Dear one,
I asked myself: Richard, or was it David?
The MAF flight from Lira to Kajjansi was on time: we were told 11am and so it was. I was introduced to a pilot of wonderfully craggy Scandinavian features; I found a front seat in the twelve-seated Cessna; nodded a greeting to the other four passengers; and joined in our pilot’s prayer for safety and thanksgiving.
Having once landed at Kajjansi, I sat next to my driver, David (?), who knew he was to shuttle me from the MAF landing strip to Entebbe International … ah, but he didn’t know that I needed a room for several hours of rest, before my flight from Entebbe to Indy. “No problem,” he said, “let me call Jeremiah.”
After a brief conversation (in Luo?), David said: “I’ll take you to a guest house. They’ll drive you to the airport.”
“Ah,” I said—and so it was. I was taken to a guesthouse, 3km from the airport, and met Florence, the guesthouse manager. “Here is your room,” she said. “$28 including your transport to the airport. I’ll arrange for a driver at 7:30pm.”
“That’ll be fine,” I said. And so it was—and at 7:30pm Joe drove me to the airport—and some 44 hours later Mary met me at Terminal A.
My return home reminded me of the Biblical admonition to care for the widow, orphan, and stranger—and I certainly was the stranger in Uganda; but more than this reminder, I experienced afresh the need to trust: Would I make the MAF flight; would I be able to rest; and most especially, would I conclude that this Ugandan venture was truly of benefit? Repeatedly I heard: “Because of the conferences, these pastors will never be the same,” but would I trust it to be so?
From years past, when commissioning others for overseas ministry, with emphasis I would ask: “In all that you do, will you seek to glorify the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and in the Day of Jesus Christ, will you allow Him to determine the success or failure of your efforts?” As for others, once again I asked of myself: Will I trust Him to determine success or failure? For the next five to ten years, the opportunity for further ministry in Uganda is probable: more conferences, more pastors—nonetheless, will I trust that my few hours of time and travel will make a difference—more than a drop in an ocean of need?
Trusting,
Stan