May 17, 2010
I woke up at 6am went to devotional at 7am. The devotional was on expectations and how we need to let go of our own expectations and let God do His work through us.
Jason and I got a late start to our church plant site. We didn't arrive until around 10am. My field partners are Alice and Richard. Richard is the youth pastor at the mother church. Alice is the wife of Bernard who is one of the nationals. They have an orphanage called New Hope which we will be visiting later in the week.
Our first stop was under a tree where a group of young men were gathered. There were around 3 huts surrounding this spot. There were around 25 people there mostly young 20-something men. I started with the HOPE cube than presented the evangecube. I was a little lost on whether they already were Christians or if this was all new to them. We had about 5 accept Christ. One was a younger boy probably around 16. He was hesitant at first but we explained that it was his own choice and not for anyone else to decide for him. Two more men showed up before we were about to leave so we presented both cubes to them.
The next stop was at a single hut. There was one son and his Mom and Dad. Dad was sick and lying on a mat. Mom was apprehensive but welcoming like all Ugandans. The son was so excited and kind -- for lack of better words. He grabbed onto the E-card and tract and just wanted more and more. His face lit up in a way that I will never forget. He was so thirsty for the Word and he truly desired a relationship with Christ. He asked for a Bible like many of the men at the previous stop had. I wish I had one for each person who asks but we are leaving our Bibles with the newly planted church pastor. The young man's wife came over with her baby and Alice did a great job connecting with her and the older mother. Both women also accepted Christ.
The next stop was at another 3-4 hut place. One older man had already been saved but he brought 4 youth, one of which was saved to us so we could talk to them. A young girl was there and all I wanted to do was sit and play with her. She never took her eyes off me and was constantly smiling. Another man showed up and I presented both cubes to the group. Two of the youth and the later arriving man accepted Christ after Richard preached hard to them. THe third youth never really agreed so Alice spent some time preaching directly to him. We did get his contact information so hopefully we planted a seed today that will continue to grow.
Our last stop was at the hut of a 75 year old man was was all about praising God. I presented the e-cube to him and then Alice began to talk to him about how we needed an elder like him at the new church. He talked about all the hardships in his life but always went back to how God provided. It was such a different mind set than what I am used to back home. He came from a family of 16 but was the only one left. Recently he had been seriously injured but was now back at work. He agreed to come to the new church. In the picture above he is holding a pumpkin leaf and explaining that they eat the entire plant not just the pumpkin. He posed for this picture. :) He was also a big time Obama fan.
By this point the thunder was rumbling and huge dark clouds were forming so we went back to the church plant site as the rain started to fall.
The young man from the second stop was already there and it was really sad to see him walk away because of the rain. He said he would not be able to come tomorrow because of work so hopefully I will see him the next day.
We quickly got inside one of the pastor's huts just in time because it really started to pour. The nationals joked with me that they were going to leave me there to sleep in the hut. I find it pretty amazing that mud walls and a grass roof withstand the weather.
The women brought in food and so Jason and myself had to explain again that we couldn't eat it. The pastor did bring us sodas again to drink though. Sadly because of the rain we did not get to have our cell group meeting. I am praying that all the people we told today will remember to come tomorrow.
All in all a very eye opening day. The people are all so kind and welcoming, even when they are telling you their struggles. We did not get turned down once. They always brought us chairs and were thankful for our visit. I wish people at home cared that much for each other.
Tonight after dinner we all shared stories about our days. It was truly amazing to hear how God is already at work. It is obvious that He has been preparing these people's hearts to be open to His word. So many amazing stories that just seem so unreal. Charles, one of our nationals, actually drove out a demon which is not something you hear about in America. It just doesn't seem real. Tony, Lisa, and Josh had over 100 people at their cell group meeting. A lot of people found that women were afraid to accept Christ without their husband's approval.
I'm very excited about tomorrow, definitely hoping we can have cell group time. I really just need to let go and let God work through me. I like to be in control but I really need to fully submit this week.
Alice said we had 15-20 professions of faith and we talked to around 35 people. I felt kind of lost when neither national was translating for me but I know God was working through them. I need to remember IT'S NOT ABOUT ME!!
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