2025

When faced with our own wrong behavior, we often try to rationalize it away. But rationalizing it neither makes it right, nor nullifies the consequences. In this story Grandpa Paul recalls rationalizing breaking into the dorms. The boys would get access using an okapi knife to steal the notes the girls wrote each other.

We have a responsibility to our fellow human beings that includes when they do something bad. In this story, Grandpa Paul recalls a time when he was told to keep quiet about the trouble the dorm boys were up to

Bartering is about more than just getting what you want. It is also a way to grow closer relationally. In this story, we see God draw close and ultimately get glory as Grandpa Paul bargains in prayer while hunting.

In this story, Grandpa Paul recalls hunting Guinea fowl in the peanut gardens with a Zande hunter. The Zande hunter, Burgeehe, was unsettled by some of the spiritual practices he saw. Grandpa Paul’s hunt reminds us of the importance of being witnesses for Jesus.

Even when others don’t see us or know what we do, God does. And when He returns, he will bring into judgement even the things done in secret.

In this story, Grandpa Paul recalls a time when he went for an early morning hunt alone and without permission. In returning, he felt convicted about hiding his actions.

Our God gives good gifts and in Psalm 37 it says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” God knew Grandpa Paul enjoyed hunting birds and in due time provided him with a pellet gun of his own.

The distractions and creature comforts of everyday life make camping a unique experience. And for boarding schoolboys climbing a mountain in Africa to spend the night, the American conception of camping falls short. With makeshift camping gear and none of the extra stuff to get in the way, experiencing God in his creation in that setting becomes a very special thing.

Boarding school nurtured creativity, where boys repurposed local materials in projects like making a mussel loading handgun with match heads and a pen filler. Though that project failed (and the hunted prey escaped), the most significant lesson learned at boarding school was that the pursuit of knowing an unchanging God is not a futile endeavor.

Many of the things Grandpa Paul learned in the three months prior to 11th grade in the States were not pertinent to the High School curriculum. They were however still valuable. Among them included skills like auto mechanics, butchering, taxidermy, photography and cross-cultural communications. Along with lessons taught but the example of this father and Mr. Dix.

In Scripture, James compares the tongue to a small fire that can set a whole forest ablaze. He describes it as a world of unrighteousness and a deadly poison. Since humans can’t tame it, we must turn to God for help.