Getting Ready for Kampala Restaurant Week

Some of you know that a big chunk of my time nowadays is spent working with Endiro Coffee, based in Uganda.  One of my roles is as the Corporate Executive Chef.  It's funny that I find myself cooking again after many years.  I still remember praying at Waffle House that God would allow me to be in full time ministry.  I was convinced that my time as a cook there was being wasted.  But, no ... with the Lord, nothing is wasted.

Anyway, we are getting ready for a big event in Kamapla, Uganda called the Kampala Restaurant Week.  This is a little different than the Kamapala Restaurant Awards that we competed in (and won!) last fall.  The biggest difference is that instead of competing in our own little category ("cafe") we must go head to head against restaurants of many different types.  Also, we are being judged on a three-course meal that we design especially for the event.

So, it fell to me to design the menu.  I'll be heading to Uganda soon to train our chefs to execute the meal perfectly.  Our entry this year embraces two culinary themes that are important to who we are as a company.  The first is, of course, coffee.  Coffee is a powerful symbol of the diversity and beauty of people and cultures throughout the nation and the world.  Also, coffee connects to simple and amazing people in farming villages.  We believe that “with enough coffee, we can change the world” – literally.  So, we are utilizing coffee heavily in this meal through beverage pairings and as an ingredient in cooking.  The second theme is the concept of “glocal food” (global and local).  We believe that Ugandan food is world-class and should interact with world flavors and forms.  This particular meal is an intermingling of Ugandan and Latin cuisine throughout.  The idea of “glocal food” is an invitation and challenge for us to enter into the world of the “other” and to discover the richness of coming together to brew a better world

Here are the courses:

Starter - Carne Asada Crostinis. Served with a Pourover of Bududa Bukalasi Coffee.
“Carne asada” is a marinated, grilled and sliced skirt steak popular in Mexican cuisine.  It is often served as a taco. A “crostini” is an Italian appetizer consisting of toasted bread and any number of toppings.  For our purpose, we are bringing together these two Latin concepts with the subtle Ugandan flavors of mango and pineapple.  The result is a bright, tangy and sweet appetizer that is visually stunning, texturally intriguing and simply delicious.  We are pairing this dish with our Single Origin Bududa Bukalasi prepared as a pourover.  The coffee’s balance of earthiness and acidity complement the smoky steak and fruity flavors of the crostini in a heavenly way.

Entree - Coffee-rubbed Pork Chop Sandwich with Coffee-candied Bacon and Grilled Pineapple. Served with Cold-Brewed Iced Kisoro Coffee.

Here we are taking the concept of a Mexican molé sauce, deconstructing it and rebuilding it as a dry rub.  Anchoring the dry rub is our own single-origin Ugandan coffee from Kisoro. We then take real Ugandan honey and more of that coffee to candy some thick cut bacon.  A generous slice of grilled pineapple brings the bright fruitiness to the party.  Served with hand-cut seasoned fries and a glass of ultra-refreshing cold brewed, iced coffee.  It is a glocal homage to two of our favorite Ugandan tastes – coffee and the Pork Joint!

Dessert - The Aztec Frozen Mocha

I am an amatuer barista at best, so I developed

the basic concept and threw it over to our Head of Coffee for the final development.  Basically, it is a twist on Mexican Hot Chocolate decked out with ice cream, spices and espresso to create the pefect "kiss goodnight" dessert - sweet with a kick.

I have grown to love cooking and how it gives me the opportunity to be creative, to learn, to serve people and to grow in my understanding of people and cultures.  If you are in Kamapala for restaurant week, stop by and try the meal.  If not, maybe I'll cook for you some time.  If you are still wondering how God is going to use you to change the world, hear the Lord say, "What's that in your hand?" (Exodus 4:2)

KEY LEADERS GATHERED IN SINGAPORE RESOLVE TO ACCELERATE GLOBAL TRAINING IN DIASPORA MISSION

Key evangelical educators, business leaders, and mission agency directors from around the world gathered last month in Singapore to discuss diaspora training for the global church and to prepare for the forthcoming Scattered and Gathered: A Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology from Regnum Books. Deliberations focused on setting priorities and developing strategies for effective institutional and informal training in diaspora missiology and culminated in the crafting of the Singapore Resolution which reflects several areas of consensus about the way forward in equipping the next generation of researchers and practitioners of diaspora mission. Dr. Tetsunao Yamamori, President Emeritus of Food for the Hungry and former International Director of the Lausanne Movement, was among those at the consultation. He concluded:

“Those gathered in Singapore affirmed the importance of advancing diaspora missiology to grapple with the issues facing the church today. In the coming decade, churches will experience the fruit of God’s blessing among the peoples on the move beyond belief.”

The consultation of some 40 participants were convened by the Global Diaspora Network (GDN), an international body of leaders originally commissioned by the Lausanne Movement at the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa in 2010 to lead the global Church in fulfilling God’s missional purposes among diaspora peoples. Participants characterized the gathering as a strategic follow-up to the Manila 2015: Global Diaspora Forum which brought together hundreds of leaders from around the world. Dr. Miyon Chung, theologian and professor at Morling College (Australia), was among those who left Singapore with a clearer sense of vision and strategy:

I found the consultation in Singapore and the upcoming compendium, Scattered and Gathered, to be powerfully relevant and significant. The greatness of the Church can no longer be assessed by the magnificence and opulence of cathedrals but in the effective utilization of God’s people on the move. In Singapore, I gained valuable insights and tools on how to nurture and equip the Church for missions in the 21st century.

Dr. Joanna Felciano-Soberano, Academic Dean of Asian Theological Seminary (Philippines) echoed this sentiment:

The first thing that I have done upon my return from Singapore is to reflect on the conversations and action plans within my own seminary context. I have been more conscious to include diaspora conversations in my own classes and now must work on the diaspora missiology curriculum template for our missions department. I am now more aware of the critical role of the Church and the seminary in orienting and informing the community of faith on the compelling challenge of reaching the diasporas with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hosting the consultation was the Singapore Centre for Global Mission and its National Director, Lawrence Ko. Ko said that churches must embrace the “new thinking” known as diaspora missiology and begin to understand and engage “the people on the move in our borderless world.”

The official meetings of the consultation were held from 2-5 March 2016 in Singapore and moderated by Dr. Sadiri Joy Tira, Lausanne Movement Catalyst for Diasporas. Dr. Tira often referred participants to the Seoul Declaration on Diaspora Missiology and the Cape Town Commitment call to action on diaspora, explaining that the Singapore Resolution is following up on the mandates of those statements.

In addition to crafting the Singapore Resolution, participants reviewed the forthcoming Scattered and Gathered: A Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology, considered sample syllabi from diaspora mission courses being taught around the world, provided feedback on the Lausanne Global Classroom curriculum on diaspora mission, and developed a basic curriculum framework for training in diaspora missiology.

[In addition to my official report above, let me add a word of thanks to those who supported me and Borderless in our participation in this event.  I was able to personally attend as well as help three other participants from the majority world to come as well thanks to your generosity.  While in Sinapore, I used down time to have a number of very fruitful meetings with other partners.  Thanks so much for standing with us! -- Cody]

From Helpmate to Global Leader: My Wife is a Shining Star

December 29, 2001

I remember a conversation I had with Katherine back when we were dating (or whatever it was that we were doing).  I was explaining to her then about how I really wanted a "helpmate" in a wife -- someone to stand behind me and support me in my vision and calling.  We talked about Bible verses on wives submitting to husbands and how God created Eve for Adam.  It was all fine and reasonably accurate theologically and rather incomplete.

We will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary at the end of this year.  She has graciously been serving in the background as I have taken the lead.  I don't really regret that arrangement and neither does she.  It has been good and God has used us in ways beyond what we could have expected.

But ... a few years ago, something began to happen that immediately excited me.  Katherine began to turn a corner in her personal ministry of prayer mobilization and some world class leaders took notice.  She became our ministry's prayer coordinator and then also took the mantle of prayer leadership for the Global Diaspora Network.  Her monthly prayer newsletters began to slowly and quietly circulate around the world and by December 2014, captured the attention of even the Billy Graham Center for World Evangelization.

In March 2015, she directed the entire prayer ministry surrounding the Global Dispora Forum in Manila and was personally able to minister to the hundreds of leaders from around the world who had assembled there.  In the year that has followed, the monthly prayer newletters have increased in circulation and are being translated in at least one other language (Korean -- a very strategic one for prayer).  During my recent trip to Singapore for the Diaspore Educators Consultation, plenty of the leaders were already familiar with her work and testified that they were praying in response to the newsletters.  Moreover, some major evangelical leaders have offered their endorsement for a book project that we are working on and plan to release in the Fall.  The goal will be major mobilization of prayer for diasporas.

Now, in just a week, my lovely wife will be getting on a plane bound for South Africa to join Global Prayer Summit.  A few dozen leaders are gathering for the sake of prayer and global prayer strategy development.  I'm thinking of the quote, "Prayer is the greater work" that has often influenced us throughout the years.
an invitation only event called the

If the Kingdom is going to advance in the next 30 years -- and it is -- then it will surely advance through prayer.  Prayer is simply a means by which God has chosen to do things.  Wesley was adamant that "God does nothing except through believing prayer".  

So, I'm very excited that God is repositioning my wife to have a greater and greater leadership role in global prayer ministry and mobilization.  I've been pondering how it is very possible that people will come to know her more than they know me - that I will, at least in some circles, come to be known as the husband of Katherine Lorance.  Definitely the me of 15 years ago would not have been very happy with that.  But, the me of now?  I think I'm ready for it.  It feels so good to hear someone praise my wife and her ministry.  I get excited when I think about how her "star is rising".

As a husband of nearly 15 years, I can say that few things have been more satisfying to me in our marriage than to see her sort of "coming into her own" in ministry.  I always knew I had married a very special girl.  I am humbled and grateful for her faithful and loving work in the shadows for this long time.

When the spotlight shines on a great woman ... that is a magnificent thing! 

If you have made it to the end of this post, thanks!  I'll remind you that we are still raising money for the South Africa trip.  If you can contribute, please do so now.