Uganda Trip #13 | Post 7
Who’s the culprit? (See the picture)
Yesterday, Stu left his teaching material in our Pastoral Training Center (PTC). When he went to teach lesson six today, three pages were missing from his Teacher’s Manual. Turns out a door was left open and one of the cows was looking for some insight into Ephesians. It is not unusual for chickens and goats to make themselves at home in the PTC when a door is not secured. This is the first time I’m aware of a cow making it in our set up. The result is that Stu’s teaching is now bovine and not divine (dad jokes go transcontinental).
Today, we spent considerable time looking at Ephesians 6:10-20, which speaks of the Armor of God and spiritual warfare. There was lively discussion as Africans have a lot more experience in this realm than your average American Christian. There were several stories of exorcisms and witchcraft. It was gratifying that Vincent, my Lead Trainer (the equivalent of a college TA), led this session and did a solid job of keeping us anchored in the text, not just storytelling.
I have to admit a small amount of disappointment when a few tricky questions were asked, and no one looked in my direction. Vincent answered the questions with humility and authority. He didn’t look at me with a “please bail me out” look, even though I kind of wanted that to take place. This speaks to my insecurity and my need to be needed. I quickly caught my error and was pleased and proud that an abiding network of African lead churches is taking confident next steps through Vincent and the other Lead Trainers. They must increase and we must decrease.
Day two of pickle ball went well as skill levels increased overnight. There was an anomaly, however. A young church planting pastor from Alabama (high tide!) went airborne a number of times. The rest of us were soundly anchored to the ground. My excuse for not leaving the ground was that our Ephesians six text was a call to stand firm. It is a nice diversion after spending the day in a class room with no A/C when it reached 105 today. Gratefully the heat did not feel oppressive, and it started cooling down before we played pickleball.
Tomorrow morning, we start the long track back home. I just did the math. We will leave here at 11 pm Hudson time on Thursday and arrive at MSP around noon on Saturday! I love coming here and I really love coming home!
