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Don Hooton's Travel Journal, 1500 Wellman Road, Shenandoah, TX (2026)

07/26/2024

We arrived home late Thursday evening. We slept well. And we were very tired. 🥱. For those local, I will present a report on this recent trip following Sunday’s morning worship services at 10:00 am at the Woodlands church of Christ. You are welcome to come! May God bless you and yours until my next posting. Until then, or the Lord comes, Maranatha!

07/24/2024

Day 7 in Burundi and Homeward | We left the hotel at 8am and set off to the airport. We stopped in Kabezi along the way around 11am. Ed and I preached for the congregation of mostly women and children: The story of Cornelius and The Parable of the Sower. We went to Lake Tanganyika to witness the New Birth of five precious souls. We encouraged them again by sharing Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-14 for them. And we prayed. We got on the road again and made it to the airport. We said our farewells to saints we treasure and have prayed that we encouraged. Then after nearly 90 minutes through security and check-in, we are sitting at our gate to fly home in 2 hours, Lord willing (and the blue screens don’t return).

Thanks for all your well wishes and prayers. God be praised for all His Goodness.

07/23/2024

Day 6 in Burundi | Our day started as usual with an 8:00 am pickup at the hotel, followed by a drive to the seminar site when Felix picked up a fresh fish for lunch from the women vendors on the roadside. Tracey and I began with a Q&A with those women who are married to preachers: Lots of good discussion about Scripture. Ed continued his teaching in the seminar with the men and I joined him around 11:00 am and Tracey taught the children until 2:00 pm when all the sessions concluded. Vianney assisted her with the children in the days of creation and her teaching of the Bible story to the kids. Afterwards, we taught the children a new song, “God made the big round sun” and taught the adults, “ Father God.” As before, Tracey, Ed and I sing the song in English and then they begin singing the words in Kirindi (their language) until they learn it. I think they liked both.

Then, we went to the market and made it back to the hotel EARLY at 5:00 pm. It was a good day.

Tomorrow we leave for Bujumbura for our flight home at 8:00pm and Ed will continue in Kenya on Thursday. However, along the way we will stop and teach for a church along the south side of Bujumbura. I doubt I’ll have time and WiFi to post tomorrow. So this will be my sign off until we are home on Thursday evening.

Thank you all for your prayers. We are so very grateful.

07/22/2024

Day 5 in Burundi | The Teaching seminar for preachers and women began today with some 70 or so participants. Ed and I taught the men on “How the church at Philippi began” and on the “Sound Teaching Paul expected Timothy and Titus to preach”. Tracey spoke to the women on “The God-Given Role of Women” and “Training Up a Child.” The teaching started at 9am and went on for six hours… straight.. again. Afterwards, we taught the church a new (to them) child’s song, “The Wise Men built his house on a rock”. We taught them the song in English and their translators retaught it immediately in Kirindi. They seemed to like it. Then we travelled to Lake Tanganyika to baptize four precious souls, three young men and one precious elderly woman. Several sang hymns in their native tongue, village children and adults looked on, and Ed spoke to the new Christians of their new life in Christ from Romans 6. We got back to the hotel around 6:30pm, I believe. A big, but good, day. Tomorrow, the same continues.

07/21/2024

Day 4 in Burundi | We met with the saints in Rumonge today. It was a good day. Teaching and worship began at 9 AM and ended with the Lord’s Supper at 3:00 PM. 🤯. On the way back to the hote, we stopped in the marketplace for fruit and coca-colas and made it back at 5:00 PM. Lots of good questions and teaching from Ed on sin, sin’s consequences and God’s redemption for sin in Christ; and I taught on the character of Elders and their God given role as well as all the questions they had about that (I only taught once). Tomorrow and Tuesday, Tracey will teach women and children; Ed and I are scheduled to teach some 50 preachers and teachers from the area.

07/20/2024

Day 3 in Burundi | We had a good day of teaching with a congregation in Rumonge. We arrived around 9:00 am and got home around 4:00 pm. Tracey got to meet a few mothers and hold a few babies. We got pictures with two of our translators. Ed and I each spoke twice: Ed spoke to the darkness of sin and our redemption of light in Christ. I spoke to understanding how context works in the parable of the Vineyard owner (Matt 20) and second, on Hebrews 1:1-2 on the diverse ways God spoke in the past. Ready to rise for the next day soon!

07/19/2024

Day 2 in Burundi | We had breakfast at our hotel with Ed Brand (and Hoot and Stanley) and made a new connection with Ben, our barista/server at the hotel. We shared contact info and hope to continue studies. Our hosts, Felix, Eric, Jean, and Vianney met us and we travelled in Noah (our van) to our one teaching appointment today. It was with the Buterere church who asked us to return again and teach on what the Bible teaches on baptism. There were 4 teaching sessions lasting 4 hours for about 80 people. Ed spoke from Acts 2 on baptism and also from Matthew 15 on human traditions in regards to worship; and I spoke on Paul’s conversion to Christ in baptism and from the parable of the Sower (Acts 8.). We left on “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” (iykyk) for the near 4 hour journey to our hotel. Along the way, we witnessed the hard, daily life for Burundians and the results of a landslide 3 months ago that left many families without homes. It remains, and will always be, an unsettling reality to witness that readjusts the definition of necessity. We teach for two churches tomorrow. It’s been a long day for us, and for Microsoft users we understand. God be praised for the new day.

07/18/2024

From Uganda to Burundi | Arrived late last night at our hotel in Jinja that was situated along and on the source of the Nile River: Lake Victoria. Beautiful flora and greenery. Tracey said it was better than what she has been looking at in the car for the last six days (see first pic of the back my head and Emmanuel’s, lol). Had scrambled eggs, toast and Avacado with our breakfast guest (pic 5). But we had mechanical issues along the way (brake fluid leak) that needed tending; This interruption kept me from a much anticipated visit with a brother in Kampala. I hope we can remedy that next time. Also, Emma got his pumpkin for his beautiful family and we said farewell at the airport until next time. There are many new friends and reunions with old friends on these trips. And this trip has been no different. But we have thoroughly enjoyed our time with Emmanuel. He is the most useful servant of Jesus I’ve met. God be praised for the gift he has been to us, and to many, many others.

Uganda’s Entebbe airport has gotten a beautiful facelift and made our departure nice. Landed in Bujumbura around 4:30 pm and made it to the hotel to meet Ed Brand for dinner and fruitcake, thank you Tanya Clark. Ready to start in Burundi for a series of lessons at churches in the Bujumbura and Rumonge areas.

07/17/2024

Day 7 in Uganda | We left Mbale and drove to Busia where we met with the Sirere church of Christ. Peter Wandera labors there in preaching. We met with the church who had already begun meeting before we arrived while there was good teaching already being done as we walked in. There appeared to be about 50 plus children. There was a mixed group for my teaching and Tracey spoke afterward only to the women. The men and I sat in a circle outside and discussed Bible questions and challenges that polygamy places before Christians and evangelism. We enjoyed our time with them and we headed from there to Jinja “on the Nile” for our overnight hotel stay. Tomorrow, we head off to Entebbe tomorrow for our flight to Burundi with a short stop in Kampala. Thank you for your prayers and concerns. We appreciate them and you.

07/16/2024

Day 6 in Uganda | Teaching Conference in Mbale. I believe there was 80 or more men and women for teaching with myself and Tracey Droke Hooton. And again, special thanks to Maliisa Sam for coordinating it. It was a 9:00am-5:00pm day, followed by two more hours of talking, sharing and picture taking. There was a sweet woman who was baptized into Christ, Betty. Tracey got to hold little Tracey Maliisa. Sam and I were holding their second daughter, sweet little Nadine. And there is just a sampling of other pictures of sweet people but not everyone that was there. So many welcomes, so many thank yous, so many come back soons.

07/15/2024

Day 5 in Uganda | Tracey and I left Lira and arrived at Mbale for teaching tomorrow. We arrived at the hotel where the seminars will take place. We are prepared for a good day tomorrow with some 60 people who will come study with us. Special thanks to Maliisa Sam for making the arrangements. Looking forward to meeting new faces, greeting again cherished saints and establishing long friendships in Christ.

Don Hooton's Travel Journal

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