With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more
than anything we can ask or imagine.
To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
for all time, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:21 NCV
Do you remember the last time you were on a roller coaster? You start out with that very slow climb up and then the exhilaration when you get to the top and then traverse through the twists and turns as the ride takes you but you don’t know what is coming next. That is what it has been like the last couple days.
Paul and I have been anticipating this training in Fort Portal for many months. I have to tell you, the actual training on Thursday was probably the hardest one I have ever done. It started out really good – people were very much engaged and telling the story of Jesus blessing the children appeared to be very impactful. The rest of the day though was like that long climb on the roller coaster. No matter what I did, people were not understanding even the simple things of KIDStory. It was like an evil spirit had descended and blinded everyone from hearing and understanding what was being shared with them. I left very defeated.
We had planned for today to have about 50 children come and have the workshop participants lead an actual StoryClub with them. I wondered how it might go because I was not confident that these leaders knew what to do. I ended the day praying for the Lord to show up in powerful ways.
Today started out with the participants not showing up on time so we had the kids but no leaders! We found someone to at least lead some songs and eventually the leaders trickled in. Fifty kids turned into 80, then 100 and eventually there were probably over 130 children. You can only imagine the chaos that was happening but we kept moving forward. Lots of prayers were being said as I felt led by the Spirit to get people ready for what was next. As we went from games to worship to eventually the beginning of the Bible lesson, you could feel a lifting of the heaviness. The Bible story was told and when we went into the retell activity, you could see the leaders and kids starting to engage with one another and the story itself.
Then it happened! It was time for the leaders to engage the children in their small groups with the Discover and Response Questions. As I stood on the platform and looked out over this mass of people in their little huddles of 10 kids, the Holy Spirit was actively at work. You could see it as the leaders, who the day before seemed lost and confused, were very much engaged with the kids and not one of those kids was causing any kind of mischief. They were totally engaged with the discussions with the leaders and one another. The Holy Spirit had descended on this place!!
From there we went to visit one of the widows that is under the care of Pastor Ronald and his church. Later I discovered what ministry to the orphans and widows was like. He has over 100 widows that they look after and each of those widows averages 7 orphaned children whom they have taken into their homes. For a great majority of these orphans, their parents have died of AIDS. Now realize that these homes are not your typical American homes. The walls, inside and out, are made of brick with only 2-3 smaller rooms in them. The children sleep sideways on the bed so more can sleep on a tattered foam mattress. But the joy you see is unmatchable!! It humbles you when you think of what we complain about!
As if that was not exciting enough, tonight we went to a crusade that I was told was “out of town.” That was an understatement! If you think of people that love to do four-wheeling in the mountains with their trucks, that is what it was like to get to the location where this crusade was to happen. I wondered how many people would actually be there because this place seemed so remote. When we finally arrived – I was amazed at what I heard and saw! There was a big stage, a sound system blasting worship music with hundreds of people worshiping the Lord. If you have ever been to Africa – you know how they worship! It was amazing! Then Pastor Ronald preached as only an evangelist could! At least 20 people came forward to start their journey on becoming Christ followers!
Speaking of journeys, I finish this update getting ready to leave Uganda amazed at all God has done. Thanks so much for being here with me with your love, prayers and support. It means the world to me – and many thousands of others that have been impacted by what has happened here.
For God is working in you, giving you the desire
and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:13
Story by: Gary Strudler