Sunday in Jinja

Worship today was one of the best experiences that our team as a whole has ever had. We went to church and helped with Sunday School outside. God was so evident in our preparation.

The church copied packets of Noah's Ark and it is the lesson that I had prepared to teach. God shows up in the little things and it made us all smile. The team acted out Noah's Ark and the children assisted with acting out the animals. They enjoyed the interaction and laughed at us which made us laugh. Laughter. It is so contagious. We learned that the children and adults here communicate with us through a touch and their eyes. They look intently into our eyes and reach out to grab a hand. Their love is contagious and this morning at church we learned that they love as Jesus taught us to love. They love humbly, with no alterior motives and sincerely. They practice hospitality. The team members were sitting on the ground as we acted out the animals on the ark and men from the church brought out mats for the girls to sit on. We were humbled by this kindness and sincere love for us. We also were amazed at the children sharing what few crayons they had with each other and looking after the younger siblings.

Watching the children pray and the adults worship was a beautiful experience. Everything done here is with full expression and uninhibited emotion. We went into the village after church and were blessed by the ladies that danced for us. They are so proud of their culture and heritage and their dress, smiles, laughter, dance, family ties, community love and hospitality was a reminder to us all that life itself is a form of worship. After the ladies finished their dances and songs, they asked some of our team members to dance for them. The only dance they could think of that everyone knew was the macarena. It was quite a comical scene seeing the muzungus (white people) teaching a village of Ugandans how to dance to the macarena! God uses all kinds of things to develop relationships and I would have never guessed that the macarena was one of them!

Pastor Andrew visited us this evening and asked our team to come back next Sunday and to go into the village with him to visit homes with widows and abandoned women and children. Pastor Andrew did not know that God had instilled a passion for abandoned women and children in my heart and it was another confirmation that God's plan is perfect He connects people intentionally. He asked as if it would be a favor to him as he is trying to reach out to the village around his church. However, it is a humbling honor for us to even be asked and we look forward to seeing what lessons God will teach us as we visit their homes. We hope to deliver food and a message of Hope that only comes from above as we are learning to worship in all that we do. Our hearts are changed and our love is growing here day by day.