Uganda Trip - Day 15

We are heading home today – we packed most of our things last night before we met, and the rest was done by 10 this morning.  We left the hotel, made our way over to the office and spent nearly 2 hours rehearsing with the staff at AMG what God had done over the past 2 weeks.  It was cool to see that the national workers wanted our input on ways to be more effective with the children, the workers, and even for future teams coming to Uganda.  Vincent lead the charge, and he encouraged us to share openly about the good, the bad and the ugly. 

The team was very complimentary and was very helpful in giving hints on how to deal with future teams.  They spoke about their times at all of the child care centers, the Dorcas ministry, the pastors conference, the home visits, basically everything we did.  They took time to encourage the staff by name, and they were encouraged to hear the things that the team had to say.  It really was very enjoyable and exciting to be part of this.

After we finished, with just a little time left, we allowed the Houser family (since they are not going to the airport with the other 12) to speak to the 3 remaining team members.  Aly, Karen and Dean took time to encourage Robin, Curtis and myself.  As seasoned veterans of ministry in Uganda, it was thrilling to hear their encouragements to each one of us.  I really appreciate their hearts for the people and the ministry in Uganda, and I look forward to what God will do as they move forward with their passion for Uganda.

Eventually we made our way back to the airport, and as of right now (12:30 pm) we have seen 8 of our team members go 3 different directions.  Karen, Stephanie, Ashley and I remain.  By 2:30, Ashley will be on her plane, and by 5:00 we will be on our way to Nashville.

I am praying for a safe return and a great reunion with family and friends as we reconnect.  Tomorrow morning I will be going to the office to wrap up some of the financial information for the trip, but I am certain that I will be taking some time to relax and recoup before going back to work full time Monday.

 
This has been a great trip.  God is good, God is faithful, and He has done it again!

Uganda Trip - Day 14

This morning we are heading back to Kampala from Iganga, so we left the hotel around 9 in the morning.  As we were driving back, we passed what I called “Monkeyville” because I saw 2 monkeys on the way up to Iganga.  We were scouring the countryside for monkeys, and at one point got a quick glimpse of 2 more monkeys.  I tried to take pictures, but didn’t get very good ones.  Michael (the driver) said he would pull over if we asked him to, but we continued on.  Then, all of the sudden, we saw the limbs of the tops of trees moving.  We called for him to stop, and he pulled over and the bus was electric with excitement to see monkeys.  Sure enough, they started to emerge – one here, one there, looking at us, jumping from branch to branch and from tree to tree.  We are not sure exactly how many monkeys we saw because they were moving around so quickly and were hidden by branches.  I got some great monkey pictures though!  Eventually we began heading home.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful at least until the evening.  As is typical for the last days of our trips, we took the opportunity to talk about preparation for reentering our own culture, and then went through a time of encouragement for the team.  I mentioned yesterday that we would be doing this, and a number of the people were concerned that they wouldn’t have something to say about some of the other members of the team.  Jessica recommended that we do “popcorn” praises for each other, but Saturo stopped by to see us, so we included him in our time.  Each person spent some time encouraging him in his ministry, and he was blessed by the team.

After we finished with Saturo, we began working our way around the team members.  We began this process at 8 o’clock, and at midnight I had to  ask the team if they thought they could continue.  With only 3 team members remaining, they agreed that it was late and they needed to get to bed because tomorrow is going to be an extremely long day. 

This activity of sharing what they saw God do in and through the other team members is one of the greatest things I think our teams do, and it is so extremely effective in helping team members realize their impact on others, and the magnitude of others impact on them.  The power is in the spoken blessing from one team member to another.  Our generation and our society miss out on the power of this in the home and in the church – I would love to see this implemented more in my circles.

 
Tomorrow is a long day, and I am staying up until 2 o’clock getting pictures ready for the team.  Almost 29 gig of pictures and video from this team – actually 15 gig of video.  We got some great shots!  I am looking forward to going home, but I will miss my friends in Uganda and the team members I have just gotten to know.  God is good – and I love seeing Him work in me and in others.

Uganda Trip - Day 13

The day began with a brief word of encouragement to the team as we prepared to go to the various churches.  I knew that the group was going to experience very different church behaviors, and I wanted to encourage them to be critical without being critical.  In other words, think with discernment and respond in love.

Curtis and I were going to be preaching at different churches, and Dean and Robin split the rest of the girls between them at their respective churches.  I went to the Reformed Presbyterian Church with Karen, Ashley and our driver, Michael.  Phillip, the AMG leader at Igamba Child Care Center, also went with us as this is his usual church. 

After Sunday School, where Phillip taught on justification, adoption and sanctification, we joined the rest of the church for the main service.  There were about 50 or so people there (not including the 30 or so children).  Karen, Ashley and I sang “All in All”, and of course I prefaced this with telling the congregation that we were not professional singers – it went pretty well.

I preached from 1 Peter 1 verses 1-9.  The interpreter did an excellent job keeping up with me as I have been reminded again and again that I speak to fast.  Peter talks about us being aliens, and I shared a little of what it looks like to be an alien.  For instance, Phillip kept introducing us as the team from Kampala (because we had come from there), and people would always laugh.  “Why?”  I asked.  Because just by looking at us you can tell we are not Ugandan.  (I joke with the team that I can find them a mile away – we kind of stick out like a sore thumb). 

The passage talks about faith, and I used the example of a woman I saw on a Boda-Boda holding her baby, apparently unaware of any dangers.  The driver maneuvered through the dangerous Kampala streets and traffic while she sat on the back facing out one side, holding her infant in her lap as if she were home in her living room.  She had faith that the driver could maneuver through the treacherous path and get her safely home!  What an illustration of faith in God.  The road does not have to be clear, the dangers do not have to be gone, but if I am confident in the character of the one driving the course, I can sit in peace and comfort knowing He is in control.

The passage is written to encourage the people to focus on the permanent and allow the temporary to remain temporary.  I challenged the people to focus on the eternal and live life with that in mind.  Although they experience many difficulties, they are but for a short time – eternity is worth the work now.

After church we had lunch and then went for home visits.  Again the team went and prayed with people, shared scripture with them, gave them food, and just encouraged them in Christ.  Sarah, one of the children we visited, cannot walk because a number of years ago she got sick and her parents took her to the witch doctor instead of the AMG medical center.  This is a problem that they have in this area – people trusting witch doctors, hence child sacrifice is a big deal in this part of Uganda.  Anyway, as a result, Sarah was very sick, and by the time her parents took her to AMG, her infirmities were beyond repair.  She is a bright young lady who makes mats from home while she is there, but she must move about on a wheel chair.  Her chair was in great disrepair, so the team is anxious to purchase a new one for her.

After home visits we went back to the center for tea and testimonies.  It was a joy to hear the team members speak of their time here in Igamba.  We ended the day at the hotel with an “American” snack night.

Uganda Trip - Day 12

Saturday morning started with breakfast and devotions at the hotel.  We were scheduled to be at the child care center by 9:00, but they moved it back to 9:30.  When we finally left, we were all prepared for our “presentation” – planning to sing “Hail Jesus You’re My King”, “River of Life” and “Joy”, give testimonies, and I would share a little from the word. 

When we arrived, the kids were anxiously awaiting our arrival, and were excited to see us. Our team went in and talked with the children, and then the children’s presentation began.  They sang songs, shared testimony, and welcomed our team to Igamba.  The team sang 2 songs, and then I shared a word from 1 Sam 17 where David  conquers Goliath.  I took Fahad (a little boy) and set him across from Dennis (a much bigger boy) and told them that they were to wrestle.  I asked the children who they thought would win.  Of course they shouted, “Dennis”.  As I asked them why they thought he would win, they told me that Dennis was older, smarter, bigger, stronger… and I asked them if they thought there was any way that Fahad could win.  While I was asking these questions, I had 3 bigger men come into the room and stand behind Fahad.  It was amazing how quickly the group changed their minds about who was going to win the battle.

I used this illustration to remind them that although David was a younger man (not necessarily a small boy as many would have us believe – evidence – Saul allows David to put on his armor, and David’s response isn’t “it doesn’t fit”, but rather, “I haven’t tried them”.  Saul was a rather large man – head and shoulders above every other man, so his armor would have been rather large as well) he was not fighting the giant in his own power, or for his own purpose.  God almighty gave him that victory.  He knew it.  And we also can have victory over the enemy when God is in the battle.

After the session, we broke into 7 groups and met with the children.  We asked questions of application to see if they understood.  We had a wonderful time talking with the kids about Jesus and His Word.

We went from there to games – soccer, net ball, football, tag games, etc.  The team and the children had a lot of fun interacting, laughing and playing together.  This is a great team.

After lunch, we watched the ladies play a game of net ball against the local women – you will just have to ask about this one – too much to write.  Anyway, after they finished almost 30 minutes straight of playing, we went on home visits.

One of the hardest parts of going to the poorest of the poor is seeing where they live and what they call home.  Add to that the recognition that they have no food and no money, makes these visits even harder.  Many of the team members broke into tears as we visited 4 homes and heard the heartbreaking stories of the people at those homes.  Orphans, children living alone, a mother of two just recently abandoned by her husband having no rent money and no food, the stories are hard to understand, and even harder to reconcile with a loving Father that cares for them.

However, this I know is true – God loves them and the physical world is only temporary.  We helped the ones we could help, but these 4 homes represent thousands of homes here.  We rest in the fact that AMG is doing what they can for the ones we can help.  Thank God for the ministry of AMG International.

We ate dinner, hung out playing “I never…” and then went back to the hotel.  Tomorrow is church.

Uganda Trip - Day 11

For the final time this trip, we divided our group into 2 parts – 8 and 7.  The eight women went to Namagoga for the Dorcas ministry and for home visits.  The remaining seven went to the KCC school to visit with the children there.

We waited for Jared (the driver we had here last time I was in Uganda), but he did not arrive by 9:30, so Dickson (AMG National worker) hailed us a taxi and we all rode to KCC.  When we arrived we could not get to the school, so we had to get out of the van early and walk, jump over a ditch dug in the road for plumbing, and then walk further to reach the school.  Finally we arrived and the students were glad to see us.

Over 1200 students grades Primary 1 – Primary 7 were there to greet us.  The Headmistress also greeted us – she reminded us that we had missed them on Tuesday, but they were glad we could make it there today.  We were ushered into a room where many of the children had already begun gathering.  As they were waiting for the remaining group to arrive, Dean got up on stage and as the kids began to clap, he began to sway and act silly.  The kids thought it was hilarious.  I was working my way through the crowd of children wishing them a good morning.  I had made my way all the way to the back – surrounded by Ugandan children just excited to see this Mzungu shake their hand, hug them, talk with them…  It is humbling, but also it is an excellent opportunity to tell them that Jesus loves them, and that we are here to show them that He does.

The program started.  I made my way back to the front, and the kids began singing welcome songs and doing traditional African style dancing.  Each class had a group of kids who presented for us.  It was a lot of fun to watch.  One of the songs the whole group cheered at when it was finished told a story about a guy trying to get a girl to “date” him, and she kept telling he was crazy.  As the song drew close to the end and the dancers were leaving the stage, the crowd erupted in laughs and cheers.  Obviously the message was received.   

Another dance/song ended with the headmistress jumping into the end of the line of 3 dancers and again the children erupted in laughs and cheers.  I looked at Dean, and together we jumped up on stage and “danced” (and I do use that term very lightly) with the children.  The kids loved it – they were laughing and clapping – definitely not because of the quality of my dancing. 

After the program, the headmistress insisted we stay for a bite to eat.  They gave us rice, chicken, fruit, etc. the staple foods of Uganda.  We ate a little but had to leave to meet the rest of the crew.  It was sad parting, but it was a wonderful time.

When we all arrived back at the hotel, we prepared for our trip to Igamba.  We finished our packing and headed off.  By 5:30 we had arrived in Igamba.  We played with the children, had a singing and welcome time with the workers, got settled into our hotel, and then had dinner.  Dinner was spaghetti noodles with meat sauce, rice, fruit, greens, and a variety of other items.  It was good.

I encouraged the team to take an early evening tonight – we have a long day tomorrow.  We will be putting on the presentation for the children, and we will be doing a lot of playing.  We have home visits as well, so it will be a long and emotionally draining day.  Not to mention it has been a long week and the team is tired.  Along with that, we are out of contact with home, and this weighs on the team as well. 

Enough for now – tomorrow is going to be a great day!