Guest Post: Mary VandenBerg

Hello! My name is Mary VandenBerg and I am a professor of Systematic Theology at Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI. Back in the Spring, Anthony and a colleague from a partner institution, LEMA, invited me to come to Uganda and speak at a conference that Resonate and LEMA were sponsoring in Soroti. It was clear soon after the invitation came that God was calling me to do this, in part because my husband, Skip, was willing to accompany me. Thus, we ended up in Uganda in late August. I will just add that this was definitely NOT on any “bucket list,” but I want to give just a brief picture of how God worked and what he taught us during our time there. I will divide this into four parts: The Country, The People, The Work, and Transformation.

The Country

Sara and Anthony encouraged us to come to Uganda a bit early and enjoy the country. We did that, arriving about a week ahead of the conference and spending several days on a trip to Murchison Falls National Park, about a 7 hour drive from Kampala, a trip they had recommended. Skip and I both love being outdoors, observing and learning about the natural world. The trip was a wonderful opportunity to see this uniquely beautiful country and the unique vegetation and wildlife it offers. Seeing animals we usually only see in a zoo, both on game drives and on a boat ride on the Nile river was amazing. The short hike to Murchison Falls was also very interesting. The Falls itself is one of the most powerful we have ever seen. But at least as incredible was the savanna itself. The wide open space where land and sky seem to go forever makes the plains of the “big sky” state of Montana look small. The beauty of the country overall is breathtaking both in places like the National Park, and on nearly every drive we took with Sara and Anthony. It is not hard to see why humans fall into the trap of worshiping the creation instead of the Creator.

The People

The highlight of our visit to Uganda was meeting the church there. As Sara wrote earlier, we traveled with them to Morulem, a few hours from Soroti. Sara introduced the community there to a new, easy to grow nutritious plant called chaya on Saturday, also leading a Bible study. I preached Sunday to a fairly large crowd gathered at the church. The preaching was preceded by at least a hour of worship including boisterous praise from men, women, and children. Despite having my notes blow away at one point, it was an extraordinary experience for me. We were warmly received and greeted by the crowd, often by the words, “praise the Lord.” We learned that the appropriate response was “Amen” and soon found ourselves greeting them as they had greeted us. It is a challenging area in which to work. The roads are difficult to travel and very slow. The churches are dispersed across a wide area. It is hard to imagine how Pastor David manages all the work. 

We drove back to Soroti Sunday afternoon and the CLEAR conference began Monday morning. It was a very busy schedule each day and we went home exhausted but full of joy. Skip served wherever he was needed, distributing handouts, taking pictures, and generally helping out. He even helped resolve a problem with Anthony and Sara’s car! I taught about the Kingdom of God, with a special emphasis on God’s power and control. This is important in Uganda because many people there mistakenly believe that Satan has nearly as much power as God. Anthony coached me to emphasize for this audience that God alone is almighty king and that Satan is merely a created being with limited power. Yes, he can cause problems. But he is on God’s leash and nothing he does is out of God’s control. Read the first chapter of Job for a vivid picture of this.  

The Work (Anthony and Sara)

Anthony and Sara are humble, willing servants of God in Uganda. You already know that, but we got to see that. The work they do is amazing. Their dedication to the Gospel is clear in everything they do. Sara could just do the agricultural development work like what she did in Morulem. But she takes the time to begin with Bible study, even tying her teaching to her work in a way that is not artificial. The breadth of her knowledge as an agriculturalist is incredible. We enjoyed her descriptions of the various plants in her garden in Soroti, along with how those plants could be used. Did you know that you can eat not just pumpkins, but pumpkin greens? We had no idea! We also learned about cover crops, giant avocados, and so much more. We saw Sara plant a sucker from a banana tree (meaning she just stuck it in the ground), and returned two days later to see a new green shoot that was already almost 12 inches high! And if you want to know what bird you are looking at, just ask her. She knows.

Anthony is a gifted teacher. His plenary at the conference was well organized, biblical, and engaging. There were 250 people at CLEAR and he kept their interest for well over an hour, even getting them to interact with him at various points in his presentation. He is passionate about the Gospel and passionate about teaching and equipping the ministry leaders in Uganda for their work. We learned that many, if not most, of the pastors there are not paid, so helping them lead their churches while also working another job to provide an income for their families is part of his task.

In the U.S., we sometimes speak of “power couples,” meaning a married couple where both the man and the woman are in high-powered careers. I would suggest that from a Christian perspective, Sara and Anthony are a power couple. Their work together through the power of God’s Spirit is changing lives and shaping the church in Uganda. I can’t think of anything more powerful than the work they are doing. It is inspiring!

Transformation

Both Skip and I had a wonderful experience in Uganda. In my case, the opportunity to join Anthony and Sara in a very small way in their work in Uganda was transformative. I left the U.S. depleted after a very busy academic year that stretched into the summer, and having to conduct a funeral for my nephew the day before we left. I truly wondered why I said yes. Had I heard God wrong? How would I manage a full schedule in Uganda? How could I know if my preaching and teaching would be appropriate for the people I was ministering to?

I was smiling as I wrote those words because of course, when God calls you he equips you. I know that. But I had forgotten that, at least to some extent. I realized that in the west, many of us live with the illusion that we are in control. We plan. We prepare. We do. There is nothing wrong with that in and of itself. But in a country like Uganda, you quickly realize how little control you have. The electricity randomly goes out. The internet may or may not work. It may take an hour and a half to get somewhere or it may take 3 hours. Events may start when they are scheduled to begin or they may start an hour later. And that is just the beginning.

God taught me – again, because he has taught me this before – that I am not in control. That his plan works best when I do my part, and then surrender to him. And he reminded me, that when I truly let go, the possibilities for what he will do are unimaginable, not just for those I am ministering to, but for me.

I left home empty. I returned full. Spiritually refreshed. Ready once again to serve where God is asking me to serve, but with hands clenched less tightly than before. Praise the Lord! Amen!

Chaya and church in Morulem

By Sara:

Right after bringing Mary and Skip to our home from Kampala, we left yet again for the weekend to visit a rural village church in Morulem, near the town of Abim.  The pastor there, David, was one of our students at the Pentecostal Bible college in 2009 and he has been inviting us to visit him for a long time, so we are glad we finally had the opportunity to go.  On Saturday, we drove the three hours to Morulem from Soroti, then immediately I led a Bible study and training on chaya for various church members who were interested in learning.  I filled the trunk of the car with chaya cuttings and leaves, so there was enough to cook a big pot of it and send everyone home with cuttings.

 

In the kitchen where the chaya was cooking:

 Everyone, old and young, was very eager to taste the final product:

We spent the night at a simple guest house in Abim town, where there was no electricity, but at least solar-powered lights in the rooms.  When we arrived, we asked what food was available for dinner and were told that pork and chips would be ready in 10 minutes.  We figured we could wait that long, so we all ordered, got settled, and came back to wait for dinner.  About an hour later, they said the food was almost ready...  It was definitely a great way to introduce Mary and Skip to real life in Uganda!  Anthony made friends with one of the guest house cats:

There were also goats, chickens, and turkeys staying at the hotel:

Sunday morning, we drove back to Morulem and were a bit concerned when the church building was locked.  But when we pulled around the building, we saw a couple hundred people seated outside under the trees next to the church.  There were several different congregations present and there wasn't enough room for them all to fit into the church building.  The service was very energetic with lots of dancing and special music - almost one choir from each church.  I was glad Mary and Skip got to hear the song "Jesus is a Winner Man". 

And a new one for all of us: "Shoot Satan":

As the service went on, more people showed up until there were over 300 people there.  The sun also got higher in the sky and people had to move their chairs closer together to fit under the shrinking shade.  There were children crowded around our seats and a chicken running through the congregation during the service.

Since Mary is ordained in the CRC, we invited her to be the preacher of the day.  Anthony and Skip mainly got to relax over the weekend, since I did the training on Saturday and Mary did the preaching on Sunday!  It was a very encouraging sermon on Psalm 139, how God knows everything about us: what we do, think, feel, which can be a bit scary since we don't like to think someone knows our darkest secrets.  Yet as Christians we don't need to be afraid of God's knowing since he has given us the righteousness of Christ and searches us in order to find places to transform us more into Christ's likeness.

After church, we had lunch with David and his family after the service since he is originally from that village and his permanent home is there.  We enjoyed meeting his wife (in yellow) and children and his mother (in the white head scarf), as well as seeing where he grew up and now lives.

Visitors!

By Sara:

We were blessed to have one of our Calvin Theological Seminary professors, Mary, and her husband Skip, come visit us in Soroti.  We regularly extend invitations to people to visit us in Uganda, knowing that for many, if not most, it won't be possible to come. It was very exciting, therefore, when Mary was willing and able to visit us and teach at a theological conference in Soroti. She and her husband, Skip, spent the whole week with us, including the weekend before the conference, when we visited a rural church in Morulem, Abim. We had a great time with them and enjoyed seeing Uganda through new eyes. It was so fun getting to know them better during their time with us. 

During the week, Mary and Anthony taught at the LEMA theological conference in Soroti.  Skip got to sit in on as many sessions as he wanted and also go off on his own to explore Soroti town.  I did a lot of cooking because they got home late every evening from the conference and we hosted several other people for dinners too.  Here was one of our dinner groups including Skip (who took the photo), Mary, Bishop Emmanuel and his wife Joyce, and Jonny.

Skip loves taking pictures so he became the unofficial photographer, and we now have some excellent new pictures of all aspects of daily life here.  He even took pictures of things as we were traveling, something pretty difficult for us to do when we're the ones driving!  As an example, here's a lovely home in the village:

Garden Changes

 By Sara:

Although we were only gone from Uganda for 7 weeks during our visit to the US, when we got home, it was amazing to see how much the garden changed when we were away.

The little ducklings above are now the big ducks you see below:

The young rabbits are still cute, but not tiny bunnies that fit in the palm of my hand:

The peanuts were ready to harvest.  This year wasn't as good of a year as last year, but I still got something.  The peanuts are the small plants in the foreground of the picture and the taller bushy plants are pigeon peas.

I was excited to see a flower on my ginger plant for the first time, even though I've been growing it for a few years already:

Pumpkins kind of took over the garden, but I still found carrots, tomatoes, eggplant, herbs, and winged beans in there.

The dogs are pretty much the same as they were: lazy during the day and wildly playful in the mornings and evenings.

My pomegranate tree fruited for the first time this year, so it was fun to share some of the fruits with Ugandan friends who had never seen or tasted a pomegranate before.

It isn't the same variety as what you see in the US, which is why it is more pink than dark red.