As we were leaving Frida and Pastor Joseph to spend the next 10 days with our new contacts, Frida hugged me and told me, “We know this family. This is a good family. You will be in good hands.”
Frida was very right.
We were with Pastor Fred and Miss Evelyn in Kisoga (sounds like Chisoga) which is still part of Mukono. We lived with them and their family in their home, which was located right next to their church, New Jerusalem.
We spent some time at schools in the area, including one that was built by a well-known witchdoctor. According to the story, he was known all over Uganda – people came from far away, searching for a way to “cure” their poverty, sickness, or misfortune.
We spent some time at schools in the area, including one that was built by a well-known witchdoctor. According to the story, he was known all over Uganda – people came from far away, searching for a way to “cure” their poverty, sickness, or misfortune.
I wish I’d been able to meet this guy before he died. Witchdoctor or not, he saw the need for an affordable school for the children in a certain area of Kisoga – and spent his money and time building it. He also adopted some of the kids – more than 10 – and supported them and paid their school fees. I’d still say that his greatest legacy he left behind was his love for needy children, so much that he’d tackle their needs as his own.
Not, to be honest, what I’d expect from a witchdoctor.
The school is now run by a Christian, and some of the teachers are, to my knowledge, also believers. It’s a small school because the tuition has increased; they’ve lost many of the students because they can’t pay a small fee to attend. Part of the fee goes towards one meal provided every day. It’s a meal that could be their only meal of the day, the man in charge of the school told us. It was probably the poorest school I’ve seen in a long time.
At New Jerusalem church, we were asked to allow the pastors to take a break – “I’ll translate, but we just want to learn; we want to rest and be filled up,” Miss E told me one day. “I believe that God sent you to us, and I know He’s sent a message for us, through you.”
Wow. Ok.
So we, for the most part, took over Sunday mornings. 2 sermons, some worship here and there, praying. They also have a small group called Evening Glory which is a prayer/teaching time starting at 8pm. Evening Glory meets every night for a couple hours, or more…a core of 10 or so people who walk from very far to worship God and to learn. My team got to tell our testimonies to them – and shocked them with how imperfect we are! They also learned that their view of America was mostly built on lies – it was shocking to them that people struggle with the same things, that there is witchcraft in America, that there are poor people, that marrying a white person won’t cure all your problems, and (one of my favorites) that if you fart in front of an American, they will not, in fact, give you money.
I’m glad we were able to clear up some misconceptions!
We were also part of 2 overnight services…at the first one, I was peed on by a sleeping child a few minutes before getting up in front of 100 people to sing and tell them something about God. At the second one, we basically just let God lead, and it was a little random but we all had something to say – I think it went really well. I absolutely loved that church.
I’ll tell you a few more things.
How walking 23,000 steps to get into town on a dusty road taught me a lot about what it might be like for some of the people I’ve met.
About what it feels like to be given money, from someone in the church, who probably has nothing, but just really wants to bless me. This happened twice.
The way it feels to lead worship, and to realize that I’m not leading anything.
What it’s like to embrace the power outages with laughter, candle/lamp-lit dinners, and headlamps.
Meeting beautiful people, with beautiful hearts and being blessed by the joy in their eyes.
The confusion that happens when someone kneels at your feet…young or old.
I’m finding reasons, in every country I’m in, to go back someday. Every country has touched me in some way that makes it unforgettable. I don’t think I expected that…I might’ve thought a few countries would have that impact, but the Lord’s blessed me with opportunities to meet people and build relationships with them in these last 10 countries, and I can’t forget them.
This is just another overview of part of the month, and I’m working on the stories that changed my life. The blog previous to this one is called “We Are Champions!” and is about the first part of my month in Uganda.
Blessings, friends 🙂
-Becca
