of God and Christ invokes us to be "fishers of men (Mathew 4:19). Luke 10:2 says, “He told them; the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field”. We have to allow to be used of God to bring harvest as his workmanship.

It’s my prayer that all of us Christians would mirror the Christ in us and that we shall be a salt and light to the world. That we will show God’s love to each other in all that we do and above all work in unity. That we will speak of God’s truth instead of speaking against any other Christian denomination. That we will focus on God’s word not prosperity messages. That we will trust in God and lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). That we will aim at pleasing him alone in all that we do. In Jesus’ Name I pray.

Stewardship of our Responsibilities

In my community most of the people give birth to so many children saying God is the provider and carer. Yes God is a provider but I think at times we have too much belief in God to the extent that we tend to ignore our responsibilities.


That's why we have so many irresponsible parents.It pierces my heart to see this repeating its self. If we are to end poverty apart from giving handouts can we train our beneficiaries to observe their responsibilities.


To my friends and age mates who are getting married in my community can we work on producing those we can care about. That way we will reduce the poverty levels. We have to care about others and their well being but the responsibility starts from us as individuals and and as a family. I would love to see my community transformed.


I would love to hear parents giving birth to those they can care for not giving birth to children who later be branded "Children of that Charity organization" because it has offered to support them. Together we can end Poverty.God teach us how to observe our responsibilities. In Jesus' Name I pray.

Travel and Adventure

On the 02/22/2016 I set off for the most adventure of my life -the journey to Obama land. I got to Entebbe International Airport three hours before the departure time because I did not want to risk being left by the plane. We had just finished an election in Uganda that was rather a waste of time and resources and so I had so many reasons to get to Entebbe earlier. Even after checking in; the village in my head had not yet comprehended that my dream of going to the USA was a ...reality. For my countrymen you know how hard it is to get an American Visa. I must confess it was pretty easy for me to get a visa for only one reason; the favor of God. I saw the hand of God throughout the entire visa application process. Even when I still had doubt, the voice of truth would ringer in my mind and tell me, Gilbert you are going to USA at this particular time. Oh how I love to hear the Voice of God. So when does one know that his decision to move to particular place or task is not about him but the kingdom of God? The answer is very simple; it’s when your heart is at peace with your actions. It does not matter what people around you (Name them; Employers, peers….List is endless) say or think about after your move. What matters is what God says and thinks about you according to his plan and will.

At exactly 7:15pm the plane departed from Entebbe to Ethiopia. We had a small stop over and again set off for a long flight that would take 16 hours. We landed at Washington DC and got a connecting flight that would take 4 hours. We set off at 12:00 pm and we were to land at 14:00 hours. Now I was having a closer look to my clock all the way long. So it reached 14:00 hours and the plane was not landing. I thought; the pilot had forgotten to land!!!!. Little did I know that USA has different time zones. We still had more two hours to finally get to Denver/Colorado my final destination. Thankfully, we had safe travels.
Tuesday this week, I will be making a week here and I must confess; I have so far had an incredibly good time. To my family here, friends and coworkers; thank you for making my transition smooth. I say Ebenezer, that’s far the Lord has brought me
In the coming days I will be sharing my experiences with you and am sure you will be encouraged to believe God for better things with in you or through you.

First Sermon in USA at the Rocky Mountain Calvary.

On 28th/ March 2016 I joined my host family in going to a church called the Rocky Mountain Calvary. Oh how I enjoyed the praise and worship. Am planning to have it as my local church during my stay here. When it came to sharing the word, I got encouraged and I do not want to keep the encouragement to myself. The sharing was from 2 Corinthians 4. Allow me share the insights I noted down.
You do not need to lose heart; you’ve got to stay strong. We are in a world filled by real people facing real challenges and living life.
You have to get the passion in your heart as Paul did. He was encouraged by the ministry. Serving Jesus is a blessed privilege. Ministry just means to serve. It may be at your Job or at home; basically in everything you do. We have to keep serving others, raising generations
The text goes ahead to say that we received mercy. Simply put we received what we did not deserve. We deserved death. You may be in something that God wants you out. Just know Jesus is calling you to repent or get out of it.
You have to change the way you see your ministry. Think about it in terms of what you love and cherish. It’s your perspective that will make you persevere and not to give up. The ministry is going to be hard and if you do not have the right perspective it will be harder. If it’s a marriage that’s not working out; Divorce is not a solution. Jesus will bring to pass whatever you are going through. He is faithful to bring it to accomplishment. Just trust him!!!!. God is always faithful to provide. Wherever you are in life he will bring it to pass. God equips the called. Because of the mercies of God we do not quit.
You have to be ready to be hurt like you have never been before. Follow what God has called you to do no matter what the confusing voices of those around you. With divine calling comes divine enablement. You’ve got to keep your trust in God alone (Psalm 37:5). You have to have a sense that you belong to God and that you can go anywhere for him. You must wait for God's call and step out in faith. God sees us through the lens of Grace. Jesus is the end of righteousness to all who believe.
Do not be taken advantage of by those who use the bible deceitfully. Learn how to hear from God in his word the Bible. Always contextualize his word; if it’s a verse, read what is before it and what is after it. You will know why it was written the way it was written. We also have to make sure that we have the right meanings of the words in the bible. We should not change them to suite our own desires. We’ve got to be mindful of the grammar in the scriptures and be keen to read it according the historic background. We have to take the bible as a whole as the bible never contradicts itself.
Remember we are seeing Jesus face to face someday. He is either coming or we are going. The inward man should be renewed every day. God brings the church together and sends them out in the cities, homes and Communities to serve him. Just know you have to serve God every day in whatever you do. May the Lord strengthen you in his service. Blessings.