He everyone,
We had a wonderful time in Uganda once again. However, this time it was not wothout challenges! Each of us (Debbie and I) dealt with slight health issues but nothing serious. The slight illness I experienced prevented me from preaching at Calvary Chapel of Kampala on Sunday, May 5. I was so disappointed but Pastor Eddie Muzungu graciously filled in for me. As for the Pastors and Wives Retreat, all went well. There were over 80 couples this year, an all-time high, and the week was a great blessing and time of relaxation for everyone there. I did the bulk of the teaching and, as always, it is a joy and even exhilarating for me.
We were scheduled to fly out from Entebbe on May 10 at 5 AM. However, as we were packing up for the 3-hour drive to the airport I received a notice from the airline that our flight from Istanbul had been cancelled! We had planned all along to be back in Seattle on May 10 in the early evening. So, I called the airline and rescheduled for a connection in San Francisco. Upon arrival at the Entebbe airport, I received a notice from the airline that our flight to Istanbul was delayed for 5 hours. After contacting the airline, we settled on arriving in Seattle a day late. This is all a part of international travel and you just have to roll with it because it is out of your control. No point in getting upset. After a fantastic night’s sleep in Istanbul, we flew home and arrived on May 11.
So, what’s ahead for us? During the next few months I will be working on filming my series for pastors, 8-10 sessions of 45 minutes to an hour. I will be working with a local filmmaker. Once the sessions are completed and edited, they will be made available to pastors and leaders. The idea is that when the day arrives whereby I am unable to travel, I will still be able to teach pastors through the video series. Please pray for us as we embark on this project.
My next planned trip is in September when I will go to Indonesia to teach for a week. I will be teaching Bible College students as well as a group of about 120 pastors. This will be my first time teaching in Indonesia and there may be more in the future. I am also planning to return to Nepal in October for more seminars for pastors and leaders.
While in Uganda, I spoke with pastors from Kenya and Tanzania who want me to go and conduct seminars there, possibly a combined group of several churches. We are working on that.
Finally, please pray for MTI as we head into a new decade of existing. We launched in 2014 and have been so richly blessed beyond what we expected. After 10 years, we have lost a few of our donors, so please pray that others will be led to contribute to our work.
Bless you all
David