Appleseed Travel Journal

— Training Teachers and Leaders in Kampala

“Teaching is not just speaking and preaching.”

Our African leaders know this, but frankly, they love to preach.

“Teaching means involving others in the process of learning, and people learn best not just through their ears but through their eyes and through actions as well.”

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How to teach people effectively was a key theme as leaders from five countries gathered to develop their leadership, coaching, and teaching skills to better equip their leaders to multiply strong disciples, churches, and capable leaders.

Special appreciation to Brian, from Coaching Missions International, who spent the week with us training and coaching leaders from the field.

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Participants Share Appreciation

From Kenya:

“This has been amazing week to work on new training curriculum that will help the network to grow. We really thank God for the provision.”

From Uganda:

“I learned that if God has told you to go, you must be willing even to die to share the Gospel.”

“Change must begin with me.  I must have love.”

From Burundi:

“Our team learned so many things… on how to sustain the DNA of movement, on passion for the lost people in our countries and beyond, on the ROLE of Timothy, on relying on prayer and the Holy Spirit…”

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Worship and Prayer

You cannot have a conference in Africa without experiencing both their fervor in prayer and their joy in worship!

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Conference Sessions

1. Active Learning

These sessions focused on how to teach Bible doctrines and leadership using ears, eyes, and actions. Teams provided skit-type examples from Jesus who provided many examples of this type of teaching:

  • Jesus walking on water and calling Peter to do the same to teach the power and importance of faith.
  • Jesus washing disciples’ feet to teach on servanthood as the key to leadership.
  • Jesus healing the paralytic and then using this as a teaching moment on God’s ability to forgive sin.

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2. Church Planting as Lifestyle

One of the strengths of these leadership teams is that ministry and church planting is a lifestyle not a method of ministry. The teams were greatly encouraged as they reviewed and shared with one another the dynamics of this church planting lifestyle:

  • A personal relationship with God through daily interaction in His word
  • A life of prayer
  • A vision based on Matthew 28 – for every person from every nation to be disciples of Jesus
  • Living out of Luke 10: looking for persons of peace, people of influence, who can be reached and helped to influence others with the Gospel
  • Gathering into New Testament churches
  • Commissioning every disciple to go and reach other disciples by providing on the job training (apprenticeship).

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3. Coaching of Leaders

Leaders had the opportunity to learn good coaching skills while also experiencing times of personal coaching.

“I learned about a coach.  This is someone who asks a lot of questions and doesn’t just tell someone the answer.  This is so important.”

“I learned how to prepare my heart and mind to achieve the goals God has set before me.”

4. Reports and Collaboration

“We learned from others how they are sending teams to unreached people groups far from their home.  We are exchanging so many different ideas and ways we are reaching people.”

Much is learned as leaders from one country share reports with the other countries on how God has been working. This leads to much fruitful discussion as they learn from one another. Here are a couple of examples of what was shared:

  • Kenya: we are now reaching into the Turkana/Pokot area where we have to go with armed escort and there is so little water. But we are learning to be missionaries there.
  • Uganda: because of Bibles we find that so many new groups are able to start.
  • Burundi: women must not be forgotten as they can be more effective church planters than men.

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Gratitude

We want to thank God for His provision for this week and the generous assistance of Voice of the Martyrs.

We prayed specifically that this week would be free of distractions and problems that can easily detract from such a powerful time together. And God thoroughly answered that prayer by His grace.

Thank you, all, for your part in partnering with these leaders!

 

— Don’t Leave Women Out!

During our week together in Kampala, each country leader gave a report on what’s happening in Disciple Making Movements (DMM) in their countries.  Bahizi from Burundi began his report with a strong admonition to the rest of us, “Don’t leave the women out!”  Bahizi is a storyteller and a good one, often illustrating his life and work with a story.

 

One such story was of a young girl named Nduwimana Marlene.  Bahizi had held a training on DMM a couple of years ago.  There “happened” to be a young 14 year old girl in that training.  Under the discipling of disciple-makers Sartiel and Meshack, this young girl Marlene bravely began a Discovery Bible Study (DBS) in her home with her parents and siblings.  Neighbors and friends soon began to join in.

 

Then, as is common in East Africa because public education is very poor, Marlene’s parents sent her to boarding school in January to begin her secondary school education.  She arrived early at the school, and soon began a DBS with 10 other girls.  This group of girls got together and cleaned their dormitory, got down and prepared the mattresses and beds for the other girls soon to arrive.  “This DBS was so full of the love of God that they wanted to share this love with the other girls without bringing attention to themselves.”

 

The arriving students kept asking who did all this for them and why did they do it.  When pressed, the girls in the DBS told the others, “We did it to show you how much God loves you and cares about you.”

 

Today, yes, some of the girls in the school condemn them, but what this 14 year old girl began is growing.  Now, at age 15, she has begun 13 house churches in and outside of her school.  There are 35 students waiting to be baptized.  Meschak has encouraged and taught her how to baptize them.

 

In our time together, Bahizi continued to emphasize the importance of women in the work of making disciples…even 14 year old girls!  “Please don’t leave women out.  They are the ones who are making a big difference in the country of Burundi.”  This is a huge statement in the culture of East Africa…to lift women up to not only walk beside but maybe even sometimes walk ahead and lead the way.  It’s happening...in Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, DR Congo, Kenya…we’ve seen it firsthand and it’s exciting!  Just like the Samaritan woman, many women in 2018 are also impacting the lives of people around them because of their own encounters with the Living God at the wells of their own lives…and like her, they are telling others.

 

Sartiel after baptizing Marlene

Sartiel after baptizing Marlene

 

Sartiel teaching Marlene how to baptize the next person who wants to be baptized.

sartiel teaching Marlene how to baptize

 

The group who was baptized that day (minus the photographer!)

the baptized group

 

Roger and Bahizi

Roger and Bahizi

 

— You Provide Farms and Water – Awesome Results!

We spent part of an afternoon with Peter and his family to hear firsthand the impact that the new borehole and farm is having.

Before the new farm was planted and the first harvest, Peter’s house was in desperate need of repair. School fees were often lacking, and there was never enough for the family let alone the orphans they had taken in to try to care for.

You can see the home that was recently replaced!

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But last year, many of you rallied to provide bore holes and farms to western Kenya and Peter’s family was a recipient!

First, the bore hole was provided so that the new crops could be properly cared for and the family could have access to water nearby.

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Then the farm was put in planting mostly kale because it provides nourishment and, more importantly, is an excellent cash crop in that area. The church planting team provided all that was needed to plant and harvest along with technical knowledge and coaching.

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The result of the early harvest? A new home, some new chickens that are laying, food for orphans, and children able to go to school as school fees are paid!

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And, there is more!

Peter himself, with fresh motivation, has become one of the newer fruitful church planters. He has started 15 house churches in the region near his home and is using his resources from the farm to travel further afield where he has begun new works in several other areas.

It’s an amazing cycle: the Gospel motivates those who care (including you) to bless people, and those people who are helped to turn around and share the Gospel along with practical aid to others! You are a vital part of that cycle!

— Hanging Out in Western Kenya

We love to hang out in Western Kenya, where it’s cool, green and mellow.  We especially love to hang out with the church planters in that region.  They’ve been at this (church planting movements) for a while now, so our job mainly is to come underneath, cheer for, strategize with and bring whatever we can to encourage, empower and support their work.  Their vision?  To reach all of Kenya.  Their mission?  To make disciples and open house churches in every village in Kenya. 

 

Here are just a few of their accomplishments from last year:

  • Increased numbers of Discovery Bible Studies
  • Increased numbers of baptisms
  • Increased numbers of house churches
  • Reaching the unreached in northwestern Kenya
  • Increased prayer
  • People are happy and love each other in house churches and are going out to their neighbors

They say things like:

 

“I just go out.  I go to someone’s house and meet and sit with the family.  We talk.  I listen to them.  They invite me back and when I go, they have invited others to come.”

 

“I go out.  I found people run from me if I open my Bible.  I have learned to develop a relationship.  That’s the most important thing.”

 

“We are known as women of peace.  The house churches in our area are on fire.  The reason is that everyone has become a disciple who obeys.  They want to make another disciple.  I tell them to be patient with this challenge.  Sometimes we are welcomed and sometimes not.  I tell them don’t lose heart.  If you want to make disciples, you are in the right place.  You will not be hindered if you are a woman or if you are not ordained or have a credential.  If you are a child of God, then you are free to obey His Word.”

 

“I drive a motorcycle for my business.  I use that bike to make disciples.  When the Holy Spirit leads me, I ask that passenger for his contact and ask to visit him at his home.  Many times I am welcomed.  This is how I make disciples for Jesus Christ.”

 

“Just last year I heard about disciple-making movements by way of house churches.  Since then I really thank God.  I have reached three sub-counties and there are 12 house churches.  This is a very humble work.  Before I was really struggling, but now I’m free.  These people are not my disciples, no, they do not belong to me.  They belong to Jesus Christ and are free to obey him in what He tells them to do.”

 

“This movement is not a joke.  This is the way Jesus told us to go.  A disciple called me on the phone and asked me to pray with a woman.  I took time and mpesa (money) but felt the Holy Spirit is leading me.  So I prayed with that lady and she was healed.  That lady is over 80 years old, but now that lady she gives me 2kgs per month of sugar two times every month to help with the work of making disciples.”

 

“That place (Turkana) where God sent us was so very hot.  The place we sat was like an ocean that was dried up.  It was so very big and there was only dry soil.  You can’t see anything green, only sand.  I cried when I saw how the people are living, but it was so hot and dry, my tears could not even fall.”

 

“If what they wrote in the Bible is right, those disciples died a very hard death.  There was no disciple of Jesus who died a good death.  You know so many times in the Bible it says, “Do not fear.”  When God tells us to go somewhere, we don’t need to be worried.  It is ok.  When we went to that place up in Turkana, the police stopped us and said those people had shot people up ahead of us.  But, God had told us to go, so we went.  If God tells us to go somewhere, then He is with us and we must go.”

 

“Let us depend wholly on the Holy Spirit and learn to obey the voice of God.”

 

“I depend on the voice of God.  There was a married couple arguing so much.  They were accusing each other very strongly.  The Holy Spirit showed me something.  I told that man to go look in his mirror.  I told him God has shown me that man is the one causing the problems in the marriage, not another man.  When I listen to the voice of God, then I know I am somewhere for a divine purpose even though there is much chaos there.”

 

You can see our job is pretty easy.  These strong young men and women of faith are running, running hard, sacrificing much, live with little, but still, they run.  They know they’re in a race and nothing stops them.  Our job is to pray and cheer, encourage and bless.  You guys, all of you, in whatever role you are playing are all part of this amazing race we get to be in. 

 

Be blessed! 

 

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— What’s up with the Mzungu (white person)

Typically, when we do a training the average age is about 30, some younger, some older, men and women.  If there are children present, they’re usually babies nursing or a toddler hanging onto his mom’s dress, sitting under her chair or climbing on any woman close by.

 

Last week we met under a tent in a rented compound.  I noticed throughout the morning a young child about 3 or 4 with a small machete – yes, machete, which is VERY typical of men, women and children to have and use for various projects.  This little guy was whacking away at weeds or sticks and anything else that caught his eye.  I was mesmerized that he never once cut his hand, sliced his leg open, or drew blood at all in the wild slashing of unseemly items in his path. 

 

In a group of 80 adults, he was the only child wandering around, a neighbor’s kid who seemed unattached to anyone in particular, but obviously he knew where he was and as is also common, his mom was probably somewhere close by very aware of where he was and what he was doing.  Once he very courageously came up close to me, stood and stared and then grinned from ear to ear as I held out my hand in the customary greeting and said, “Habari yako.”  Switching the machete into his left hand, he quickly took my lily-white hand in his tiny black one and said, “Mzuri,” checked to see if any of the white stuff had come off in his hand and then gleefully ran off.

 

After lunch time, stomach full, he noticed the mzungu (Roger) had gotten up to speak, so in this large group of adults who he didn’t even know, he found a vacant chair and climbed up into it.  Peering around the people in front of him, he listened attentively, moving from this side to that to not miss a word of what Roger was saying…or so it seemed.  The reality is at this age he speaks Swahili only with English yet to come once he starts primary school. 

 

After a while, either Roger was much less entertaining or the morning’s hard work, plus a huge lunch of ugali had worn him out.  Either way, he’d put in a full day and now it was time to rest.

 

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