Our Uganda Vision Team, consisting of Randy McCright, Ron Rohrssen, Mick Schultz, and James Wartian, safely returned last Thursday afternoon. While tired, we had a very productive trip. Not only were we able to spend many hours with Mama Bishop (Florence Kyomya) asking questions and observing the need, we also had opportunities to do ministry. Here are a few highlights from our trip.
One of my (James) favorite things to do is to visit our Kingdom Partners on the field. It seems so selfish, I end up doing other types of trips! But there is nothing like being able to see our supported missionary at work and to spend time with them caring for them.
I am happy to report that our money supporting Hesed International is money well spent. The work they do is amazing and quite diverse. Their goal is to be a catalyst for renewal within the church in Uganda, especially the Anglican Church.
On Saturday we were privileged to see their HOT ministry team (Hesed Outreach Team) in action. We visited Valley Hill Day and Boarding School for a presentation to hundreds of primary and secondary school students. We were a little late getting there, but the program still went over two hours. It included introductions of the American team (us!), a testimony from Randy McCright, worship songs, performances by the school children, and special numbers by HOT. It also included a message by our own Pastor Mick. At the invitation, we had many children and even some teachers indicate a decision to put their trust in Christ. HOT took care of the follow-up with those who made a decision.
In addition to evangelism through HOT, Hesed offers ways for women to find work, pastors and lay leaders to be theologically trained, and a place for orphaned or abandoned children. They just opened a guest house where future teams can stay while ministering in Uganda, and are in the process of building apartments for short and long term workers. They also have a vision of building dormitories at the Hesed office to give African pastors and lay leaders who attend trainings an affordable place to stay.
Throughout our stay we worked side by side with Florence Kyomya or “Mama Bishop” as the Ugandans affectionately call her in their more formal way. She gave us much needed advice, explained what was happening, listened to our thoughts and suggestions, and loved on the children and adults at each of our visits. Mama Bishop’s grasp of the people and of the needs was inspiring. Yet she was always open to new ideas and suggestions from our team. She is a picture of quiet grace in action.
We also spent time with Timothy Kyomya, son of Michael and Florence, and his wife, Sallie May. Timothy is taking on the leadership of Hesed, taking over for his parents, and is doing a great job. Our visit ended with breakfast with Bishop Michael Kyomya. We enjoyed catching up with him and talking about our visit, old friends at New Covenant, and what he plans to do when he retires in five years as Bishop.
For more information about Hesed International, visit their website at www.hesedinternational.org .
Ministry Options
One crucial thing we learned through this Vision Trip was to distinguish between two different ways to help with ministry to children. One option is to focus on their schools. Unlike America, Uganda does not have a well-developed school system. The government relies on private and religious schools to provide an education to the children. This joint venture between the church and the government creates its own set of tensions and challenges.
Much of our visit was spent at four different Anglican day and boarding schools. There is a very high ratio of kids to teachers – in many cases apparently as high as 100 students for each teacher, even in the lower grades. Parents who can afford to do so send their kids to boarding school simply so that the child can have more time with a teacher and hopefully pass their classes.
The schools we visited are under the authority of the Anglican Church in Uganda. However, many of the teachers and administrators are not believers, so most are not really “Christian” schools. They are simply schools run by a church denomination. Ministry in this setting would be very different than anything we are used to here in the States.
The other option is to focus on what we would consider a Sunday School program on Sunday morning. With rare exception, the Anglican churches in Uganda do not offer much in terms of Sunday School. They might have a service for children shortly before the main worship service, but not something that really focuses on training them in biblical issues.
After talking with Hesed, we left with a joint decision to focus first on the Sunday morning needs. While there is overlap because many of the boarding school children also attend church at the parish on Sunday, the greater need right now is with the church. This decision also allows us to focus first on an area where we have more experience. Of course, we hold all of this with an open hand and trust God to direct our steps. But as of right now, that is the direction where we will put our initial efforts.
Next Steps & Prayer Requests
Our first step will be for the Uganda Vision Team to meet and come up with a recommended plan to present to the Missions Committee and other church leaders. As noted above, we intend to focus our efforts on helping with Sunday School, but we need to talk through what this will look like.
Once we come up with a plan in the next few weeks, we will then know what the next team and trip will look like. Now that we have seen the need and have a clearer idea of what we want to do, our original idea of a January team may change dramatically. It is too soon to say whether we need 3 or 15 individuals for the team, and what skills and experiences would be required to be on the team. Once we know, we will put information in the bulletin to keep you informed.
Here are a few requests to remember in the coming weeks:
- Pray for wisdom to know how to provide training in Sunday School to the church in Uganda.
- Pray for wisdom as to what a training team might look like and who should be on that team.
- Pray for wisdom for Hesed as they determine the best leaders to attend a training opportunity.
- Pray for follow-up of those who made decisions during our recent visit.
- Pray for Bishop Michael, Mamma Bishop (Florence), and Timothy as they lead Hesed.
