Today was an unusual day as we divided the group into 2 parts (not including the one who went to Bugongi), and went to two of the child care centers – Masajja and Namagoga. My team went to Namagoga, and I had the opportunity again to see Solomy – the girl who had no future, would not go to school, would probably never walk , except that a team member saw her condition, was moved with compassion and raised the funds to help her get medical attention, better nutrition, and now she is first in her class, walking around with a crutch, and smiling as beautifully as ever. I even had the privilege of casting aside her crutch and walking around the property with her. What an incredible experience.
Anyway, when we arrived at Namagoga it was raining slightly and we were wondering what we were going to do. The kids were already in Bible time, so we waited until 11:10 for them to get out. Eventually the rain stopped, we went outside and the kids brought benches out to sit on. We shared who we were, where we were from, and challenged them with some thoughts from God’s Word.
Then we asked them for questions. They asked us about our families, about culture in America, about our churches, about the funeral process in America, etc. The questions were very good, and the time of sharing was wonderful. Eventually we needed to break into groups to play games and do activities. Chris, the center leader, thought we had some crafts for the kids to do – since I didn’t know about this, we were not prepared for crafts, however, our team did a great job working with the kids doing a variety of activities. I also pulled out the computer and showed them video and pictures from my last trip to Uganda. They seemed to have a great time.
Eventually it was time to head back and for the kids to go home, so we gave them some candy, more hugs, and we loaded back up on the bus to go home. It was a wonderful day of loving kids as Christ would have if He were physically here – what a joy to serve our risen Lord.
As we returned back to the hotel, the other group was already there, so after dinner we all joined together and rehearsed the highs and lows of the day. Robin returned while we were eating, and he joined us at dinner, so he also was able to share about his 2 day journey to Bugongi. The highlights of the day were exciting to listen to as people recounted the ways they saw God work in them, in the children, and in the workers. From questions asked to experiences had, from things we had planned to things that God had planned for us, the group was encouraged as they listened to the experiences of the other members of the team. The team is really growing together, and it is a joy to watch.
Robin mentioned something that I have to record because after he said it, I think I laughed for 20 minutes, and still as I think about it, I am moved to laugh. You have to understand that Ugandan’s have a very strong British accent, so Robin set us up when he said, “I learned that we had some communication problems in the car as we travelled to Bugongi. When I thought I heard Reuben say, “We are going to take a short cut”, what he really said was, “There isn’t a road here.” Robin proceeded to tell us that they were driving in almost total darkness and they almost hit cows on the “road” (that really wasn’t there), and that right after they missed the cows, Reuben had to get out to clean off the headlights because they had so much mud on them. It doesn’t seem as funny when you read it, but right now I am still laughing.
Anyway, church tomorrow – we are going to Agape Baptist Church, Reuben’s church. Should be a great day. Time for bed now, so I better get going. Looking forward to what God has for us tomorrow.
the last paragraph has me going even to this day :)
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