I was looking back over some of the original blog posts marking weeks until we leave. Then there was the thought that this trip would be somehow life changing. We visited an orphanage and fell in love with babies whose parents had died or just abandoned them. One young child’s mother had even tried to stab her to death. What possible circumstances could cause a mother to do this?
We were showered with love by everybody we met. From the overwhelming greeting at Kachungwa, to the church plant we visited, to the homes of the people we visited. Everywhere, we loved and were loved in return. It is said that God is love – which, of course He is – and from what we experienced, God’s love is thriving in the poorest parts of Uganda.
We saw children at the high school saved by the dozens (153) and as a result a new church was planted in Uganda. We saw children sponsored by our church family benefitting from the financial contributions to their lives. We waded in the sea of beautiful smiling faces of children. We waved constantly as we drove through the country as children came running and waving and calling “Muzungu”. They delighted in the gift of a small sweet.
We witnessed generosity like none of us have ever witnessed before, let alone been the recipient. We were humbled that the poorest of the poor in Uganda would take food off of their family’s table to offer it as a gift in gratitude for what we have done for them. How could we receive the gift of a couple of avocado’s, pineapples or eggs when we have plenty and they have nothing? How do we sort that out in our minds.
We have been in the homes of people who pray only that they have a home that doesn’t flood when it rains. We have seen single women raising many children who are not their own because others abandoned them on the street. With barely enough to feed their own children, they find a way to feed and house the others. It may not be what WE would call acceptable, but they are alive because these women choose to love and sacrifice.
We have seen pastors, teachers, social workers, doctors, nurses, children and many other volunteers dedicate their time, ,money and lives to serving these people who are precious to God. Not only do they serve, but they do it with joy in their hearts, praise on their lips and a smile on their face. We were in the home of Pastor Sylver, the pastor of Kachungwa Community Church, who is raising his own 6 children plus 5 that are not his own. We met an associate pastor who has had his business burn to the ground and while he tries to rebuild his life, is serving the poor in the slums of Kampala.
We were there when a child died of malaria because medical care was not available to the family. Even though there was a one-day clinic, it wasn’t enough. You saw of the face of the father whose child died, but you just saw the picture. We saw the man and the child. We saw the hurt it caused the medical team to see a child die. They are strong Christians with whom we had the privilege to serve side by side to minister to the children of the village of Kachungwa.
We have seen the servant leadership of a young Christian man named Dalton. His desire was to serve and he tirelessly met our every need. He assured that we had safe water and food. He answered questions of all sorts that we asked him. He polished Pastor Ken’s shoes because he wanted Ken to have sharp looking shoes when he preached. Dalton prayed, worshipped and loved God like he was a friend of God. We are all humbled by his servant’s heart. We learned that, like most in Uganda, Dalton doesn’t own a car and while we stayed in the guest house in Ggaba, Dalton walked to and from his apartment each day – a 45 minute walk each way. He was there when we got up in the morning and was there until he was satisfied all was attended to in the evening.
It was with incredible excitement, laughter and anticipation that we spent our last evening in Uganda. We are all longing desperately to be reunited with our families who we have missed so much. But this much time on a plane offers a lot of time to try and process what has happened over the past couple of weeks. We will all say that this was a life-changing trip for each of us individually and for all of us as a team. It may be different for some than others exactly HOW God changed us, but He did. There are a lot of emotions that we will need to sort through. We have been tested, challenged, stretched and blessed more than any of us could have dreamed.
Me, I am thinking about a young girl that we sponsor who sleeps in a horrible place with her mother, grandmother and sister. She gets up every day and walks over 6 miles to school and then home at the end of each day. What kind of future will she have? Who will be the father to love that beautiful young girl when she needs the strong love of a father’s arms? I loved the way that she would come and take my hand with a huge smile on her face and walk with me. I loved the gift that she must have worked so hard on just to show me her thanks. I will forever remember her words “I have no father – you are my father.” Who will be there for her? I know that God will and am confident that He has plans for her life. There are millions of children in Uganda that are in the same situation as Gorretti.
I am thinking about our two other sponsored boys – the lives they have ahead, the hardships they and their families will endure and have endured already. Sponsorship is an investment in their lives that will give them an opportunity that they would not have otherwise had with a few dollars each month that we won’t even really miss.
There are hundreds of young faces smiling joyfully as we would walk with them, teach and play. Each one has hopes and dreams for their future. Already we find ourselves talking about how much we miss their faces, their hands reaching out just to be touched. I remember standing in Luzira Community Church listening to Pastor Alex and his church worship in the midst of a poor area and a beautiful little girl in a torn red dress standing there beside me. I put out my hand and she held onto it until both of our arms were tired.
We all learned about God. We experienced His presence, His power, His leading and His love in very surprising and delighting ways. We saw the power of prayer and had come to rely on Him for everything. One that struck me was that towards the end of the trip, when anybody was feeling sick or had some need, the first thing we did was go to prayer for that person confident that God would answer our prayer. I think that back home, I would have called the doctor, run to the medicine cabinet and maybe remembered to pray if I had some time along the way. The experience of prayer and seeing the awesomeness of God is something that I wanted to see down here and God has answered that.
There is way too much to process and try and even highlight all that has happened these past weeks. If you haven’t already, please take some time to read back through some of the older blog posts to get more of a real-time description of what happened in Uganda. The real question that I am facing now is “what next”? God certainly didn’t take us through the things He did just for a 2 week short-term mission trip. Yes, He accomplished some great things through us while we were there, but there is much yet to be done. There are children who need to be sponsored, a medical clinic that could save many lives and cure/prevent disease. There is a need for clean water and toilets. There is a need for reliable power and computers to enable ARM to work effectively with the various projects like Kachungwa.
One thing that I do know is that we as a church have been blessed by God to be partnering with ARM and the village of Kachungwa. God is going to do great things there, but it must start with our prayer.
Next Sunday, the team will be talking to the congregation during the morning services (Ken said that he has about 5 years worth of sermon materials out of this trip, so is happy to let the team take this first Sunday to share with you). Please come listen to our experiences first hand. We can only do so much with words and pictures on a blog. You need to hear the passion in Ashley’s voice, the joy of Isaac leading worship and meeting Daniel, the heart of Bryan for children, the passion Renee has for the people there, Ralph's humbling experience with the gratitude of a poor people and the direction Ken believes God has ahead for us in Uganda.
It is our gracious God who is glorified by all that He has done in Uganda and in Canby. We are blessed by your prayers and knowing that you are there supporting God’s team (us) in Uganda. Our anticipation of seeing you all again grows as each mile in the air passes. We love you and eagerly await seeing you again soon.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray and believe,
Dave
PS The good old American Fuddrucker’s bacon cheeseburger in the Dallas Fort-Worth airport was incredible!
Thank you.
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