Victoria is a teacher and she was raised on Bubembe Island, UG with her grandmother. She began to think about helping the people of the islands in 2009 because they were in need of schooling. In addition to some form of education for the children, she noticed a great need among the women of the island. She began helping them though arts and crafts. Since then she has started a Saturday craft day with the ladies that also includes a Bible Study. A number of them have been blessed so much. Saturday is also the day they do a Children’s Club which provides worship, crafts and activities, and Bible stories for the children.

Derek spends his days helping around the community, working on various projects and helping those in need. Since he has a background in plumbing, he has also been placed in charge of the community water system. In all of his community involvement he shares the love of Christ and the message of hope through the Gospel. In addition, he has a small local church community of forty + orphaned girls that he shepherds. He helps pastor a second church each Friday and spends time walking alongside those caught in the bondage of alcoholism.

For greater detail about the ministry:

VKIDS TRUST UGANDA is a charitable Christian Organization that has become one of the grass root development assistance tool on the Island of Kalangala hence supporting local communities. It has been in existence on these Islands and other neighbouring Islands for 5 years.

VKids Trust Uganda is a registered non-governmental organization fully operating in four districts in Uganda that is to say, Kampala District, Wakiso, Mpigi, and Kalangala.

VKids Trust Uganda first operations were aimed in Kalangala District a district in Southern Central Uganda. This district is coterminous with the Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria.

Some of the prayer needs Derek and Victoria have are:

• Direction and resources for their NGO
• He has a work permit that needs to be moved to the NGO.
• Victoria is working on her visa for the United States
• God would grant them some land. Currently they use the local orphanage and nursery school for their church and Kid’s Club projects.

Feel free to connect through their website VKIDS TRUST UGANDA or email me if you would like more information as to how you can support this great ministry. You can also friend him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/derek.bratton.50

Blessings,
Keith

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If you have ever considered attending a Mission Connexion conference then the time is now. This week is the 2017 annual Mission Connexion conference here in Portland, OR.

The event is free and filled with excellent workshops and great speakers. Registration is required…

The event speakers are:

• Joni Eareckson Tada

  http://missionconnexion.com/joni-eareckson-tada

• Tom Doyle

  http://missionconnexion.com/tom-doyle/

• Andrew Palau

  http://missionconnexion.com/andrew-palau/

• Michael Oh

  http://missionconnexion.com/michael-oh/

   

Hope you see you there!

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Lori and I are teaming up with a friend and we will be distributing blankets this week to the homeless. As the winter progresses we are seeing more and more need for homeless to keep warm. Shelters are filling up and recently one man has died due to the exposure to the cold.

Please help us help the homeless by providing a blanket or warm clothing. We will be picking up from our friends and family on Friday 1-6-2017 and distributing them Saturday.

You can call us or email us and we will coordinate getting anything you can provide from you. If you aren’t home Friday we can picjk it up off your porch. 503-740-8667 or email: keithandlori@dailyinchrist.net

We also will accept financial donations as well to purchase warm blankets. Our goal is to provide for 50 people. If you don’t have any spare blanket then you can donate $10, that will provide a blanket for a homeless person as well.

Thank you for your help and please remember to pray for those less fortunate than we are.

Blessings,
Keith & Lori

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As I was reading my Bible today I read over this passage in 1st Peter. I began to meditate on it and so many things popped off the pages at me so I wanted to share some thoughts.

First of all, the scripture itself needs very little commentary. It tells me a story of hope and redemption through Christ which is freely given and can not be taken away. Here are some key points that jumped out at me this afternoon that I really wanted to share.

• Caused us to be born again. Left to my own devices I will always choose sin. God, in His infinite grace allowed me to turn from my sinful nature and see his offer of salvation.
• An inheritance that is imperishable and will not fade away. Gods salvation is an inheritance and is permanent. It will never die and will never fade away and is stored up in Heaven for me and you. Nothing can separate me from Him, not even my own doing.
• Who are protected by the power of God through faith. Protected by the power of God. When God is my protector there is no fear of ever losing my salvation. As I continue to be strengthened in the faith I am assured of seeing Him for all of eternity. (Joh 10:29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.)
• In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. Being a Christian never meant that I would be free from difficulties. But He allows me to be faithful even in my trails and I will rejoice in my struggles. It is a testament to my salvation.
• Obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. What prize can be greater than the salvation of our souls. Eternity spent with Him because He has allowed me to persevere.

God has designed a perfect plan from the beginning to rescue us from sin and death. He offered His son Jesus Christ as our atonement for sin and we can be saved when we put our faith in Him. I encourage you to examine your heart today.

David, in Psalm 139 cries out to God in this way: Psa 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Be blessed ~ Keith

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Has this happened in your life? Have you ever been so frustrated at God because of a tragic situation that you became angry? I know I certainly have and I believe it is a common reality we share as Christians from time to time.

2Cor 4:15-18 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Paul says something in this part of 2Cor that took me several years to really grasp. During a difficult situation about 10 years ago He led me to these verses and I really looked them over and studied them. I had to believe that what I was going through was important to God and that His hand was working through this time in my life. A couple key words for me were “do not lose heart” and “light momentary affliction.”

Paul had gone through some tremendous difficulties in his ministry and his life and for him to be able to call what he went through momentary light affliction and to not lose heart really got my attention. I wasn’t sure what it was that Paul had, but I certainly wanted it. The more I studied these verses the more I began to realize what they were saying to me…

Here is my paraphrase, “Keith, what you are going through is hard, really hard. But you are going through it for a purpose and that purpose is so that my grace will be revealed to you and others. Through that grace will come overwhelming thanksgiving in your life because you aren’t comparing your difficulty to the things of this world but to the things of God. Those things are unseen right now. One day they will be glorious and this trouble now will be so small in comparison to what is to come. Don’t give up, don’t lose your faith, and keep your eye on those eternal things.”

I know that suffering is hard. I know that some who read this today are going through intense difficulties and my heart and prayers go out to you. I also know that Paul is right. I have and continue to experience God’s grace daily in my struggles. I pray for you today to embrace the Lord during your difficulties, love Him with all your heart, and trust that He is working out far more than what we can see in front of us. As for the gentleman that I was talking with recently, he is still bitter at God after 10 years. I encouraged him not to give up on his faith. It is between him and God now…

Lord, please help us when we suffer. Lead us through our difficulties and help us to not become angry at you and blame you for them. You are a loving kind God and we know that you care for your children. In your name, Amen

If you like what you read, please remember to share with others.

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Marriage has also been one of the most difficult commitments I have ever made. It has brought to light many character flaws that I have, it has taught me how selfish I can be, and it has made me have to work hard and provide for a family rather than live comfortably for just myself.

One of the marriage vows that we take as couples is to stick it out regardless of the circumstance until one of us dies. I don’t think getting frustrated and killing your spouse counts… Unfortunately our culture has been breeding a generation of “me first, I want it resolved now” individuals who have a hard time with the “till death do us part” piece of the commitment. The term “till death” sounds nice when the couple is standing together on the alter, but when the rubber meets the road, keeping those wedding vows can be quite a challenge.

I suppose that on the wedding day it would sound kind of funny if the pastor says that these two shall remain married until one of them gets frustrated and leaves the relationship, or until financial trouble hits, or worse yet when one decides that the sex isn’t good enough and finds someone else to share themselves with on the internet or workplace. When we throw in the towel to pursue our selfish desires the Gospel is tarnished and the power of God is left to look sparse at best.

We want to think that marriage is going to be a blessing and from the moment we leave the alter it is going to be awesome love, great sex, and perfect kids. Well, here is a heads up… It won’t be. In marriage things will arise that cause conflict and pain and developing skills which allow a couple to overcome the trials is far more important than trying to completely avoid them.

Mat 19:4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, Mat 19:5 and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? Mat 19:6 “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

Understanding that we are joined together as one is the first step to being committed to keeping the marriage in tact. In my writing, “When Does One + One = One” I talk about how two people need to give up their own desires in order to achieve oneness. When the two who have become one are ever pulled apart there is a trauma that makes them both no longer the same. Each one carries a part of the other and the wound that is left will never fully heal. God understands that a couple committed to marriage need to become one and this is described here in Matthew. When my wife is hurting, I hurt with her. When I am hurting, my wife in turn hurts with me. When one of us experiences blessings and joy so does the other. When a young couple begins to realize (or any couple for that matter) that being one flesh is a good thing they will always do what is best for the relationship rather than for oneself.

I pray today that if you are married and going through tough times you look to the Lord to help you find that oneness in your spouse again. Look for those things that you fell in love with and bury your own desires at the foot of the cross. Jesus is there to meet our needs, and when we are filled with Him then we are able to again fill our spouse with the love they need, supplied by Christ. We will never have enough strength to make it on our own.

Till death do us part means exactly that. Until the other person dies. God has called us as married people to glorify Him in our marriage and in order to do this we must remain as one flesh in good times or bad. For better or worse, in sickness and health. Forever means forever.

Thank you Lord for the gift of marriage. Please strengthen my marriage and keep me looking to you for wisdom and encouragement so my wife will be blessed by the man you have created me to be.

(originally posted June 29, 2009)

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