Uganda Journal Day 5 – January 6th

The next morning, when we reached Pastor Moses’ house, our team divided into three groups of 5-6 people for door-to-door evangelism. The first team stayed in Kiburara, the second went to the hillside village of Renewawa, and the third went to the neighboring town of Kakinga, where Kiburara had recently planted a third church. Each group was escorted and led by the local pastor and a translator.

The pastor always went ahead first into each house, to let the people know that there was “A Team from America” in the town, and to ask if it would be all right for us to come in and speak to them. Most people were overjoyed to invite us into their homes, greeting us with warm smiles and enthusiastic welcomes. After thanking them for allowing us to come in, one member of the group, with the help of the translator, would ask if we could tell them about Jesus and pray for any needs they might have. Each family humbly listened as we related the gospel. At the end, when we asked if we could pray for them, they surprised us by telling the translator, “We are ready to accept Jesus.”

That humble openness typified our time among the people of Uganda – they were always ready to listen, curious as to what we had to say, and quick to respond to the gospel. Matt Wahl said it best when paraphrasing Jesus in John 4:35, “The fields are just white for harvest here.” This was even more amazing in light of the fact that the people we were praying for had desperate needs: AIDS, malaria, dying children, failing businesses.

We all met back at Moses’ house for lunch, and then the youth conference started. We gathered at the Covenant Mercies Offices, where tarps had been erected on wooden poles to create a tent, which served as shade throughout the conference. We weren’t the only team who had traveled to be there – young men and women had walked and driven from neighboring towns and districts to attend. We were, however, the only mzungus, and the staring continued. They kicked things off with worship, asking different teams from the different churches to take turns leading the attendees in praise songs. After about a half hour of singing, they asked our team to come, and we sang one or two songs, after which each of us came forward and introduced ourselves. The translator had a little trouble with some of our names (Courtney became “Corny,” Brandon was “Plantain,” and they thought Chelsea’s name was funny because of the Chelsea Football Club), but each of us was able to communicate our excitement about being there to share in the grace of God with them.

By the time we were ready to start the crusade that evening, a huge crowd had formed. A few team members shared their testimonies, and then Drew Garfield proclaimed the gospel with skill, persuasion, and passion, calling the unbelievers in the crowd to repentance and trust in Jesus. As he finished and invited people to come forward, a large group of children flocked to the bottom of the stage, along with a number of adults. Drew led them in prayer, and then the crowd cheered as we all rejoiced in their salvation. A number of us were brought to tears, overwhelmed by the power of God and praising him for what we had just seen.

Moses, his wife, Sarah, and his two children, Grace and Seth, came back to the guest house for dinner, and Moses told us about how he and Sarah had met and how he had worked for a year to make 6,000 bricks in order to raise enough money to pay her dowry. Moses and Sarah are both so humble, and their lives clearly show that their life’s goal is to share the gospel and build the church of Jesus Christ.

Journal written by Dave and Casey Somerville.  Pictures here and in the banner taken by Matt Wahl.