This group specifically asked me to spend some time
ministering to the widows in the church. Often the coordinating pastor –
typically someone who knows me well – senses a resonance with the specific
church group we’re with and invites me to share my experience as a widow at a
deeper level with the other widows. Our goal is to help them realize that God
will use all things for the good of those...
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Pastors in Agago District
I am constantly amazed at how often I’m asked to minister
directly with the pastors who attend such workshops. I feel entirely inadequate
to teach these men of God and yet somehow they feel they’ve learned something
when we’ve finished together. I have increasingly come to realize how much
these men love God and how much they long to know him more. So many topics for
discussion are taboo for pastors and we typically begin by discussing the
importance of confidentiality…particularly for their wives....
Agago District Church
Praises ring out in the distance, praises of thanksgiving
that the visitor has finally arrived. It was 8:30 pm and the 12 hour journey
via boda, taxi, then bus from Entebbe to Kitgum and then 1.5 hour via boda to
the venue rendered me safe but tired. The people in Agago District, bordering
Southern Sudan, have been waiting for me since Thursday (it’s now Monday). They
came expecting a Friday-Saturday...
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Teaching, Preaching, and Speaking in Bundibugyo
I’d been invited to work alongside Bishop Hannington to
develop material for a publishing opportunity primarily because of my unique
combination of experience in publishing and in Uganda. As usual, God used that
opportunity to create a partnership with Surprised by Hope that Bishop and I
believe will help the various communities where his 26 churches are located. I must reveal, however, that there...
You Stole My Wife
Bundibugyo is just a few kilometers from the DR Congo border
where war is driving Congolese families to seek refuge in Uganda. These Bundibugyo
communities tend to be a happy mixture of nationalities, languages, and
customs. I attribute this acceptance to recent memories of their own war-torn
past resulting from the likes of rulers like Idi Amin and Joseph Koney.
Though one young pastor-refugee reported that after crossing
the border, a Ugandan man took his wife. Very likely she felt that...
The School that War Built
Following is Bishop’s description of how the school came
about. Any errors can be attributed to my own inability to type as fast as he
spoke. I love seeing how clearly God used a bad circumstance to make something
good and bring him glory.
Congolese rebels attacked
Uganda. When they did, they caused a lot of displacement. We found ourselves in
IDC. The International Steward workshop taught principles...
Traveling to Bundibugyo
A diesel-fuel high made my ears ring as I contemplated how
many people in Uganda died from such daily inhalation only to blame the likes
of pneumonia or ulcers. Our eventual bus departure was met with great relief
and a few aspirin. The journey was relatively uneventful given my recent trip
to Congo,
though no disappointment crossed these lips. After passing through the
surprisingly large town of...
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Busing Uganda Style
Grabbing my bags before I could even protest, questionable
bus attendants ushered me to the bus park at the same time demanding to know my
destination. Stumbling past crowds of people, trying to keep up with my now
fast-moving luggage, I struggled to keep up. Pushing me into the front seat of
the big green Link bus, the attendant instructed me to wait the nearly three
hours in the plastic covered seats as sleepy faces gradually filled in the
gaps.
The Buganda Bus Park is home to most major long...
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Church Leadership Meeting
Sunday evening would be my last ministry responsibility in
Marereni and in Kenya. Leaders of those churches founded by Pastor Tsofa came
together for an evening of encouragement and teaching. We talked about some
basic principles in establishing the church, as well as some leadership
principles, character qualities, and the role of their wives in their churches.
Pastor Tsofa loves his wife and...
Preaching at Jesus Gathering Center
New churches often come under attack of the enemy and this
church was no different. Teaching about the battlefield in the mind and how the
enemy will use the mind to destroy the church before it starts, many people
responded to the call for specific prayer to win their battle. So thankful for
the opportunity to preach again, but still feeling inadequate for the job. It’s
these times when I must...
Biblically-based Business Teaching in Marereni
Marereni is the more centrally located venue where the three
day workshop would take place. This new church boasted an iron sheet roof and
open air walls. I was thankful for those open walls in this oven-like place. Following
our time of praise and worship along with introductions, Pastor Tsofa quickly
handed the translator’s microphone to Pastor Njuguna. Pastor Njuguna came to
this three day workshop...
Church as Business in Adu
Adu is another small village about an hour by motorcycle off
the main road. The third of Pastor Tsofa’s churches was organized for a full day
seminar for pastors (and anyone else wishing to attend). At one point during
our ride I asked Pr Tsofa if any people would be there because I hadn’t seen
any in a looooong time. The more than 50 people who came certainly traveled
quite a distance. Seventeen...
Church Encouragement Outside Marereni
“You are a real missionary,” said Pastor Tsofa as he rode me
on the back of a borrowed motorcycle. He indicated that no one he knows would
have endured such a ride. Probably no one he knows would have looked as scary
as I did once we arrived either. Humidity worked a number on my curls as did
the wind and sun on my face and shoulders. A red-skinned, mop-headed
missionary…that’s me.
More than an...
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Hell's Kitchen
Before being handed off to Pastor Tsofa, Pastor Njuguna took
me to Hell. Hell’s Kitchen that is. He must know the tiring effects of constant
ministry and so planned a relaxing hike through this touristy site.
Well…relaxing if you don’t mind climbing on loose gravel in sandals and not
being able to find your way out before dark until someone yells down from the top about where to go. God’s beautiful...
Preaching at Mountain of Glory Church
I love the pre-service dancing. Dancing is how I connected with Pr Njuguna three years ago.
I shake my head (on the inside) when I’m invited to preach
at various churches. I continue to maintain that I am not a preacher. My
obstinence on this fact comes not from a fear of speaking in front of people,
but instead from a sense that the pastor who I may be replacing is far better
equipped to preach...
Pastor Njuguna's Entrepreneurship
As with almost every pastor in village East Africa, Pastor
Njuguna has several income generating projects funding his life and ministry.
Some of these ideas, I’m happy to report, came from Surprised by Hope’s
asset-based development workshop. Pastor served as my translator for that
course back in February and took those lessons to heart.
To begin, the church is digging a well to provide...
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Four Film Flurry
Small wooden benches jammed with eager children littered the
Mountain of Glory church in Marikebuni, Kenya. As darkness descended, adults
began replacing those small sleepy heads so that by the time the second film
began there were more than 50 adults in attendance. Given the distance between
homes, this number is pretty significant.
Four NOOMA films – Rain, Lump, Luggage, and She...
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