SOLON & BEYOND: Local pastor undertakes mission trip to Uganda

by Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

Good morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

Several columns ago I told you that Pastor Tim Hunt of the New Hope Evangelical Free Church, in Solon, was going on a mission trip to Uganda. He sent me a very interesting and inspiring letter telling about his trip and I take great pleasure in sharing it with you.

From Pastor Tim: ” We have all had “profound moments” in our lives. February 5 – 16, 2018, was one of those times for me. While our wives stayed home to shovel snow and tend the wood fires, three other pastors and I went on a mission trip to Uganda, Africa. to encourage and minister to Ugandan pastors. It was an awesome time, a challenging time, a rewarding and fulfilling time. There were heart-wrenching moments, but there were times of fun and laughter, too. There was great fellowship as we four American pastors served together. Above all, it was a”God-moment” in time for each of us as our horizons were broadened and we saw the struggles, the joy, and the faith of our Ugandan brothers and sisters in Christ. I want to take this opportunity to thank each of you who supported me financially on this trip and who prayed for me and my colleagues as we ministered in that beautiful country. Here is a brief summary of what we did there.

On February 5, three pastors – Bob Emrich, Tom Brown, and I left Boston on an eight-hour flight to Amsterdam. There we connected with the fourth member of our team, Jerry Conklin, from Oregon, before another nine-hours to Entebbe, Uganda, where we stayed overnight in a brand new hotel. The next day, Wednesday, we traveled to our destination – the Kalungu District – which is just southwest of Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

Thursday and Friday we had Bible conference at Faith Bible School where each of us spoke for an hour session via a translator, with Q & A both days. Then in the evenings, we divided into two groups of two and had two one-hour Bible studies in two local churches nearby. It was impressive to that these Bible School students, after being in a conference all day, walked a mile to get two more hours of Bible teaching in the evening. These student-pastors are hungry to learn the Word of God.

Saturday was the first graduation of Faith Bible School. What a privilege to be there and experience and excitement of the nineteen students and their families as they received their diplomas! This was quite an achievement for them, as they also have to work long hours in their gardens just to feed their families.

Sunday the four of us went to different churches in the area. I was to go to one that was a half-hour drive away. I was to be picked up at 9:30 a.m. However, my ride never came. Just after 9:30 a.m., a small motorcycle arrived (with a live turkey tied to the back), and thinking this might be my ride I inquired. The driver declined. Forty minutes later my ride did come, and I had a great time ministering in Pastor Joel’s church for the remainder of the morning and early afternoon. Many of those in Uganda were amazed that we Americans would come all the way to Uganda to the poor countryside to teach them the word of God.”

In this letter that I received from Tim it goes on to tell of some of the other churches they visited on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I found this one quite interesting: ‘Richard pastors a church where there are rural farms. We literally followed a cow path to the church location. Richard leaves home on his motor-cycle for Bible School at 5 AM, picks up student #2, then goes and picks up student #3 and travels for three hours (three men on a bike) to arrive at school by 8 a.m.’”

On Thursday they headed back to Kampala and ultimately home sweet home.

And so for Percy’s memoir:

May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

(There wasn’t any name to say who wrote these words, but I hope they help you.)