We had a gigantean thunder and lighting storm last night as rainy season has definitely started. When we got up there were trees everywhere and the power and water we both dead. And the Roads Are So Muddy. All the roads really turns into one giant mud pit and going anywhere takes are least twice the time, plus all the time it is going to take you to get the new red stains out of your clothing. However if you were born in Uganda, apparently you were given the gift of levitation at birth as my friends from here will arrive at their destination with shoes still looking polished and white shirt shining bright and pure. Its unbelievable.
This morning we, myself and mark a fellow dtser, managed the 20 minute walk to a local church in about 50 minutes but the trip was well worth the mud. The church has wooden blanks making up the sides that have gaps in between them to let light and a breeze in and a tin roof. But when you go into the church there are flags everywhere. And by flags I mean the scraps of clothing that they have strung throughout the building that do wave in the wind. It is beautiful and such a fun place to worship but today a feel like a little piece of heaven touched earth as a group of little girls sang a song to minister to the congregation. They ranged from ages 5 to about 15 but the song they sang had no words only rhythm. It was beautiful. They danced and made a beautiful but soft rhythm that filled the room as the danced along to their own voices. It made me to really wonder at how amazing the music in the throne room of God is going to be. I wonder how He is making our worship more like the angels as He calls us to Himself more everyday?
I love you all!
At a Crusade
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Return from Fort Portal
(I wish that I could get the pictures I took up here, but our network is not doing well.)
We drove into the area in a very crowded bus piled on top each other (something that never changed for the two weeks); to see the beautiful mountains of the Congo as a back drop to the beautiful countryside of Fort Portal and the village of Kahuna. Known for their tea fields, the two mountain villages that we were able to minister in were truly breathtaking!
We arrived about 4pm on Saturday evening to a small cement house surrounded by children everywhere, so curious about how our brave driver had made it up this little muddy dirt road. Then when some muzunguz (white people) started to pile out and there was an uproar!
The house we stayed in was very nice and well taken care of. There was no electricity and it had dirt floors but it was so well cared for. It was home to Willi and Josephine and there 3 children, but they all graciously slept in one bedroom and let us have the other two bedrooms the living and dining room for the 26 of us to sleep in. It was a tight fit but the most amazing image is still engraved in my mind as after we arrived someone said something about there being no mattresses and the next things that you know the whole village is walking up the road carrying their mattresses for us to sleep on. I felt terrible because I know that I really was taking some of their personal beds but was overwhelmed by their generosity!
That night I was informed that I would be the preacher for church the next morning and I needed to speak for at least 45 minutes. Thankfully having a translator makes everything a lot longer. The church was only a short walk from our house in a little half finished building with brick walls that went a little above waist high with a tin roof covering. I was somehow thankful for it not being finished as it was surrounded by banana trees and beautiful landscape that should not be kept out. As with most churches here the children are the first to arrive and African time helps everyone else to arrive a minimum of 45 minutes late and that is when church will start. (I am starting to really adjust to the way time works and really never rush for anything) After about 2 hours of worship and testimonies I preached and the Lord was so faithful through the sermon. We then started our open air crusade that we would have every night for the next two weeks.
For the crusade we would carry the speakers and sound equipment to a preexisting platform where we would sing songs, do skits, and someone would share about Christ’s life, death, and grace. Surprisingly to me we always had a large crowd of men and children, some thoroughly intoxicated, but all engaged and paying attention. The children were always a blessing and a joy to dance and sing and play with.
Most of the mornings we would split up into groups of 2-4 and work with a translators and go the people’s houses, shops, bars, fields, and schools and talk to them about their lives and beliefs and sharing ours. This was a struggle for me as in many cases I felt very intrusive and pushy in the manner of how things were done but through this time many lives were changed eternally and I learned many new skills in sharing faith.
After the first week we moved to another house in a nearby village. This house was larger. At both locations we would walk to the water source with jerry cans for cooking, drinking, and bathing. The first location had a very nice bore hole that we were able to spend part of a morning cleaning up. The second locations water source was directly out of the ground. The water was green with floating moss. Even with boiling drinking this water was a bit risky so dehydration was a battle for the second week.
The village that we spent the first week in was controlled by an overwhelming spirit of hopelessness that very directly led to drunkenness. Every night as we would run the open air meetings a large majority of the crowed were men and women reeking of the local booze. As you walk through the town, at least every third storefront is a bar and most of the other shops served liquor as well. The alcohol had a very distinct smell and was horrible to be around. Because of all the tea plantations, most of the people in the village worked there, they would go to work in the fields every morning and that dead straight to the bars to spend the days wages at night. It was heartbreaking as we heard story after story about how families had been destroyed because of drinking.
A grandmother asked a few of us to go and pray over her granddaughter, about 16, who was pregnant. We went into the house and ended up talking through a translator to the daughter and the mother for over an hour and they both gave their lives to Christ, praise and Glory be to God! But then the preceded to tell us how their family had at one point been rich but how the son had sold all their property and tea fields for alcohol and now they all truly lived in poverty. They showed us all the fields that they had once owned. They still had so much pride in the land but it was accompanied by so much hurt.
We met a family whose children had to drop out of school to support the fathers drinking, it was tragic to see what a hold the devil had in the community. The verse that I received after returning was Romans 5:17 which says, “If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ” (English Standard Version). It was so obvious to see how death ruled in so many areas of Fort Portal, yet the Lord’s promise remains that through the new believers Christ will reign and shine so much brighter and more powerfully!
I must share the laugh that all the villagers had one morning as I went down to fetch water for breakfast on Easter Sunday. It had rained all night and the banks were very muddy. After filling up the 20 liter jerry can, I was still standing on some of the wet logs balanced over the water trying to hand that can to Katie when I slipped and the jerry can and I toppled into the water as I lunged for the opposite bank so I didn’t go all the way in. I was able to hold on as a watched my shoe and can slide to the opposite bank. Everyone erupted into laugher as some of the ladies rushed to help me retrieve the lost items. It was a great way to wake up. :-)
We also had a witch doctor give his life to Jesus and then asked if we would come burn all of his tools, even a leopard skin. It was pretty crazy.
On Easter Sunday the people honored us by taking up a collection for our needs. In a building decorated with flowers and bamboo leaves they brought a live chicken (that had its legs tied, it hopped around the church throughout the 3 hour service) avocados, eggs, and drinking water.
Overall the time spent in Fort Portal was a learning experience and full of personal challenges in learning new ways of ministry. I give God all the Glory for the way He keeps us in His hand and draws people to Himself. Thank you all so much for all your prayers! It would have been a completely different trip without you all!
We drove into the area in a very crowded bus piled on top each other (something that never changed for the two weeks); to see the beautiful mountains of the Congo as a back drop to the beautiful countryside of Fort Portal and the village of Kahuna. Known for their tea fields, the two mountain villages that we were able to minister in were truly breathtaking!
We arrived about 4pm on Saturday evening to a small cement house surrounded by children everywhere, so curious about how our brave driver had made it up this little muddy dirt road. Then when some muzunguz (white people) started to pile out and there was an uproar!
The house we stayed in was very nice and well taken care of. There was no electricity and it had dirt floors but it was so well cared for. It was home to Willi and Josephine and there 3 children, but they all graciously slept in one bedroom and let us have the other two bedrooms the living and dining room for the 26 of us to sleep in. It was a tight fit but the most amazing image is still engraved in my mind as after we arrived someone said something about there being no mattresses and the next things that you know the whole village is walking up the road carrying their mattresses for us to sleep on. I felt terrible because I know that I really was taking some of their personal beds but was overwhelmed by their generosity!
That night I was informed that I would be the preacher for church the next morning and I needed to speak for at least 45 minutes. Thankfully having a translator makes everything a lot longer. The church was only a short walk from our house in a little half finished building with brick walls that went a little above waist high with a tin roof covering. I was somehow thankful for it not being finished as it was surrounded by banana trees and beautiful landscape that should not be kept out. As with most churches here the children are the first to arrive and African time helps everyone else to arrive a minimum of 45 minutes late and that is when church will start. (I am starting to really adjust to the way time works and really never rush for anything) After about 2 hours of worship and testimonies I preached and the Lord was so faithful through the sermon. We then started our open air crusade that we would have every night for the next two weeks.
For the crusade we would carry the speakers and sound equipment to a preexisting platform where we would sing songs, do skits, and someone would share about Christ’s life, death, and grace. Surprisingly to me we always had a large crowd of men and children, some thoroughly intoxicated, but all engaged and paying attention. The children were always a blessing and a joy to dance and sing and play with.
Most of the mornings we would split up into groups of 2-4 and work with a translators and go the people’s houses, shops, bars, fields, and schools and talk to them about their lives and beliefs and sharing ours. This was a struggle for me as in many cases I felt very intrusive and pushy in the manner of how things were done but through this time many lives were changed eternally and I learned many new skills in sharing faith.
After the first week we moved to another house in a nearby village. This house was larger. At both locations we would walk to the water source with jerry cans for cooking, drinking, and bathing. The first location had a very nice bore hole that we were able to spend part of a morning cleaning up. The second locations water source was directly out of the ground. The water was green with floating moss. Even with boiling drinking this water was a bit risky so dehydration was a battle for the second week.
The village that we spent the first week in was controlled by an overwhelming spirit of hopelessness that very directly led to drunkenness. Every night as we would run the open air meetings a large majority of the crowed were men and women reeking of the local booze. As you walk through the town, at least every third storefront is a bar and most of the other shops served liquor as well. The alcohol had a very distinct smell and was horrible to be around. Because of all the tea plantations, most of the people in the village worked there, they would go to work in the fields every morning and that dead straight to the bars to spend the days wages at night. It was heartbreaking as we heard story after story about how families had been destroyed because of drinking.
A grandmother asked a few of us to go and pray over her granddaughter, about 16, who was pregnant. We went into the house and ended up talking through a translator to the daughter and the mother for over an hour and they both gave their lives to Christ, praise and Glory be to God! But then the preceded to tell us how their family had at one point been rich but how the son had sold all their property and tea fields for alcohol and now they all truly lived in poverty. They showed us all the fields that they had once owned. They still had so much pride in the land but it was accompanied by so much hurt.
We met a family whose children had to drop out of school to support the fathers drinking, it was tragic to see what a hold the devil had in the community. The verse that I received after returning was Romans 5:17 which says, “If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ” (English Standard Version). It was so obvious to see how death ruled in so many areas of Fort Portal, yet the Lord’s promise remains that through the new believers Christ will reign and shine so much brighter and more powerfully!
I must share the laugh that all the villagers had one morning as I went down to fetch water for breakfast on Easter Sunday. It had rained all night and the banks were very muddy. After filling up the 20 liter jerry can, I was still standing on some of the wet logs balanced over the water trying to hand that can to Katie when I slipped and the jerry can and I toppled into the water as I lunged for the opposite bank so I didn’t go all the way in. I was able to hold on as a watched my shoe and can slide to the opposite bank. Everyone erupted into laugher as some of the ladies rushed to help me retrieve the lost items. It was a great way to wake up. :-)
We also had a witch doctor give his life to Jesus and then asked if we would come burn all of his tools, even a leopard skin. It was pretty crazy.
On Easter Sunday the people honored us by taking up a collection for our needs. In a building decorated with flowers and bamboo leaves they brought a live chicken (that had its legs tied, it hopped around the church throughout the 3 hour service) avocados, eggs, and drinking water.
Overall the time spent in Fort Portal was a learning experience and full of personal challenges in learning new ways of ministry. I give God all the Glory for the way He keeps us in His hand and draws people to Himself. Thank you all so much for all your prayers! It would have been a completely different trip without you all!
Thank you so much!!
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