10 things I love about my Ugandan pastor friends

By Anthony:

1.  They pray continually.  They pray when we start driving in the car, and pray again before we get out of the car.  They pray to begin the day, and pray to end the day.  They pray before every meal and before tea.  They lead overnight prayer times at church.  They lead days of prayer and fasting.  If you share a burden with them, they will pray for you immediately.  They pray long and loud at church.  They spend a lot of time talking to God and praising his name.

2.  They are always ready to share the Gospel, any time, any place, wherever they go.  Just last week during my training, some of the pastors were staying with me at the same guest house.  During their rest time after a very long day, they still found time to lead a young woman to Christ who worked there.

3.  They sacrifice.  Their lives look more like the apostle Paul's than like mine.  Like Paul, they know hunger, sleepless nights, thirst, and know what it is like to have little money.  They don't get supported by their churches very much (most get about $2 a month from the church), and have to work in their gardens to support their families in addition to serving as pastors.  Relatives sometimes call them "fools" for going to Bible college or serving as a pastor.  I have not known sacrifice compared to these pastors.

4.  They are tender with their families.  Family relationships in Uganda are sometimes hard to hear about.  There is a lot of domestic abuse.  There are a lot of marriages that are mainly functional.  There is rampant alcoholism and sexual infidelity tearing up families.  But when we see our pastors with their families, we see love in actions of service, and tender affectionate love through words and touch.  We see them take time to talk and play with their children.

5.  They laugh easily.  Their lives are full of joy and it is contagious.  Their smiles are quick and easy and genuine.  They tell jokes and have a good time.  They love laughter.

6.  They are eager to learn.  While it's true that some pastors out in the village don't see training as necessary, the pastors I know are very eager to learn.  They sacrifice to come to trainings and eat up the new knowledge.  When they go home from trainings, they take their notes with them.  For these pastors friends their rest every evening is not to play games like I do, but to read the Bible and read over their notes.

7.  They are humble.  At least with me, pastors here are so humble.  They are willing to listen and learn from me, a young man only 30 years old.  Even old wazee (old men) are willing to ask me questions and listen to me as if I was their elder and mentor.  Of course I am learning from them as well.  But it takes great humility, (especially in this culture where old age is respected), for them to give me such respect as a younger person.

8.  They are hospitable.  I can't count the number of pastor's homes I've been invited to.  Always they are so welcoming, along with their wives and children.  They serve us, feed us great food, and make sure we are comfortable.  And of course they have to sacrifice a great amount financially in order to do all of this, possibly even borrowing money from neighbors to host us.  But they act like it is all so natural and like it costs them nothing.

9.  They love their communities.  They do not just preach, but they act.  They reach out in love to people in their churches and communities.  They go and pray for the sick, they visit those in jail and comfort them.  They build new homes for widows.  They give food to the poor.  They counsel broken families.  They work for community reconciliation.  And much more.

10.  They love God.  This one is most important, but I believe #1-9 give evidence of this, so I will end there.

Of course these pastors are not perfect, and I haven't shared with you about their weaknesses (if only they could come to trainings on time!).  But in all seriousness, sometimes I look at my life and feel like a pagan compared to them.  They inspire me to take life more seriously, love God more intimately and passionately, and sacrifice to follow Jesus.