Laughter, tears, conversation, prayer

Laughter, tears, conversation, prayer. Today, I spent time with a friend.

A new friend, as in this is the second time we’ve gotten together. Both times, we spent two hours together.

We were introduced by a mutual friend, whom I met over lunch about two months ago. She and I spent two and a half hours talking that day. We were introduced by a mutual friend, also.

Last week, I spent an hour or more on the phone with a long time friend. Unlike these two more recent friends, we didn’t hit it off right away. Circumstances were different, we were younger, forced into relationship through life circumstances. Don’t ask; it’s complicated.

Over the years, though, we discovered that we had something in common. We were women who share a spiritual bond. Jesus was (and is) busy in our lives, reshaping, transforming us, and our ability to connect with other people.

On Sunday, I saw several other women who are significant in my life, women with whom I have had deep and meaningful conversations. (Again, with one of them, the first time we talked, we spent two hours together.)

I’m not a person who does “social” really well. I never have. So I am profoundly aware that these friendships are gifts from God, and answers to the longings of my heart.

I think these are the kinds of relationships that many people long for. Heart-to-heart, soul-to-soul connection. People who listen, share their thoughts and feelings, and speak truth as the Spirit prompts them. People who love unconditionally.

I’m grateful to have these women in my life.

(All of them, by the way, are prayer supporters for me as I travel to Uganda. It’s a blessing to know that they are part of my team.)

Why so serious?

Stoic, serious expressions are often on the faces of Ugandan pastors and leaders as they carefully and intently listen to our teaching. From our American cultural perspective, this can be unsettling, causing us to wonder if our message is getting through to our audience.

As we talk with individuals, however, we discover that they are grasping and understanding Jesus’ message of servant leadership, for which we are grateful to God. He gives us the words we need, aids our translators, and the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of minds of both teacher and student to communicate the truths that need to be grasped.

In spending time with people before, during and after sessions, we discover that they are very engaged with the call to turn from leadership based on pride and fear to Jesus’ servant leadership based on humility and confidence.

They hear God’s word to them as they participate in the various activities that allow them to realize that they are not alone in their struggle with pride and fear, that help them determine the top values that will guide their leadership and how to lead people at various stages of development, as well as developing habits to sustain servant leadership as a lifelong journey.

Our time in the home of a Ugandan pastor, sharing a homemade lunch was the epitome of Ugandan hospitality: washing our hands before the meal, welcoming us, providing a bountiful selection of delicious freshly-prepared foods, and comfortable conversation. It was a wonderful gift after so many restaurant meals and snack meals on the bus.

Vicent just left the hotel for his “refreshment,” lunch and break, before returning to serve us in the evening. He is a gracious young man, one of many of our friends in Iganga who serve us faithfully and with grace here at Mum’s Resort Hotel. This is our second year here, and we have been welcomed as returning family.

James, our bus driver, serves us with great care, not only driving, but making sure we have water to drink, communicating with local officials on our behalf, patiently waiting for us as we teach, and inquiring after our well-being.

What I have come to realize, upon reflection, is that the stoic expressions and seriousness with which the Ugandan people receive our teaching is a sign of respect and an indication of their desire to learn all that we have to teach them.

American audiences and students have so many options that we tend to undervalue what we are being given. Not so here in Africa. Each opportunity to learn is seen as a gift from God, not to be squandered, but to be received with great seriousness and responsibility to learn and to put what is being learned into practice.

We trust that the Lord will be true to His word, and that not one word of His truth will fail to accomplish the purposes for which He has sent it out. Our prayer is that He will use the message of Jesus to transform lives here in Uganda, first those whom we are teaching, and then those whom they begin to influence through the power of Jesus expressed in Christ-like servant leadership.

 

Travel Partners Needed: Apply Here

You know how God invited me to Uganda last fall, and gave me the opportunity to see Him “show off,” transforming lives through the Lead Like Jesus message. I was humbled as I watched what He does when you lift up the name of Jesus, touching hearts, transforming minds, inspiring individuals and churches to live differently and partner together in ministry. My advice to people since that experience has been to say “yes” to God when He invites you to do something.

In Iganga at a final worship celebration with our Ugandan brothers and sisters, I cried (surprise!) as they sang the gospel chorus, “When He calls me, I will answer; I’ll be somewhere working for my Lord.” Then they turned to us and invited us to return in a year to see how they had lived out what we had taught them. It hasn’t been quite a year, but God has invited us to return to Uganda, and by “us,” I mean “me!” This time, we have been invited to also travel to Northern Uganda, where we already have 1500-2000 waiting for us, many of them traveling by bus from Southern Sudan, to hear how they can model their lives after Jesus.

Would you be my travel partners? I will post the details about the trip in the next few days. I know today, even more than I did a year ago, how crucial your prayer support is for us as we go. I would be honored if you would commit to pray for me, our team, and those in Uganda. Over and over, last year in Uganda, we heard,

“Thank you for loving us. Thank you for loving Uganda. Thank you for loving us enough to come.”

Let me borrow from Ugandan brothers and sisters for a moment, to say,

“Thank you for being part of my life and my journey. Thank you for loving Uganda. Thank you for loving me enough to partner with me in the way that God leads you. I couldn’t say yes to God’s call without your prayer support and without your financial partnership.”

Days 7 and 8: Flexibility, focus and fun

Monday brought new lessons in flexibility and focus from Jesus, along with unexpected fun.

Our first group left early to facilitate an encounter for young adults, while the rest of us gathered at 10 AM to leave for our assignments. We were preparing to lead two encounters, one focused on women and one for both men and women.

As we gathered in the lobby, we discovered that Tabitha wanted us to wait a bit before leaving due to some unrest in the city. We decided to go to the pool area, where we prayed for Kampala and for God’s hand to guide all who were involved in the situation. Then we began sharing stories from our lives with one another. Soon, we found ourselves laughing and enjoying this unexpected time of conversation and connection.

At one point, Fred mentioned that he had lived in Logan, West Virginia, and then he mentioned that his mother-in-law lived in Logan, Ohio.

Discovering childhood connections

A few moments later, I leaned over and said, “Have you ever heard of Logan, Ohio?”

“Logan? You’re kidding me! I lived in Logan. My father planted the Church of Christ in Logan.”

“No! I was born in Logan. I attended that church as a teenager!”

“No!” At this point, the people around us began laughing. “When did you live in Logan? Where did you live? What school did you go to?” The questions came fast and furious.

When all was said and done, Fred and I discovered that we had lived in Logan at the same time and attended first grade together at East Elementary School in 1961, during which time my grandmother was the school cook. We couldn’t stop laughing, thinking how much fun we were having realizing that God brought two classmates from Logan together 50 years later in Uganda! (Tonight at dinner, he was heard to say, “We held a 50th first grade reunion, and only two people could be bothered to come to Uganda!”)

A few moments later, Magala came to us and said that we were ready to leave, and just like that, we were on our way to the encounter, still laughing.

As we arrived at the location, we realized that it would be best to combine our encounters, so the four facilitators put our heads together and decided how we would co-facilitate the day’s presentation. Technology set-up is becoming second nature to us all, and soon we were off to a good start. We are learning to work with translators, who are stationed at each table. The low murmur underneath our presentation helps us to gauge how quickly or slowly we needed to pace ourselves.

Our end-of-day dinner was filled with more laughter as friendships continued to deepen. Erin is learning how to speak with a Southern drawl, with Mary serving as her tutor. Fred chimes in on a regular basis with his Kentucky drawl, and soon we are laughing uncontrollably. Rich has given up trying to keep us in line, and Karen has taken over. She isn’t faring any better than Rich, although we do catch ourselves, remembering where we are and who we are representing.

On a joyous note, 3-4 others trusted Christ at the Anglican youth encounter. Today, we had a team working with Anglican priests, over 200 of whom crowded into the room, packing it to the limit. Our team finally had to tell them there was no more room, and turned people away. They had power problems all day, first power, then no power, generator, no generator, and they also had communication challenges with a variety of languages being spoken, with ensuing translation issues.

The rest of us were back at the Hotel Africana finishing up the last day of our encounter. Again we had over 100 people: at least one pastor brought her team with her, many young women attended, along with young children who ranged in age from a few months to a few years old, and again a handful of men. Given the audience, we focused much of our work on the family and discipleship.

I spent the last half hour or more of today’s encounter holding a young African girl, who was listless and coughing, so that her mom could focus on the remaining moments of the encounter. This has been one of the joys for Cherry and Betty, who love to hold and care for the women’s children.

A memorable moment occurred during the closing exercise, which Fred introduced by asking people to use the cloths on their tables to clean the shoes of one another, as a reenactment of Jesus’ washing the disciples’ feet.  I was struck by him encouraging them to clean the shoes of someone who did not have anything to give them in return, a phrase I don’t remember using before. As people were moving across the room, several people came up to me and took off this little girl’s shoes, wiping the white patent leather and then cleaning her feet with great tenderness, before placing her shoes back on her feet. While she will not remember this, it left a vivid impression on me.

We continue to find great openness to the message of Christ-like servant leadership, and we anticipate it will be the same as we travel tomorrow to Iganga. We leave at 9:00 AM after an 8:30 AM group photo in the lobby. It was touching to have the chef at the restaurant and the head bellman tell us that they will miss us, and how they have enjoyed having us at this hotel. It has been a haven for us in the midst of all of our work.

Tomorrow night we will meet Tabitha’s father, who has invited us to dinner at his home. She is eager for us to see the humble beginnings of her life, and we are eager, too. On Thursday, our last encounters begin in Eastern Uganda. We have been told that there will be even more surprises for us, along the lines of the literacy, language, and power challenges of the last two days.

After this time in Entebbe and Kampala, we are more flexible and hopefully more prepared to simply move in dependence on Jesus as we travel away from the city. I will blog again once we find internet connections. Until then, good night, and God bless!

Day 7: Discovering God in Uganda

It comes as no surprise that we are finding God powerfully at work here in Uganda. God is the one who called us to come and join Him in what He is already doing here. Uganda has a long Christian heritage, and we at Lead Like Jesus are joining hundreds of others whom God has called to minister in this land. Our piece of the work is to lift up Jesus as the greatest leadership model of all time.

God has gone before us, stirring this message in the hearts of many. As Karen and I went to worship on Sunday, we found the pastor preaching on turning away from a prideful spirit and embracing servant leadership! For those of you who know the Lead Like Jesus message, these are familiar words.

“Changing Uganda,” he taught, “begins with each person turning from pride to humility and brokenness.”

Karen turned to me, asking, “Did he read the [Lead Like Jesus] book?” We smiled and marveled at God’s invitation to be here at this time when He is stirring the message of servant leadership in His people in Uganda. Talking with him and his wife afterward, he was surprised and pleased to hear how his message aligned with the message we were bringing.

Our team members worshiped at three different locations: a Catholic cathedral, an Anglican church, and a Pentecostal church. Karen and I spent two hours together with our Ugandan brothers and sisters, worshiping God, hearing His Word and message proclaimed, praying together for students sitting for national exams today, and baptizing new believers with great joy.

As honored guests, we were invited to take front row seats, and both of us were asked to come and speak a word of greeting to the church. A Lugandan-language Bible study was going on as we arrived, but the worship service was in English and we found ourselves singing familiar worship songs and praise choruses. The church that we attended runs a school, ministering to orphans and the surrounding community, Christian and non-Christian alike.

Last night, Tabitha’s husband Stone took all of us to Ndere Cultural Center (www.ndere.com), where we enjoyed dances and food from many of the regions of Uganda. What a refreshing break and fun end to our day!

Days 5 and 6: The road to Entebbe

The road to Entebbe is lined with an eclectic mix of stalls, nightclubs and crowded, open air markets. Verdant green hillsides with red roofs peeking through the trees alternate with poverty-stricken areas. Crowds of people wander the unpaved red clay earth at the side of the road. Massive bunches of green bananas bring color to the markets. It was pouring rain Friday morning, which added to the challenge of driving, but our driver safely delivered us to Laico Lake Victoria Hotel, a lovely establishment in Entebbe. The heavy rain impacted people’s ability to travel, so we prepared for a late start to the afternoon.

Upon arriving, we discovered that an opening ceremony had been planned with His Worship the Mayor of Entebbe as the honored guest. Each person who gave a speech introduced himself by family and faith affiliation, and spoke of the importance of our work for the town of Entebbe and the country of Uganda. I found myself sitting up very straight, hands in my lap, glued to every word, as Fred and I were honored by the commitment to servant leadership reflected in each of the speeches. Once all the speeches were done, we took a deep breath and jumped in with both feet. We finished only the material introducing servant leadership that afternoon, instead of the two sections we had planned!

Driving back to Kampala during rush hour traffic was absolutely harrowing. The limos are mini-vans that include four plush, comfortable seats facing one another, so that two people sit facing backward. Fortunately, I had one of those seats on the return drive, but I still have images imprinted on my brain of Fred and Cherry starting up from the seats, looks of sheer panic on their faces, as pedestrians darted directly in front of us or a bus would make a turn across our “lane” of traffic. Karen would say, “Look at me and just talk to me,” when I would start to panic. Once in Kampala, there are at least a few traffic lights, but a whole lot more cars, not to mention fearless motor scooter drivers and pedestrians. I would never drive here. I understand that the traffic here is nothing compared to India, but it makes New York City seem like child’s play. We have been known to fondly refer to the traffic as “bumper cars on steroids.”

We gathered in Betty’s room (the Governor’s Suite) for our team meeting, where we shared stories from the three encounters that day and prayed together. Owen and Betty had had a visit from the archbishop during their leadership encounter with Catholic priests. He made an impassioned speech strongly supporting the Lead Like Jesus concepts, saying that only by returning to these biblical concepts of leadership would they be able to reverse the slide in the church’s impact; the priests were very attentive and engaged, and eager to find out more about using this material with the youth of Uganda.

The Kampala encounter at the Hotel Africana concluded well, with people hungry for more, wanting to come back the next day. It was filled with young people, the future leadership of Uganda. One young man apologetically arrived an hour late, explaining that he had to travel 3.5 hours to be at the encounter. Seven hours of travel each day to learn to lead like Jesus! We are overwhelmed with the hunger and commitment of the people here, so unlike those who have so many opportunities for training in the United States.

For the Entebbe team, Saturday morning started at “0h-dark-thirty,” otherwise known as 5:45 AM. We climbed into the mini-van at 6:30 and headed to Entebbe. Fred and Cherry took the forward-facing seats, while I decided I was happier facing backwards. Fortunately, it was a beautiful morning instead of the torrential rains of the day before. The sky was blue and while the traffic was heavy, at least it was daylight.

We made fairly good time to Entebbe, then noticed a crowd on the side of the road as we neared the town. Slowing to a crawl (from our 35-40 mph), we passed a mini-van and saw people looking into a ditch. Cherry glanced and saw a man’s body with a cloth over his face. She was overcome with emotion, as were we all. We drove on in a very somber mood.

Once the encounter began, we hardly had time to think. There was a lot of ground to cover without making the participants feel rushed. We marveled at God’s planning as Fred and I shared from our unique perspectives, Fred as a retired military officer, professor in leadership development, and church layman, and me as a leadership coach and ministry professional. Both of us spoke of how these concepts worked in families as well as in professional and ministry settings. Little had we known when we were assigned that we would have government officials in the audience as well as young professionals and ministry leaders.

One man questioned the wisdom of some of the principles regarding vision and implementation, referencing the recent events in Libya as an example of people without strong leadership. It gave us a good opportunity to talk through the importance of not abandoning people to do whatever they want, but to infuse values along with vision, and create commitment and ownership of the leadership vision. At our next break, I asked Fred when the last time was that a global situation like Libya had been referenced in one of his class discussions! We are very aware that we are not in the United States anymore!

We had special moments during the encounter as we watched the older men and women in the room praying blessings over the young men and women. What a sight, as these young men and women wept, hearing words of affirmation and love. So many in Uganda have grown up without parents, a whole generation is missing due to war and disease. Yet those who remain are eager to build into the new generation, the future of their country.

Our encounter began shortly after 9 and finished at about 5:15 … or so we thought. There followed a 90 minute closing ceremony with more speeches, an outpouring of gratitude from organizers and participants, a blessing being prayed over Fred, Cherry and me, and certificate presentations. The pile of certificates seemed to keep growing, as each person came and shook hands with each of us and then received their certificate!

One final story from the day reminded us that God is often at work in ways we cannot see. A young woman came to Cherry afterward to make sure we knew that she was interested in finding out more about Jesus. Cherry had the wonderful privilege to pray with her, and sometime later our new sister in Christ walked out of the room, saying, “I feel such joy!” Cherry is looking forward to keeping in touch with her, and she has put her in touch with local believers.

By the time we climbed back into the mini-van it was 7:00; it took us 90 minutes to get back to Kampala. We were emotionally and physically exhausted, but buoyed up by the outpouring of gratitude from the people and God’s saving work in the life of this young woman, which in and of itself made the exhaustion worth it. We sat dazedly in the hotel restaurant, sharing our stories, finally getting up to grab a few bites to eat from the buffet, and then heading off to bed.

While more could be said, and I haven’t even touched Sunday, it will need to wait until tomorrow night. In the morning, we start three more encounters here in Kampala. Please pray for us as we lead men and women to the leadership example of Jesus Christ. We are excited to see what these new encounters hold!

Day 4: Joy and gratitude

But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.–1 Samuel 12:24

These words were our team’s focus today, along with prayer for joy in serving the Lord. Oh, how God answered our prayers!

Today was the first of our leadership encounters in Kampala at the Hotel Africana, attended by 139 people. To our amazement, people began arriving almost two hours before the event, and by 10 minutes before 1:00 PM, we had over 100 men and women, young and old, in the meeting room. One man traveled 350 miles to be with us, while a woman traveled 500 miles from Nigeria to experience the Lead Like Jesus leadership encounter.

Our entire team was present for the kick-off, supporting, trouble-shooting, problem-solving, each of us bringing our gifts and experiences to bear to serve those who came. Erin Menke and Randy Strode were the facilitators for Day One of this two-day encounter. Erin’s inviting smile and calm teaching presence combined with Randy’s teaching gift and pastor’s heart to introduce the concept of servant leadership through video, group interaction and Scripture study. Especially impactful for the Ugandan leaders was the Bill Hybels’ video chronicling Bill’s discovery of Jesus as the greatest leadership role model of all time.

Participants had deep insights about the importance of maintaining their hearts in the second half of the afternoon. They explored the causes, behaviors and consequences related to Edging God Out as the One whom they worship through Phil Hodges’ video teaching segment. Afternoon tea was served at 3:30, a meal especially appreciated, we are sure, by those who had arrived so very early.

The contrast between Edging God Out and Exalting God Only came into sharp view as participants examined the internal and external motivations of both Pilate and Jesus. But the teaching truly found its place in people’s hearts as they participated in a small group exercise that called them to examine how pride and fear negatively impact their personal leadership. Phil’s final teaching on Exalting God Only brought the day to a close, and prepared hearts for tomorrow’s focus on the head, hands and habits of leadership.

We were humbled as participants said good bye for the day. Many sought us out to thank us for bringing the Lead Like Jesus concepts to them:

“Thank you for loving us enough to come,” one young man said, grasping Debbie’s hand.

“How can I put these things into practice in my life?” Kevin was asked.

“I know what I can do,” another man shared, “I can find a verse that speaks to this heart issue and put it in my room to read every day and night.”

“God bless you, God bless you, God bless your family, God bless you,” exclaimed yet another man to Tabitha.

“I have a passion to coach leaders in Eastern Africa. How can I get training to do this?” asked another young man.

“Now you are part of our family,” an elder man said.

Our hearts are full even as our bodies are weary.

Some of our team began preparing for tomorrow even while today’s session was underway. Tomorrow morning, we will head out in three different directions to simultaneously conclude the Kampala encounter and begin two encounters in Entebbe.

In truth, today we experienced the love of God that overcomes all cultural and ethnic barriers to draw brothers and sisters in Christ together in unity. We experienced joy in serving and the synergy of teamwork. We had our hearts overwhelmed anew with the needs of Uganda and love for her people. God gave us our hearts’ desire today. These few words barely begin to describe all that we experienced. We can hardly wait to see what He will do tomorrow!

Day 3: And so we begin

The sunrise and morning came far too early today, but I jumped up, eager to see Kampala in the light of the sun. Light clouds floated in the blue sky, the sun’s light reflected off the polished, creamy walls of the hotel and sparkling blue waters of the hotel pool. The green canopy of trees, interspersed with the roofs of houses and buildings, combined with the rolling landscape, to affirm the city’s reputation as “the green city in the sun.” Originally, Kampala was a hamlet located on one hill that grew to encompass seven hills by 1962 when Uganda gained independence, and today sprawls across 21 hills (www.ugandatravelguide.com).

Breakfast offered an array of British, Ugandan and tropical fare, ranging from kidneys (yes, I tried one) to a teriyaki-like chicken, beef sausage (yum!), made-to-order omelets, and a variety of fresh fruits, yogurts and breads. We lingered over our first non-airline meal in days, visiting with Karen McGuire (VP, Lead Like Jesus), who had just flown in from India with an eight-hour layover in Heathrow. Karen brings a wonderful sense of laughter, confidence and energy to every endeavor, and it is good to have her with us.

Our first team meeting began at 10:30 AM with a welcome and prayer by Tabitha Kyambadde (for non-Ugandan ears, her last name is pronounced “Chahm-body”). It is amazing to spend time with Tabitha, whose husband Stone and daughter Sandra were also with us, and to sense her commitment to the Lord and her passion for Uganda and its leadership.

God began to unleash this vision in Tabitha’s soul about a year ago when she changed her prayer from “God, why am I here in the United States, so far from my family?” to “God, what am I here in the United States to do?” This was the birth of her vision to bring Lead Like Jesus principles to Uganda.

“It’s a big deal to God for us to be here,” she challenged us, “so we should make it a big deal to accomplish what He has for us in bringing us here.”

Several representatives of Ugandan media outlets joined us in the room, and we all listened in as they plied Rich, Tabitha, Karen, and Magala with questions. One repeated question had to do with whether we had a political aim in what we were doing and why we were in Uganda. All four spokespersons repeated the same themes:

1. We are all leaders in our spheres of influence, ranging from home and family, to workplace, community, church, and government.
2. Leadership is very important to Jesus.
3. If you want to lead like Jesus, you have to follow Jesus.

“God has said, ‘Show up (to us),’ and He has apparently said, ‘Show up,’ to about 2500 people. He has already shown up in calling us together. We are part of a miracle. How can we doubt that we are in the right place at the right time?” exhorted Tabitha and Magala.

A news report that I viewed tonight on Ugandan TV interviewed members of the late Idi Amin’s extended family, who desire a memorial to be built in his honor. In contrast to honoring a self-serving leader, we have come to lift up Jesus as the greatest leader of all time and to call all people to emulate Him. As Karen said while being interviewed, “All people are important to Jesus; He respected and valued everyone. He led by example and taught, ‘I have come not to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.’ Lead Like Jesus believes that leadership change begins from the inside out, not from the outside in. We are calling people to follow Jesus as their leadership role model, and this message is for every person.”

Today is drawing to a close, but our adventure is just beginning.

 

PS For those who read yesterday’s blog, my towels smell like sandalwood. Such an exotic place!

Have I mentioned lately?

Have I mentioned lately just how great God is? As I go to Uganda, I am not going just to talk about leadership principles; rather, I am going as a living, breathing example of how Jesus can take a broken person and transform them, bringing forgiveness and healing, and re-orienting life to His purposes, empowered by His Word and His Spirit, and take a person on adventures they never even dreamed of.

Just saying … our God is an awesome God!