Dear All,
Wednesday’s Bottom Line:
Hillary and Mark had some amazing responses at their second Kampala, Uganda area DM seminar. They are now on a 12+ hour bus ride to Kigali, Rwanda, where they will present two DM seminars, one on Thursday and one on Friday. Meanwhile, Scott has arrived in Nairobi, Kenya and driven to Makindu, where he will meet James and they will present two DM summits (explanation below), one on Thursday and one on Friday. Praise Goda that all our men are actively ministering in their various locations.
Wednesday’s Prayer Requests:
- Lots of good, sound sleep for both Mark and Scott, who have each had very long and exhausting days of travel on Wednesday.
- Super smooth teamwork between Hillary and Mark in Rwanda and James and Scott in Kenya; for God to guide and work through each pair to accomplish exactly what he wants done during the next few days.
- At both DM seminars in Rwanda and at both DM summits in Kenya, the people to come with open hearts, high expectations, and great faith; God to meet them and encourage them in many ways.
Wednesday’s Details:
First, let me explain the difference between DM seminars (which Mark and Hillary have held two of in Kampala, Uganda and will soon hold two of in Kigali, Rwanda) and DM summits (which Scott and James are about to hold two of in Makindu, Kenya).
A Disciple-Maker’s seminar is open to pastors and church leaders who are new to the concept of raising disciple-makers. At a DM seminar, attendees learn why disciple-making matters and how Jesus did it, and they are invited to join a DM group to experience the process personally, so they can eventually reproduce it in their own churches. In school terms, a DM seminar is like (but much more fun and interesting than!) a series of class lectures.
A Disciple-Maker’s summit is open only to people who are already actively involved in a DM group. This includes both DM group leaders (“coaches”) and DM group members. At a DM summit, attendees are enthusiastically affirmed for their commitment, encouraged to keep pressing forward, and given some “on the job” training about starting and leading new DM groups. In school terms, a DM summit is like a pep rally.
Back in the day, Scott personally led all the DM seminars everywhere, but now his disciples, including Hillary, James, Mark, and others whom they have discipled, are fully capable of leading DM seminars everywhere. Isn’t that exciting?!? Scott is working himself out of a job, and that is essential if any growing organization is to become sustainable. He’s delegating much of the initial work to others and moving on to provide more advanced training to those who are ready to lead.
Because our TTC base is so strong in Kenya, the process of raising disciple-makers is further along there than it is in neighboring nations, so this week James and Scott will be leading summits in Kenya while Hillary and Mark are leading seminars in Uganda and Rwanda.
Hopefully all that makes at least some sense!
And now, since you’ve read this far, you certainly deserve some pictures. = )
Mark said, “We had our 2nd DM seminar yesterday. 84 attended, and 23 signed up for groups.”
Mark teaching the 84 at Rubaga in Kampala, Uganda
“We then had a pastor that attended come to us and said, ‘Will you come teach my leaders this tonight?’ So Hillary and I went and taught them a shortened version of the seminar. Every single person that attended said, ‘I need to be a disciple. Please disciple us!!’ 29 attended and 29 signed up for groups!”
29 more sign-ups!
I asked Mark who would be leading all these new groups. In some countries in the past, Scott has led a DM seminar, people have signed up to join groups, but since 12 is about the max per group, we haven’t had enough trained leaders for the necessary number of groups. It’s been a significant problem.
But Mark said, “Hillary has coaches ready to lead these new groups.” (That’s just one benefit of raising up more generations of disciple-makers.) “The pastor is also going to diligently bring together many other pastors to train them as well. In this picture, the short one is Pastor Thomas Kato, and Pastor Andrew is the taller one. They were the organizers of these events in Uganda. They are excited and encouraged.”
Hillary, Pastor Thomas, Pastor Andrew, Mark
The next morning in Kampala, Hillary and Mark boarded a bus for the long ride to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
At the bus station in Kampala
How Mark looked when he boarded the bus to Rwanda
Eleven hours later, Mark said, “The bus ride is very long and cramped. But it is just fine. Probably another hour at the most I think.”
And My Hero, who arrived at the Nairobi airport at 6:30 AM local time on Wednesday said, “I drove us from Nairobi to Kajiado on the left side of the road. 😳 We arrived."
Unlike much of the U.S., where nearly everybody has a car, in many other nations that is not the case. Only the fairly well-off have cars, and others travel by public transport. Hillary has a car, but since he is currently away from home in Uganda and Rwanda, Scott has borrowed Hillary’s car to get around in Kenya this week. Scott continued, “I didn't sleep at all last night. When I arrived, I found Hillary's car had some problem, so rather than rest, I drove around trying to get it fixed. I still need to prepare my main message for tomorrow’s DM summit”. 😃
Traffic jam!
“We had a big dinner at the Anglican guest house in Kajiardo tonight: Beef, chicken, spinach, ugali ("ooh-GAH-lee," a simple, staple dish in many African countries, primarily made from cornmeal cooked in boiling water until it forms a thick, dough-like consistency) and chapati ("chah-PAH-tee," a type of unleavened flatbread popular in East Africa). I also bought bananas along the side of the road.”
Scott's big dinner, which he ate with James (I think?)
“It has been about 30+ hours since I have had any significant rest. Looking forward to sleeping well!”
I’m sure both of our teams on the ground in Africa are also looking forward to the results of our prayers. Thank you for pausing to take their requests to God today!
Blessings,
Patty