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Pastor Larry In Uganda
These blogs follow the mission travels of Pastor Larry Szyman to Uganda beginning in 2021. Pastor Larry began his missions work in Uganda prior to 2021 with the first 4 trips, which are not documented here. This first mission was scheduled as a series of 9 visits. Trip #8 was a canceled trip (that never happened) during the COVID pandemic. His newest mission is to continue the work of the first mission with a new cohort of local pastors being trained to lead churches in Africa.
FCC Blog
Uganda Trip 12 | Post 8- Drive-Through Eating
For those of you who continued to be gripped by my travelogue, you will remember our ride from the airport to the safari and then to Abaana’s Hope, where our trainings were held. We had a rookie driver named Rodgers (no relation to Aaron). He was slow, unsure of himself, and spoke in such a […]
Uganda Trip 12 | Post 7-The Other Side of Training
Usually, we leave for the Entebbe airport shortly after we finish our teaching on Friday. Friday afternoon, a second cohort of leaders come to the training center. We stuck around because Gar was going to spend early evening Friday and all-day Saturday giving exams to this group of leaders. The cover picture is Gar walking […]
Uganda Trip 12 | Post 6 – Pickleball Hits Gulu!
Pickleball hit Gulu this week! Well…Cwero (pronounced Chweroh) actually, which is forty minutes north of Gulu. In past trips, I noticed a decent-sized basketball slab and I enjoyed playing, but there were very few takers. I decided to see if I could make pickleball happen here. I ordered a net, four paddles and balls, a […]
Uganda Trip 12 | Post 5 – The Hope Moving on Africans
The vision of the Pastoral Training Center which we help lead is an: Abiding Network of Gospel-Centered, Bible Saturated, African Led Churches In other words, a relational and self-sustaining group of churches, with indigenous leadership and the Gospel at the center. This all hinges on what we call LEAD Trainers (LT’s), previous participants who have […]
Uganda Trip 12 | Post 4 – Here We Go!
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 […]
Uganda Trip 12 | Post 3 – The Doctor Will See You Now
Having Gar Christenson with us on this trip has been helpful and an absolute gift. He has been fun to get to know and a great storyteller. He has reminded me of the wonder of the people all around us on the trip. In some ways, I have gotten used to the amazing things going on […]
Uganda Trip 12 | Post 2 – Traveling Across Country
Having arrived Wednesday evening, we stayed in a guest house and sought to get some sleep. The idea was to get up for a 6:30 Thursday breakfast and to hit the road for the 6-7 hour trip across country. Our driver’s name is Rodgers (no relation to Aaron, though I’m sure he wishes he was) […]
Uganda Trip 12 | Post 1
I’m really looking forward to this trip for a number of reasons. In addition to Mike Evans, Stu Dix, and myself (the normal crew) making this trip, we have TWO NEWBIES- Tim Prince and Gar Christenson. Tim is having his first overseas experience and I have been recruiting him for a number of years in […]
A New Mission | Trip #2 | Post #7
Friday, March 31st. Today we finished our first course, Knowing God, Scripture and Ourselves. Lesson ten had all three learning groups combined for our closing session and Mike Evans did a great job of wrapping things up. It was obvious that they retained the information we shared as Mike sought, and quickly got answers to his review questions.
A New Mission | Trip #2 | Post #6
Thursday, March 30th. The vision of the Pastoral Training Center is “an abiding network of Gospel-centered, Bible-saturated African-led churches.
A New Mission | Trip #2 | Post #5
Monday, March 27th. Today we began the real work of training African leaders. After a time of prayer at the guest house, Mike, Stu and I walked to the Pastoral Training Center, arriving a few minutes before our 8 am start time.
A New Mission | Trip #2 | Post #4
Sunday, March 26th. As you can see from the picture, my luggage finally made its way to Gulu. It is a relief to have my toiletries and underwear to make it through the remaining six days.
A New Mission | Trip #2 | Post #3
Saturday, March 25th. Today things started to get exciting. We had our first meeting with our Lead Trainers for this cohort. Lead Trainers (LT’s) are those from the past who have so set themselves apart by their scholarship, character, and leadership, that we could see them moving forward in leading future pastoral training for other Africans.
A New Mission | Trip #2 | Post #2
Friday, March 24th. Last night we stayed at the guest house we have become accustomed to. It is close to the airport and comfortable. We arrived there around 11:45 pm as I had to make a claim for the two of our five bags that didn’t make it with us.
A New Mission | Trip #2 | Post #1
I am currently sitting in a KLM plane at Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania. We are waiting for some to exit while we (Mike Evans, Stu Dix and yours truly), along with others, wait to board and take off for Entebbe, Uganda, to begin our next round of pastoral training. We were very fortunate that this […]
Apologetics | Giving the Mind what the Heart May Need
“The heart cannot embrace what the mind regards as nonsense.” As followers of Jesus, our confidence in the Bible depends on what Jesus has said about it. Objections to the authority of the Bible have come and gone throughout the ages and each generation is going to be confronted with its own challenges, but the […]
There’s More Than 1 Way to Feed the Hungry
Refuge Student Ministries’ annual Heart for the Valley service project is quickly approaching. This event provides an invitation to FCC attendees to donate money to provide meal boxes for local families in need. But instead of just raising money and giving it to a food charity, Heart for the Valley takes it a step further […]