Uganda Recap: Day Three

Today we set out about an hour away from the guest house to a village called Buyengo. In all honesty, it proved to be a little bit of a frustrating day in the children's ministry because of the large number of kids and small number of leaders. Because of my past experience at the YMCA, my mind has been trained to depend on other team members when leading groups of children. Since there was never a time where you were alone with a group of kids, it became natural to depend on a co-leader to help teach games, sing songs, tell stories, discipline, bounce ideas off of, etc. So, after nine years of devoting your life to that way of leadership, you can imagine it's hard to adjust to a new mindset. Well, today, that adjustment needed to be made for a period of time because the kids were split up into several groups, assigned to one leader, and yet, they were still rather large. Matt got the short end of the stick: The most kids in one group AND he remained by himself for the duration of the morning. He's a champ. Eventually, because some leaders didn't have the material they needed to teach, some of us were able to pair up.

We were about a mile down the road from everyone else, playing in a field in front of their hospital. We had no idea what time we were supposed to return to the rest of our team or how long we were supposed to play with the kids. At first, this was very frustrating, but I was reminded that 1.) I'm in Africa and 2.) it is what it is. If this was going to be a fun morning, then we would all have to make the best of the situation. After all, we were not here for us. We were here to serve.

Singing with the children

Praying

The kids were split into seven groups and we told the story of Moses complete with activities to follow each portion of the story. We finished up the morning sitting in the shade of the few trees that we could find, sucking on "sweeties" and coloring in pictures of Moses and the stories we had just taught.

Matt's Group

Boys will be boys... even in Africa

I should mention that we met a woman today who told us that she had 25 brothers and sisters because her father was a polygamist. Yep. Seen as acceptable, polygamy is still alive and well in Uganda. To say that we were shocked was an understatement. Her name has slipped my mind, but she helped translate for us with the children all morning. She asked questions about America and wanted her picture to be taken. She became pretty smitten for Matt. He was creeped out. Everyone else thought it was funny how she seemed to appear wherever he was. Poor guy. So, in attempts to help him forget that memory, there will be no posting of her photo here. Or anywhere. =)

After lunch, we (Matt, Amy, Carla, Theresa and I) went hut-to-hut with a couple of local guys and pastors. (Hut-to-hut simply means going "house" to "house" and sharing the story of the Gospel with those who will listen and giving them a chance to receive salvation through Christ.) This was our first time since being in Uganda and I know that my insides were shaking. At the first hut we came to, we encountered a group of women and children sitting on the ground under a large tree. Matt shared the Gospel with the help of Pastor Stephen and the rest of us passed out treats for the children. I was able to leave a small t-shirt that my nephews tie-dyed with a woman who was holding a baby with rags on. Although we did not exchange words, her smile said it all. She was grateful. It turns out that most of the people there were already believers. But, there was one woman who was visiting and, after hearing the Gospel, accepted Christ. She repeated a prayer of salvation acknowledging that she was a sinner and that she was not able to save herself, and asked Jesus into her heart to be her Savior. While she was praying, I am confident that I heard a second voice from the group, repeating the same prayer at the same time, asking for the same salvation. I looked up to see if there was someone else who had joined the group during the prayer, but couldn't make sense of it. They asked us to pray for a sick baby among them while we were there.

As we were getting ready to leave, Pastor Stephen motioned to an older man who was standing off to the side. Matt and I stayed behind with Pastor Stephen to talk to this man while the rest of the group split off so that no time was wasted. Through Pastor Stephen, we learned that this man is a witch doctor. He said that he accepted Christ long ago but feels that he has failed at being a Christian, so he has gone back to practicing his former ways. You're probably wondering what went through our minds when we learned that he was a witch doctor. We had been told that we would encounter these kinds of people and that part of their practice was the sacrifice of children. I couldn't imagine. I wondered if he sacrificed any children. He didn't look any different from anyone else in this village. While it seemed unreal that I was standing in the presence of a witch doctor, there was no fear there. My heart hurt for him. My heart hurt for anyone that he might have harmed in his attempts to practice this craft. If only he could understand that we all fall short, but it is by grace that we are saved and have been redeemed. If only he could understand that saying yes to Jesus will not make you a perfect person.

Pastor Stephen spent some time talking to this man in their native tongue. After several minutes, the man said he did not want to accept Christ, but did allow Matt and Pastor Stephen to pray with him. After the prayer, Pastor Stephen gave him one more chance to say yes to Jesus, but the man was persistent and he declined. He admitted that he knew he would go to hell if he did not accept Christ, but said that he just wasn't ready. He said that he would continue to practice his craft until God spoke to him again. Walking away from the hut, Pastor Stephen was really bothered by the man's final statements. How sad to know your destiny, but refuse to do anything about it. Immediately we were reminded of the parable of the  Sower in Matthew 13. Today, Matt had planted the seed (shared the Gospel) but it fell on hard ground.

At the next hut that we went to, Matt presented the Gospel to a man first, and then to two women later on. I handed out toys and "sweeties" to the children. (It's crazy how kids come out of the woodwork as soon as you unzip your backpack.) When we were preparing to leave, Pastor Stephen told them that we were all brothers and sisters in Christ now. I could see joy spread across their faces. Their lives had been changed. Their hearts filled with gratitude.

The two women and man in the center of the photo received Christ!

**I have to pause a moment to make this point: some of you might be wondering how we know these people who received salvation were genuine about it. The reality is that we don't know for sure. Only God knows. Their decision to trust Christ with their life is something that is between them and God. Our job is to plant the seed (share the Gospel) and tell of Christ's great love for us. Then, it's up to God to water that seed and grow that seed.**

After hut-to-hut, we headed back to the bus and off to another crusade where our friend, Ashley, gave her testimony and Rob shared the Gospel. Many people showed up and a few gave their lives to Christ.

Ashley giving her testimony

Sweet boy at Crusade

Crusade crowd

The road home was long and bumpy. I was feeling a bit drained with a heaviness upon me. The afternoon was fading quickly and I was trying to take in the beauty of this place. The sun was setting and I was hoping that at some point during this trip, I would get a glimpse of a sunset in Africa. At that moment, I looked back over my shoulder to see the most brilliant sunset I had ever encountered. A bright red-orange, flaming fireball hung low and was just beginning to set below the horizon. It was everything I thought a sunset in Africa should be! At that moment, I felt like I was the only one who saw it. It was a moment shared between my Creator and me. He saved that moment for me to remind me of His goodness and His love. Immediately, the frustrations of the day had left my mind and I was thankful to be there, catching a glimpse of the glory of my God.

"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

From the lips of children and infants

you have ordained praise because of your enemies,

to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?"

Psalm 8:1-4