I am excited!

I am pumped, jazzed, excited…get the picture?

This afternoon Steve, Jim and I met with Miatta, a project engineer with Eli Lilly and native of Freetown, Sierra Leone, for lunch and a long talk. Her discussion was thrilling to say the least. She described the Sierra Leoneians as friendly, honest, open people who are very open to religious discussion and religious differences. Her only concern with our plans was that the Freetown Youth Center would not be large enough to accommodate the crowd! Imagine standing room only!

We discussed Sierra Leonian culture, food, people and safety concerns (which by the way are no different then we would face in this country). She described the people of Freetown as generally well educated, polite, trustworthy, (especially with foreigners) and even though they face a host of economic problems that have grown worse over the past 10 years.

The three of us left our lunch with Miatta jumping for joy and extremely anxious to begin our journey and work.

(Greenwood starts a meeting tomorrow with Jim Lee and Miatta has promised to come!)

Satan is Angry!!

I am convinced that Satan is angry. Angry because he knows the potential for good that can be done in Sierra Leone. The opportunities for advancing the Gospel in Sierra Leone have him shaking in his boots. He knows that when people come to believe and practice the truth that he has lost and Satan doesn't like to lose.

He has tried to derail our planning and preparations. But, he hasn't succeeded! Oh, there have been some ripples, some bigger than others, but our boat has not been capsized. He has tried to so divert our attention that we neglect the prayer and preparation that must be given to the lessons that we must prepare. He has tried his best, but has failed.

Our travel arrangements have been complicated. We have faced uncertainties and will continue to face them. We have had disagreements among the five of us, some times rather heated, but we all remain committed to simply preaching the unperverted Gospel of Christ. We may disagree in matters of opinion, but in commitment to following God's plan and preaching the unperverted Gospel, we have not disagreed. In spite of his best efforts, Satan has not succeeded in his efforts to prevent us from going.

So, how will we respond to Satan's anger? I cannot speak for every member of our team, but as for me, I am made excited and emboldened by it. If Satan has been made this angry and is trying this hard to silence us, then he has good reason. If it weren't so, he would have left us alone.

And so, as I enter into the last few weeks of preparation for this trip I am happy to know that Satan doesn't want this trip to happen and is working against it. The potential for harvest must be great!