Uganda Recap: Day Six

Day six of ministry brought us to the village of Bukaleba, part of the area of Uganda designated for Arise Africa to use for their ministry. We arrived at the site where the secondary school is being built with the money that the Lord brought in through Journey during our Arise Africa weekend several months ago. (The primary school is part of the orphanage that houses children up to 6 years old.) The school is set on top of a hill and is surrounded by mountains. When finished it will house over 200 children ages 7-12 or so. All I could think about was the fact that we were so close to the orphanage, but there was one day of ministry standing in between us.

(Well, that and a drive to the other side of the mountain.)

Since we were at a construction site, and there was no typical village close by to us, most of us played with the children all day, instead of going hut-to-hut. One team did go to a prison in the afternoon where 40 people received salvation. The prison team was also blessed by a dance and some worship songs that the prisoners performed. In the children's ministry, there were about 40 kids in all. We sat inside one of the classrooms that was being built so that we could have shade while we told stories and did a few quiet activities. The children taught us a few of their own games, many of which involved a lot of dancing. Needless to say, they all had a good laugh at the expense of the mzungus!

During lunch, one of the pastors from our church, Paul, shared his lunch with a group of older boys. Gave it all away. What a sight it was to see this group crowding around to receive a handful of cranberries and nuts, something they had never tasted before. Paul proceeded to dump out the rest of the food he carried with him for the day and gave it all away. I loved seeing that. I also loved that it looked like it was no effort for the boys to share what they had received with each other. While there wasn't enough water for everyone to have their own bottle, they each had some because they were able to share. Isn't that unlike our culture? Do we ever want to share what we are given? We have the ability to go out and buy more of anything we want, yet we refuse to share what we have because we are selfish.

The afternoon proved to be long and tiring. The sun was hot and if you've ever tried to entertain a group of kids without a plan of action set in place, you can understand the frustration. Add to that a group of kids who cannot speak the same language and translators that are following your lead and you might begin to feel stressed out, wondering when the time would come to load up on the bus. I could definitely tell that this day was taking a toll on the team, especially those who spent the whole day with the children. I can't say that I was unhappy to see the bus show back up that afternoon to take us back to Jinja. Yes, the day was a good day, but my energy was wearing thin.

We played games that involved running...

...and more running...

...and even more running. Think we were trying to wear them out?

Paul sharing his lunch

Teaching the Hokey Pokey was a given

Kate taught the group a game that involved clapping

Loading the truck to bring people back to their village

Back at the guesthouse during our meeting, we learned that our time at the orphanage was being cut back from two half days to one half day. Saddened by this, I had to remind myself that a few hours for one day was better than none at all. Besides, who else gets the chance to say they have met the child they sponsor, to hold her and hug her and play with her? I wouldn't give that up for anything, even if that meant we only had a short time together. We also learned that we would all be split up into smaller groups of two or three and that we would be sent out to the different churches of the pastors of Arise Africa in the morning. Honestly, I know that Matt and I were a little overwhelmed when we learned that. We thought we would get to attend a church and experience a true Ugandan worship service. But, we were not here for us. We were here to serve. And these people were eager to hear from us, because when we come, "we bring hope." Being split into very small groups meant that many people on our team would have to speak at each church. Some would have to preach and some would have to give testimonies. Immediately, I got very nervous. My comfort zone bubble had just been popped again.

Thoughts rushed through my mind. "How was I going to speak in front of a church? Here it is, 9 o'clock at night and I've got nothing prepared! There's no way."

We were broken into small teams and Matt and I, along with our friend, Amy, were scheduled to go to Pastor Stephen's church. Knowing that I was going there was the only thing that eased my mind. At least I felt like I knew him and there was some sense of familiarity there. And, if I'm being honest, I knew that he pastored a small church. Still, I was anxious.

Back in our room, as Matt was preparing a message to preach, I was preparing my testimony. It was now or never. Was I going to stand up and speak? Was I going to allow God to use me?

I had to yes. I couldn't back down now.