Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Uganda Trip - Day 8


Roller coaster Tuesday! 

The day started with an exciting visit to Vincent’s church where we were yesterday.  The men walked through a few Biblical study principles, and we began to answer the questions posed by the men and women the day before.  The interaction was wonderful as we rearranged the chairs into a circle and asked the preachers to answer their own questions using the Word of God.  Reference after reference was recited and read, and we walked through issues of what a pastor should be, problem resolution in the church, helping people grasp the doctrines of the Bible, Bible study, etc. We met some wonderful people, and were challenged in our own Bible study as we listened to the men and women pour over the scriptures with such excitement.

In the mean time, the ladies were visiting homes in Masajja.  From what I had the chance to hear, they had a wonderful time, and were extremely deeply touched by what they saw and the people they met.  They visited with a 13 year old girl who is basically taking care of her home.  They visited a young lady who is suffering from aids, and without help may not be here much longer.  They came home with stories of small homes and poverty that they had never seen before.  Each one of them seemed to be moved in one way or another.  I look forward to Saturday when some of the men will have this same opportunity.

When the girls returned, they picked us up for lunch, and we went to an American place to eat.  It was nice having some usual food – of course I had a club.  You can’t go wrong with the club!

We ended lunch still feeling up from the visits and work of the morning, and were heading off to KCC, a local school, to visit.  However, when we arrived, we were informed that for the past 2 days the children (who were on break) came to school to work on a program and had expected us to be there at 2 o’clock.  We arrived shortly before 4, and all of the children had gone.  The headmaster was very upset, and the children were extremely disappointed.  Apparently there was a miscommunication, and we arrived at the wrong time.  We were devastated.  The AMG worker who works at the school, in order to comfort us (about the fact that there were no kids there) proceeded to tell us – numerous times – that we had missed a wonderful presentation, that they had food and drink prepared for us, and we had missed it.  It was like getting kicked in the stomache.  I felt so bad for the children, and especially the headmaster who did all of the work to make it happen.  Hopefully we will be able to stop by tomorrow to ask for forgiveness and remedy the situation.

We left there after a brief tour and headed back to the hotel.  We ate dinner, and then proceeded to have our evening discussion.  The day started on a high note, went down into the dumps, and again ended on a high note.  To listen to the team recount the day, listen to each other, encourage each other, desire to make a difference in another’s life (whether here in Uganda or at home), is what these trips are all about.  Moving from “my own little world” to the world of others is exciting to watch as people wrestle with what they have seen and what the next step is.

Our final conversation was regarding tomorrow – the day I meet Marjorie!  I am so looking forward to Bukoto and the work that we have there.  We will be giving testimonies, sharing stories, playing games, and singing with the children.  We will be making friendships that will last into eternity.  The team is prepped and ready to go – they are excited, and so am I. 

It’s 11:30 and I am ready for bed – tomorrow is going to be a great day, I just know it!

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