A Hope for the Future--Thursday, May 10th (continued)

"So HOW can I help these people? Anything I give them does not move them to progress, but to dependence, and when they are content on their own, dependence is the opposite of progress. Even if they aren't content, dependence opposes progress. So what do I do now that I am on the other side of this world? How can I not waste the little time I have with them? How can I see Africa develop? By giving them something eternal. I can help them understand the love of Christ and the love of the Church in his name--the love that has sent me here. I can help them understand their part in the church."

The people I am seeing outside my window can hardly be helped by the little money I have with me, they could hardly be made anything but dependent with the wealth of our nation. But if we and the people, the church we represent can give them a hope for the future-a vision of God's plan-then maybe those that stay after us can move them to progress.

We met a man named Charles the other night when we arrived at Entebbe. He was our escort to the hotel. After the formalities of introducing ourselves and how we are doing, the very first thing he asked us was "are you saved?" Immediately, I felt like we had a connection with him. It was encouraging to meet someone so soon and to really feel like he (on the other side of the world) and I (from so far away) were a part of the same body of believers. As we talked to him, he told us that he was raised a Muslim and that his parents were still of that faith. Intrigued and excited we asked what brought the change in him. "Muslim has no future," he told us.

I don't fully know what he meant by that, but it is interesting that it is the Christians who brought and are still bringing education and technology to Africa. More than that, though Christianity is a progressive kind of love and a progressive concern for the well-being of the whole. It is not mere peace as many other religions profess. Christianity transcends mere peace to seek an active love. At least that is what it teaches, whether many of us, whether I live it out is debatable.

"I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a hope for the future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Trent

The Other Side of the World--Thursday, May 10th

The Entebbe Flight Hotel served as our accomodations until we could get to Arua (an 8 hour drive) in the north of the country with the help of our Missionary friends. These friends we are "visiting" still have a sort of ominous presence as none of us have seen them or met them or spoken to them. We know they exist because of their blog sites and through their families. But none of us have every seen John or Bill. They paid a small bus to pick us up with our luggage and even for the hotel to provide a "sack lunch" for the road. More evidense of their existance...now we knew they must exist somewhere...somewhere close...

It was a long and bumpy road to Murchison Falls, where Billy and John were to meet us. The ten of us were still a little tired from the jetlag and time change, but even so I found it curious that no one said a word to each other. Some dozed a little, but most just gazed out the windows, watching Africa pass by our faces, watching ordinary people doing ordinary things, watching the culture unfold before us, letting Africa soak into us.

As the sights seeped into my mind and as I processed them more and more, I became more and more aware of the distance I was from Indiana, that I was truly on the other side of the world. Back in Elkhart it was about only three in the morning. Even the night owls were in bed and there was no trace of the sun. Here, it was ten in the morning and even the late risers were in full swing. Here on the other side of the world, I was looking out my window at the very same sights I've seen in video clips, on television, in photographs. All of the memories of seeing the charity videos and thinking "What can I do?" "How can I help?" came to mind and I realized "this is my chance. This is the 'what,' the 'how' I've always asked about. So what am I going to do now?"

I came to several realizations as I watched the culture unfolding outside my open window. One is that they seem to get along contentedly without my presence; after all, not one realizes that we are there until we have already sped past them. Also, they seem to truly understand the temporary nature of material. When something does not last forever, they don't get angry, they fix it and move on with life.

So HOW can I help these people? Anything I give them does not move them to progress, but to dependence, and when they are content on their own, dependence is the opposite of progress. Even if they aren't content, dependence opposes progress. So what do I do now that I am on the other side of this world? How can I not waste the little time I have with them? How can I see Africa develop? By giving them something eternal. I can help them understand the love of Christ and the love of the Church in his name--the love that has sent me here. I can help them understand their part in the church.

More to come...

Trent

A Good Apple

It wasn't until I bit into this apple I am having for lunch that I realized there are no apples in Arua. At least not that I ever saw. It is a good apple. So as it turned out, there was internet access, but it was very limited since it runs off the cell phone towers. Imagine if you will, internet at the speed of dial-up with the reliability of cell phones 15 years ago. It cut out, wouldn't load, and stalled very frequently. I myself never even tried it, but the family we stayed with told us the dilemma.

As promised, I will begin to update the blog now with excerpts from my journals and any additional comments I have now looking back. In the mean time, you should know that God is working in Africa. Amidst all the bad things that are happening, great things are happening as well. Hope is rising and knowledge is rising. Thanks for your flexibility.

Trent

Getting started

As I prepare to leave for Arua, Uganda on what will be my first time going overseas (and my first time seeing the ocean!) I've been asking myself a lot of questions. I ask myself why I am going, what I hope to accomplish there, what is going to be the difference when I come back, whether I going to re-assimilate to Goshen life and go back to the way things always were, or whether I am going to let this experience infect me to the very core and if so, I wonder in what way I will be different and how I hope to see people respond to that change.

Excited and nervous at the same time, I don't really know how to feel or expect. I have great expectations though, about the impact that will be made: on the community in Arua, in me personally, and here as you and others hear about how lives are being changed by a God who seeks to renew a people that have long been abused and forgotten. I'm praying for the Church in America, for my family, for my friends, and for anyone else who hears or reads my accounts of this experience: not that people would be saddened or feel pity, but that we can get excited about developing a passion and understanding of the global Church. I'm praying that the church in Africa and the church in America both would feel the bond of unity between the two locations and be reminded that the church is more than a building and a denomination and sound teaching, it is the unity all of us share who call ourselves "Christians," the unity that allows us to be aware of more than each other's needs: to be aware of each other's humanity, the image of God that is instilled in all of us, the sacrifice of Christ for the forgiveness of all of us, and the work of the Spirit to renew and unite all of us. I'm praying for my team and myself for that same understanding of the church to be more than "head-knowledge" and be in our hearts, evident in our actions and our attitudes. Please join me in these prayers.

I don't know how often I will be able to update it while I'm in Africa because I don't know how available the internet is, I don't know how energetic I will be and I don't know that I'll have time to update. I will be journaling with an old fashioned pen-and-paper though, and I will post those journals and pictures I take when I get back if not while I'm there.

Trent