ONE DAY IN UGANDA

It’s Tuesday, February 17th—our third day in Uganda.  I wake up to the sound of roosters crowing and birds chirping.  Getting a shower (cold) and coffee (hot) is my immediate concern.  Another beautiful Ugandan sunrise greets me as I make my way from the guest house.  I pray for the day as I walk through Kabaale Village—past the smelly cow stalls, the rustic outdoor school kitchen; the school, the outhouse, to the school yard—the sights and smells of the increasingly familiar village fill up my senses.

Breakfast is eggs and fruit and toast.  Then it’s time for devotions, prayer, and off to work.  Ben and Jennifer Bogle, Jennifer Fremstad, and Debbie Kennedy head off to the clinic where they will be joined by Ugandans who are receiving training in basic medical skills.  Julie Smith, Carissa, and me jump in the car and head off to Muge Village and Abundant Grace Bible Church (AGBC)—a seven mile trip on dirt roads and paths.

Enock Mujuni is pastor of AGBC and leader of Arise and Shine Christian School.  He privileged me to have a part in naming the church back when it was started.  Since then, LCBC’s been praying regularly for the church and helping financially in various ways.  The church recently moved from its too-cramped facility along the main road to its new temporary shelter on a one acre parcel. 

We bounce up and down in our seats (glad that the Toyota has handles to hold on to) as we drive down a path that’s not designed for vehicle use—but undeterred we make our way through farmland and then across a lumpy soccer field—through the goal posts—to the church.  Children run to greet us.  Enock leads me on a tour of the site as we wait for the conference to begin (Schedules are flexible and all functions begin and end on “African Time”).

The temporary church building has no walls—roofing (made up of a combination of tarps and metal sheets) is supported by a structure consisting of poles (vertical) and limbs (horizontal).  Only half the structure is covered, the rest awaits available funds.  Once the roof it finished, then the construction of the walls will proceed.  They will be made of clay. 

The conference begins with singing and prayer.  Attendees include church members and pastors from nearby churches.  Two women neighbors of the church, one Catholic and one Muslim, are also in attendance.  Our theme for the conference is “God’s Glorious Gospel.”  And I’m doing my best not to be distracted from it by either the flapping tarps or buzzing flies or hot African sun (or the breast-feeding Mom seated on the ground 10 feet in front of me).  We are in the second day and my plan is to summarize what we’ve learned by going step-by-step from the Lugandan gospel tract.  Once finished, I ask Carissa if she’d like to share using the “Wordless Book.”  At this point we’ve been sharing good news truth for a day and a half—needless to say we all rejoiced when both neighbors responded to the gospel and trusted in Jesus for salvation!

That was a special day.  I returned to the village glad-hearted for what God had done.  The work in the clinic continued on through our two week visit.  Workers were trained in the morning.  People came to the clinic in the afternoon.  Ben and the two nurses responded to some serious and difficult medical needs (including a 2 year old who drank some insecticide, a girl who stuck a bean in her ear, and several people diagnosed with HIV—one later died).  Julie and Carissa worked with the children at Arise and Shine Christian School and then at Desire Junior School.  They shared the gospel and played some games.  I finished the conference at ABGC by observing the Lord’s Supper with them (something I taught on for two sessions) and then repeated the instruction in another conference at Our God Reigns Church.  I also led a three day small group study for pastors in Bible study methods.  We visited Our God Reigns Church on our first Sunday and People of the Way Church on the second Sunday.  It was good, very good, to share from the pulpit in both settings (the people were quite attentive to the Word; at Our God Reigns seven people expressed their desire to trust in Jesus).

It was a good trip, a wonderful trip.  The people there are so welcoming, so loving, and so incredibly thankful.  We were blessed to be privileged to serve in various ways and left behind some tools that should prove helpful (Cf. Acts 20:35).  Thank you for your gifts that helped us to go and your prayers through which we were equipped and enabled to serve!  Praise God for all that was accomplished!

Pastor Jerry