Reentry

Finally, I can say we are all stateside and accounted for.  Carl Bosteels made it home shortly after the rest of the team Wednesday, and Matt Mitchell arrived Sunday night after a grueling trek around the planet. 

Adjusting to life at home is to be expected, but is always more difficult than we plan.  In addition to jet-lag, residual illness and fatigue, there is the metamorphosis of spirit that has occurred. 

If you've been reading this blog (I encourage you to read through it again), you may find it incredulous that so much could have happened in so short a time.  We're right there with you.   This trip was of biblical proportions.   How often do you run away from home, introduce 8,000 people to the Lord Jesus, speak to more than twice that number, encounter the depths of poverty and the height of joy several times over in a two-week period, only to be sent back home empty-handed and full-hearted?   I don't know how the apostles did it. 

As overwhelming of an experience it may have been for you, 23 people are carrying a flood of facts and emotions that are quite out of place in the U.S. 

Be patient with us when we can't give you an answer to:  "So, how was your trip?"  Give us a little time to collect ourselves if we begin to weep mid-sentence. 

Above all, give glory to God for using the likes of us to do His work, reflect His majesty, and bring freedom to His people. 

Right now, God gives us rest.  But something tells me, like a child playing hard with a parent, we will soon hear "Let's do it again!" 

When you hear that call, go.  

Orbiting the Globe

Sorry to leave you hanging.   The last 3 days have been a complete blur.  A little r & r after the church plant (ok...a lot of r & r), some shopping and sightseeing around Mt. Elgon (a.k.a. Eden!), complete with waterfalls, hiking, and high adventure, we packed up, had a final devotional on "What do you think God wants to do next?"  based on Philippians 1:6, which says "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

The resolutions and revelations were amazing to hear...watch out!  We've seen firsthand what wonders
come when God is on the move. 

Next, it was into the vans to begin our 36 hour journey back home.  A 4-hour ride to Kampala, a great exotic restaurant serving the likes of Naan, Wildebeast, Kudoo, Springbuck, Crocodile, and more.  There, we met up with James Wald, a missionary from Mustang, Oklahoma.  Oklahomans are everywhere!

A little shopping at the market up the street and on to the airport.  Here, we bid farewell to Morris, Aidah, and Matt.  (Please stay in prayer for Matt!  He has a board meeting in Malawi (a few countries south), so his journey takes him to Kenya and Malawi, before coming back a tortuous route:  Malawi, Nairobi, Entebbe/Kampala, Amsterdam, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth, Lubbock!) 

Thank you for praying and encouraging us all.  We have been fed and blessed over and over because our connection to you through the Lord Jesus Christ. 

More to come...

3...2...1...LAUNCH!

The anticipation has been building all week. When we arrived 30 minutes late for Sunday School, it was already standing room only! We “prepared the site” by worshiping about 30 minutes with powerful songs and prayers.

Then we broke up into groups. The children (at least 250) met outside on mats under a tent. There, Rhonda, Sharon, Jayne, Ali taught them the 10 commandments on their fingers (write me if you want to know it…it’s easy!). They also taught them a “hand” prayer, where they associate each finger with a group of people to pray for.

We also passed out about 1500 crayons (several colors) to the children.  They were ecstatic and went right to coloring the papers we handed out.  Not only crayons, but paper is also a premium here for schoolchildren. 

The women stayed inside the church while Judy Langdon taught them on what it means to be church, how to pray, and the benefit of covenant groups. The small group idea fit very well within their culture. Judy delineated a true faithful sharing covenant group from a group of women who just get together to gossip. They all nodded with complete understanding.

The church was fairly full with just the women, an indication of the spiritual strength of Ugandan women. Of course, you could also read that as the men abdicating spiritual headship and responsibility in the family.

The men met outside the church on the porch, led by Matt Mitchell. Several hundred men studied the “marks of the church” from Acts 2: teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, prayers, giving, signs and wonders, evangelism, and community. It was a whirlwind crash course in Christianity but so many things that were needed for a good foundation.

When asked if there were any testimonies or encouragements, one man stood up and gave all glory to God in describing how his daughter lost her eyesight. After a month of prayers by family and friends, she was able to see again. He then told the men about how this same daughter some time later fell ill for a few days.  After much prayer she died after sundown. His response was “all we could do was praise God for her life.” They continued praying all night and into the morning. He gave testimony that after 12 hours, she gasped and was alive again. She was in church this morning.   Signs and wonders still abound. 

After an hour, we tried to gather back into the sanctuary, but there was not enough room. People kept coming! There were around 1000 people there! It was standing room only on the inside, with a few hundred looking in the windows and doors on the outside.

With the help of the generator that YOU purchased, the worship service was led with a public address system that pumped the sound inside and out. We also provided a keyboard, speakers, amp and microphones.

Every aspect of worship was full, rich and amazing! People truly gave themselves to the Lord as they sang, waved, danced, prayed and shouted.

After a great aerobic warm-up (worship here is like a workout!), Carl preached on Acts 8 (Ethiopian coming to Christ on the road). Instead of “Ethiopian” he used the word “African” which spoke volumes to those in attendance. He explained how one man who wanted to know about Jesus came to faith, was baptized and then took the gospel to Africa. They cheered and cheered when Carl said, “YOU can help spread this message as this African did. You will change the world for Jesus Christ.”

When he asked if any in the room had not yet trusted Jesus, 10 came forward! More came forward later in the afternoon!

Then the Presbytery moderator addressed the pastor and the church, and the Presbytery installed the pastor. All the pastors (Mzungu and African) laid hands on Pastor Julius, Leo prayed the commissioning prayer, and there was great rejoicing!

Pastor Julius addressed his new flock for the first time and gave an invitation to the Wednesday Bible Study. He said at that meeting, the congregation would establish what each day would bring. (Traditional pattern is Monday - visitation, Tuesday – Choir, Wednesday – Bible Study, Thursday – Women’s Bible Study, Saturday – rest, Sunday – worship)

The whole congregation had lunch on site, and we continued to give thanks to God for all the many blessings for this week of work.

Right before we left, the team walked over to the school where we drilled our water well. Being the third attempt, seeing the pump bring water brought more water to our eyes!

The van ride home was tough. Knowing we weren’t coming back to Mukongoro the next day was sad. Our prayer is that we will come back next year to disciple this burgeoning family in the faith. With your continued prayer and support, they will grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. Seriously, only through prayer will this church be sustained.

In fact, we have been covered in prayer 24 hours a day since we got on the plane. When was the last time we held vigil for 2 weeks. They began praying when we took off…they haven’t stopped and won’t until we land Wednesday.

With prayer coverage like this, how could we NOT succeed for the Lord? To God be all the glory!

Unbelieveable.

After being floored by Delilah's sudden acceptance of Christ after hearing us sing unto the Lord, Jesus did it again (somebody must be praying over there!)

While poolside, enjoying the end of the day with the Westminster gang, I was paying for a pizza we'd ordered from the bar. A man from India was also there, settling his tab and we said hello. I asked him why he was there (you don't see too many Indians in Uganda). He was on vacation, but living in Jinja (Chinese Restaurant from day 1) selling industrial hardware. Said he was there for the money. He asked why we were there. I told him we were sharing the grace of Jesus Christ.

I asked him what he believed about death and the afterlife. I expected him to say something about reincarnation or Brahmin religious practices, but instead he said, "I'll go to heaven." I said, "On what basis? If there is a gate there, and they ask you why you should get in, what will you say?"

Tough question, he said. Uncomfortable silence. I asked if he thought it was based on his good deeds outweighing his bad deeds. He nodded. I shared the fact that none of us is righteous enough to enter the presence of God. (Romans 3:23) All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. He agreed.

Then we talked about the penalty of sin being spiritual death/separation from God (Romans 6:23). He agreed.

Then we talked about God coming to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, living a sinless life, dying for our sin (Romans 5:8), rising from the grave. His eyes opened wider. He kept nodding.

His friends were calling him away. He stayed a bit more.

I said, "You know, God loves you very much and has made a way for you to come to him. You can't get there on your own. We all need Jesus."

He smiled. Left quietly, and glanced over his shoulder as he left.

God only knows what will happen next. All I know is I'm convinced that it doesn't matter if you're in a bar, at the store, digging a ditch or on vacation: every day is a good day to talk about Jesus.

But Wait...There's MORE!

God just humbled and blessed us again.  I’m nearly speechless. 

Last night, we were in the hotel’s watering hole celebrating Uganda Independence Day.  There we got to learn the Ugandan national anthem from some very inebriated guests.  I video-taped them and we all had a good laugh. 

Tonight, after our team meeting, we practice our choir song, “There is Power in the Blood” for services tomorrow.  After our “practice” was over, a young woman popped her head into our conference room and wanted to talk with me.  It was none other than the woman from the bar the night before.  Her name is Delilah Nawino. 

She said she was supposed to meet a friend at a party at the hotel, but was stood up.  As she was leaving to go home, she passed by our banquet room and heard the “power in the blood of the Lord” song.  When she peeked in, she saw me and asked Tom and Henry to fetch me.  We greeted and exchanged a laugh once again.  Then she said she was a Muslim, had no support from her friends, and thought about trusting Jesus once long ago, but thought it would be more convenient and easier to remain a Muslim. 

I said, “Why?”  She couldn’t give a definitive answer, so I finally asked, “How do you get to Heaven?”  She gave the right answer:  “By trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior.” 

“Do you trust in Jesus, Delilah?”  She said she did not.  She didn’t know what Jesus had to do with it, but she’d heard that Jesus was somehow important.  We went through the gospel message.  Before I could even ask, she said, “I want to give my life to Jesus right now!”  We prayed, and she jumped up praising God, shouting “Hallelujah!” 

I invited her to the church dedication tomorrow.  She was ecstatic.  “You mean you launch the first day tomorrow?”  What a privilege.  Thank you Lord.   And we thought we were done for the week!

Pomp & Circumstance

The team was moving a little slower today.  Some caught up on sleep, some celebrated Independence Day late into the night.  After a late breakfast we gathered to attend the Grand Biennial Graduation Ceremonies of Covenant Bible Institute of Theology (CBIT). 

Again the providence of God was made manifest.  Turns out, they only celebrate graduation every other year, and on the second week in October.  We did not plan our trip around this event – we didn’t even know about it until Tuesday!

Coincidence does not exist here.  I have just begun to serve on the provisional USA board of CBIT and attended some of the classes Tuesday to evaluate the caliber of professors and the curriculum.  While there, I was asked to represent the board by being the commencement speaker on Saturday.  An honor too great for me, but I was persuaded after they explained how God worked it out for a greater purpose. 

They kept referring to us as the “guests of honor.”  Truly we were humbled and felt unworthy of the title, yet over the course of explaining the history of CBIT, Pastor Vincent said, God again has provided for this institution through the generous giving of the brothers and sisters from America.

All four pastors plus elder Tom Langdon wore academic regalia.

I gave the address, encouraging these new pastors to have confidence in their education, to continue learning the Word, and to be a humble servant of God’s people, transparent, so that they can see through the pastor as they gaze upon Jesus Christ.

Tom gave the charge to the graduates stressing the need to be storytellers, telling the story of Jesus in the church, and out in the field.

Morris Ogenga, chairman of the CBIT Uganda board, gave perhaps the best advice:  “In the church, there are no tribes, no favoritism, no partiality.  We are all God’s children.  We are one.”

My favorite line from the ceremony was when the graduates move their cap tassels from the right to the left:  “We are changing history forever.”  It’s true.

The Bible College is the heartbeat of the evangelism program, for without pastors who know the Word of God, how can you plant churches? 

The Mukongoro church will provide at least one pastoral candidate by next year, and he will study at CBIT, only to graduate and be ordained/installed at a church planted 3 years from now!  This symbiotic relationship feeds the evangelism mission of the PCU. 

The pastor we are installing at Mukongoro is Pastor Julius.  He graduated today, and received the leadership award – a good sign for this new church!

It was a very long ceremony, complete with traditional African dancing, full processional, a brass marching band, choirs from the school and orphanage, poetry readings, professional portrait studio (printed and framed on the spot), and a large lunch for everyone in attendance (300-400 people!) 

It was great to see the parental support for these young men who graduated.  The program of study is very difficult, and the curriculum and caliber of professors rivaled my own seminary education!

Finally, the teams made it back to the hotel and rested, shopped, or strolled for the rest of the day.  Although it must come, today served as a reminder that our work is finished here, and that the plane ride home is looming on the African horizon. 

We are very excited to see our families, to be sure.  Yet this is mixed with a tinge of sadness over leaving this beautiful place and even more beautiful people. 

All this week we’ve been using Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “Life Together.”  Very intense discussions of Community, Time Alone, Daily Routine, Ministry, Confession and Communion.  This set the tone and the spirit of each day. 

I am so proud of this team.  They have been community - they've loved well, studied hard, worked even harder and have epitomized the word flexible.  No longer average men and women, these have been changed into evangelists, apostles, preachers, teachers, healers, prophets and leaders. 

God be praised, in work and in rest.

A Challenge for You

Since today (Saturday) is a day of rest from the Lord's labor, let's see some questions! You have been great with encouraging comments, and we'd like also to be able to respond to questions you may have. It can't be any harder than the questions we've had on the trail!