My gosh today was fun.
First of all, we went to the wrong church. Oops. We were supposed to go lead the lunch hour prayer at Victory Outreach Church North, but because of a mixup we were taken to Victory Outreach Church West. So the Pastor was quite surprised to find seven mzungus at his prayer service out of the blue. But he was very gracious and invited us to share a word, so Rachelle rocked it out and we ended up just having a great discussion. And afterwards we got to play with a bunch of neighborhood kids!
The church is really small and in a tough neighborhood, so all it is is a roof with half-constructed brick walls, making it look more like an open pavilion. The Pastor seemed to be really apologetic about the state of the church and promised that in a few years it would be finished and completely full. But honestly it was really cool for me– we just showed up at this random pavillion-type building and started worshipping and praying. And even though the only people to show up were the Pastors, the sunday school teacher, some neighborhood kids and seven mzungu missionaries, we still had church. Because church isn’t a building; it’s not a program. We are the church. And the Holy Spirit showed up, so we had a great time of prayer and worship and Bible study!
Afterwards we went over to Agape Secondary school, which is a boarding school for high-school age students.. We got to go there for the first time on Sunday and had a blast, just talking with the students there, who are so incredibly fun and sweet and giggly. Today we didn’t have a plan for any kind of program, just hanging out. And we spent the first hour and a half talking to two of the students who were victims of child-soldiering during the rebel war of the last two decades.
That’s a whole different blog.
So after we talked to those two students and prayed with them, we got to join some of the students during choir practice! In America, choir practice would probably be quite boring to sit in on. Not so at Agape. There was dancing, stomping, drumming, singing, clapping, and even some drama in the singing. They were rehearsing for a graduation-type ceremony that they’re having tomorrow (which we get to go to!). We sat down to listen and clap along, but pretty quickly Andrea and I were pulled up to dance along with them, and it was SO MUCH FUN! Oh my gosh I had a blast. So we sang and danced with them for a while, and then afterwards our teacher-friend, Nixon, surprised us by calling us up one by one to say something to the group. There were probably 40 students in the room, with another 15 or 20 outside the doors and windows, watching the mzungus make fools of themselves.
So Andrea gets up there first, unexpectedly, and very graciously thanks them for having us and for letting us dance with them. Jeremiah and Nathan both follow after her, with very gracious, funny, short speeches. So next it’s my turn, and I’ve got a great little schpeal planned, until Nixon goes, “Show us some American dancing!”
I’m sorry… what?
And immediately, all 60-something students and 6 mzungus jump on board and start cheering and waiting expectantly for this white girl to bust a move.
All I can say is, thank you LORD for Broken Ground and the 6 years of dance and stomp practices.
I did a couple random moves that popped into my head out of sheer panic, took a bow, and quickly resumed my seat. If you had told me beforehand that I would have to do that, I probably would have thrown up. But somehow it just ended up being fun because it was so unexpected! I’ll admit, I had a blast. Afterwards Jonathan nearly broke his neck on the cement floor in a throwback to his breakdancing years, and then Rachelle challenged our boys to learn one of the Ugandan dances, which was probably one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while. Andrea recorded it, so I’ll let you guys know when it’s posted 🙂
Overall, such an incredible, fun day. I really, really am falling in love with this place and the people we’ve gotten to meet!
