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Almost Home | Uganda Trip #11
(January 12)
I’m sitting with Stu and Mike in the Amsterdam airport during our six-hour layover here. I’m anxious to land at MSP at 4 pm on Saturday, see Carol, get cleaned up, try to stay up till 9 pm. I hope I get a good night’s sleep before gathering with you all at FCC on Sunday morning. I anticipate dosing in and out of consciousness on Sunday, watching football playoffs.
We ended our classes this week well. Our students were engaged and worked hard at grasping how to handle the interpretation and communication of Old Testament Narrative and Law. I found our work on the law most helpful as we sought to see the law in light of God’s character and how Christ fulfilled the law before we move on to application.
Application…that is often the struggle. I notice it in my small group when we go through the FCC sermon and conversation guide. We find it easy to make observations, but how does it apply today, or to put it another way, “So what?”. Most of the troubles we have in the church is not failing to know the Bible, it has to do with failing to appropriately apply the Bible. There are some really incredible leaders that we are working with who are sharing leadership with us, and they seem prepared to take over our function. Then it will be all theirs, as it should be. As a matter of fact, we have identified two men that we think could be sent to other countries.
The goal of an enduring movement of gospel-centered, Bible-saturated, African lead churches seems within reach. I look forward to our next trip in May. I also look forward to being back at FCC soon!
Larry Szyman
Pastor for Missional Life
Why Do I Do What I Do?
About Why Do I Do What I Do?
Why is it so hard to change? Why is it so hard to help other people change? The series explores human behavior, motivations, and the role of idols in our hearts. This sermon series delves into the complexities of human behavior, seeking to unravel the underlying motivations that drive our actions. This series examines the presence of idols in our hearts and the impact they have on our relationships and life direction. It guides listeners to envision a life free from idols, rooted in biblical truths and spiritual transformation.
Counting the Days and the Beautiful Body | Uganda Trip #11
(Wednesday, Jan 10)
Time for a little honesty here (not that I’ve lied in the past). Some of these trips are a bit more challenging than others-this is one of the more challenging ones. I can’t put a finger on it, but I’ve been very aware of how much time until I get to come back to Hudson (right now it’s 3 am local time, about 31 hours till we start our cross-country drive to an airport). Sleep is really strange, and I FaceTimed Carol and sent a few texts during this time frame.
There has been a lot of “this many days ‘til I go home” this trip. It means a few things. This travel can be difficult and sometimes I simply want life to be easier. I not only have 31 hours left, but approximately two years and thirty-one hours! This is the third course of nine that we will offer our Ugandan friends in the church. The plan is as follows:
May 2024–The Gospels (Mark)
Oct 2024–Poetry (Psalms and Proverbs)
Jan 2025–Epistles (Ephesians)
May 2025–Prophecy (Isaiah)
Oct 2025–Apocalyptic (Revelation)
Jan 2026–Summary-doing the ministry of the Word
I’m feeling pretty fresh right now at 3 am, the challenge is how will I feel at 8 am, when it is time to teach?
So, I struggle some. But it’s very important you hear the following: what I am doing is a privilege of the highest order. While some of these trips are difficult, I am joyfully committed to continuing them. I am not ripped off in what I am doing: multiple eight-hour flights and jet lag on a 65-year-old body is not fun, but I will, God willing do all the trips above.
To work with these (mostly) young pastors and church leaders, to hear their stories and see their hunger is a gift. To be able to help them be more effective as most of them have had zero formal training as they lead their flock is important. So, while I count the days until I get back to Hudson, it’s not too long before I start counting the days until I get back to Uganda!
I am keenly and gratefully aware of my partnership with you, FCC! First of all, you pay for my trips. Secondly, when I FaceTime Carol and she tells me about a leak in the dishwasher, I text one of FCC’s handymen and he responds that he will call Carol and get on it. I am far away, but I am far from alone. Thank you for supporting me as together we build up the church in Uganda.
Larry Szyman
Pastor for Missional Life
In The Classroom At Last | Uganda Trip #11
Today we started our five days in the classroom. I was fairly concerned about my capacities as my jet lag has been really bad this trip. Last night I probably got 2 ½ hours of sleep, and I was afraid my body was going to decide it was tired when I was teaching, and I’d be incoherent. Thankfully, that was not the case and my energy level was solid.
Our subject matter for this round is Understanding and Communicating the genres of narrative and law in the Scripture, using Genesis and Exodus. It is good to be reunited with the cohort, and my learning group in particular. It will be fun to see that even though they are quite familiar with the stories (narratives) in Genesis, how that knowledge can deepen as we give them tools for greater understanding and application.
Our vision is to establish an abiding network of Gospel-Centered, Bible-Saturated, African-led churches. This means the leaders in my group (from Uganda, South Sudan, and the Congo) need to be equipped not only to understand but multiply leaders. This means sharing the teaching duties with what we call Lead Trainers, those who took the courses in a previous cohort and set themselves apart. Vincent (pictured) did a really solid job. Stu Dix suggested I take his phone, record him teaching, send him home to view it, and do a self-evaluation. Tomorrow we will go over his evaluation and I will give him mine.
The temp was 102 today. The rest of the week looks a bit better, with highs topping out at 96. Whenever we are in our quarters, we each have a fan on us. It’s been cooling off enough at night that I haven’t sweat myself to sleep–yet.
It’s an honor to work with these eager leaders.
Pray that I get some sleep, please!
Larry Szyman
Pastor for Missional Life
The Adjumani District | Uganda Trip #11
Today’s thoughts will come from yesterday (Thursday, Jan 4). At 9 am, Mike Evans and a few local guys headed to a town called Kitgum (a 45-minute drive), while Stu Dix and I headed to the Adjumani district (one hour and 45 minutes), an area currently hosting 440,000 displaced people in 18 settlements (or neighborhoods). When we think of a refugee, we think of a person passing through on their way to a preferred place. The average length of stay for a refugee is close to 20 years! Churches are needed in this environment. Is it possible that a Gospel-Inspired Life can be experienced in this setting? Our pastors say “yes”!
A number of the pastors we are working with serve in Adjumani. We met with three such men – Joseph, Francis, and Godfrey – for lunch and to visit their churches. Joseph is Ugandan and has lived in the Adjumani district his entire life. Francis and Godfrey are both South Sudanese and fled to Uganda in the last decade. Francis and Godfrey have planted churches among the displaced of Adjumani, with most of their parishioners being South Sudanese people who have fled their homeland due to war and persecution. They hope to return home someday but aren’t confident it will be any time soon.
I was reminded of where I was throughout the day. First of all, lunch took over an hour to get to our tables. This gave us time to talk about life and ministry. It was strange as this group was not as talkative as I’m used to. They all have excellent English. I’m sorry to report some of them are as wrapped up with their phones as Americans. Secondly, when we were leaving the restaurant, one guy asked us to stay put as he ran a five-minute errand that became 45 minutes. We then visited the sights of each of their churches. The people meet weekly in facilities that are far from complete (see picture of Godfrey in his church), but they belong to God and each other and are finding that sufficient. Stu said a prayer for each pastor and church and we headed home.
It was a long day, with a lot of time in the car. We got home at 7:45 pm. The first 1/3 of the road back home was as good as any in our area–I may have caught a nap. The other 2/3-not so much. There were a few potholes that were six feet wide by three feet across and two feet deep-would put ours to shame. They do not blame the thaw/heat cycle for their potholes.
The temps are in the low 90s and the a/c unit in the car did a nice job of cooling us off. It is cooling off to the 60s at night, making things quite comfortable. The forecast is looking better as well, the forecasted highs of 105 for next week are down to 101–I feel cooler already!
Larry Szyman
Pastor for Missional Life
Watch Out! | Uganda Trip #11
The transition from Amsterdam to Nairobi was a bit more sedate, other than the fact that Mike, Stu, and I were sitting side by side in a rather smallish (compared to what we’re used to) KLM airplane. When I say compared to what we’re used to-we always fly economy. Once we landed in Nairobi, the fun began. MSP would not give us a boarding pass for our last leg of the journey, which was from Nairobi to Entebbe, Uganda. We assume it was because they don’t have a partnership with Kenya Air, like they do with KLM. Once we landed, we had to find where we could get our boarding passes.
First, we had to go through security. The lines were rather long, and they tended to merge as you approached the Kenyan equivalent of the TSA. It was a little hectic, but I got all my stuff in those little bins, putting my watch in last. After getting my stuff back, I went through the process (always a bit stressful) of putting electronics back in, putting shoes back on (no TSA pre-check!), and getting out of the way for others.
I got everything put on and away, and about 25 yards down the hall, I thought “Where is my watch?”
You know, my first Apple watch and the big outlay that it is.
You know, the Larry’s Christmas gift Apple watch.
I turned in a hurry and got back to the station I went through. Thankfully, the line was a trickle at this point (one of the advantages of landing late at night). I told the man I didn’t get my watch back. He asked me to look through my backpack-nope. He got a couple of those plastic bins and asked me to take absolutely everything out. When you are leaving the US for a couple of weeks, it’s a lot. Still nothing. He took the backpack and and put it through the scanner again-nope. I was a little miffed at this point, as I was asked and put the watch in a bin in full view of an employee, put it through the scanner, took my items over to a table, and never saw it. It also crossed my mind that it may have been stolen-but I wasn’t about to accuse someone. I’m on the floor, once again, going through things, all in vain. Frustrating.
The man I was talking to got a supervisor. I told him what took place. He talked to other workers and wondered if the watch got lost in the scanner. I thought one woman was going to crawl in the scanner when the supervisor said, “What is this?” The watch had fallen out of the bin and was stuck between two of the rollers that the plastic bins slide on. After expressing thanks, we were off to secure boarding passes.
Things were quiet as our flight was at 12:55 am. We got in yet another line without about 15 people in front of us. A half-hour later, there were 14 people in front of us. With about an hour and ten minutes before departure, things did not look good.
When I think of the inefficiencies we were experiencing, I thought about a discussion we had with a young lady from the Boston area who came home for her sister’s wedding and was about to head home. I often ask people from a different culture who have moved to the US, what they like most and least about the US. She was quick to say how we are so efficient. Our processes are very sound, and most things happen like they should in this realm (she had an MBA, by the way). She really appreciated it. When asked what she would like to see different was that Americans can seem a bit robotic as they go through life. As we talked more, it seems to be a shadow side of our strength in efficiency. We don’t take the time to linger with one another because we are so busy.
Back to our line. Everyone who engaged the airline people were animated as they made their case for their problem. The biggest challenge for a number was a plane to Bangkok that had problems and there was no alternative for them. A supervisor approached Mike, asked what the problem was, and told him to go to the front of the line. Five minutes later, we had three fresh boarding passes and made it to the gate in plenty of time. Our last flight was about an hour and fifteen minutes, and we got through customs quickly. We stepped outside where Otim was ready to start our cross-county trip to Gulu starting at 2 am.