Trips

The past three weeks and two days have been head spinning to say the least.  I say this because I literally ran on board to go on this trip.  On the one hand I shouldn’t be amazed that God could take something that was so unplanned three weeks and three days ago and suddenly bring me to Uganda.  He is the sovereign creator of the universe, the ruler of all things that exist or will ever exist.  But on the other hand my faithfulness is weak, and I find that I have much to learn in this department as well as many others. 

I am learning my time in Uganda has been far less about teaching Christian Ethics.  God has been faithful please don’t miss understand me.  His grace has been sufficient in teaching Ugandans how to process and determine what is right and wrong.  His Word has been sufficient in answering the question: what to feel, what to think, how to obey, with respect to what He has said.  But as I hear these men talk about what God is doing in Uganda I stand in awe.  Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert in there book, “When Helping Hurts”, state, “By 2050, Uganda alone is expected to have more Christians than the largest four or five European nations combined.”  Having read this I initially thought to myself that surely this was an exaggeration.  But, after landing in this land, seeing there love and their hunger for the Word of God, and hearing them talk about what is happening in their churches I can’t help but see that Uganda could be the future epicenter of Christianity. 

Not only that, but my greatest weakness is their greatest strength.  The people of Uganda are faithful and for that I am thankful.  Thankful that I can teach and be a part of what God is doing here in this land.  But most importantly, I am thankful that my faithfulness is being made stronger through the men of my class and the administrators of the school.  May God continue to bless Africa Renewal Christian College for the glory and supremacy of Christ.    

Great things are happening here at African Renewal Christian College!  Today, some of us were privileged to receive a tour of the campus from the Director of the Registrar.  ARCC’s primary goal is to provide quality theological education for the pastors of East Africa, but there is much more happening here than that.  Next month, ARCC is going before the National Council of Higher Education in Uganda with the plan to become a fully accredited four-year Christian university, making it one of the few Christian universities in Uganda.  If you think about it, please be in prayer during the month of June for this whole process!  ARCC hopes to provide a Bachelor of Theology, a Bachelor of Social Work, and a Bachelor of Child Development, making this a school that not only trains the pastors of Uganda, but Christians for other vocations.

 Along with this plan for accreditation, there are many more plans for expansion at ARCC.  Lord willing, ARCC hopes to build a 1000-person chapel, two new academic buildings, a new library, an administration building, and a soccer field on the campus.  The chapel will be one of the first things that people will see when visiting campus–letting all know the purpose of the school.

 Another key goal is for ARCC to become self-sustaining, growing and providing the food for students.  Currently there are bananas, potatoes, tomatoes, and cabbages being grown, with rabbits and goats also being raised.  In addition to helping ARCC become self-sustainable, this also provides the students with opportunities to receive training in farming techniques, as this is what many of them will be doing while pastoring.

 After receiving the tour, one cannot help but feel overwhelmed by all the good that God is doing here.  This holistic ministry desires to help the people of Uganda in several ways, and we are privileged to take part in this ministry during this time. -Jordan & Krystal Gowing

So the Uganda Team, May 2012 made it in late last night after 2 days of travel from Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Uganda with a brief stopover in Kigali, Rwanda.  So far the Lord has provided good health, full luggage arrival and a great day of getting accustomed to the campus, teaching, construction and making new friends, and renewing old friendships.  We are teaching Biblical Interpretation, Christian Ethics, Life of Christ and Daniel/Revelation and we are working on various projects around the campus, including construction, curriculum development and library work.  God is good, and His church is growing in East Africa...