Today was an amazing Sunday! Dan and I were able to meet so many of the sponsored children and their parents as they gathered together for the holiday. The service began at 10:00 a.m. with praise and worship that continued until 11:45 when I was called up to preach. As you know, this was a big moment for me and for the UCP as I deliverd a message on Zaccheus entitled, A Little Man Encounters A Big God. My focus was Zach's repentance and the evidence of that repentance in the form of resitution for the money he had stolen. I had to name both Pastor Joseph and Director Vincent as unrepentant theives. It was not my favorite hour of the trip. The people just listened with somber faces not really wanting to belive what they were hearing but they know that it is the truth. Both men have confessed to the church but no restitution has been made. Both men will return to prison the day after Christmas if they do not make the first of their six payments.
We left the church and headed to Pastor Michael's house where his wife Mabel had prepared a traditional Ugandan feast and where I was able to join in the cooking and whip up a quick stir-fry dish - Thai Green Curry. It really was good but pretty spicy compared to the bland food of the Ugandans. Dan I feasted on yams, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, hot coleslaw, beef, peas and peppers, matoke with G-nut sauce and of course, stir-fried grasshoppers! You read correctly - Grasshoppers - a real delicacy and they really taste good!
From lunch we went an hour across town to the Full Gospel Church to enjoy a special musical celebration in our honor and then to hand out the remaining batch of 100 shoes. On Monday we head to Jinga to meet with the people from Suubi and do some sightseeing. We have 13 pairs left of the 1480 to hand out today in individual children's homes.
I know we had an exciting day but I also want to hear about your Christmas visits. What I have heard has been amazing. Share some of your stories!
1 comment:
Wow! What a day for you guys! Tough words! Truth is hard. Thanks for being a truth-giver...even half way across the world! Hang in there! The word won't go out void!
Our family visit was WONDERFUL yesterday! Very cool unexpected connections - with our mutual military histories, and with mutual Young Life/Lives needs/interests! Cool how God put us all together! A particularly poignant moment was that Sean K had received an olive-wood-covered Bible from a friend who purchased it in Israel that had blessed his life, so he wanted to pass the blessing on and gave it to the family. Tender.
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