Uganda Trip #15 | Post 3
Is life a little different here? The picture for this post is of a farmer’s market tied into the church that hosts the Pastoral Training Center (PTC), which we teach. It’s the first Friday of the month (September 5 th ), and that means it’s pay day. The campus here employs 141 people and there are farmers and a variety of entrepreneurs who are looking to meet some needs and generate some revenue for themselves in the process. If you compare it with the Saturday “event” that takes place in the FCC lower lot, it is quite a different set up. There have been times when the upper lot is ¾ full as I drive by on a Saturday morning. It’s fun that we can use the resources God has granted us through his people and share with our neighbors. The manager of Kwik Trip says their Saturday business is great because of the farmer’s market.
Life is different here. But people are people, and I have really learned to love those associated with the PTC. One of the upsides of this type of setup is that I have been able to establish relationships with people I have been seeing for over a week, two to three times a year. Every time I arrive in Gulu, I come to friends. I am looking forward to being done with these meaningful, yet grueling trips, but I will miss my friends here.
Sleep has been elusive since arriving here. The last two nights I have averaged 3.5 hours. The good news is that I haven’t been all that tired so far during the day-especially as I teach. I took a half-hour nap today, and I hope that my body is starting to adjust. The good news of sleeplessness is that it allows me to review my lesson for the upcoming day for the fourth, fifth, or sixth time. History is that my body finally adjusts after about eight days, just in time for me to jump on a plane home and start the process over again.
Today was my second full day of teaching in a row, and I had a first. One of the things that I do as I teach (usually during a discussion) is look ahead to see how much teaching I have left and trying to make sure I complete the lesson in the time allotted. I glanced ahead and realized I was about an hour and a half ahead of schedule. This is very rare. I looked backward and realized I skipped six pages worth of notes! I asked my students to brace themselves because I was going to back up and take another run at it. Turned out it was not that big a deal, but it did give me a little adrenaline rush!
Our subject matter is understanding and communicating apocalyptic literature by means of focusing on the book of Revelation. In my prepping I discovered that there are over ten books in the Bible that have some apocalyptic features. Frankly, I have been a bit afraid to teach this material, but it is going better than I thought. Our big takeaways so far are that God is sovereign over all of history (including/especially the end), and that the Lamb (Jesus) is on the throne. This is especially true when suffering is part of the church’s agenda, which was the norm for the early church. They/we can persevere because at the end of our life on this broken world, we get an upgrade – a serious upgrade. This already purchased reality can inform our every day. Eternal life has already broken in through Jesus, and one day it will be fully realized. Until that day…I, the believer, help my unbelief.
Tomorrow, I supervise as Vincent, one of our Lead Trainers tied into my group will do the teaching.
