Report from Gulu (Sunday): Trip #7

According to my weather app, there was only a 102-degree difference in our high temperatures in Hudson and Gulu today. Without A/C, things can get a little sticky. So, wherever we go in the guest house (where we are staying) we are each carrying a personal fan and plug it in before we sit down.

Saturday was a mixed bag. It is one of the most crucial days for the week as we meet with our six lead trainers and prep them for the teaching ahead of us. I was responsible for prepping three of them for two lessons (numbers 8 & 9 of ten) they will each deliver. We asked them to come with a decent knowledge of their material, which they did. As I sought to move them through the material, it was obvious that the material was not landing on them. I’m sure it was twice as frustrating for my Ugandan friends than for me. We slogged our way through the day, and as I debriefed with Josh, Stu (my American co-leaders) and Kris Mobbs, our host, we realized that we had failed in a key matter. Because the materials build on one another, they should have become acquainted with all the lessons that preceded lesson eight. The material hung together for me, as I have been through all the curriculum twice in prepping for this week. I went away from the day a bit down, having not equipped them for the task. A key part of our mission is to train these men who will be leading the next cohort: an abiding network of African lead churches. 

The good news is these guys don’t teach till Thursday, so they have plenty of time to prep for their lessons and they will sit through lessons 1-7 before they teach. My hope is that this will provide some “back fill” in order to prep them for their turn. You can be confident I will be checking in with them between now and Thursday.

This morning we attended “Living Stones Church”, the fellowship associated with the Pastoral Training Center we are serving here in Gulu. They are doing a solid job and we saw five people baptized in their service. The service was only an hour and a half. We spent the afternoon/eve studying for our lessons for tomorrow. An afternoon nap was a welcome gift as I try to shake jet lag.

One small scare today…we woke up with no power. With 100+ degree days in the forecast, I got a little nervous. It turns out we have (and tested!) a generator and are good to go. As I carry my fan around the house, it would be nice to have power!

Larry Szyman

Pastor for Missional Life