Uganda?

On August 18, I interviewed with the Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship Executive Board. This was the next step in the process of joining their team of missionaries. I was both nervous and excited. In the days leading up to the interview I prayed and made sure I had my documents together--the ministry budget, the vision statement that I prepared for Craigavon Presbyterian Church, and my first ministry update. The interview was brief, only 20 minutes because they had a full slate of new ministry team candidates to interview (I believe it was the largest number of candidates since PEF's founding), so I knew I had to be concise. I had my notes in front of me, I was ready. But I don't think I was really ready for what happened at the end of the interview. At the very end, they welcomed me on board and left me with this recommendation (which I now know is a requirement of all new Team Members), that I go on a short term mission trip to Uganda for evangelism training with Dr. Henry Krabbendam.
Uganda? Really? I was surprised. Uganda has never really been on my radar for missions. Sure, while my aunt and her family were missionaries in Tanzania and Ghana, I did consider spending a couple of weeks with them (but I never followed up on the initial thought), so it's not like Africa is my Nineveh. It surprised me because I am preparing to go to Northern Ireland, and even now when I tell people that I'm going to have to first go to Uganda for training the question is "what does Uganda have to do with Northern Ireland?"
I shouldn't really be surprised. In the two weeks leading up to the interview I had been praying for evangelism training. So why should I be surprised that God answered my prayer? I was reminded of the passage that says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD" (Isaiah 55:8, emphasis mine). My way would have sent me to some conference center where I would sit with other believers, possibly missionaries, and someone (a pastor or missionary perhaps) would teach one, or more, evangelism methods, we would break into small groups of two or three and practice every so often, and at the end we would be charged to go out and do it (after all, this was my experience with the "Bridge to Life" training I got at a local church). God's way, get out of the classroom and onto the field.
What does Uganda have with Northern Ireland? While I do not have a complete or clear view, I do know that God calls people from every tribe and people and language to himself (Revelation 7:9). Also, my roommate (who is one of my biggest encouragers on my journey) and I watched the Prayercast video on Uganda earlier this week and she commented on how it is interesting that the prayer requests were similar to the Northern Ireland video that we've watched several times now in the past two years. If you haven't watched those Prayercast videos, I encourage you to click the links and watch those videos.
I am still waiting on specific details about the training in Uganda, but I am very excited about this opportunity and I hope you will join me in prayer as I prepare for this trip!