New Blog Entires Below

I have added some new journal entries that I was unable to enter while I was in Nairobi. I have placed them in chronological order, so they have been added after the March 11 post, which was the last blog entry while I was in Nairobi.

Finally, Another Post

My internet access has been less than what I expected. Now I am back at Heathrow Airport, and a lot has happened since I last posted anything here. I have been to Maasai land, to Tanzania (just for a few minutes), to Uganda, and to London. Now I am more than ready to be at home.

I will post more details of my trip when I arrive home. I had a great day today. A few days ago Gini found out that the church history tour for Covenant High School in Tacoma was be at Westminster Abbey today. So, having arrived in London at 6:00 am, I made my way over there via the Tube. I saw a group of young people along one side of the building, and some of the students recognized me from camp before I recognized them! Mr. Douglas Bond kindly gave me permission to join their tour. I got into the group with Ben Lensch and Ben German, which was lead by Mr. Richard Hannula. It was a great tour. Mr. Hannula did a great job of pointing out a lot of the reformation emphases that would have been missing on a regular tour.

Then, of course, I had to take a picture of the two Bens under Big Ben. And then I left them to visit the Evangelical Library. The Bible Presbyterian Church houses a branch of this library, so it was good to see the original, which Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was instrumental in promoting. I was able to get more books for our library from the selection they had there. So this was very profitable.

The Evangelical Library was close to Baker Street, so I made a side trip to 221B Baker Street, the address of Sherlock Holmes. I didn't go in to the museum there, but I did go into The Beatles Store just a few doors down. Interesting memorabilia, but all very expensive.

I took the Tube over to Picadilly Circus, saw a few shops there and then walked over to Trafalgar Square. Then I took the Tube to Heathrow and here I am.

I will try to post more next week when I get settled into a routine. This trip has been wonderful. I've made loads of new friends, and many even want me to come back!

I got a bit sick the day that I left, but other than that I've been doing pretty good. Earlier rumours of illness were greatly exaggerated. Now I'm preparing for my flight to Montreal, where I'll have to spend the night, and then home on Thursday morning, DV.

Thanks for all your prayers. The Lord has been pleased to use me in many ways to bless and encourage His people in Kenya and Uganda, and I am grateful for the benefits that others have reaped -- I certainly have benefited personally.

Mbale to Nairobi - Another Long Day

Everyone packs into the van for the long journey to Kampala. The Proctors are going to stay at the ARA, an American resort compound where they are able to get away from the rigors of their labours for a few days of family time. There is a swimming pool and tennis courts.

Here Phil and I meet with Charles Kisembro, who has expressed interest in the BPC. After what I have heard from the men in the OPCU, I am expecting a request for funds to help this man begin his church. I am not far wrong. At the present time he is asking for money to rent a school classroom in which to meet. I encourage him to meet in homes for the present time, but it seems that there is no core group yet, outside of the members of his immediate family. He has difficulty with the idea of meeting anywhere but in a separate building. I tell him that this is how Bible Presbyterian churches are often started in the US, and it seems to work quite well. Could they meet, perhaps, in a park, or some other open, public setting at no charge? He tells me that is not the Ugandan way, even though Phil and Meredith tell me later that the Ugandans are very hospitable by culture, much like the Kenyans, so they do not see meeting in homes as a particular barrier to starting a church. I pray with him and encourage him in his work; he will have to do so without financial assistance from us. If he is called of God, the Lord will supply.

Charles Howard, a friend of the Proctors, and the Administrative Director for the CURE hospital in Mbale has to meet someone at Entebbe airport, so I say good-bye to the Proctors and he drives me out.

I arrive in Nairobi on time, the flight is quick: only 45 minutes, and I am able to clear customs without any lineups and no questions asked. But I have to wait for a while for my luggage – there’s always something! Judith is there to take me to the Rusam Villa for another night. It is 10:00 pm when we arrive, but they are waiting for me. I order my breakfast and head off to bed. I sleep very well!

Mbale

Meredith has prepared a lovely breakfast, and then Phil and I leave the house by 8:20 to get to Knox Theological College, only about a kilometer away.

Phil has asked me to speak at chapel. There are about 11 students. After chapel, I am introduced to Pastors Steven Hamya and Mesulamu Musamali. They are members of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Uganda; although they have similar names, there is no organic connection with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in the United States. I sit in the college library with these men while Phil gives a lecture the students on the book of Titus. They tell me of the history of the church in Uganda, which dates back to 1877, when a Scottish Presbyterian by the name of Alexander McKay came to the region. They tell of the formation of the Presbyterian Church of Uganda, through the labours of Kefa Sempangi, a man who was trained at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia. He is one of the men who suffered under the brutality of Idi Amin in the early 70s, a story that he tells in his book A Distant Grief. They give me a copy of that book to take with me. Recently the PCU has become corrupted through a bad combination of dictatorial leadership (even though there is a Presbyterian form of government in place) combined with a sudden influx of great sums of money from the US. This has not served the church well at all. When several of the men rise to protest the discarding of the Westminster Confession, the abuse of power, poor church planting methods, and the lack of financial accountability, they are put out of their churches. They subsequently form the OPCU, which is a young work, having begun in 2003. They have left church buildings behind for the sake of the gospel, meeting under mango trees or coffee plants. They joke about their Mango Church. The OPCU presently has five congregations with two ordained minsters and three licentiates, as well as others who are studying for the ministry at Knox.

We have a wonderful lunch of fried rice and cabbage.

I sit in on a homiletics practice session, where a student preaches.

Phil shows me the five-acre property that has been purchased for the mission work there. Lord willing, it will house not only the college, but faculty homes, dormitories, and a primary school. They have dug a well already, along the idea of what the Bible College of East Africa has done. There they put a faucet from their well outside the wall of the college offering water freely for all who are needy. Over the faucet is the verse from John 4:13-14: Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Here in Mbale there is no wall to put up a verse, but the principle is the same. There are 4-5 women filling containers with water.

From here we have a beautiful view of Mount Wanale, a major mountain that sits before Mount Eglon, but hides it from view.

I have a very relaxing evening with the Proctors and we prepare to leave for Kampala early the next day.

Uganda: Nairobi to Entebbe to Kampala to Mbale

I give Judith a wake up call at 5:00 am, as we had arranged the night before. She is there by 5:20, but I still have had to wait to pay my bill. We get to Kenyatta airport by 5:35 and I am cleared through customs without any difficulty, leaving me time for a morning coffee at Java House – unfortunately, there is no wireless connection here. But I give Gini another quick call, and then I’m off to Entebbe, Uganda, where I have arranged to meet Philip Proctor, an OPC missionary in Mbale. He has come down to meet me and has arranged a meeting with Charles Kisembro, who has been in contact with Len Pine, the Field Representative for Presbyterian Missionary Union. He desires to start a Bible Presbyterian Church in Kampala. Phil drives me up to Mbale, a journey that takes about 3-4 hours. We cross the head waters of the Nile River at the northern tip of Lake Victoria. There is much to talk about, and he is eager to help us in our work to establish a gospel testimony in Uganda.

When we stop for Chinese food along the way, a fly lands in my Coke and I take a spoon to remove it. When I take a sip, Phil tells me I must be a second term missionary. He explains that when a first term missionary finds a fly in his soup, he throws the soup out. A second term missionary gets rid of the fly and eats the soup. A third term missionary just eats the fly with his soup. And a fourth term missionary, when he gets his soup calls over the waiter and demands, “Where’s my fly?”

We arrive at his compound in Mbale and I meet his wife Meredith, and their lovely children: Lydia, Naomi, Hannah, and John Knox. I am treated to a room of my own and even have my own bathroom. Very nice! I am told that this house belongs to a Supreme Court judge, so it is one of the better ones in town. Phil fires up the grill and soon the smell of roasting pork chops and chicken pieces fill the air. After supper I join the family worship time and we get ready for bed.

Back to Nairobi Again

There are about 20 people at the chapel service. It begins with singing from a choir of about eight girls from the technical school. Pastor Kalonzi introduces me and then translates my message from James 1 on Seeking Wisdom.

Pastor James Magangi gives me a tour of the Bible School buildings. There is an office, a Technical School, which is a large room divided into three areas, where some young ladies are cutting cloth and studying dressmaking. There is dorm space for the girls. There is one classroom for the Bible School as well as a Pastor’s residence where Pastor Kilonzi and his wife Rhoda live while they are waiting for their house to be finished. I am able to leave a gift from the Edmonton BPC that will put glass into their windows.

Here is a list of the pastors and their churches in this area:
Kamulu - Pastor Ngonde
Ung’agu - Pastors Jonathan and Paul Kilonzi (this is where the harambi was held on Saturday) Miumbu - Pastor Paul Kilonzi
Kasarani - Pastor Juma
Isovya - Pastor James Magangi
Kangoo - Pastor Daniel Kasana
Kasavi - Pastor Daniel Mulwa
Kanzau - new work

We pack all our belongings into the truck and leave for Kitui, where we are scheduled to meet Eben Yoon and Lazarus from BCEA, at about noon. We get there early enough to stop for samozas and potato chips – these are sliced potatoes lightly coated with a batter and spice. They are great.

Soon Judith and I are on the road to Nairobi with Eben and Lazarus. The scenery is beautiful as we pass through valleys and hills. We make excellent time to Nairobi, so that we arrive in the middle of the afternoon. I leave the final exam for my course with Eben and quickly pack a few things for my trip to Uganda. Rev. Kim tells me that the trip to Tanzania this weekend will have to be by bus, which leaves at 10:00 on Saturday morning. As we drive away, I begin to relax from all the running around the past few days. It has been very relaxing at Isovya, but it has also been busy and the travel has had an unexpected effect of wearing me down. I decide to cancel the trip to Tanzania, and do so when I arrive at our destination. Judith takes me to The Rusam Villa Guest House, named for the owners: Ruth and Samuel. It is close to where she lives, and it will work well for her to drive me to the airport tomorrow morning. It is entirely enclosed, as are most places in Nairobi. I notice that there is no roof over the hallways, so it is bright and breezy. I check in and then go to supper, which I have arranged for 6:00 pm. Then I relax a bit. My stomach is a bit upset, so I cancel the breakfast that is scheduled for 4:30 the next morning. I am able to talk to Gini on the phone for a while, which is always refreshing and joyful.

Clinic Day in Kamba Land

Breakfast at 7:30 am because today is a day for the mobile clinic. We pack the truck and head out to the church where we had the auction. It looks like rain, but we’re not sure what to think of that. It has not rained much in the night, and now it is just drizzling a bit. If it rains any harder, the mobile clinic will be cancelled because we will not be able to cross the river, which is just a dry bed right now. Also, if it rains, many people will stay home to plant crops. The rain is much needed here, as it is in the rest of Kenya, but they also need the gospel which is presented with the medical care.

When we arrive at the church the crowds of people that we are expecting are not there. The rain has kept them away. Usually they are lined up; the event is well advertised ahead of time by word of mouth. We set up and wait, but there are few patients. Gary goes to the nearby school to distribute Vitamin A tablets to help the students build up their natural immunity. These tablets are given once every six months.

HIV awareness has become a very big part of the medical ministry here. Sexual promiscuity is a huge problem here, and the Johnsons show videos regularly to school students warning of the dangers and repercussions of sexually transmitted diseases. These are always shown together with gospel videos.

Monday evening we return to the Team House and spend some time reading and relaxing. Pastor Kalonzi comes by to invite me to speak at the student chapel the next morning at 8:30.