Rob Barber is the most valuable invisible member of this Amy For Africa mission team. He is our videographer and uses his skills to tell the story of AFA in video form.

He hasn’t been on a mission trip with us since 2017 yet his work for AFA is something that has been seen in many churches in the U.S. over the past seven years. Rob’s video chops are incredible. He will take a few hundred photographs that Amy has collected and turn it into a video that will melt your heart. So kudos to her, too, for learning how to use the camera on the cellphone with expertise.

Since the beginning, we have not been shy about sharing images and using social media for good and as a way to communicate to the public. Among her one thousand other duties, Amy does incredible work there as well. When she wants a story written, she turns it over to me. And when she wants a video, we hand it over to Rob.

Rob has his own images – both still photography and videos – from this trip. That includes some drone footage of the AFA Christian Academy that is, in a word, stunning. He is not afraid of new technology and, in fact, embraces it. You may have seen some of his photo collections on Facebook the past 10 days. But Rob is also more than just a pretty face behind the camera. When Amy introduces him, she says that he is the one with a camera in front of his face most of the time. And that’s true.

However, Rob loves the people of Uganda and they love him back. He plays with the children through his lenses, showing them their pictures in the camera. His big personality comes out with anyone who comes in contact with him. And he has a strong spiritual side, too. Besides some mad photography skills, he’s a speaker that can teach and a good friend to have around. His morning coffee and Spanish omelets have been a hit for this team. And I do know this much: He misses his wife Suzanne terribly and speaks of her often and in glowing terms. I’m happy for both of them.

His speaking skills were on display for us on Wednesday morning when we visited the Bible study at the Threads of Hope, a group that AFA started in 2019 and has grown in every way the past five years. Women and some men are being taught marketable sewing skills so they can work and feed their families. The teachers at the school not only know their way around the sewing machines but they are also committed followers of Jesus.

We are so thankful for teachers like Susie and Betty who are training young women sewing skills but also mentoring them on the spiritual side. Mainly, they want to introduce them to Jesus. They have Bible study about three times a week and there is a spirit there that rivals any church. They worship and praise, share testimonies of victory, offer heartbreaking prayer requests and talk about how they are leaning on the Lord.

When mission teams are visiting AFA, Amy makes sure they have an opportunity to share a word with the men and women and it is some of the sweetest times here. They listen intently, even through interpreters, and they open tattered Bibles and look up passages. It becomes one of the favorite times for any mission team.

Rob’s turn came on Wednesday to share so he could not be in his regular place behind the camera. He did an outstanding job explaining the scripture he was using so it could be understood and used. I was a photographer substitute – a poor one – but wanted to make sure everybody at least knew what the man who has put together so many heart-wrenching videos for us the past 10 years looks like. It is important that people not only read about our story but see it as well. It brings it to life and this is real life here,

The saying that a picture is worth a thousand words certainly rings true with these videos and that is coming from somebody who tries to paint descriptions with the written word. There is a place for both and we are fortunate to have Rob with us. The AFA story continues to unfold before our eyes and the photos and videos from Rob Barber bring the story to conferences and churches as a visual aid for Amy’s inspirational speaking.

And through it all, we give God the glory.

Most of America could have cared less Tuesday was my brother’s 70th birthday.

But Uganda sure took notice – at least those Ugandans associated with the Amy For Africa ministry. They sure know how to throw a party.

There was some homework done to pull off one of greatest tribute birthday parties to a man who has spent more than half of those 70 years doing the Lord’s work. If anybody deserved a party, it was Pastor Tim.

Here’s how it went down.

After securing that Tim and I were going on this summer mission trip back in the winter, I might have told Amy Compston to “throw a little party together since it is Tim’s 70th birthday on June 11 when we will be in there.”

I should have known this: Amy does not do anything little (Have you seen the photographs of the enormity of the AFA Christian Academy?) But what she pulled off – Amy says it was all the staff’s planning, not hers – would rival any party in the USA. It was full of fun, fellowship and laughter as the Ugandans showed how easy it was to honor a friend with an unforgettable experience.

Pastor Tim is somewhat new to Amy For Africa, at least as it relates to Uganda, with this being his first trip to the country. He has been a supporter and fan of the organization for a long time. A seasoned pastor with 43 years of experience until retiring last May, he admitted having doubts at first about the sustainability of AFA. Skeptical may be a better description. But since I was so heavily involved, especially at the outset, he kept his judgment to himself and cheered for us to make it.

Like everyone else who has experienced this ministry on first-hand level, now he’s a believer, too.

Pastor Tim has become a counselor and confidant for the ministry to Amy, who isn’t shy about seeking help as she guides AFA. When she needs wisdom, he is one of her go-to people. I keep him abreast of what’s happening in AFA and we both stand amazed at how God has built this mission, sustained this mission and grown this mission with prayer being the fuel.

The Ugandans on staff probably had never heard of Pastor Tim until we arrived last week. But Amy knows how to use a good horse. You ride them. She scheduled Pastor Tim to speak or preach on 14 different stops in our visit from June 4-18. Several times he has prepared something for twice in the same day. He has preached in churches, led staff Bible studies under trees and in impoverished areas, spoken at Threads of Hope sewing ministry, another growing AFA product, did a chapel service at the school for nearly 400 children and counseled and prayed with many others.

By the way, he’s not the only one on the trip even though it may seem like it. Chris and Amy’s two sons, Bear (plus his girlfriend Presley) and Jarek, Robbie VanHoose and Rob Barber have joined with me for a quite good team with a variety of skills. But like the Ugandans, we all sure do love Pastor Tim.

The day started at Threads of Hope where Pastor Tim was serenaded by a couple of the women as soon as we got off the van. Then they sang Happy Birthday three more times before our Bible study was finished. The Lord even provided a monkey for us to watch swing from tree to tree, something Amy said she could not remember happening. Maybe he liked the singing.

Seventy can be one of those tough ages to accept but he was reminded time and again about his new age. VanHoose graduated from Ashland Blazer with Tim in 1972 but he doesn’t hit the milestone until August. You can pretty well guarantee he won’t be anywhere near Uganda after Tuesday’s party.

Amy sent out a small warning to Tim that he “maybe should bring a change of clothes” because “sometimes they pour water on people with birthdays.” We envisioned bottles and cups. They brought tubs and basins. There were about 20 guilty parties who participated in the near water board experience. As Tim came around the corner on the top level of the massive school, he was hit with all that water – and singing. He looked like a drenched rat, soaking wet from head to toe, smiling and laughing the entire time.

Then they ushered him into a decorated party room where a beautiful cake was sitting on the table. Osborne David, an energetic music teacher, was the emcee for the party that included about 20 members of the AFA staff. This group had already fallen in love with Pastor Tim and could not wait for the celebration.

Uganda does a lot of things right and birthday parties may well top the list.

The emcee had a game to play. He passed around a cup with questions about Tim inside. They started the music – loud, because it always is here – and when it stopped, whoever had the cup would have to answer a question or face the consequence. The only correct answer was “What is the name of Tim’s brother?’ They knew that one but none of the others.

Several of them had to dance for Tim, one had to frog hop around the room, another was told to jump up and down, and Chris had to sing Happy Birthday (maybe the sixth time Tim had heard). Rob VanHoose, Amy and myself were asked to say something about Tim. Rob and Amy were great and even danced for him, too. I was too emotional to say much but did release my inner “Gorilla Dance” that has been doormant since 2017. So there was that.

Five of us, including Tim, cut into the cake and Jarek unleashed a spray of whipping cream all over us. So now Tim was not only wet, but a little sweet.

It was an incredible day but Amy had more for us. We stopped for a service at Word of God church where guess who was preaching? When we settled in there, they had a surprise up their sleeve too! Another round of cake and Happy Birthday where the second verse in Uganda goes, “How old are you now? How old are you now? You look like a baby, how old are you now?”

Tim didn’t need a reminder. He was 70 years old, even if he seemed like a kid enjoying multiple birthday parties on the same day. He told the Ugandans, “This is my best birthday party ever!”

Wednesday he will be back in “The Ghetto” preaching a service at Jinja Hope Fellowship and then we have a few more days before heading home. It would not surprise me if he comes back to Uganda one day – and Amy would sign him up today if she could – but it’s safe to say he won’t come anywhere near his birthday.

My brother has had a few firsts on this mission trip to Uganda with Amy For Africa. He experienced another one Monday on a visit to a place the locals call “The Ghetto.”

It was his second trip to “The Gheto” but the first time preaching with chickens and goats and cows roaming around. Jinja Fellowship meets for Bible study in this outdoor setting every week. They bring out big speakers, two dozen blue plastic chairs and have church.As my brother reminded them, the “church” isn’t a building made of sticks and stones. The people are the church. They are the church. There was no inhibition with their praise and worship with songs played loud and bodies in motion. Well, not all bodies.

Neither me or my brother showed them any dance moves brought to them from the U.S. In fact, we may have been the only two there with two left feet and no rhythm. But no worries since no cellphone video was harmed by aiming it toward us. The beat went on and on and on. Ugandans love their music and it certainly puts you in a spirit of worship.

The contrast between the Sunday service at Victoria Baptist and the Monday service at Jinja Fellowship was stark. That’s not to say one was worse than the other. Victoria Baptist is more in the style of a Western world service and it was great. My brother preached at that one in a tie. It was a challenging sermon about reaching into the community and “storming the gates of hell” to rescue all we could. As Christians, we carry a big stick but too many times stay in our church houses instead of trying to rescue the perishing.

Then, a little more than 24 hours later, came an uplifting message in “The Ghetto” about trust. You may believe in God, but do you trust Him? We all learned more about trust and how to find it. Again, a moving message but in a completely different setting. And there was nothing wrong with either one.

One was more traditional with the way it is done in the U.S. and the other pure Ugandan, from the dancing and music to the outdoor setting. The music was different but uplifting at both churches and the message from the preacher – the same man at both churches – had power and challenges. Since the gospel is unchanging, he saw no need to change either.

Other firsts for my brother: Riding a boda (small motorcycle), sleeping in a house with a croaking frog and sharing some pulpit space with chickens and goats. And we will be here all week.

Sunday was a good rest day for the Amy For Africa team in Uganda. Restful and somewhat nostalgic for me.

We attended Victoria Baptist Church in the morning and that is where some of my nostalgia comes into the story. Victoria was the church that the late Harold Cathey founded more than 25 years ago. My in-laws, Fred and Alva Boggs, played pivotal roles in the Ugandan ministry of Harold and Beverly Cathey as their best friends and fellow laborers.

Of course, Bro. Cathey was the pastor at Unity Baptist Church from 1975-1991. He married Beth and me, baptized our oldest child and was the pastor when I was ordained as a deacon. We supported his ministry in Uganda where he not only founded Victoria Baptist Church but also the Global Theological Seminary in Jinja.

AFA’s ministry can easily be traced to what Harold and Beverly Cathey accomplished in Africa. He was planting churches and putting theologically trained pastors in these churches.

While our missions were somewhat different, with AFA’s focused on building schools in Uganda, the foremost goal for both of them is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

While I had been to Victoria on another trip, this was the first time I’d attended a church service there. Having my brother, Tim, preaching made it that much better. As always, he gave a strong message to those who gathered in the uniquely designed and strikingly beautiful church building.

Tim’s day continued Sunday evening when he was a preaching guest on an Ugandan Christian radio station. He also took his first boda (small motorcycle) ride and liked the thrill of it (welcome to Uganda).

Several people who knew the Catheys and my in-laws were honored to make the connection after the service. I’m always proud to say that I’m the son-in-law of Fred and Alva Boggs. That’s because there are no better people anywhere.

Fred’s role during the building process was at least partially putting some shingles on the roof of the church that is probably 40 feet high. Fred was 70. He has told us that you could see Lake Victoria from the top of the roof. I’m going to take his word for it.

Alva’s banners that she made in 2000 are still hanging in the building and some of Unity’s old lights hang from the ceiling, too. I have to admit, taking photos of those banners that still looked amazingly good put a lump in my throat. I love my mother-in-law and know the love that she put in those banners.

I took photos of the outside of the church while on a walk last week and told my in-laws that I could feel their spirit and the Catheys as we passed it. The work that was done during that season of their lives will have eternal impacts and continue to resonate today in Uganda. My in-laws still talk fondly about it as important moments in their lives. They are big fans of the Amy For Africa ministry, too (and Chris and Amy are big fans of them!)

Now it is as if the baton has been passed to Amy For Africa. Both Harold and Beverly Cathey and Chris and Amy Compston have this in common: They are uncommon missionaries who were obedient to God’s calling on their lives and were and are being used in mighty ways.

May God continue to be glorified.