It’s Monday night and we have our first day under our belts. It is always good to make our way down to the PTC (Pastoral Training Center) to the smiles and hugs and greetings of our Ugandan brothers on Monday morning. We all met at the PTC, sang a song, prayed a prayer and I introduced Tim Prince and Gar Christenson. They clapped for Tim when I told them he would be preaching at our Wednesday evening gathering and for Gar when I told them there would be free eye exams and free glasses for those who need them. Gar saw 31 pastors and roughly half of them needed glass. It was fun to see them come back to their class with their glasses on ready to go.
We broke into three classes, one led by Mike Evans, one by Stu Dix and the other by me. I was in a new place, meeting in the library of the school that is on site here. The first session went fairly well. Mondays tend to be lower energy as many of our pastors have church on Sunday morning and then travel (some 5 hours or so) in some less than desirable vehicles. But we had a good start.
I have two Lead Trainers (TA’s of sort) who are being prepped to teach the coursework in our absence when this cohort is done in January 2026. As such, they are each teaching two lessons under our supervision and with our feedback to help them prepare for their future. My Lead Trainers (LT) are Vincent and Moses. Moses was not at our preparation meeting on Saturday where we met with the LTs and went over the material they would be teaching. During the break, I asked him if he was ready to go with lesson two. And his reply was, “I have lesson three”. Vincent said, “You have two and six, I have four and eight.” Moses' face betrayed anxiety, with the thought of leading a class that he hadn’t prepped for at all. I told him I would cover the class. Now the mild anxiety was all mine! I have taught the material before and quickly looked things over. The class started twenty minutes later, and I would give myself a B-. I gave the first one a B+, so it turned out fine. As a result, tomorrow will be a piece of cake.
My other point of interest was during the end-of-the-day quiz covering the material of the day (the picture is Vincent and Moses handing out the quiz). The quiz should take about five minutes to complete. They get passed out and when one completes it, they hand it to an LT and leave for the day. Ten minutes into it, there were five of my thirteen still laboring over the quiz. I gave them five minutes to complete them. At the one-minute warning, three got up and handed in their quiz. When time was up, I waited another half a minute and I asked them to hand in the quiz to the LT. After thirty seconds of no response, I walked up to them, took their quizzes, and handed them in for them. That’s it for instruction on day one.
April 17, 2026 April 2026 FCC Global Mission Prayer Update Mission Focus Moment: Sarah Jane (SJ) Holsteen Sarah Jane (SJ) Holsteen resides in Lille, France, with her husband, Sam, where she serves with the International Association for Refugees (IAFR). IAFR is a Christian mission organization designed to operate within humanitarian spaces. SJ’s team helps refugees and asylum seekers survive and recover from forced displacement. Refugees and asylum seekers travel from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, seeking safety and belonging after fleeing from war, torture, and persecution in their homeland. They come to Lille, vulnerable and rejected. IAFR hosts a church-sponsored Refugee Welcome Center to assist refugees through holistic Gospel witness, practical assistance, relationship-building, and hope. IAFR offers French classes, Bible studies, and other weekly gatherings for asylum seekers. They also support their asylum-seeking friends by accompanying them to their government interviews and helping meet some of their needs . How can you pray for SJ and IAF R ? Housing and Asylum Solutions for their frien ds Wisdom and creativity in navigating administration questions for the French Association IAFR works through in Lille Asylum-seeking neighbors, church partners, and volunteers would all know Jesus’ love and grace that welcomes all without distinctio Our Global Mission Partne r s Steve and Nopaluck Cable –– Santisuk English School, Bangkok, Thaila nd The Cables’ ministry is thriving; however, they need more workers. Pray for more short-term missionaries to come forward and sign up to serve at one of their Bangkok locations this year. John and Ana Lindstrom – Wycliffe Bible Translators, Papua New Guinea Pray for several multi-language projects that John is overseeing- for the publishing of the Buang New Testament, and the completion of New Testament books in Musim, Kapin, and Yamap. Justin and Joelle Goldberg- Wycliffe Bible Translators, Ethiopia The translating team has been finishing the translation of Romans and has started drafting for 1 Corinthians. Pray that God’s Spirit would move as they work to translate accurately, naturally, and clearly Ryan and Leah – Aisa Pray that their ministry will continue to bear fruit as they share their faith and disciple others John and Terri Nanda – Serve India & All Nations House (UWRF) John and Terri recently returned from India. Pray that John would be able to continue to work through administrative paperwork for Serve India while at home in the United States Z.S.&A.S. – Twin Cities Z&A are celebrating 10 years of ministry. Pray for Z as he enters into a new role as an elder at their local church Grace Aasness-CRU, University of Minnesota Pray for seeds to be planted for college students to be open to the gospel, and that Grace would raise the support needed for this new ministry opportunity Joey Olson- CRU Intern, North Dakota State University & MN State University, Moorhead Joey and his team recently returned from a mission trip in Puebla, Mexico. Pray that the students' desire to share the word of God would continue to flourish Josh Stream- Casas Por Cristo, El Paso, Texas Pray for continued encouragement and confidence as Josh works with teams on upcoming building projects in Mexico.
As of January 1, 2026, a new tax provision allows those who do not itemize deductions to still receive a tax benefit for charitable giving.
Weather Update for March 15, 2026
