Monday, September 30, 2013

A Day of Firsts

It seems that it is true every day of our trip, but this has certainly been a day of firsts.

  • To begin with, this was the first time that we have done any ministry in the Town of Jinja. Jinja is an historical place that lies on Lake Victoria at the source of the Nile River. We were able to train 20 pastors, mostly United Methodists, in discipleship, ministry, spiritual gifts and worship. Our work was well received by those who attended.
  • The church which was the site of today's meeting, Community Church of Faith, is an interesting place. They also have an orphanage which is home to 25 children, most orphaned by AIDS. They also have chicken coops at two locations. They eat the eggs and sell the chickens. They get most of their funds from contributions, but are trying to become self- sufficient.
  • Simon Ndegwa was our host pastor. He is a man of God from Kenya who serves as an associate pastor at Community Church of Faith. He was a gracious and caring host. I am hoping to get to know more of him in the future.
  • The highlight of my day was after our training was complete. We had a lunch provided by. The host church and as we were finishing up I stepped outside onto the very busy street. One of the pastors joined me to tell me about a ministry he is involved in, MJK- Making Jesus Known. They focus on street evangelism, drama and music to reach teens in the community. As he was telling me this two young girls walked by. This pastor called the girls over and told me that they needed prayer. I thought this was his "pick up line," but it turns out that they a part of a group of teens he has been trying to reach who are Muslims. He asked me if I would pray for them. I said I would love to. The girls knelt down on the ground to pray because that is what Muslims do. I pulled them up, held their hands and prayed that The Lord would reveal himself to them. And I prayed in Jesus' name. Please be praying that God will work in the lives of Saphina and Shiratt.
  • Joseph Kanyike, John Kiviiri, Chad Yoder, Brad Beatty and myself  have been discussing ways. To coordinate and organize our efforts in Uganda. We think that we have finally hit on it. Luanda is a Swahili word that means to prepare. Our mission is to prepare pastors and church leaders for the work of ministry. Be praying for this effort that we might glorify God and his work may be accomplished.
We are officially done with our work now. Tomorrow we are going to do a little sightseeing, visit with some friends so that we can say goodbye and then we are flying home tomorrow night. It will be a long trip (twenty hours of flying time) but we are all exhausted and ready to be home. This may be my last post for a few days, but keep checking back for updates and photos.

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