We are now in Kenya, on the coast. We have had no internet service until
yesterday so I had no way of writing. I finally bought a modem to use here
yesterday. When we got back to the hotel we found that indeed they had internet
but had not told us. Two girls from Italy had kept the modem in their room.
So, now I have two ways to get online.
Our last two days in Uganda went well. The trainers are all leaders from
various organizations so we have real hopes that the training will expand
through 5 or 6 different organizations and denominations across Uganda. They
seem really motivated to pass the training on. We were very pleased with the
progress that they made in learning the material. Some were very bright, with
advanced degrees, so it was easier to train them. Many expressed a real change
in their understanding of what it means to preach the Word and felt that their
preaching and teaching would never be the same.
I personally did not feel that I connected with the group very well. I was
not there the first two days and only taught a couple of sessions on the last
two. But the other team members did great. I found out that the job God wanted
me to do on that part of this trip was to encourage and help one of the other
team members with some major challenges they are facing. As I said before,
ministry is always interesting.
We are now in Malindi, arriving on Saturday afternoon. It is much hotter
here than it was in Uganda and we are paying the price in our training. Our
hotel is very nice and inexpensive, but without air conditioning. It sometimes
gets down to 85 by morning and we are thankful for ceiling fans. Everybody is
sleeping ok.
We travelled to a remote village church on Sunday where I preached to about
7 women and 20 or so children. It is always a bit challenging to prepare for
this kind of preaching, not knowing what kind of congregation we will find. I
had a couple of options ready, but when I found out the situation at the church
I chose a third option on the way. Years of preaching experience comes in handy
at times.
I was anxious to see and to reconnect with the brethren here after not
having been here for 8 months. The last workshop in August was conducted by
others and I had not been here since April. I wanted to see if they were making
progress. I was so happy to see that they are thoroughly committed to preaching
the Word and are working hard to become more skilled. One poor pastor has hired
a tutor to help him learn to read better so he can study more effectively. They gave me
such a warm welcome that it was like coming home to family. What a joy. Many
of them are still struggling to catch on to all we are teaching. They have such
limited education, but they are all making progress for which we thank God.
One surprise that we found here was that a man from the other side of
Nairobi came to watch our training. It turns out that he is an Ethiopian who is
church planting in an unchurched area of Kenya. He happened onto our
information when he was on the internet. He asked me by email if he could
attend to observe, and I agreed. I thought he knew where we were meeting but he
did not. He hunted for us on Monday and almost went home. He finally reached
me by email and I was able help him come see us today. He is a fine brother
who is committed to the same principles that we are but has not been able to
find the right training process until he found us. He said today was historic
for him and wants us to come help him start the training on the other side of
Kenya among many different denominations. The Lord is amazing. I meet with him
for awhile tomorrow as Mike trains, to talk about what we might do together.
Today was very hot and challenging. It gets up to around 90 every day with
high humidity and we train the men in a room with open windows but little air
movement and no fans. We are drained by the end of the day. Mike and I take a
liter of water each and drink it all and want more by the end of the day. I
never see the Kenyans drink at all. I do not know how they do it. We get back
to the hotel about 6 and take a quick shower, no hot water, and rinse off. Then
we head out to find supper. By the time we are back around 8:30 we are mostly
beat. I find it easier to get up early to prepare for that day's training than
trying to do it the night before.
Edie and Suzanne are doing very well in spite of all the heat. They are
training ladies out in the yard under a huge tree. It is much cooler there with
a good breeze. But there are other challenges. A calf came by and bellowed at
them, a herd of goats surrounded them, and ants kept falling from the tree onto
them. This is Africa at its best. The ladies are not as well educated and the
learning is a bit slower with them than the men, but they also are making
progress.
We all are saying that the days are long and hot, and that this job is
physically, mentally and spiritually challenging, often beyond our capability.
But the Lord is with us and we would not trade what we do for anything in the
world. Through us the Lord is training pastors and wives to study and teach the
Word of God accurately, often for the first time in their lives. We were
talking and realized that in the past month or so we have trained trainers, who
will train over two thousand pastors. They in turn will teach the Word much
more effectively to over 100,000 believers. And, we are just getting started.
How can you top that? Not in this life, not in my book. Thanks for your help
in praying, encouraging and giving. We could not do it without you.
Al
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