faithhudson

This is probably the hardest part of these trips. We have completed our tasks, felt good about the progress, said our good byes and begin the trek home.

Today it started at 8 am as we left Abaana’s Hope, the site of the Pastoral Training Center and headed into Gulu for a 9 am flight to a town called Kajjansi, near Entebbe and the international airport. Our plane was 50 minutes late. It was a very small terminal, somewhere between he size of the Kid’s Room and the Community Room. There were only four of us who were waiting for the flight. In addition to Stu, Mike and myself, we met Kathy Hoglund, a chatty missionary in Kampala, Uganda’s capital city. She hails from Burnsville, MN and was a graduate of Bethel University.

The MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) plane had a 12 person limit and there were seven people in the plane when we went to load. We were put in row three, which had one seat on the left side, a 12 inch aisle and two seats on the right side-definitely not business class. Stu and I were close than we preferred. I put my arm up around Stu’s back to create a little space and he spoke of being nestled in my underarms. We left Gulu (a gravel runway) and flew to Adjumani, which was twenty minutes north. We stayed in the plane and the two final travelers joined us there. We flew to Arua, 25 minutes west and near the Congolese border. We dropped of four and picked up four. We got out of the plane for refueling, and we stretched a bit. This terminal was larger, about the size of FCC’s auditorium. We stood outside against the wall of the terminal, but were told we had to move inside.

About 20 minutes later we were on our way to Kanjjasi for a 1.5 hour flight. Our pilot told us that we could put our backpacks in the overhead bins…which didn’t exist in this flying sardine can. I guess pilots have dad jokes too. We landed on our last gravel runway for the day and made a 1/4 mile walk to the area to pick up our bags and meet our driver to take us to Entebbe…and we waited…and waited.

About a 1/2 hour into waiting Mike contacted our Gulu contact to tell him of our loneliness. He contacted our driver who said he was 20 minutes out. He arrived 30 minutes later and took us to a market so I could by some grandkid souvenirs before dropping us off at Hotel Protea, a very nice place on the shore of Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world, behind Lake Superior. We arrive there at 2:30 and had a 9:30 pick up.

After a mildly frustrating morning this was a welcome break. We shard good lunch (I had perch from the Nile), and eventually grabbed three pool side recliner chairs and caught a nap. We chatted and sat for long periods of quiet. When you have spent as much time together as the three of us have, you get comfortable not feeling you have to perform for one another. It is now 11:30 pm, 15.5 hours after we left our place this morning and we have flights to Brussels, Chicago and Minneapolis ahead of us. By the way, Brussels is in Belgium…is their national language Belch? Dad jokes are portable.

At this time you simply want to get home…this is one of the few downsides for the size of the privilege we have in training these pastors. When ever we run into other believers here (which happens regularly) and we describe what we are part of, we are made aware of how well we have it and how meaningful our labor is.

While I’m pretty shot already, we are already talking about our trip in May and our graduation in September. God is using FCC, Training Leaders International (TLI), and the Pastoral Training Center to start and strengthen churches in Uganda, Congo, South Sudan and possibly Kenya. Thank you for allowing me to partake in this incredible work. May God expand FCC’s reach so that thousands, locally and globally, live a gospel inspired life.

Larry Szyman

Pastoral Associate

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!

Larry Szyman

Pastoral Associate

Mike, Stu, and I broke out the pickleball gear as it only got to 98 degrees today-even though our weather app said 104. There was pretty good cloud cover, so it wasn’t too bad. No injuries, mild sweat and a good time. I got 13,000 steps in today (so far). It was nice to move in a way that is different than merely walking. It was also nice to not fall while walking today-I still haven’t got all of the gravel out of my hand from yesterday’s wipe out.

Part of our teaching today had to do with understanding the recipient of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Not understanding the differences between those on the receiving end of our communication can result in a very different perception or outcome.

For example, one of our men had a coughing attack during a lesson. It became a bit distracting and one of the other men gave him water and encourage him to stand up. One of the leaders referred to him as Dr. Phillip and the rest of the group laughed. My American bound mind immediately went to Dr. Phil of Oprah fame and assumed that was why they were laughing. Turns out that they had never heard of Dr. Phil, although most of them were familiar with Oprah.

Yesterday felt a little flat in the sessions I led, but today felt really different. The students seemed more engaged, the material seemed to land well, and I could sense new concepts making sense and being welcomed. We were able to get through the curriculum early and had a spirited discussion on marriage in the church.

I shared the teaching duty with Vincent, one of our lead trainers, who is pictured on this post. He will be one of the full time instructors in this location once we pull out in September. He is articulate, sensitive, and very knowledgeable with Scripture. The future of this abiding network of African lead churches is in very good hands. He recently was promoted from running the farm associated with the compound here, to overseeing four departments.

For some reason I am really dragging on this trip. I don’t feel ill, just hitting walls in regard to fatigue with some regularity. I’m not doing anything different than other trips. Last night I slept from 10 pm to 2 am. I’m about to finish my third book on this trip, Suffering is Never for Nothing by Elisabeth Elliot. Tomorrow, I teach my last class as Vincent will cover the remaining sessions.

Larry Szyman

Pastoral Associate

I had just turned a corner about 1.25 miles from where we sleep, and I heard a motorcycle coming from behind (over the noise in my AirPods-walks are a great time to listen to podcasts). I looked back over my shoulder to see how far away the cycle was and caught my foot on a rock that sent me tumbling on the gravel. A percussive word came out of my mouth which hasn’t been spoken by me for over thirty years!

One of the funny insights into my heart this unearthed was how I quickly scrambled to my feet. Admittedly about 25% of my quickness was not wanting to get hit by the motorcycle. The other 75% (by the way I measured these numbers scientifically) was that I was embarrassed and felt old in my stumble. Here I am on a totally different continent concerned about how I will be perceived by a person that I will never see again…God, help me.

My reward was some road rash on the heel of my hands, right elbow and right leg. I’m also a bit sore…the biggest damage is psychological. I tried removing gravel with a tweezers without much success. Washing my hands extra hard and adding ointment to facilitate healing and resist infection. This was all before 6:30 am.

If you notice my picture, you will not only see a little blood, but the water bottle I was carrying sustained damage to the cap that won’t allow me to put ice in it. As a confirmed ice-a-holic this is mildly traumatic-especially in 98-degree weather.  For those of you who pay attention, I am seldom more than a few feet from my navy-blue water bottle. Thanks to our friends at Amazon, a replacement will be waiting for me when I arrive back in Hudson.

Our classes started up at 8 am. We spend our second session on Ephesians 2:1-10. Things felt much better today. Yesterday felt like a C-, today was a B. These are very subjective assessments on my part. I have also come to learn that in preaching that in times with I felt effective, I got little to no positive feedback. Then there were times things felt like a train wreck, and I got feedback of impact. So, I simply evaluate and try to prep for my next lesson. I’ve been through my notes twice today and will do it once more in the morning.

The discussion was much livelier today, and it seemed more was going on in the hearts of the trainees as well as myself. We read from Romans 7 where Paul speaks of the challenge of not doing the things he should and doing the things he shouldn’t. We all identified with this struggle, and I was moved to tears at the conclusion: who will deliver me from this predicament? Jesus! How grateful I am for the mercy offered in Him.

Our second session was led by Benson, one of our Lead Trainers. He is a godly, gifted man. I took a picture while he was teaching. It was a joy to see him lead and there is great confidence in his leadership for northern Uganda in the future. I would rate him as a more effective teacher than myself. When you add his ability to connect with the local culture more effectively, he is a treasure. Next year, he will be one of the trainers with no Americans around, and he will be really effective. This is our vision-An abiding network of Gospel centered, Bible saturated African lead churches. Benson and our growing team of Lead Trainers point to a fruitful future for the local church.

Larry Szyman

Pastoral Associate

Today we got to work.  With about 40 trainees, we met at 8 am in the Pastoral Training Center. After a few worship songs, prayer and announcements, we broke up into three groups: two three-hour lessons on the nature of epistles using the book of Ephesians. Today we worked on analyzing the author’s (Paul) argument in Ephesians 2:1-10. It took a while, but the trainees seemed to understand the process which can be transferred to any other epistle. We are helping equip them with tools for the week and beyond.

My group of eleven (three are missing today) are meeting in the elementary school library. Every time I teach, I work with the same guys, so we are getting to know each other well. Things got a bit warm as the temp hit 98 degrees today yesterday the forecast for Friday was a high of 107!!! It is cooling off to a “comfortable” 100 degrees… Things are cooling down nicely, so I don’t think there will be any sweating in my sleep tonight.

I’m going to cut this short because I am very tired. The picture is taking place during my class. it is fun to see them growing together.

Larry Szyman

Pastoral Associate

It is football playoff time. I have found myself frustrated with the NFL’s moving some of their playoff games to Prime as opposed to stations that are open to all. Except…when you can’t pick up your normal stations in Uganda and Amazon Prime is available at 3:30 am. I Caught the third quarter until I felt sleep beckoning me and I responded with 2.5 hours of sleep.

Today, Sunday, is the calm before the storm. We do a fair amount of sitting around and studying as we await the arrival of our trainees tonight in order to start classes tomorrow. We went to church today at Living Stones Community Church which is part of the 100-acre compound we are living on. The church is quite young and is a unique mix of music done mostly in Acholi (the local language) and the rest of the service is translated between English and Acholi. With my body in full revolt, I had to work really hard when seated to stay awake. Lack of sleep is a lot harder to deal with when you are in a passive role (seated during a sermon) rather than teaching. I am very encouraged by what I see happening and do not want to send a message that I find what they are doing boring (It’s quite encouraging) or below me (which it certainly is not).  I know I spend a lot of time talking about sleep and lack thereof, but it really is a big deal. My hope is that I have enough energy to deliver solid instruction when the time comes. I made it through the service and took my first of two naps today, hoping I did not destroy my chance for sleep tonight.

What I need to trust God for at this point is that He will supply the strength, attitude and presence of mind for me to serve the trainees well. While it is certainly draining going through this process, it is so worth it.

The Pastoral Training Center (PTC) we are teaching in is part of Living Stones Community Church, which is heavily influenced by Four Corners Ministries (FCM), a US-based missions organization. It is a sometimes tricky relationship, as FCM is in partnership with the church. The value they are trying to uphold, which is consistent with Faith Community Church, is that the local church should be the driver and that “para” church ministries (such as FCM) and Training Leaders International (TLI-the group that I am part of here) come alongside the local church to help them fulfill their mission on the ground here in Uganda. The church created the PTC in order to see an abiding network of Gospel Centered, Bible Saturated African Lead Churches. TLI, FCM and the PTC (that’s a lot of letters!) are all coming alongside the church to help them pursue this dream.

It helps that I am doing this task with Mike Evans and Stu Dix. We have probably worked together in this cause, making 15 or so trips to Uganda together. Our friendship and comfort level with one another makes these times much more enjoyable.

Please pray that we serve the trainees well. We want to strengthen the church here and see her become more effective to their villages.

Larry Szyman

Pastoral Associate