CLC Kenya and Uganda: Kenya & Uganda Pastoral Conference

Tuesday was the first day of our three day pastoral conference which included men serving congregations in both Kenya and Uganda.

11 men attended day 1, plus Pastor Gurath and myself. The conference is being held at the Soy Club & Resort. This resort has recently been remodeled and has the claim to fame of having Queen Elizabeth stay there on part of her honeymoon (the staff kindly gave us a tour of the recently renovated “Queen’s Suite” where she stayed).

The Queen Suite bedroom
I was told you can stay here for 5000 Kenyan shillings per night (approx $50 US dollars). You can’t rent a bathroom at a Motel 6 in California for that price!

A picture of the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, hangs above the mantle to commemorate their stay here on their honeymoon trip in 1952. Elizabeth was princess at the time she stayed here, but later in their Kenyan trip her father, King George VI died and she was declared queen. It is rumored that she came back for a stay in 1959 as well.

Sitting room in the Queen’s Suite
(I’m pretty sure the flat screen TVs weren’t there when she stayed here).

Pastor Gurath and I started our presentations today on Jonah (taught by Pastor Gurath), and Prayer/The Lord’s Prayer (taught by me). Two of the pastors gave sermon presentations. The rest will also get their chance to preach during the conference.

The presentations seemed to all go very well with great participation, questions, and insightful comments from the pastors. I was concerned about how much the other pastors would be able to understand since my presentation would be completely in English, but with the help of the pastors translating for those who needed it at times, it seemed to go quite well. One of the Ugandan pastors thanked me for the section we went through on the Lord’s Prayer and said he got a lot out of it. That was so encouraging to hear! (Of course, that was after he and his fellow Ugandan pastor joked with Pastor Gurath that I speak pretty fast! I am trying to be extra conscious of slowing down…but sometimes I am “rushing like a river” like the Kisii brothers do! I will try and do better tomorrow. Maybe only one cup of coffee in the morning instead of two 😏).

It is hard to put into words how encouraging it is to see and hear the love for being in the Word these men have, and the joyful blessing it is to share that Word and fellowship with them. Despite the fact that we are from three different countries and several very different cultures our shared faith in Christ instantly connects us in a way that is amazing and quite surreal to be a part of. They have expressed several times that we be sure to greet everyone back in the USA and send their prayers, love, and God’s blessings. So if I don’t get a chance to express their greetings to you in person, this blog post will have to do!

- Pastor Luke

Pastor Paul Papani (shaking hands with Pastor Gurath),
and his son, John (shaking hands with me).
Paul and John are members of the Maasai tribe, a tribe of nomadic livestock herders in Kenya, renowned for their traditional ways & dress.

Pastor Fred wanted to be taller than us for once.
(Notice he has borrowed some of the Maasai’s ornamental wear. It was interesting to see that even among the other Kenyans, they are delighted and fascinated by the Maasai. John enjoyed sharing his ornaments with anyone who wanted to try them on—he even shared his sandals which were made with tire treads for the bottom!)