“And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for’” (Isaiah 6:7) 

Sights, sounds, tastes, touches, and the aroma of the mission field.  If you didn’t know you had five senses, you will after a mission trip.  It can be overwhelming.

On our first trip overseas, Shanna and I were blessed to be able to go with a seminary group from St. Louis. It was the month before the world would experience 9-11. It was a long trip and our group had just arrived in Nagercoil, India and nature was calling. One of the girls jumped right in to the “Eastern Toilet Experience”. She came running out as quick as she went in. Apparently,…

“They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights” (Psalm 36:8).

Have you ever experienced weight gain during vacation? Well, I have! If there is food available, I eat it! The experts say it’s not real weight gain. There is very little actual fat gain and it is mostly temporary water retention and bloating. That makes me feel a little better because I truly enjoy eating on vacation.

You wouldn’t think, but the same has been true whenever I have been on short-term mission trips. One would figure a mission trip would be a great time to lose weight because of a lack of food. However, …

Renovations, building projects, road construction, car repairs, natural disasters, budgets, homework or even knee surgery; the “Under Construction Stage”of life. If you have lived any amount of time on this earth, you have experienced the stress of the “Under Construction” period of life.

Recently, Shanna and I moved into a rental house in Shinyanga, Tanzania. It is beautiful. The rooms are spacious and the yard looks like paradise, and yet there is much room for improvement…

“These guys are slower than Moses,” I think to myself while kicking a rock on the edge of the dirt street. I’m beginning to learn the way of life in Tanzania and some days it can be annoying. Almost in a mocking tone the chirping birds of Africa reminded me that they were hard at work and I was there only standing. Even the nearby early morning rooster was busy calling all to wake up from their slumber even though the sun had already been risen for 30 minutes. Even the blaring horns of the bodas (motorcycles) down the mountain let me know that there were others doing important things. But here I was waiting, doing nothing, and that drives me crazy. Welcome to Tanzania. Welcome to the “Waiting Game”.

We walk through many doorways in our lives. As you well know, doors open us to old and new things. In the picture you are seeing a doorway of where we live in Iringa, Tanzania. We walk through this door at least six times a day. Currently, it is being repaired. When it is done, it will likely receive many more people through it into the future.

One new doorway Shanna and I have been walking through recently is the language doorway. For many it can be an overwhelming door. It can be heavy and at times it may even seem locked. Right when you think you have it unlatched, it still doesn’t open. I hear people experience this with math also.

In order to make it a little less cumbersome for me into the future, one of my teachers is having me write simple devotions in Swahili and deliver them in front of the class. This daily devotional writing exercise is beginning to teach me some words from the Swahili Bible. It is also teaching some Lutheran phrases that the church uses throughout East Africa. Since I am already writing these devotions, I thought I’d share one of my latest devotions with you. May it edify your day…

“It wasn’t as though Jesus went away.” I was reminding myself this fact while sitting on a rock and looking across to the east side of Iringa, Tanzania. I had recently read the last chapter of Luke and the Ascension was on my mind. As the clouds were moving westward across the sky the scene of Christ’s Ascension became vivid. “Don’t stand here just staring up into the sky. That’s not where Jesus is for you now. Go back to Jerusalem and wait for the next thing that the Lord has in mind for you to be doing.” The two messengers reproved the disciples for it wasn’t as though Jesus went away.

In recent weeks some in our churches…

This past week Shanna and I had the chance to see the vast land of East Africa. While riding in a vehicle traveling to language school over the rugged terrain filled with all the beasts of Africa we kept seeing one of the most recognizable people groups of the land. These individuals live amongst the beasts and they are Africa’s shepherds. They are called the Maasai. They are one of the tribes best known for wearing their red shukas (cloth), creating beautiful beadwork, and their cattle-herding lifestyle.

The Maasai amazed me as we traveled along the highway throughout the game preserves. Observing them while whizzing by, their shepherding skills became evident. You could tell they had a deep connection with their…

This last Wednesday I was marked…I was marked by a nasty looking ashy cross. I stood in line for the preacher to smash it into my forehead. “Remember,” he began. By the time he finished I instinctively said, “Amen.” “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” And I agreed. I said, “Yes.” and thought to myself, “I’m probably better off dead anyway.” Welcome to Lent.

Last month was Sanctity of Human Life Month. And…

Often called the "Tree of Life," the massive Baobab tree left me dumbfounded on our latest visit to Tanzania, Africa. While we were scoping out what the mission field might look like before we officially move there in April, we discovered the great Baobab. Known for its water-storing trunks and upside-down appearance this giant stood out amongst all the other trees in the Great Rift Valley near the town of Shinyanga, Tanzania…

It’s 2026!  The New Year. A lot has changed for Shanna and I this past year as we have been preparing for service in Africa. I bet if you look back on the year 2025 you may have experienced much change also. The media reminds us about the “big” stories of the past year that has forced change in people’s lives. Some that top my list were…

During these weeks of Advent the church gets to be interrupted by the Baptizer. John, the Baptizer, enters into our Advent season with the bold proclamation that the “Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). What is there to be done in order to prepare for that Kingdom? In other words, what should done in order to prepare for Christ?

It’s quite simple…Hear the Word and…