Genesis 1:27 - English Standard Version (ESV)
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

It is challenging to look back on my life and to meditate on the thought that I was created in God's image. It is difficult to believe that God created me for His good pleasure. It is impossible, in my humanity, to trust that God has chosen to use my broken body as His platform to help His creation know a little more about who He is.

Let us be very clear. I am no saint. I only have to reflect on my behavior this morning, and it is but 7:30am, to be starkly reminded of this reality. The good news is that Luso is not a story about me. It is the story of God's provision for His people. My life is little more than a series of unusual circumstances through which God has chosen to reveal His amazing Grace.

Everyone has a story in them. The world might judge us; how much money, how much power; what we achieved. God's economy is different. He decides how much time, what spiritual gifts and talents and what financial resources He will give to each of us. To be used for His eternal purposes. 

The software company Verity used to call its quarterly company meeting "dash" - a humble reminder that each human life can be boiled down to a single symbol, placed between the dates of their birth and death.  Road Out Of Hell is my dash. This first book, Luso: The Battle That Changed the Cold War in Africa, is where today began for me.

One can argue that America was destined to be part of God’s chosen people, beginning September 6, 1620, when 102 passengers plus crew sailed from Plymouth England, in search of a new world where they could worship God in safety. There were many struggles. I think of the Cold War as America’s battle to contain the spread of Satan's atheistic ideology.

It was only natural for the Soviet Union to turn to the wealth of Southern Africa to solve their economic woes. Their strategy was always to leverage ideological and political discontent. South Africa and its policies of Apartheid was a soft target, giving them the perfect platform to fund political change to their advantage in Southern Africa.

It is impossible not to marvel at God’s divine hand on my life. From the date and place I was born, through to the afternoon of the 10th December 1975, when two perfect strangers were brought together in a small armored car to experience a situation that He would use to reflect His eternal love and His eternal purposes through me.

My life was spared. Now 40 years later, I have the privilege of telling this story!