Pastor Profile - Bishop George Edweu

Meet Bishop George Edweu, a pastor and national overseer of Pentecostal Upright Ministries.

George, who was one of the first pastors that I interviewed in the beginning of my time here, is now a close friend to Sarah and I, and a fellow leader of the Team Beyond Teaching Ministry Team here. I still remember after my short interview, Pst. George offered himself and any help he could give to see this ministry established and running. So far, he has been a right hand man, advisor, teacher, and friend. Just sit down with this man and you’ll experience wonderful hospitality, a big, bright smile, hearty laughter, sharp intelligence, and great conversation.

Having worked with many ‘mzungus’ George has helped us to be aware of the many cultural differences and to keep us from potentially embarrassing or hurtful mistakes- from not leaving a host’s place until you have received their permission to proper procedures of working with Soroti pastors.

Well, to help you understand this man a bit more, I’ll share with you part of his interview in paraphrased form. Again, please feel free to use this to help in your prayer for these pastors here and also to email me any questions or encouragement you might have for Pst. George.

Like many Ugandans, George came to know Christ through a fiery evangelist. It was the year 1977, and the evangelist came to his village and preached from Revelation 9, on the locusts that will torment the unbelievers. Frightened, like many of us would be, George asked how to be saved from such a torture, then knelt down and was prayed for. This experience and passage has remained deep in him and is still very fresh.

In George’s village there was a discipleship trainer who raised him up in the Lord and taught him to pray, read, preach, and use quiet time. At age 18, George received a prophecy that God had called him to be a pastor. Soon visions of him in preaching in front of many people, counseling, and visiting people followed. This was quite new and strange to George but his pastor confirmed this calling.

Like many pastors, George tried to avoid this difficult calling and travelled to Kampala and found work to support himself with. But soon the visions returned along with a deep restlessness, used by God to bring George back to his calling. He came back to Soroti and enrolled in Vision Bible College for a 1 year certificate in theology. The time in the college was very demanding, causing several students to drop out. The principal who soon invited George to be his assistant involved the students in prayer outings of 3-40 days and evangelistic campaigns where they had no funding, only faith… George remained under this principal for 5 years deeply shaped by this man in all the areas of pastoring.

Fast forward to the present day, his present church and the present situation of pastoring in Soroti… Bishop George has been pastoring for 15 years now. When asked about the challenges that he faces he named what most pastors here face—financial support. Devoting so much of his time to pastoral work, he has little time to spend working, and the congregation gives very little. Not to mention that out of that very little, pastors only take 10%... He also faces the challenge having few workers in the ministry with so many in need of discipleship.

What brings George deep joy as a pastor is to see believers come to maturity in Christ, catching the vision and mission of Jesus and taking seriously their callings. Also, George has a heart to see many come to Christ, and more churches established.

When asked about how the African church can bless the world, he responded saying that Africa has the best preachers. Also, here the Gospel is fresh; untainted with subtle heresies and lies. He referred to the prophecy that Africa is being called to rise up and to bring revival to the world, mentioning that God has great plans to use the African church to do much work.

Pst. George asked for prayer in the areas of financial support and further church leadership training. Please join us in our prayers for these men of God as they serve Christ in Soroti and beyond

“I Love My Bike”

As you may know, Josiah and I love biking. We have bikes here and they are our primary means of transportation. Not only is my bike branded with the word “hero” but it has a special little feature… it has a bell and stickered onto the bell is sign that reads “I love my bike”… kind of the same style as “I Love NY”, heart and all. When Josiah and I first bought these bikes I laughed at the bell, thinking it ridiculous to love a bike that had no gears, an uncomfortable seat and so completely different than my bike from home. I’ve had moments where I’ve done the exact opposite of “loving my bike”… I confess there have been moments where I have found myself cursing my bike. And I ended up dreaming about this very bike one night:

I was participating in a bike race, one that I had already raced in twice before. What was newfor me was the new feel of using my “African bike” instead of my “Canadian bike”. With the different build, sticky peddles, squeaky frame and limited capacity for speed, I found myself quite frustrated for having to bike this race using my new “hero”. Where I would have biked without limitation, I was struggling. And the strangest thing about this race was that I was required to visit with people along the way. In order to finish the race I had to have tea with people along the way and somehow not appear to be in any hurry. This was quite difficult for me, for I thought that I would never finish the race in time. As the “race” continued, I found myself relaxing, even enjoying the requirement of meeting with people regardless of participating in a race.

When I look back at that dream, it makes me smile. I have often referred back to this dream, sensing that through it God is trying to teach me how to live in this culture. So often I crave to do things my way, what is familiar… I often get frustrated with the slow (and inconvenient) pace of life I encounter here.

The sticker on my bike reminds me that I need to grow in loving the people here, despite their differences, their strangeness (and slowness). I’m still running the race God has set before me, but with much different tools and with much different people.

So in the end, do I love my bike? Occasionally I still curse it but I am coming to terms with it. I am thankful for it and how it greets me with this very reminder every time I ride and ring that darn bell.

Sipi Falls: In the Foothills of Mount Elgon

Sometime back, we got the chance to explore Sipi Falls, just two hours from our home in Soroti. We hiked through the foothills of Mount Elgon to explore 3 different waterfalls. Not only were the waterfalls spectacular and worth the trip, but hiking through the valleys seemed almost magical... as we walked through coffee fields and along ridges boasting the view of banana plantations and various farming practices.

Enjoy the pictures!

Ben and Christine... visiting from the States

Our cozy cabin where we stayed the night... not the best sleep in the world (who knew that a bird could get stuck in a roof the whole night??)

Women washing clothes at the top of one of the falls... a common sight in this country

Is this a one way??

View of the falls from our cabin

An African Experience Mar 18

So, yesterday, I had a pretty interesting day.

I was invited to go with Geoffrey Auma, a Kenyan discipler of pastors, to a village 17 kilometers outside of Soroti town. Here’s how the day went.

7:10 - Arrive at pastor George’s house/hut, meet Geoffrey, and have breakfast. Breakfast is g-nut paste (natural peanut butter) on white bread, with African tea (mostly boiled milk with tea flakes added- very tasty!)

7:45 - walk to main road, hop onto boda-boda’s (bike taxis), and head into town where we are to take public transport to Katine.

8:45 – Still waiting at taxi stand for a vehicle to take us to our destination. Behind me there is a chipati cook (oil-fried pita/tortillas) shoe-cleaner, and many men sitting around talking. We decide to relocate to the road from which we will leave to try to catch a taxi there.

10:15 – Having spent the last hour and a half of waiting and waving at cars and trucks, still no transport. I am getting frustrated and quite impatient, but reminding myself where I am… We then decide to head back to the taxi stand.

10:30 – We finally hop into a matatu (taxi) which is headed to where we are going, but because the 14 passenger vehicle is not full we have to roam (driving down the streets trying to solicit more passengers via the driver and conductor yelling the destination to people standing on the road). We soon discover that this taxi isn’t going anywhere soon, and return to the taxi stand, hoping to catch a bus this time.

11:15 – We finally get on a bus that will head our way. Again, we roam; while waiting near the local park, teenaged venders enter into the bus to try to sell sodas, samosas, and many other items. Also, a young man dressed in shirt and tie, starts preaching in Swahili from the front. After a while here we finally head out. Time being 11:45.

12:20 – We arrive near our location and the three men with me locate the place, but being in the village there aren’t any signs or other identifying postings. We go to meet our hosts. We hoped to immediately head to the center and begin teaching but they insist on lunch first. Hungry and left with no other option, we agree but remind them that we want to make the most of what remains of the day.

1:20 – Lunch is served, and a good one it is- cooked chicken and pork, chipatis, rice, and cabbage. It really hits the spot but combined with the heat makes us really tired. Afterwards, we finally head to the center, (a mud-bricked building, with a steel-sheeted roof, with wooden benches for seats and a blackboard at the front) and Geoffrey begins to teach.

5:00 - After two hours of excellent teaching, we exit the center and prepare to leave. I am taken back to the main road on a motorcycle. We now try to flag down a vehicle to take us back to Soroti. We hope for a matatu but will settle for anything with four wheels.

5:45 – We finally get a vehicle to stop for us – a soda-bottle transport truck. It has walls on the sides and bars on the top, filled with cases of bottles. Already, there are 4 guys up top- we join them. There are quick to offer us one of the many sodas, and they open the bottles using the side of a crate. The ride is windy but the scenery amazing. Tonnes of palm trees, village huts, children dressed in bright colors and cattle grazing.

6:30 - We are dropped off in town, and take a boda-boda back home.

7:00 – At home and glad to be so.

¬Josiah

Adventure to Lake Kyoga

Lake Kyoga

Our "paddler"... take a good look at this typical African canoe. We packed 6 people...

And of course we had a crowd...

Our friends Robert and Saul... this was Saul's first time in a boat and he was quite nervous!

Good morning from Sarah and Jo!

And our friend is reaching down to scoop water out of the canoe... the more time we spent in the boat, the more water that creeped into the bottom...

Watching some young boys pull in fish traps

The closer we got, we started to wonder...

Don't these boys wear trousers??

And finished the morning by buying fish!

Children of Kyangwali: Refugee camp in Western Uganda

We had the chance to visit Western Ugandan's refugee camp, Kyangwali. It looked more like a permanent town than a temporary camp. Many challenges are presented here. We thought we'd share with you some of the children we met and the joy they brought us.

A child gets excited by our arrival. This is the place where the new arrivals from Congo are digging so that they can grow some food. The difficulty with the new ones coming in is that they are using the land that the others used to use... now those who have been there for many years do not have land to dig.

They like to get right up in your face... especially when you have a camera!

One of the classrooms. The students were so excited about getting pencils from one of the camera men we travelled with.

A child sucking on sugar cane... a typical sight here

The orphange. The room was charged with energy just waiting to wake up!

Elizabeth Mach - “Oh Displaced woman,”

Oh, displaced woman,
Your haunting eyes follow me
As I walk through your campe.
Am I another pair of eyes
Who has come to look,
To probe – and then just
Walk away like so many others?
Your eyes question me.
Did I bring milk
To feed your baby?
Do we have seed to plant
When the rains begin?
Will I stay and be part
Of your suffering?
I have no answers.
I only know that you have
Taken hold of my heart,
And I will do what I can.