Sunday, 7/6 Jombo! (Good morning) and a good morning it is. Fresh banana bread baking in the oven? Surely not. But there cant be anything else that smells that sweet. YES! It is, Elizabeth, the intern from Texas that stays at the house with us, made a fresh loaf for us and it is hot out of the oven. A little slice of heaven if you ask me. Up early to move water this morning and to get a shower before we load the bus early. Since today is Sunday, it will be a 2 bucket shower and take extra time to get all prettied up. The sun is warm in the open air shower, but the cold of the well water from down the road makes one perk up rather quickly. Who needs the eye opener soap when you have the rush of cold water roll down your body? As I think back to the kids yesterday at Mt. Zion, I am just glad to have a shower and to fell fresh, no matter the bucket or the cold water. Today we go to Heartland Worship Center, Uganda where Pastor Juma Frederick is the Pastor. An amazing young man of God that has been trained up for such a time as this. Juma and a sibling or 2 of us where Compassion children so they have been trained in the way that they should go. He went to university and has studied the word of God at that level as well. Only a man of 25 years of age, but wise beyond his years by decades and can preach and pray the heavens right down to earth. He is the assistant director at Beyond Uganda, but pastors on the weekends. I cant remember the last time that I met a young man such as Juma with such a heart and mannerism for God. It was very unique how he began pastoring this church. He often times goes out into the most remote of areas to evangelize as he holds the verse near to his heart to go into the uttermost parts of the world and share the gospel. He visited the same area many times to evangelize and was asked many times if he would come be their pastor. Upon a return visit, the local people had built a church and told him that they built it for him if he would come and pastor. He accepted about 18 months ago. The mud thatched hut of a building and dirt floor was warm and inviting as fire in your fireplace on a cold snowy night. The locals too welcomed us as our bus came down a dirt path built just wide enough for a Boda or a bicycle. It was so tight, that Fred our bus driver became visible upset because the path had not been cleared for the bus. As soon as he dropped us off, he went back up the path with a long machete and cleared the path properly. His bus certainly will have to be buffed and cleaned up after this trek. As the choir greeted and stomped and clapped and sang, we made our way into the hut of a church. We of course were given reserved seats at the front of the room that were plastic resin chairs at least for as many of the team as they had chairs to go around. The rest of the team would be seated as the parishioners were on benches made out of logs with stubby legs about 8 inches off the ground. The 6 inch planks were sturdy enough to hold the Africans, and I pray they will hold the more healthy Americans as well. These benches were given as a Christmas gift to the one of the supporters of Beyond Uganda. Again, what a clever idea. So many of us have everything that we need and then some. So why not give a gift in honor of that person to the Ugandans. Before the new benches, they simply stood or sat on the wicker mats in the floor. The church people loved Jesus and worshipped with every part of their being. What a refreshing observance of worship. I caught myself several times not even clapping as I was just in awe. I just wanted to watch. They didnt sing, they SANG! Heartland Worship Center, complete with a banner hanging on the front wall that bears our same logo. This was a gift from the HWC in Paducah and they are so proud. We came bearing gifts for them on this trip and presented them with a few HWC green polo shirts. I wasnt sure if they thought they were made of gold, or were just that happy that we brought them a gift. Either way, it was awesome. After about 45 minutes of praise, testimonies and open vocal prayer time to God, Ben was asked to preach a sermon. Pastor Kona was there with him and translated. I chuckled to myself as Ben would say long long sentences and Kona would say a few words and Ben would say a few words and Kona would ramble on for what seemed to be a paragraph. So between the 2 of them, a message was brought that challenged the men of the church to step up and be Kingdom men. It was funny, that there were as many female amens as from the men. Nice job brother Ben. To conclude the service, a book on Pastoral leadership that was signed by the Heartland Pastors at home was presented to Juma. He clenched the book like it was the only one he had ever received. After lunch (of the same) and a brief rest period, we were divided into teams to go our for hut to hut. This would surely push us and take us out of our comfort zones. for most of us dont share the gospel with others at home, it sure would be more challenging here in a hut with a language barrier. But this was the request and challenge so we were off. My group of 2 American ladies and 2 translators took off down a path that I wasnt sure would really lead to anywhere when all of a sudden we went down a steep hill, took a sharp left and opened up into the most beautiful rice field that I had ever seen. We stopped to take in the beauty for a moment (and so the white people could catch their breath after coming down that hill). On the other side, we had to to go back up a hill, but as we ascended, Mzungu Joseph stopped to show me their water source. It was a spring fed pool that came up in between large boulders to form a pool about 3 feet in diameter. Many at home probably wouldnt swim in this pool, much less drink from it. At the top of the hill, we took a sharp right and went to the first hut on the right. I was trying to have a good attitude at this point as I was praying that God just show us something-Let us see something. My confidence had been shaken and I certainly didnt feel worthy to be here doing this. If we were going out, I wanted it to be fruitful. As we approached, Capulan began to speak to the lady at the home. She prepared benches similar to the ones that we used in the church and she welcomed us repeatedly. She told of her life story in short order of her husband leaving her for other wives to fend for herself and the kids. She was tattered and worn but had a heart that was hungry for Jesus. Capulan asked and the lady was willing to listen as the gospel was presented and she prayed to receive Jesus as her personal savior. As Cap was talking, I moved around the seating area to take a few pictures and to see what was making the noise behind the hut we were sitting in front of. I looked up from my camera to notice a man walking down the street stop dead in his tracks. The more Cap talked, the closer he got. One translator stayed with Cap and I took the other translator to speak to him. I asked if he was related or a friend of the lady, to which he responded no. He said, I was just walking down this road and I believe that the word of Lord Jesus is being shared and my spirit is being drawn in. I asked if he was a Christian or had asked Jesus to be his Savior, and he said no, but that is why he was drawn there today. The crowd had now grown to around 20 people, mostly curious children, but I had to take the opportunity to share. Soon, he said that he understood what I was sharing and wanted to ask Jesus to be his Savior. While I was praying with him a very elderly lady slipped into our midst and began talking with Elizabeth. Elizabeth remembered her from previous hut to hut visits but remembered that they couldnt translate to her language. Today, however, it would be different, as between the 2 translators, they had just the right mix to go from English to swahili to her local language. As Elizabeth knelt in front of the old lady who had taken a seat on the bench, the words became jumbled to me as each was talking over the other, but Elizabeth never stopped or was even rattled. What strength, what poise, what lack of fear for a young 20 ish old girl. WOW! Soon the older lady prayed to receive Christ!! I asked after how old she was, which I know OK! But I had to ask, to which she replied she didnt even remember how old she was. But she was around in the Colonial days before the country was even formed. Because of a couple of other things that were said, one of the translators surmised she was born in the 1920s. We asked if she lived close, she said over there a piece but had to come to hear the word. Can you say WOW! We were past our time but who cares right? In the bush, there is no time, and in Gods timing, there is no watch. Oh yeah, to further blow my socks off, the man that I had witnessed too-GONE! I asked everyone on our team if they had seen him leave and none of us. As quickly as he came, he had left. Mzungu has all of their information and they will be visiting them this week to follow up. I wonder if they find him? If not, thank you Lord for sending him to us, to allow us to be part of the presentation of the gospel and to speaking to us. I pray that all 3 of the people that we shared with, truly understood through language barrier what they heard, prayed and received and that they get the follow up that they need this week!! Many of the other groups had similar experiences as we heard from each group during a time of celebration back at the church. What a great day to be in the House of The Lord. Oh yeah, I have to end by sharing of the offering experience. Their offering baskets were placed on stools at the front of the church with a towel placed over the top so that no one could see what each person gave. But trust me, each person could tell if you gave and I would bet that the peer pressure amongst the locals may have been pretty high. It wasnt the folded bills that got my attention or the shilling coins even that I heard being dropped into the plates. It was avocados and the maze (ears of corn) that brought and laid at the front that got my attention. I was once again taken back to my state of mind where I could sing during the offertory song; I could only observe quietly. Wow!! I felt goose bumps come over me as I watched this sacrificial giving. Was this the first fruits or was this simply all that they had? Did they not have money, so they brought fruits and vegetables as an offering to God? What a picture of obedience that I have witnessed today but the most unsuspecting of groups. As we say at our home church, hasnt it been good to be in the House of The Lord today??? May we always remember the heart of those giving. The Lord truly does love a cheerful giver and I know that he loves the people of Heartland Worship Center, Uganda.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 13:34:37 +0000
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