It has officially been 12 days since I left for the race and holy moly have I seen the Lord move in big ways already!
My squad and I arrived in Uganda the morning of day 3 and have had about 8 days of training since then. So far training has included walking through what it looks like to worship, to live in ministry and not just compartmentalize ministry, and to listen to the Lord and follow Him where He calls us to go.
It has been incredible.
Throughout training we lived in the dorms of a college outside of Kampala that so joyfully welcomed us in! While there we have done a few different exercises, some which involved going out into the village and talking to different locals, and other team building exercises.
One day, after debriefing a team exercise a guy by the name of Freddie, Freddie Rivers to be exact, walked up to my team and asked if he could sit with us. We said YES, of course and Freddie’s face lit up as he said “Wauw,” and joined us.
We started asking Freddie more about himself. Freddie is 20 years old and is a neighbor of the college.
Freddie told us about his passion for music and how that was actually what drew him to explore the college for the first-time last year. Ever since then Freddie would come to the college anytime he was bored just to hang out and meet new people.
We talked for a while and eventually asked Freddie if he went to church. Freddie responded, “Church? Oh, no,” and laughed. (Still with a huge smile on his face. Freddie is one of the most joyful people I have ever met. I am convinced it is a Ugandan thing!)
I asked why he said it like that. Freddie told us that he believed in God but didn’t know about Jesus. He said his niece was a “born-again” (the term Ugandans use for people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior) and it seemed a little crazy.
He also explained how he didn’t really feel like he fit in at church. We explained how church isn’t just a place but a group of people that together represent Jesus. We asked if he felt like he belonged with us and he said yes. We told him he was with a church and he laughed again, “Wauw.”
We asked him if he would consider going to church with us on Sunday and he laughed again… “Uh… Maybe,” he said, still smiling of course (we all knew that really meant no).
He told us more about his niece and how she used to be really bossy and impatient but now she was different. Now she is kind and much more patient, he said. I looked at him and smiled,
“That is what Jesus does Freddie. He does not make us perfect, but He changes hearts.”
“Wauw,” he laughed again.
He then shared a story with us about his new year. About a week after his niece talked to him about her new-found love for Jesus, he was walking to the beach to celebrate the new year and heard some music. Freddie followed the music and it led him to a playground. At the playground, a gathering of people worshiping. He ended up staying there all night long, singing with them until the morning.
At this point our mentor, Daniel, who had been sitting with us had to go. Daniel reached out to shake Freddie’s hand, “Freddie, I have to go to a meeting. But it sounds like Jesus is chasing after you, and I cannot wait to hear how the story ends.”
“Wauw,” Freddie laughed.
We talked to Freddie for another two hours. I asked Freddie if we could tell him a little more about our beliefs of Jesus. “Yes of course,” he smiled.
We explained how we believed that Jesus is the Son of God, and God at the same time. We explained God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Freddie said how that was very confusing to him. A teammate of mine, Walter, put it in terms of H2O. H2O has three different forms, ice that provides foundation, water that brings life, and gas that moves – much like the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Freddie still didn’t understand how God could be the Father and Son at the same time. We explained how it is hard for us to understand because we as humans cannot take on three forms. But we explained that humans are limited and God is unlimited, which means He is capable of things we could never be capable of.
“Wauw,” he laughed.
Freddie then told us how he felt like there were just so many rules when following Jesus. We told Him about why Jesus came, to “bridge the gap.” How before Jesus there were a lot of rules, but the purpose of those rules was pointing out how flawless God is and how flaw-filled we are.
I read Freddie Romans 6:17, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
“Wauw.” I looked up. “That is the same verse my niece read to me last week.”
I smiled real big.
“Can I explain to you what that means, Freddie?”
“Yes,” he said.
“It means that we no longer have to live by the rules. Jesus, who did not deserve to be punished, took our punishment of death, or separation from God, for all the times we have messed up and even the times we will mess up in the future. That is grace. But the thing is, even though we no longer have to live by the rules, when we know Jesus He changes our hearts. Just like He changed the heart of your niece. So even though grace covers her when she messes up, by following Jesus He is making her more like Himself everyday.”
“Wauw,” he laughed.
Freddie told us his niece often talked about how she heard God talking to her. Freddie said he tried talking to God but God never talked back to him, and that did not seem fair.
We explained how in order to hear someone’s voice you have to be in relationship with them. We asked him if he could tell who was talking when he was in a room full of strangers. He said no. We then asked if his mom walked in and started talking whether he would be able to identify her voice or not. “I would be able to tell immediately,” he said. “That is because you have a relationship with your mom, and therefore you know her voice.”
“Wauw,” he laughed.
Freddie asked us if people who did not know Jesus could still be good people. “Yes,” I responded, “but they will not be living life to the full.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Freddie, have you ever felt like something in your life was missing but you could not figure out what it was?”
“Yes,” he responded.
“Have you tried to fill that missing piece with going to the beach, or alcohol, or things like that?”
“Yes,” he said, “and it works for a little while, but it never lasts.”
“That missing piece is Jesus, Freddie. We were made to be in relationship with Him. Freddie, do you think it is a coincidence that you walked past three other groups of people and before asking to sit with us today?” (Side note: on this day we were split into four different teams and Freddie had walked past all three of the other teams before asking to sit down with us.)
“Wauw,” he laughed.
“Freddie, Daniel was right. Jesus has been chasing after you. He has been fighting to be in relationship with you; through your niece, through other missionaries, through your love for music that has drew you to the playground on New Year’s and to this college, and even through bringing you here today. Jesus loves you, Freddie, and He died to be in relationship with you.”
“Wauw,” Freddie laughed again.
“No one has ever explained it to me like this. It all makes so much more sense. I think that I like this Jesus guy. And I think that I want to be in relationship with Him…”
That day Freddie told us he was not quite ready to surrender to Jesus yet, but that He wanted to know more about Him. My teammate Walter and I prayed over Freddie that afternoon and he walked away with the biggest smile on his face, thanking us at least four different times for the “greatest day.”
I am convinced that Freddie’s day had nothing to do with our team and everything to do with him walking away knowing Jesus’ love just a little better.
And guess what. Four days later we ran into Freddie again at church on Sunday!
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