Just what I needed...

I don’t know why I’m always amazed at how God provides just when I need when I need it, but that’s just what he did this weekend. Saturday we slept in a little and just relaxed. Then in the afternoon I went with the Howard Family to “The Farm”. The farm consists of some fish ponds owned and run by our missionary friends Herb and Ellen Cook. They use this farm as a ministry. It helps fund their ministries and also provides jobs and gives them extra interaction with the people of this community. The farm is outside Kampala… in what we Americans would call “the boonies”. The Cooks and some local pastors were hosting a community outreach event on the property. We got there just in time to play with lots of kids. They had speakers and a sound system set up, so we all danced around. It was great to see the Howard kids just jump right in and start playing with the village kids and loving on them. Then after a while, as more adults showed up, they had a “mini-concert” by a local singer and his dancers. It was a lot of fun to watch them. Then Anne, the student who is living with the Howards for a few months, led a few worship songs with Beth. It was great to worship and also listen to Beth and Anne sing. .. I think I could listen to them forever. And the Howard kids got up there to help them lead “Trading my Sorrows” and they had a lot of fun too. Then another man led several songs and they ended the night by showing the “Jesus Film”. I believe this is the first time they’ve led an event like this at this location. So they weren’t sure how it would work out, but the people really enjoyed and they expect a much larger crowd next time. It’s great to see a ministry going out to minister to the people where they live and work each day. And it blessed my heart to watch the Howard family (and Anne!) get into their groove of ministry. They all do it so naturally and you can just see how much they already love the people. Beth makes her way around the crowd effortlessly learning names, making them laugh with her language skills, and showing them she cares. On the way home one of the kids told me that she really hoped they’d start doing some “real mission work” soon. I told her, “What do you think you just did?” I said, “You played with kids, loved on them, and shared Jesus with them. That’s what it’s all about.” Now I know, she was thinking about an established ministry or perhaps meeting a more tangible need, but to me the way they naturally loved people shows Jesus in a remarkable way.

Mason looking at Bible Stories with a child



Howards And Anne
singing for the people

 

The Fish Ponds


After our late night on Saturday and with a few people not feeling well the crew decided to stay home from church this morning and just enjoy some family time. It’s also Anne’s birthday, which means she got to pick our breakfast. We had milkshakes! It was awesome. =) I decided to go to church anyway. Gaba Community Church was dedicating the babies from the orphanage they sponsor. This is where our friend Aly and several others are adopting from. I wanted to see what the dedication would like and felt like I really need some church today. I was going to take Mercy, but Beth offered to just watch her and told me to enjoy the service without wrestling with her. So I took off on a boda for church. It was a great ride. It was a bit chilly, overcast, and windy…. I felt like I was in Kansas. When I walked up to the church I saw a white guy sitting outside. He said “Hello” and asked me where I was from. It’s kind of funny how you feel the need to talk to every fellow white person you see and want to know why they are there. I quickly explained about adoption stuff. He said he was from Oregon and was here to help with the upcoming “Love Kampala” festival. I slipped into church and I found the closest empty seat and ended up sitting with a mission team from Texas. I could not get away from the mzungus today! At this service they worship in both English and Luganda. It was a packed house and it was so beautiful to listen to everyone singing even when I didn’t understand the words. Then they had the baby dedication. All of the “aunties” (women who work at the orphanage) were decked out in the best dresses and each carried a child. Also, two families from Alabama there to adopt were called up on stage. It was great to see this church support this ministry and pray for each child and their future families. I especially loved it when the pastor prayed for each child moving to another country to someday come back as missionaries to Uganda. I also liked that they also emphasized the need for more Ugandan families to consider adoption.

Then the pastor called up a guest worship leader. It was the white guy I met outside.  He shared his testimony, which was pretty amazing, and led in several songs. The first one he even sang in Luganda. I love to see Americans that take the time to learn the culture and especially learn the language … and the Ugandans loved it too. This was just the worship time I needed today. Then the pastor spoke and had a great message. He reminded us that God doesn’t need our abilities, he needs our obedience. God doesn’t need you to try to do great things for Him, but instead needs us to tell others the great things God has done for us. He kept saying, “Just share what you know.” Sometimes I think we feel like we need to be great theologians in order to share Christ or that we need to perfect, but we don’t. We just need to tell what God has done for us… that’s the best testimony you can have. We don’t all need to do “real mission work” we just need to live our lives for Christ, obey Him, and share with others what we know about Him. It’s really pretty simple.

God knew I needed some worship today and that I needed sometime alone with Him… alone in a crowded room of fellow worshippers. He knew I needed to see some great community outreach yesterday and a chance to love on a few kids.

On a side note, pray for the “Love Kampala” festival next weekend. It’s sponsored by local churches and Luis Palau ministries. The event included an “X-Games” type demonstration, children’s activities, and concerts by several different artists and then preaching as well. I really hope to get to attend.