Day 5

7:50 AM (Guest House)

I slept through the night! Praise God! It was actually hard to get up, but fresh bananas and Nutella called my name.

I read further in Acts this morning and was encouraged by the healings and miracles in the new church. It also talked about being bold as Peter and John.

"And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak with boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus." (Acts 4:29-30)

And then the Holy Spirit shook the place they were in!

The lifestyle here is fascinating. These people live in the same 2012 I live in, with some of the same things such as cell phones and even Facebook, but they live in one room huts. They don't really use toilet paper and laundry and showers are scarce. We see a "nice house" comparatively, but then I think of our houses in the U.S. It is this odd concoction of today and Bible times with differences probably neither I nor the Ugandans could fathom. One second you want to cry, but the next you are filled with wonder at their resounding joy.

5:00 PM (Guest House)

Today was my hardest time leaving a village! We split up this morning and headed to a more remote spot. When we reached our driving destination we still had to walk another 1/4 mile or so up a narrow hill to reach the houses. There were two houses in this little clearing and hardly any children. The view was just breathtaking and I wondered if they even notice them anymore, like we don't notice ours. One boy asked me if America is beautiful and said that people always say Uganda is beautiful but America is probably better. I told him some parts are pretty but there are often buildings (he corrected me and said skyscrapers) in the way. He went on to say that he is working hard to get to America and oddly my initial response was sadness. Mainly because he is so kindhearted and America is so different to this culture and I would never want the shock and distractions of America to change his strong character. But also because the people here need strong Christian men like the one he growing into!

I'm not sure if this set-up is normal, or if it is just because everyone gathers to assist in the cement flinging (like a barn raising!), but all of the women were gathered around shucking these plantains (well...I think that's what they were doing!) and chatting in a circle.

It didn't take long for the kids to come out of the woodwork and soon about 20-30 were gathered around us. It may be different layout (yesterday was kind of a clearing in a jungle of banana trees) but these children were a bit different in that they weren't just clinging to us for a moment of attention, but seemed more invested all around.

First we sang some songs which, despite being unable to understand me, they tried to sing along. Next we shared the Gospel story and made the crosses by folding paper. As you can see below, they were very intent on listening to us!

Let me tell you, it has a pretty powerful effect on someone to see a child discover the purpose of a crayon for the first time at 7 years old. They just stood there, holding them. Once we showed them how to use them, they were thrilled, and I hated having to ask for them back when we left. Note to self: If I come back I will bring enough crayons so each child can keep one! I mean, what is a crayon worth, a penny? They gladly gave them back though.

We brought out the bowling game we played yesterday, filling our empty water bottles and plane socks with little rocks. They were eager to help us fill up each thing :)

The boys below were too cool to gather around us as closely as the others, but they sure loved coloring!

Next was jump rope and boy was that a hit! They loved it! They also somehow knew how to count in a bit of English, which was cool. These kids knew the least English out of anyone we have met.

Somewhere in here a little girl named Janta Maria stole my heart. She was probably 7 and taking care of a baby who cried every time his head wasn't covered by his blanket. The kids seem to rarely cry so I'm pretty sure he was sick and either the light was bothering him or it was the flies that wouldn't leave the sores on his head alone :( But this girl was so joyful and her eyes so captivating. She was dripping sweat and exhausted, but loved the jump rope.

I sat down to show 2 kids pictures of my family and all of them flocked to me. They tried so hard to talk to me and teach me words! One boy accidentally kicked me while getting up and the interpreter heard Janta Maria tell him (irritated) that he has no manners. He also heard them talking to each other saying that they loved me (*insert big sigh). As we sat there, one girl just kept tucking my stray hair behind my ear and when my hands/jeans got dirty, she would wipe them clean. Here they are filthy and their concern is for my cleanliness! Just struck me. When we left for lunch Janta Maria trailed along holding my hand and ran to follow the bus with all the kids, but shyly held back just a bit all the way down the hill. Which was far. By the time we got back from lunch, we were hooked. She immediately grabbed my head and didn't let go.

We did the Gospel bracelets and had a pretty neat experience. The bracelets are on a string that represent us--

Black Bead: Sin

Red: Blood of Christ

White: Pure & cleansed

Green: Growing and living our lives for Him

Yellow (pointing up in the back): Heaven

We had Gilbert (18 year old translator) translating and we gave/explained bead by bead. Of course they loved it because a) they were getting something and b) we were helping them. But also Gilbert was adding things and asking them to repeat key words of the Gospel. When he explained the good news of Christ rising from the dead, they just started clapping! Not like he told them to do so, but spontaneously. Next Tery asked them if they wanted to put their trust in Jesus and about 20 of them stood and she/Gilbert lad them in a prayer. AWESOME. I'm not sure where their hearts all are, but I trust God will care for this planted seed. These kids just have been through so much and have so little!

My attempt at being artsy was thwarted by their excitement of being in a picture, so below are our Gospel bracelets!

I sang a bit more with them and they were all yelling something that I of course couldn't understand. I thought they wanted a jumping song again, but then two girls tied together some corn leaves and started twirling them :) We jumped rope a bit longer, but then the cementing was done and it was time to go. We gave the jump rope to one of the widows to that no one kid was given the gift, but they could all enjoy it in the future. I kind of just wanted to cry as we drove away. The next time I see Janta Maria may be in heaven. Even if I return to Uganda, the likelihood of me finding this village again seems slim. Just overwhelming. Of course I couldn't get a picture of just the 2 of us seeing as every child runs to the camera within seconds, but we both got in the picture and I won't forget this beautiful little girl! (She's the one in the red checkered dress)

After a draining day of heat, work, and emotions, it was nice to come back and chill. The whole team ended up in our room and we shared a good time of laughter! The evening ended with Isaac coming in to pray for Jessica since she wasn't feeling well and I had a pretty strong feeling that I was supposed to ask him about getting baptized. I knew it was a possibility on the trip, but fear and pride had been hindering me from asking about it. I'm so glad I asked though because he said we could and Jess wanted to as well so that will be even better! You should know that you can smell this river from literally a mile away and it is pret-ty dirty looking. The cows hang out next to is so there is a lot of manure and it is in the middle of no where so there isn't really a place to change...

Anyway. I'm doing it. If God strikes me with illness while being baptized....then His will be done!

Phew! All right bed time!