Tiger's toughness

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments

It's easy for people to criticize the earnings and success of professional athletes. Whether this attitude is born of jealousy or some socialist mind-set, I cannot tell.

As a former amateur athlete (and I emphasize "former"), I remember often deciding to play with excruciating pain. I can appreciate, in a small way, Tiger Woods' winning the U.S. Open golf championship. Tiger beat a field of 156 golfers, basically on one leg. His best challenger was 45-year-old Rocco Mediate, who was no less determined than Woods.

Interestingly, a new commercial was shown last weekend in which Woods' father, Earl (a former Green Beret), is heard to say, "Tiger, I promise you that you'll never meet another person as mentally tough as you in your entire life." This statement could be dismissed as arrogant, but I understood it as the strategy of a father to instill confidence in his son. I heard similar words from my father.

When Woods prevailed at the Open, we learned that beneath all the wealth, fame and records is a tough-minded young man who earned his way to the top. He also reminded fathers of the positive power of words and high expectations for our children.

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A Successful and Fruitful Mission to Nigeria

Thursday, June 05, 2008 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments

On early Friday morning, May 30, Jonathan and I returned from Lagos, Nigeria Africa. We had a very fruitful time of ministry as the guests of Pastor George and Ethna Ikwunze of Liberation Assembly Church!

There were many accomplishments for this trip including:

1. Strengthened the pastor, leaders and believers at Liberation Assembly Church.
2. Witnessed the salvation of souls during conference.
3. Awarded certificates to the second class of Firm Foundation Institute graduates (first class was recognized in December of 2007).
4. Had the opportunity to see the powerful generator for which contributed $4000 to help purchase in 2006.
5. Rode in the beautiful Oldsmobile mini-van that was donated and shipped to Lagos by Pastor William Bumphus.
6. Captured high quality photo documentation, as well as High Definition video footage.
7. Traveled outside Lagos to Legun Village. We met the village chief who gave consent for Pastor George to return to hold an outreach/crusade.
8. Jonathan Hudson gained valuable international ministry experience.
9. Met several pastors from the Ikeja region of Lagos, from outside Lagos, and a pastor from Ghana.
10. Met the chairman of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), an influential network of churches in southern Nigeria, of which Pastor Ikwunze is the Treasurer.
11. Participated in the ordination of another pastor under George Ikwunze, who is recognized as an apostle among his peers.
12. Presented a new Epson video projector to Pastor George for use with Firm Foundation Institute video lectures.
13. Made plans to expand FFI beyond Liberation Assembly, moving classes from Sunday to midweek or Saturday to accommodate other churches and the community. Part of the expansion will involve making a presentation to the PFN.
14. Another part of the expansion plan is to re-develop FFI learning materials to include revised and new lectures on DVD (we had been using Video CDs) along with student binders and lesson guides.
15. We learned on this trip that one of the December FFI graduates was able to land a better job by showing his Firm Foundation Institute Certificate of Completion!

Thank you to all who prayed for and supported our work in Nigeria.

You can view the photos by visiting this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11562165@N04/

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