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Academy Alum Pursues Missions
Sarah Pisney, Isaac Newton Class of 1997, is a missionary with World Venture in Uganda. “I’m the last person you would have ever thought would go into missions,” mused Sarah, when she dropped by the Academy one summer afternoon. “God gives us a peace and a joy when we are in His will. It is supernatural. I love it!” she shared with an enthusiasm that can hardly be contained. “I can’t wait to get back to Uganda as a long-term missionary!”
Sarah, 28, just completed a two-year assignment with World-Venture in Uganda’s capital city, Kampala, a bustling city of three million. She hopes to return to Uganda in May when her support is raised.
“I went over for two years to see if this is what I’m supposed to do long-term,” she explained. Sarah graduated from Liberty University with a degree in Biblical Studies, and then received her MA in Intercultural Studies from Liberty Theological Seminary.
“When I go back permanently, I will be starting a girls’ discipleship school that we want to offer to local churches. In Uganda, there is a nine-month break between high school and college. It will be a six-month intense discipleship school that uses this break to deepen their faith in Christ while also teaching them life skills like baking and sewing that they can take with them,” said Sarah. “These are girls that will be going on to university, which is a miracle in its own way. Culturally, girls are seen as less valuable and it is less important for them to receive an education. Christians in Uganda have a huge need for teachings on the Biblical concepts of character and integrity. Unfortunately, the overall culture is built on a lack of integrity and character, resulting in bribery and lying being a cultural norm. Inevitably, that comes into the church as well, and I have a real passion for teaching what it means to live a Christian life.”
“It is important to understand the Ugandan culture in order to minister there. First, it is an expensive place to live. Being a landlocked country, everything is imported. Gas is $8 a gallon! It is a very impoverished nation, and the unemployment rate is extremely high,” she explained. “In Uganda, having a ‘position’ of any sort is everything. Having a title can get you all sorts of privileges, including the title of ‘pastor’. Most pastors in Uganda have a fifth grade education with no Biblical training. There are some wonderful pastors, but there are many with no real education and who lack a basic understanding of the Bible, with many who are unsaved, not even knowing the salvation message. With the pastor lacking Biblical understanding, the congregation is unable to go deeper than where he takes them. There is a popular saying that says, ‘Christianity in Africa is a mile wide and an inch deep.’ My prayer for the discipleship school is that we can take these girls deeper in Christ, inch by inch.
“Spiritually, the Christians desperately need discipleship so that they can understand Biblical doctrine and how to live a Christian life,” Sarah said. “Many people will claim to follow Christ but still continue to see a witch doctor. Because there is a lack of integrity and character, bribery and lying are seen as normal. I’ve been pulled over by the police numerous times because they are looking for a bribe. I am careful not to challenge them. I never argue about why I was pulled over. Hopefully by just apologizing and asking them to forgive me, I can be let go without a bribe.
“This all has given me a passion for teaching what it means to live Biblically, and that character and integrity are so important.”
Sarah gave an interesting example of the lack of trust that people have for one another in Uganda. She explained that in America, we tend to be a little guarded with our possessions and don’t share everything with everybody. But we are quite free with our knowledge! We share our knowledge and teach others – that is a good thing in our country. In Uganda it is the opposite. Sarah has observed that people are free with their possessions, but that they guard their knowledge. This is because the people are afraid that if they share their knowledge, the other person will be able to take their position, and having a “position” is so important. With position, you can receive money and power.
“That translates into the church. If you were to share your knowledge and disciple others, this threatens your position. Even pastors that understand the Bible hesitate to disciple others for this reason!” she said. Sarah wants to be used by the Lord long-term in Uganda so that she can build deep relationships, teach Biblical truth, and help build a culture of integrity in the church.
Sarah lives in a house in a sort of compound, a group of four homes occupied by World Venture missionaries as well as missionaries from Samaritan’s Purse. The compound is surrounded by barbed wire, and at night there is a guard. During the day, she feels quite safe traveling around the city. “The roads are bad. There are always livestock and people running around, too!”
Keep up with Sarah on the Isaac Newton Christian Academy News page on Facebook. Her newsletter can be accessed at http://eepurl.com/elzVQ. Her blog is at sarahpish.blogspot.com.
Sarah is going to speak to our Junior Leadership Program (JLP) students this year, providing the foundation for a future “Skype” relationship when she heads back to Uganda
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