Author: David Grisanti

Well, I am now in Naluko, Uganda, in what seems to be the middle of Uganda, far away from the cities. But first, I’ll tell you about the final day of the conference.

There was a morning teaching session by a man named Andrew, an American, who is considering moving his family to Uganda. He did a very good job. After that, we had a time of communion and worship. It was a blessed time for everyone. We then broke for lunch and for everyone to say their goodbyes and head home. I would say that, of all four of these conferences, this was the best, but without Debbie with me, it wasn’t the same. I look forward to returning next year WITH Debbie.

We then drove for a couple of hours to the present location. It is really off the beaten path. It is a medical compound connected with the church here. It is surrounded by villages and village life. We arrived in the late afternoon, and it was just beautiful, with a cool breeze blowing and gorgeous cloud formations. There are very nice quarters for guests and staff. The room has a mosquito net over the bed (although I do not believe I have seen a mosquito this whole trip) and a nice modern bathroom/shower. I had my first full night’s sleep since my last night before traveling here. Today we walked through the village to the site of Calvary Chapel Naluko. Wow, walking down paths and past huts and small brick houses and being greeted by so many people, especially children, was a wonderful experience. After about 20 minutes we arrived at the church, where a group of young people were cleaning off the plastic chairs for tomorrow’s morning service. I was told that there may be 200 in attendance, and nearly as many kids. I am looking forward to it.

I was able to change my homeward flight today when there was a clear wifi signal, so I will leave Entebbe on Tuesday morning as planned, but after the layover at the Doha airport in Qatar, I will fly straight to Seattle, not having to connect in Los Angeles. Praise the Lord for that!

OK, thanks again for the prayers. Keep them going!

Blessings,

David

Yesterday (Thursday) was full of meetings and activities. I taught the first session in the morning. For me, it was one of those times where you feel like everything you say is just right and there is a very real flow and continuity to the message. It is almost as if you have the confidence that just about whatever you say is going to be blessed and just right for the listeners. For anybody who does public speaking, your can tell when the listeners are fully engaged in the message, and it was one of those times for me. So, I was thankful for that experience.

Later that day there was a panel discussion, a Q & A time which is always interesting, fielding written questions from the crowd on a variety of topics. There was some free time later in the day before dinner and then prior to dinner, it was a time of worship and prayer. I had a number of couples come to me asking for prayer, and it was a rich time for all.

One thing that I think I need to do is make some video recordings of the curriculum I have developed for pastor’s training. A few of the men told me that they would like for me to mentor them and that it would help to have my teachings. So, I think it is spurring me to look into this when I return. I’ll see what I need to do to get the right equipment and then record the teachings and then make them available.

So it is now Friday morning and we will end at lunch today. For the next few days I will be in an town called Naluko, where I will preach on Sunday morning. I’ve never been there so I don’t know what to expect.

Please keep praying for my health and safety. It is good so far. I don’t know how good or bad the wifi will be after today but I will do my best to keep blogging.

Thanks again for the prayers!!

David

Yesterday, Tuesday, was a really good day. As far as my role, I taught a morning session just for the men, which I always enjoy. They are always eager and ready to hear and I like the interaction. Then, following that, there was a panel discussion with the men, with 4 or 5 of us on the panel fielding question. The hour went by quickly, as some of the questions necessitate more than a brief answer. But this is one of the sessions that the men look forward to. Following lunch, I taught a session for all of the couples. I’ll tell you, I seldom look forward to the post-lunch sessions. Everyone is fed and the room is warm and you hope everyone stays awake,, including me! Fortunately, I stayed awake during my teaching. I thought that the message was well-received and I felt good physically throughout the entire day.

There was free time from 5 until dinner at 7. I was pretty tired, so I went to the room to rest and prepare for my teaching session this morning in an hour. When it was time of dinner, I was still a bit tired, so I skipped dinner and instead had a protein bar and some peanuts in the room!

The previous night I met with Pastor Charles and his wife Levenia for about an hour. He is one of the leaders of the group of pastors and Calvary Chapel East African churches. They visited us in 2019 and we love to spend time with them. Then, yesterday afternoon another couple, Gabriel and Elizabeth from Kenya, came to my room and we talked for about an hour and prayed together. Really love those times with the couples. In each case, they gave me gifts . . . for Debbie! The ladies here love Debbie and sometimes I wonder if I am invited to speak here only so that Debbie would be here for the wives!

OK, I’ve got to get going. Thanks for all of the prayers. I am feeling great with no illnesses or problems. I’ll write more tomorrow.

Blessings,

David