Articles with church

New Experiences While Serving in a Bible School in Malawi

While this was my third time to teach at Great Commission Bible School in Malawi, there were still new experiences to enjoy. Some were brand new, and others were repeats but enjoyed with new people. My second week was a full and busy one. It began bright and early on Monday morning. The school had devotions at 7:00 am on Monday and Friday. When I was planning my trip here, I felt like I needed to demonstrate to the students…

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First Days in Lilongwe Return

This summer’s adventure begins with a return visit to teach in Lilongwe, Malawi. It was my third time to Malawi, but this time I did not travel alone. My pastor and friend Jeff Horton traveled with me and taught as well. It’s a different experience to have someone to travel with that’s not my wife. However, it feels less stressful to have someone there through the long journey.. Our flights to Malawi from the US were pretty routine but long.…

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Experiencing the Joy of Church Life in Monrovia, Liberia

My purpose in going to Monrovia, Liberia was not to see the sights. Instead it was to teach a class in church history to men and women who were seeking ordination in the church. The goal was to check off this class so they would be one step closer to their ordination. I arrived late Friday. I arrived then because I knew I would be preaching on Sunday, and I wanted some time to catch my breath and adjust before…

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Teaching Leaders in the African Country of Togo

I retired from teaching over five years ago. However, teaching is still in my blood. Since retiring I have twice gone to the African country of Malawi to teach in the pastoral training program there. At the end of August this year I went to another African country to teach, Togo. When I told people I was going to Togo, they would typically look a little confused. I would have to explain to them that Togo is in West Africa.…

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Four Sundays in Malawi, Four Unique Churches: Part Two

During my time in Malawi I attended four different churches. Last week I shared about the first two churches I attended. The third Sunday started a bit earlier than the other two. That week rather than stay in Lilongwe, we went to a church in a rural part of the country. We also took along all the Bible School students to observe the church service. So 16 of us piled into the van and headed out. We didn’t get very…

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Church Life Challenges in the Dominican Republic

In 1974 I moved to the Dominican Republic to teach in a school. However, my presence there was under the guidance of the Free Methodist Church so being a part of the church was an expected part of my responsibilities there. It was in the church that I really encountered much of the cultural challenges that I had in the country. While teaching I worked mostly with American adults. At the church I was with Dominicans. I had much to…

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Discovering Amsterdam from Land and Canals

Amsterdam is the largest city in The Netherlands and has a rich history as an industrial and economic leader. This shows in some of the unique ways the city has reinvented itself over the years. While there is much to see in this city, we toured the city in an afternoon knowing we were missing a lot. To get to the center of Amsterdam from our hotel, we would normally ride the train and be there in ten minutes. This…

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Iceland Interlude: Returning to Reykjavik for Final Days

Saturday started out with a bit of a drizzle as we prepared to make our way back to Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik. When we entered Iceland, we didn’t stick around the capital as we had so much to see, but now we would head there for our last few hours in Iceland. As I was packing up, I kept hearing this loud sound from behind our cabin. I looked out the window and saw this fellow looking for food with his…

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Iceland Interlude: Over, Under, and Behind Waterfalls.

Thursday morning we woke to mostly cloudy skies, but we saw a few patches of blue sky so we had hope that maybe the day would not be all gray. Today we would be traveling east with a number of waterfalls on our list. We packed up our car and headed out. Before we got too far, we drove to the other side of the river from our cabin to see a waterfall. If you love waterfalls, then Iceland is…

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