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Jesus spent a lot of time talking about the
kingdom of God, during His earthly ministry. He saw the kingdom as a work in
progress..."The kingdom of heaven is like...," and he saw the kingdom as a
place to look forward to arriving at one day soon. Paul, like Jesus, seemed to
have in mind an "eschatological dualism" when talking about the kingdom. He
talked about what it would be like in heaven, while spreading churches across
Asia minor and writing two thirds of the New Testament. Since I am a citizen
of the Kingdom of Heaven, I am a stranger to this world. Yet, I am in this
world. I am on a journey. But who starts a journey without the destination on
their mind and the road beneath their feet? When I was young, I kept watch on
the road signs to see if we were almost there yet. Now, when I travel, in the
driver's seat, I still calculate the miles left to home every ten miles along
the way. Jesus said the meek would inherit the earth. But, one day the
earth will be consumed with fire. I'll pass on that one. I put my investment
in the Kingdom of Heaven.
"And
from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth
violence, and the violent take it by force." Matthew 11:12 
Below are some snapshots of our Kenya Missions Trip.
This first picture is me in the Indian Ocean. All of the ladies waded out
to the deep water for a sight-seeing excursion on a glass bottom boat out to
the barrier reef.
Behind me is a view of the Great Rift Valley. We drove up a mountain, just
back across the equator to see the earth drop out from below us.
I could never live a vegetarian lifestyle...just a carnivore as you can
see. This is my friend Valerie beside me at the Carnivore Restaurant in
downtown Nairobi. The Zebra and Lamb were delicious.
This is our guide holding a sea cucumber on the reef. The sea life was
spectacular. I dropped my camera into the salt water climbing out of the boat
at the barrier reef. But, the film was salvaged. The most memorable part of
the trip was the snorkeling and the underwater view.
Later, we rode a bus through Amsterdam and walked across town to see the
city. This is our local church group, plus Val, at a small cafe.
And, this is the ladies group of the Africa Team. That's me on the front
row between Sandi Waldron and Valerie McCall.
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