David Bahn – Reflections

Acts 16:6-10

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. ⁷ And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. ⁸ So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Our return from Oyugis to Kisumu was not direct. Although Diane and I were not to fly out of Kisumu until 7 p.m., our traveling companions were to catch a bus in Kisumu at 1:30 that afternoon. Lutheran Church Mission in Uganda President Charles Bameka, his colleague Odoo James Okello, and PLI International Director Dr. Scott Rische were to have traveled to Kampala that afternoon. Our hosts, however, had other plans. We were to attend the graduation ceremony at the Matongo Lutheran Teachers Training College. This set into motion a chain of events ranging from authentic ethnic dances and pageantry, to hurried meals (and a case of mild food poisoning), to missed busses, a memorable and humbling visit to our driver’s home, and a late-night border crossing for our Uganda brothers and Dr. Rische. Scott’s words in regard to the border crossing:

I can’t wait to share about my journey last night. It went well but you will have been glad not to have accompanied me. 🙂 We finally got here to Jinja at 11:30 pm after a bus, walking across the border at night amidst all the trucks, two more taxis (one a van with 20 people in it) and then changing to a smaller taxi. Crazy wild. Too much to write here…

Diane and I had a quite different experience after we left our friends at the bus station. Peter, our driver ended up inviting us to his home. Of course we could not refuse and ended up in a two-room mud house in Momboleo, a town on the outskirts of Kisumu. He introduced us to his two children and his wife (whose name we never really caught). They served us coffee and bread and butter sandwiches. As we sat in their home, we were humbled by their hospitality and prayed for our safety (concerning what we eat and drank) and for their blessing as a family.

The children in the neighborhood sang a song about Jesus’ love, and we were thankful for the hospitality and friendliness we experienced. I wonder, however, whether I might have been more direct about his and his family’s relationship with Jesus. Perhaps next time I am delayed I will be more aware of how God is offering an opportunity for his message to be proclaimed.