The first section of our trip included us in a conference for East African missionaries. We felt very privileged (although pondered whether we might not be missionaries to Herefordshire, with Tom Wright's translation of the Great Commission being 'and as you go'..)
The speaker was an Australian named Robert Benn, former missionary to Indonesia. On the first night he said he was often asked what was the best church he'd ever been part of. And his answer?
'The one I grew up in, that is, the family that raised me.'
What a wonderful answer. How easily we expect school to educate our children and churches to disciple them when actually those are our jobs. What a challenge. Is Jesus worshipped in our homes, is his word read? A bit late for me to ask myself those questions.
We had an outing from the conference to a tea farm, through the fields one afternoon, looking like a green cut pile carpet, with rather an odd aroma and learned about all the processes involved in producing the Englishman's brew.
The conference setting was delightful (pleasant for us, chilly for some), we had three meals a day we didn't have to prepare for ourselves and we met many interesting people doing their bit in various parts of Africa to bring education, health and training to the needy. We went to seminars, including one on using local herbs to cure local ills, recycling for useful purposes and a German craft using serviettes to decorate plant pots. Oh, and I had a pedicure!
Here's someone that some of you may recognise. We were surprised to find an old friend from ECF, Alex Vickers, who now works in Uganda.
