You Bring Out the Best In Me

I sometimes imagine that my work can be metaphorically captured well by a photo of a turtle on a fence post.

Photographers are not lucky to get such a photo.  They don't simply happen to be in the right place at the right time with the right equipment.

Seeing a turtle on a fence post begs a question, don't you think?


How did that turtle get on the top of that fence post?  Do turtles have the ability to climb?

Maybe a turtle can climb to some extent, but certainly not up a fence post. Those photos were staged.  A turtle can never get to the top of a fence post on their own.  The photo of a turtle on a fence post leaves a lot unsaid.

What  happens in Uganda, under the umbrella of my responsibilities, is not the product of my effort ... regardless of the titles given to me by others.  I find myself in some amazing stories because God has used others to get me included in them.  I love the engagement, but it would be delusional and deceptive to take credit.

My recent 8 month tour in Uganda witnessed some remarkable changes. Three new projects were begun, with serious demands and rewarding results. These projects were NOT my ideas. They have not been maintained by me.  The farm, the radio show, and the women's health clinic are all new developments and each is overseen and maintained by Ugandans of the next generation.  These leaders are young adults we have been mentoring ... but, this mentoring would have never been possible without the hundreds of people that are a part of the NGM team.

Ezra of GTS Consult, Jinja, Uganda
I love the photo of the turtle at the top of this blog post!  It is a metaphor for my title of Director of Next Generation Ministries.  And, it brings a chuckle from deep inside of me.

What is my role then in the work of Next Generation Ministries?  God has assembled unnamed hundreds to accomplish the mission of NGM in Uganda.  Each plays a varied and vital role in an assignment that none of us can ever accomplish on our own.

One of my primary responsibilities is to be a connector.  To be a communicator.  To sustain the connections between the hundreds who are part of Next Generation Ministries.Social media is a critical tool that I use to inform, motivate, report, highlight, and praise.

This last tour was blessed to have Ezra join the NGM team. Ezra is a son to Pam and me, who lives with us, and he happens to be a media guy.  Much of the current images and designs you will see on our webpage and Facebook are the product of his creative skills. The recent video posted on a previous blog was his project.  It was his idea to develop a stand alone specific Facebook page for


Masthead designed for NGM by Ezra
and each page has, so far, made my job easier.

I discovered that I could shoot a lot of photos of a particular event, post some selected photos on a Facebook page, write a description of that particular element of the day's event, and be finished with it in a relatively short period of time ... compared to writing a blog about it.  This helped me inform, motivate, and profile some of the work you are involved with.  It is efficient and less time consuming.

UNLESS, of course, YOU ARE NOT PART OF THE FACEBOOK NETWORK.  After arriving in the United States, some people curiously asked me why I wasn't writing as many blogs as I used to. A brief analysis told me that I was communicating even more frequently through Facebook, but to a much smaller group.

This blog post is a consequence of that analysis.  If you are so inclined you could become a part of Facebook just to stay current on developments in each of the new projects begun this year. Or, if you are already a Facebook user, but haven't seen these posts, you could click on the links in this blog to either like and/or follow those pages.

It is not my objective to get you to join Facebook or to become a part of any media network that makes my job more convenient or efficient.  I simply want to connect with you. There are SO many media options these days.  We can't use them all.  Until I know more, I think that a simple email with a connecting link to my blog is the best way to stay connected with as many as people as possible.  If I don't ... I may just fall off that fence post!

Comments

  1. Love it Paul! Keep on doing the work of relationship building and Kingdom building. I'm so thankful God sent you another son that has technology talent and can help ease your stress and help you better connect with people.
    In Christ,
    Deb Whiteneck

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  2. I love that God always brings out the best in us as long as we hold onto him and let him direct our foot steps.
    I encourage everyone to let God direct them, though it might be tough but with right besides us, we shall be as swift as a deer in the mountains.

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