Signing the Dotted Line | A New Mission Post #5

Today was an important day. We finished our time here with some final words of encouragement and afterward, those who came to kick the tires were asked to come forward to sign a document committing to the time (three years) and the tasks involved in pursuing an informal theological education with Training Leaders International (TLI). The document would also be signed by Kris Mobbs (the on-site host, handling all the logistics), Mike Evans on behalf of Training Leaders International (the curriculum), and yours truly, for the St. Croix Valley LEAD Team, who is charged with providing three teachers three times a year over the next three years. 

There were a total of 71 potential trainees. 34 of them were closer to our site and are being trained by indigenous leaders that we trained from 2018–22. The other 37 were from further away, including South Sudan and Congo and would be trained by Mike Evans, Stu Dix and myself in the future, and others who would round out our team of three for future trips. I was excited to see that all 37 who came decided to sign on the dotted line and go for it. It was a reflection of my assessment of our time together. We were effectively communicating and demonstrating the opportunity before them, and they are eager to learn. This group seems a bit brighter than the previous group. That can be deceptive, because a solid grasp of English does not necessarily compute to intelligence-although the one man who speaks eleven languages probably is quite smart. 

I’m very excited about the two men who will be working alongside of me. Their names are Moses and Vincent. Moses is from Congo and has a desire to train many of his countrymen. He has displayed spiritual zeal, relational skill, and when some cleaning had to take place, he was the first one to grab a broom. The second one is Vincent, who is actually an employee of Abaana’s Hope, the compound that houses the Pastoral Training Center. Vincent started as a security guard and was promoted to running their small farm (with great effectiveness). He has shown great intelligence, leadership and biblical insight when he took the courses in the last cohort.

They will serve as Teacher’s Assistants but will also carry some of the teaching load. For example, the first course contains ten lessons. I will teach seven lessons, Moses and Vincent will each teach one, and someone else will lead session ten when our three learning groups convene for the final lesson. Their teaching load will increase over the three years, with the hope that at the conclusion of this cohort, they will be equipped and ready to lead future cohorts without help from Americans. This is toward the goals of a gospel centered, Bible saturated, African lead networks of pastors and churches. Picture number one is of me with Moses and Vincent.

After we said goodbye, I went back to our guest house and caught a nap (which was a surprise as I slept really well the night before), and got up and played three games of two on two basketball with Kris Mobbs, the leader of the Training Center and his two teenage sons. My feet moved like they were in cement buckets, but fortunately, my younger teammate carried me toward winning two of the games, allowing us to give ourselves the title of world champs. 

I wanted a little more exercise in the 97-degree heat, so I grabbed a bottle of water and took a walk-traveling further than I should have. Grateful for the water bottle, I ran out only about 1/3 of a mile back from our guest house. The water was warm by then as well. As I rounded the corner, I walked by a bicycle and I heard a pig snort about a foot from me, causing my heart to jump. On the back of the bike there was a pig laid out with leaves over it to protect it from the sun. I asked permission to take a picture (after I regained my composure) and include for your education. 

Tomorrow, we get up early and head to Kampala, eventually heading to the airport for a very long travel stint. We got a notice from Delta telling us our seats were upgraded on our longest leg, which is good news. This good news was to soften the blow that we would be rerouted through Atlanta, arriving at MSP six hours later, including a seven-hour layover in Amsterdam. I wonder if Paul and Silas ever had to put up with such challenges! As always, I love my time here, but once we start to head back, It’s all about getting back to Carol, FCC and Hudson.