Story Behind The Book

Ali, my wife, had suggested I write a book for a long time. In the early 2000s, an E3 Partners Ministry board member stopped me in a hallway and suggested I turn the email newsletter I was writing into a book.

In May of 2022, the Empower One team gathered at Church at the Cross in Grapevine, Texas for a planning meeting. The team wrote out our 10 year goals. I mostly kept silent through that exercise. The last bullet point was for me to write a book.

In the fall of 2022, I had an extra day waiting for my flight in Entebbe, Uganda. I sat on the front porch of the Anderita hotel, ordered a spicy African tea, and started typing. A year and half and two editors later, I present to you, Eating with God’s Fork.

You can read the plucky description Streamline Books helped me write for the back cover. But here’s a little more of what I hope the book represents. What got me over the hump were my kids. I wanted them to have a record of my story, which is Empower One’s and David Kaya’s combined. Second, I hope at least one person takes a leap of faith with God, inspired by this story and the God Stories I included. And third, I want all our amazing donors, prayer partners, trip goers, and staff members to see behind the scenes. But more than that, I hope they get a fuller picture of how much God has used them in Africa, particularly South Sudan and Sudan.

I only pushed back on my editors in two or three places. One was the subtitle. I felt a strong conviction to use the phrase, “… a flawed guy.” I intentionally included multiple areas where I fell short or flat-out failed in the book. My hope is you’ll be encouraged if you don’t feel fully equipped or up to snuff to jump in with God. Spoiler, you’re not equipped, but the gospel is why you are.

If you walk with a spiritual limp or feel unqualified, this is for you. I share those feelings, but I hope you’ll see how a life fully submitted to God can be fun, exciting, and full of adventure. God’s Kingdom is already here, jump in.