Wise Counsel

Klint Ostermann • April 2, 2014

Early on in the process of planning to move my family to Uganda, I figured out that I did not have all the answers. I knew that to make a successful transition to the mission field and to succeed on the mission field, I needed wise counsel. Here is what the Bible says about seeking counsel:

Proverbs 11:14 “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”

Proverbs 15:22 “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.”

Proverbs 1:5 “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance”

Vicki and I have been so blessed to be able to get counsel from some really wise men and women in our life. We have met with people such as:  Craig Lile (pastor), Roger Deerinwater (pastor), Danny Walker (former missionary in Brazil), Rod Johnson (missionary in Mexico), Jeff and Carson White (former missionaries in Malawi), Vanessa Crowley (missionary in Uganda), Aaron and Dana Bogan (former missionaries in Uganda), Jeremy and Tamara Boone (missionaries in Uganda), Mike Russo (pastor), Larry Mauldin (former missionary in Uganda), Jon Curry (pastor) and Ben Edfeldt (Baptist Student Mission Director). This list even close to exhaustive and  doesn’t even begin to cover all the wisdom we have received from other friends, family, co-workers, board members, etc.

We have tried to maintain an open mind and be able to gather as much wisdom as we possibly can so that when we go to the mission field, we are as prepared as we possibly can be. The best information we received was not someone we sought out, but sought us out to bless us with information. Sandra Davis found our blog on Facebook and contacted us and asked to meet with us. Sandra and her husband, Karl, spent 17 years in Uganda. They were in the same town, Jinja, that we will be living and they raised their own support like we are currently in the process of doing.

We met with Karl and Sandra this weekend while we were in the metroplex and spent four hours gathering some very wise counsel from them. The four hours felt like 45 minutes as we attempted to soak up every piece of information they gave us. They told us the good, the bad and the ugly and felt so blessed that they bestowed the wisdom they had gained over the 17 years they were in Uganda on us.

God doesn’t call the equipped…He equips the called. This has been an awesome adventure to be on and we haven’t even left the US yet, but it is so cool to watch God work and prepare the way for us. He is equipping us through people like Karl and Sandra Davis. Thank you Jesus!

The post Wise Counsel appeared first on Heart For Uganda.

By Klint Ostermann April 16, 2025
Last week, during our West Africa In-Field Mentoring in Senegal, we witnessed God’s transformative power in remarkable ways. I’m excited to share this story with you. In-Field Mentoring involves coaching mentees as they deliver sessions for community training. As mentors, we guide them beforehand, evaluate their presentations, determine if they earn credit for the session, and provide constructive feedback for improvement. Occasionally, a mentee struggles, requiring us to step in to ensure the audience receives accurate information. This happened on the second day during a session titled “Consider Your Ways, for You Are the Temple of God.” This powerful session often leads to repentance and salvation, but the mentee struggled to convey its message. I stepped in to lead the session, and as I spoke, I felt the Holy Spirit moving in the room. In Senegal, where 97% of the population is Muslim, sharing the Gospel openly can be met with resistance, and attendees have left trainings after such presentations. Yet, I felt led to share the Gospel boldly. Praise God, six men raised their hands to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior! We guided them through a prayer of repentance and connected them with a local pastor for discipleship. During the break, a Muslim woman from a closed Northwest African country approached me. She had traveled to Senegal specifically for this training and shared that the Gospel message I presented needed to reach her homeland, where such teachings are unheard. She revealed that for years, she had suffered from a debilitating nerve condition in her leg, impairing her ability to walk. She had been praying for healing for years, yet she found no relief—until the first day of our training, when God miraculously healed her! Overwhelmed, she felt something stir in her heart during the Gospel presentation but didn’t fully understand what was happening in her. She even said she wanted to become a Farming God’s Way trainer. Her country is deeply hostile to Christianity. Apostasy can carry a death sentence, though no known cases of this has occurred in recent years. Converts face severe risks, including family rejection, loss of livelihood, or exile. Extremist groups further endanger those who leave Islam. We provided her with a Bible and connected her with missionaries working in her country. Through Farming God’s Way, someone from a closed nation, who might never have heard the Gospel, encountered God’s love. Additionally, two Peace Corps workers from Hawaii and California attended the training. Afterward, they approached our team with questions about Jesus. Missionaries shared the Gospel with them and gave them Bibles.  God is moving mightily through Farming God’s Way, drawing people to Him in unexpected and beautiful ways. Thank you for supporting this work that is transforming lives!
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