A bus came to pick up the 7 members of my team and the 6 members of Justin’s team from the camp site almost an hour behind schedule. We weren’t on a strict timetable, but all 13 of us were excited to leave debrief and get to our Ugandan ministry sites.
It’s a good thing we had a cultural debrief yesterday where they explained “African time” to us. African time is not “real time.” How it was explained is that if something is scheduled for 9:00, it really means that it could happen anytime between 9:00 and 9:59. After all, it’s all still 9:00.
So, anyways, our bus came and we drove away from our culturally protected, touristy campsite.
As we drove 2 hours away from Jinja, I was intensely reading Hunger Games, but every once in a while I would look up to take in my surroundings. Uganda is beautiful. I know I’ve described it a little in a past blog, but wow! Uganda is absolutely stunning. We drove up and down hills, around forests of palm trees next to evergreens, and next to rushing rivers. As we got closer to the hubs of the villages, there was one thing that I noticed: a multitude of churches! But, not only churches! Oh no, there were also convenience stores named after Bible verses or hotels called Alpha and Omega. Public schools were even named after saints and had Bible verses quoted at the bottom of the school emblem.
I just couldn’t stop thinking about how polar opposite this is from Asia. I never would have drawn that comparison had I not just been in Asia days before. Well, maybe I would have, but it was such a stark comparison coming from nations that are covered in Hindu temples and Muslim mosques to this, what looks like a completely sold-out, Christ-following nation. I couldn’t help but think that Africa loves Jesus! If India loves their 33,000 Hindu gods and Thailand loves Buddha and Malaysia loves Mohammed, then Uganda is head over heels in love with Jesus. I saw just as much, if not more, religious jargon on the way to our ministry site here than in all the other Asian countries we had visited. Just like people had their incense and altar poles to Buddha in Cambodia, people have crucifixes up on walls and the name of Jesus posted up as a banner across the cities of Uganda.
It absolutely blows my mind. And I don’t know why.
I guess I feel so much more at home here, in the rural villages of Africa than I did in the bustling, americanized cities of Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia. I wasn’t expecting that. I guess a part of me feels like, well, Africa’s got its Christian stuff together. There are obviously missionaries that have made a lasting impact on Ugandan religion. So, I wonder why we’re here if Africa loves Jesus. But then I think that we’re probably here for the same reasons we were in Asia: to bring love and hope to people who feel unlovable and hopeless. Even if a nation is saturated in the Holy Spirit, people can still go through the motions and be spiritually empty.
It feels like a different mission, but it’s the same. God has us here to change lives with a life-saving love that we came to share. The mission hasn’t changed even if the continent has. As much as Africa loves Jesus, Jesus loves Africa so much more. I’m here to let them know that truth.
One last thing. Everyone on my team met deadline except Courtney. She still needs $1,000 to be fully funded. Can you please consider helping her continue on her Race?
