Kiwatule, Kiwatule

We took delivery of the final 140 pairs of shoes this afternoon while we were at Kiwatule, EPC. Kiwatule is the church that was founded by Brainerd Presbyterian and through which much of the project has been run for the past eight years. Slowly but surely we are working to extricate ourselves from the church and become a stand along NGO in Uganda. Until then, we do much of our work from the church in Kiwatule.

Upon our arrival just after 9 am, we were treated to a two hour special program put together in our honor. Along with two messages from young preachers, we enjoyed an extended worship time (featuring songs from the latest album from Hillsong Church in Australia), two dramatic skits and a traditional African dance. Then it was time to get down to business - distributing nearly 200 pairs of shoes.

Last year the distributing at Kiwatule was a real challenge with children pushing up against the stage trying to grab shoes of any kind. This year we were much more organized and the children came up in groups of 4 or 5 after their names were called and we fitted them for shoes. It took over 3 hours for the first 150 pairs but it was orderly and we were grateful for that. We had reserved 50 pairs of shoes for local children who are not part of the project but had come by to see what was going on. For some of them it was the first pair of real shoes they've had and is a ticket to school this term. It was awesome!

Tomorrow will be another long day as we travel north to Kassanda to distribute shoes and for me to preach at the opening of the new church building. Crosspointe has been generous in providing the building materials necessary for the members of Kassanda to build part one of their facility located on the land purchased for them by another EPC church. It is a long, bumpy, dusty ride and we get to make the journey in shirts and ties!