Durban Bible College

What an incredible day today! I spent the day at Durban Bible College with James today. This is the seminary he works at. Funny story, one of the teachers at the school (missionary) heard that a speech pathologist was coming to visit and wanted me to be a part of one of his classes. Sunday night I met this man, Dr. Liddle, a missionary from Ireland. He asked if I would be willing to teach his Tuesday class on "Public Speaking." The class is actually a mix of homaletics (preaching) and the art of public speaking. He figured that a speech path must have some knowledge or training in public speaking...not exactly my profession, but close enough.

SO, I went in today and led a two hour lecture on public speaking. He left it wide open to do whatever I wanted. It was a blast! I did some interactive stuff to open it with a brief "lecture" on form and technique and then had the class share a personal story or testimony the 2nd hour. The class consisted of 9 students, all men with one young woman. Most of them preparing to be preachers. A little humbling to teach a seminary class when I haven't gone yet myself. They said they enjoyed the time and I was hugely blessed by their stories and testimonies. Amazing people from a WIDE variety of backgrounds.

I wasn't sure culturally what to expect. I asked James the night before about using humor in class and he said it would be appropriate for this group. They absolutely cracked me up! There were about 5 that were very witty and tried to play jokes on me. I gave them post cards of Alaska and shared some stories of home.

The best part of today was a sighting with a specific student I met at "tea." His name is Lincoln and he has (in his mind) significant difficulty with public speaking. He stutters and it really bothers him. It used to hold him back when he was younger. He didn't like to talk in public at all. He said he heard that I was in Durban and was praying for me to come to DBC so he could talk to me about his stuttering. I got to talk to him at tea and in class about some techniques to help decrease his stuttering. THAT IS totally my profession and up my alley, crazy how the Lord works things out! He also shared up front in class and did an excellent job. It was neat to see him do so well and be able to encourage him in his pursuit to preach.