Reflections on Gulu - Where theology becomes very practical; June 20

Overall, I was thrilled to see the powerful forward motion of the kingdom of God in a dark place where the gospel is hardly known. I believe many people truly surrendered to the Lordship and salvation of Christ, mainly through the door to door evanglism, and some through the crusade meetings. I did however have one great concern.
The thing which troubled me was the misuse of passages such as 2 Chronicles 7:14 in the preaching. "If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
In a land of broken and suffering people, this passage is very attractive, when taken as a literal promise. However, although all the promises of God find their "yes" in Christ (2 Cor 1:20), the unique typological (i.e. metaphorical) purposes which God had for Israel mean that such promises do not literally apply to the church as they did to Israel. The "promised land" granted to Israel is a picture of the "promised land" which is heaven. The earthly shadow pictures the heavenly reality. Israel's disobedience to the Lord resulted in a loss of the promised land, initially through faminine and pestilence, and utlimately through exile. If a new generation would humble themselves and return to the Lord, the promised land would be restored. So we are given a clear picture on earth of a spiritual reality in heaven. The Christian enters the promised land through the reception in his humbled and repentent heart of Christ as Savior and Lord.
My point is that I think bad theology is incredibly damaging to the church. Claiming that promises to Israel are fulfilled identically today to the church is not only incorrect - it is a hollow hope. It will draw in people to the church who are looking only for physical blessing, not the treasure that is Christ. Such preaching sets up believers for disillusionment. What happens if the LRA comes back through, burning homes, stealing children, killing men, raping women, and targetting Christians? I expect it will be a far more serious blow than if the preaching was of the flavor of 1 Peter 4:12-13. "Dear Friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial that you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferrings of Christ."
There is one banner which must be flown for calling people into the church, one central message. It is the news of God's solution to the problem of sin. If people come for any reason other than that of seeing the saving work of Jesus Christ and their deep need for such a savior - they are not truly coming to Christ. People in Africa and anywhere else will come to a church for many reasons - to obtain power over the spirits, to recieve blessing on their land, children, and herds, or simply find handouts. In light of this, the church must be ever so clear on its message. It is no small thing that is at stake.
So, I am glad that the gospel is being proclaimed in Gulu. I am glad that many people have truly come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. I am glad that the Presbyterian Church of Uganda is reaching out to this sorrowful place with love and compassion. I am most glad that God promises to be with his church and present her as the beautiful bride of Christ. I have every hope for light and joy among the believers in Gulu. But please pray that the word of truth would be spoken clearly all the time there.

Aworanga Church; June 17

A long day today, as far as Sundays go - Started with a walk through of the hospital (St. Mary's) where the "invistible children" took refuge. -Difficult to see many many sick people, especially children, in this remote corner of Africa.
-Church service at Aworanga First Presbyterian. A sweet time, with many people coming out for the openning service. Much singing, dancing, and rejoicing. Africans express joy with vibrancy. 200+ adults present. Nearly 300 children.
-Long busride back to Kampala - and then an angry drunk man on the taxi (van) - had to stop by the police station to remove him!

Work in Gulu; June 15

-Morning spent evangelizing in the village near the church in Gulu. -Moved by one older woman who had turned away from the church when her husband and 2 or 4 children died. After one of the men shared his testimony of God's faithfulness when his father died and fiancee left him, she appeared to be open to encouragement.
I read from Revelation 21:3-4. "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
Our hope is not in the things of this world, but in those things above. It is in God, our heavenly Father, and in his Son, who also died. The God who knows suffering and sorrow is the God of hope for such widows. God did not spare his own Son, because of his great love.
This woman appeared to take comfort and we prayed with her and invited her to the church. Maybe this was God using us to gather in one lost sheep. I look forward to seeing what faces are present at the openning of the church Sunday morning.
-Good to hear Dave Eby preach at the crusade meeting.
....
9:58 PM in Gulu - just experienced an earthquake! Maybe 1 minute of shaking - not too severe, but enough to make me wonder if the hotel was going to crumble....

Gulu; June 14

Gulu is a town in Northern Uganda which has been terrorized for many years by the "Lord's Resistance Army," which is lead by Joseph Kony, a rebel leader intent on overthrowing the Ugandan government. You may have seen the film "Invisible Children" which documents the plight of the children in this area. Thousands of children have been abducted into the LRA where they either become brainwashed desensitized killers or are used as the means of desentizing the other children to death and violence. It is a terrible evil.
Because of the fear of the rebels, many people fled to IDP camps (Internally Displaced Camps). These consist of little grass huts govering acres and acres of land. Even here though, the children have not been safe, and so thousands of children used to walk miles into the center of town every night to sleep in hospitals and others places, until about 6 months ago.
It was not in the plans for this summer to visit this region, but for at least the last six months there has been peace in the region. The LRA has fled either into the Sudan or the Congo. So, when Dave Eby recieved an invitation to come up and support the opening of church in this place, he collected some information from various reports and locals, and determined that it was safe to go.
So we went! Sorry to those in my family who I didn't tell about this one - thought it might be better to let you know how it went once I got back - so you could sleep!

Journal, 6/14
Tonight we took part in an evangelistic crusade in Gulu near the IDP's where a church is being established. What sights! Thatched huts, singing, dancing, malnurished children, preaching, testimonies (My dear friend Mitchell Moore gave his).
-Struck by the hollow eyes of the IDP camp children. Their is much more sorrow evident with these children than even with those in the slums of Kampala.

Prayer Mountain

Only one thing to do on this mountain...
(Noah: here is the classic self-photo for you!)

Kifumbira Slum; June 13

Yesterday afternoon we visited a slum which New City Church ministers to. This was an emotionally tough place to be. It is a slum comprised mainly of widows and their children - many of whom have AIDS, which is apparent by the obvious sickness. About 80 women sat on the grass to hear the word which we brought - each team member gave a word of encouragement. I simply recited a few lines of the 23rd Psalm. What words other than God's are adequate to speak to these people? It is a hard thing to know that these are my sisters and mothers in Christ, and yet they will star in that slum long after I have returned to comfort of America.
Sin and the curse of sin are horrible. How long oh Lord?
Even in the slum though, there is joy. This is an amazing thing. Certain women radiated the joy of Christ. I attribute this to the power of the Spirit of God, particularly working through the ministry of New City Church. I feel that we are only able to give so much comfort, but those faithful people from New City Church can bring so much more because many of them have suffered similarly. (See 2 Cor 1:3-11) One deacon in the church has particularly ministered to the community. Twice a week he visits, doing Bible study sessions and mercy ministry sessions, helping with finances and even providing supplies. Essentially, it is poor people ministering to desperate people. This ministry has developed a great deal of trust between the church and the slum. That is diaconal ministry as it should be.

"NOT EVEN IN ISRAEL HAVE I FOUND SUCH FAITH", June 9

Douglass explained yesterday that Islam had a 50 year plan for taking over Uganda, involving moving into such institutions and the schools and universtities, mass media, and political positions. His conclusion though was that "God has his own plan." I love that faith! It is so direct and powerful. Similarly, Mullah, an Egyptian man who was thrown out of Egypt for preaching to crowds in market places, was showing us a map of Sudan and telling us of his plans for preaching and planting churches there. "God will establish his church here" was his basic sentiment. As a young seminarian I am often told not to expect to change the world. I see the wisdom in that, but it's foolish to stop with only saying that much. Expect God to change the world and triumph! These men do! They have seen the power of the Spirit, that is, the Spirit of Power. Their faith has been tested and purified by fire. It is simple and strong and Christ exalting.

ONE HOPE FOR ALL PEOPLE, June 8

Yesterday the afternoon was spent among the wealthier homes of Kampala (though mainly we spoke to servants and those living on the fringes). Today we toured the Kimbalay slum. There is a red light district here where the prostitutes line up at night. People live on under $100 a year. Douglass, a young man (late 20s) who ministers in the slum explained how Islam was trying to infiltrate the area. He also explained how people come to Kampala in hopes of work and end up in the slum. We stopped and interacted with the children of a little school who were so thrilled to see us and laugh with us. We prayed for them, and one little girl particularly stood out to me - Hama was her name - and she said "thank you for praying."
-Deeply moved by the poverty
-There is one Hope for these people, and it is not a hope grounded in this life or this world.
-It is a Great Hope, a reason for joy even in all this filth
-This too must be the only hope that I hold to

SO PRAY..."having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you..." Eph 1:18

THE TRAINING OF PASTORS; SOWING SEED June 5

Yesterday morning was spent sitting in a course on evangelism with African pastors. The teacher was Dr. Kromendom , a retired professor from Covenant college who has spent many summers in Uganda over the last 20 years. At 70 years old and 6"5' tall, he is a Dutchman who's most notable characteristic is his fervency and zeal teaching the theology and practical aspects of evangelism. His heart is in this subject matter because he has seen the "revival fires" of the Holy Spirit at work in East Africa. These are the sort of men who are training pastors in a simple, open concrete floor room, doubling as a church, with a little building next door as a school for the community, and another for a health clinic. It is a good work going on here.

The evangelism course ended at noon and the 20 or so African pastors went out with the muzungus (us) to preach the gospel door to door in the village surrounding the church. Breaking up into pairs or trios we scattered throughout the skinny dirt streets and alleyways of the town. MOst homes would have a young woman (avg age in Uganda is 15, life expectancy 45) scrubbing clothes or tending to children, most of whom were partially clothed and covered in flies. This is not something completely new to my eyes, but nonetheless troubling. The men were to be found in certain sections of the town making large red clay bricks. Others travel to different parts of the city to run little stands. The typical worker makes about 500 shillings an hour ($0.40). It appears to be hard labor that they mainly do. In spite of the poverty, these are industrious people for the most part. The corruption of the government seems to be the primary cause of poverty here.
The way evangelism went was something like this: I and the African pastor would approach someone on the street or in their doorway (people are everywhere here!) The native pastor would start up a conversation with the person in Bugandan and eventually say "ok, share with them," at which point I would beging to essentially explain the gospel. They are very interested and willing to hear what we have to say. The vast majority of them have not heard the good news of the Jesus Christ. Although many speak English, often it is poor, so we still go through the translator (pastor). It is very difficult to tell the effect of the message, but the greatest hope of a true reception of the seed of the word is found with those who agree to come to the church (Zana community church). It is a great comfort and hope to know that pastors are being trained now to shepherd their congregations all across Uganda. It has been very encouraging to get to know some of these men and see their hearts

FIRST IMPRESSIONS June 3

What a place of contrasts. Beauty abounds. My first impression of the Eby's home is "paradise." It's hard to imagine a more lush or fertile place. From where I sit on the porch, I can see white, pink, orange, yellow, red, and purple flowers of all shapes and sizes. All sorts of birds make unfamiliar calls which I have never before heard. Geckos scurry across the porch. Varying fruit trees can be found. In the Eby's yard alone are avocado, jack fruit, coffee, and bannana trees. The earth is so fertile that clilppings of most plants may be stuck in the ground and they will grow. Passing storms roll in quickly and water the earth for 30 minutes, and then the hot equatorial sun re-emerges. There was one shower this morning and another looks to be rolling in from the South over Lake Victoria. Driving along the dirt roads, one can see 4 ft high anthills scattered about the fields. Along with the expected assortment of chickens, goats, and dogs in the village, there are also oxen with horns that must be three feet long. apparently they are quite docile, though I don't intend to get too close.
Dave said that his goal for his property is to show people the potential beauty of Africa, in contrast to much of what is seen. It is far more bleak when you descend the hill on the outskirt of down where the Eby's live and enter the more crowded parts of the city. Here you find masses of people. Everyone seems to be walking or biking somewhere, but with no clear purpose. The economy in Kampala is actually better than most of Africa, but it is still impoverished. Many of the motorists are on Bodabodas (small motorcycles) - an extremely dangerous mode of transportation here in the city. Dave says a typical week in the city will see 30 transportation related deaths - mainly people on Bodabodas. I have yet to look inside one of the small square huts which comprise the living quarters for people here, but hopefully that will come soon.