Second, I just received a copy of When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert and I am really excited to read this book since I plan on doing much ministry outside of the United States. I also just purchased The Masculine Mandate by Richard Phillips, which I am hoping is a resource I can use to help myself and other young men in their journey to manhood, as it seems to be a serious problem in the Church today. When I am done reading these two books I hope to have reviews of them up soon after, but can’t promise a time table.

Kevin DeYoung lists When Helping Hurts as one of his top 10 books of 2009 and writes:

This is an important book. You should read it. A wrong response to a book like this is: “Well, everything I’ve ever tried to do to help the poor is apparently wrong. So why bother.” Another wrong response would be: “See, the poor just need to do it themselves. We shouldn’t be wasting our time on this kind of thing.” No, the poor need our help. But passion and generosity may not, by themselves, be very helpful. Often, they are downright hurtful. We need wisdom, patience, and humility. The poor need our help, and we need their help too. We are all broken. We all have sins we can’t see. We all need reconciliation.

As for The Masculine Mandate, Tim Challies writes:

He (Phillips) looks at a man’s sacred calling to work, to bear the image of God and to be a “Shepherd-Lord,” one who tends and cares for all the responsibilities God has placed him over. He looks both to calling and to character, showing how a man must live if he wishes to carry out his mandate in each area of life.Well-written and presenting tough truths within such a simple grid of work and keep, this book is a very useful call for men to live out their mandate before God. I feel challenged and equipped for having read it and am glad to recommend it to any man. Read it, apply it, live it.

Fifty-percent of the Ugandan population is composed of children 15 and under. More than two million of these children are orphans. In August, I, along with a group of college-aged students, will travel to Uganda to bring the gospel to 58 of these orphans.

I was hesitant when this opportunity was presented to me, having never been on a missions trip, let alone one across the world. But I had recently made a resolution that I would not live a safe life knowing that if I was going to bring maximum glory to God I would have to do so risking it all.

So from August 13-27 I will work with a ministry of Grace Brethren Long Beach called Ugandan Lambs (www.ugandanlambs.org). There are many organizations and groups working with children who have been orphaned by AIDS in Africa, but Ugandan Lambs (UL) is unique in its connection to my church family through Grace members Sam and Ruth Sebabi.

Sam and Ruth were born and raised in Uganda, and the AIDS epidemic has deeply affected their lives. As sisters, brothers, cousins and in-laws began to die from AIDS, the Sebabis found themselves sole providers for all the children left behind. As the numbers grew the burden became too great for them bear alone.

UL seeks to not only meet the physical, educational and medical needs of the 58 children, but the spiritual as well. These children are suffering in a world so much different than our own, without parents and without the luxuries and comforts we often take for granted, and they desperately need to hear the gospel, to drink from the well of living water.

Because I truly believe in this cause I want to give you the opportunity to have a role in proclaiming the gospel to these children.

1. Prayer. The Lord responds to prayer and we are confident that He will do a mighty work in answering serious and intentional prayer by you and others.

2. Finances. The trip costs $2,900 per person, $26,000 total for the team. So please pray that the Lord will provide.

3. Encouragement. My team and I would greatly appreciate help in some way, whether it be commenting on this blog entry, sending us an email or some other creative way.