Friends! Most of you know that I made my way home safely two
Thursday nights ago, June 21. It’s taken
me a while to get all of the following down, but I’m glad I can share it with
you now.
My adventure to Uganda was one that I will never forget and
I am privileged to have had you guys following the few updates I posted. I’m convinced your contending prayers kept me
afloat while I was away, as well as drove me deeper into my relationship with
our Creator. I feel like this feeble
blog needs some closure… I want to share with you a few specific experiences
that knocked me on the floor, a few things I learned that I praise God for, and
some truth (aka scripture). Hopefully,
you can see the connections as you read.
The Kid’s House Overnight
To give you some background, CLD has a base in Nansana,
Uganda. This is where the volunteers eat
breakfast and dinner, take cold showers, worship, sleep, enjoy fellowship,
etc. It’s like a little American bubble
in the middle of Uganda. As soon as you walk
out of the gate, you are in Nansana Town Council. The red earth roads, the vegetable stands,
the small tin-roofed homes, the kids walking to school, the Ugandan friends
calling your name, and not another Mzungu (“Mah-zoon-goo”; Swahili for ‘white
person’ or ‘white wanderer’) in sight.
The base is surrounded by a 9-foot wall for safety, but this wall also
is a separator. Unfortunately, within
these walls, it was easy for me to forget I was in the heart of a developing
country. Not to say that the many
evenings spent at the base were not crucial and even life changing for me. The reading, journaling, spiritual
conversations, made up card games, impromptu worship sessions, and pure joy
that came from the after-dark base time grew our community, which was necessary
for successful out-of-base time. All of
this to say, however, nights spent away from base were different, in a very
good way.
I learned quickly that time spent at the base was in
abundance and that time spent out in the community was limited. I tried to take every chance I could to be
out of the base. I had the opportunity
to spend the night out several times.
Week one was at the farm. The end of week two/the beginning of week
three was spent at the school and the farm again. The fourth week, our group spent 5 days in a
village called Kaliro about three hours east of Kampala by public taxi.
So the single night I spent at the kid’s house was maybe the
most memorable night. Wakiso Christian
International Academy is the name of CLD’s mixed boarding and day school. The non-boarders are dropped off and picked
up by taxi every day and are fed lunch by Wakiso. The boarders on the other hand (there are
about 50 to 60 boarding students) eat three meals a day at the school. Their dormitory is a large compound that is a
solid 15-minute walk up the road from the school. At the dormitory, there are two amazing
ladies who look after the children, “Jaja” (or “Grandma”) Margaret and Auntie
Margaret. We just called them Jaja and
Auntie respectively. An average day for
the boarding students goes like this: Wake up at 5:30, on the road to school by
5:45, at school between 6 and 6:15, breakfast until 7. Classes are getting started between 7:15 and
7:30. School goes until between 4 and
4:30pm. Then the day-schoolers leave by taxi and the boarders walk home. As soon as the boarders arrive at the dorm,
they are changing out of their school uniforms, washing their dirty clothes, doing
their homework, pumping water, and maybe playing some soccer. By the time 5:45 rolls around, they are back
on the dusty road to the school to eat their dinner at 6 [usually rice or posho
(think one big clump of cream-of-wheat) and beans]. Then they walk back home. Though this day is very different from the
average American grade-schooler’s day, it gets even more interesting after
dinner. I witnessed this beautiful slice
of their lives on the Tuesday night we spent at the kids home:
Before the children are all even back from dinner, a circle
begins to form in front of the house.
After dinner is worship time.
Every night. Some silly songs are
sung at first, with motions and dancing. Then the service becomes more
reverent. Hearing the children worshipping the Creator of everything in
English, then Lugandan (the local vernacular), then songs with a mix of both…
it was very powerful. I don’t want to
over dramatize and I don’t want to sound cliché. I also don’t want to belittle this sacred
moment with my feeble words: but anyone could have witnessed the Holy Spirit
there in that moment. Children with blind faith exalting the
most real father they have. Many of us
Mzungus were on our knees in tears by the end.
The fire of The Holy Spirit,
ordained over the lives of Christians as proof of Jesus’ presence on earth and
our lifeline until he returns (Ephesians 1:13-14). It was there. Talk about humbling. Talk about different from the typical
American household (heck, I can barely remember opening my mouth to sing
worship songs on Sunday mornings when I was that age). This was certainly the trip’s most holy
moment for me, and gave new meaning to having “childlike” faith (see Luke
18:15-17). These children: Poor in the
eyes of the world in almost every way, but abundantly rich in spirit. I wrestle with who is truly better off: these
children, with a protein-deficient diet, dirty feet, worn clothes, and an
overflowing, spirit-filled heart; or the rising generation of America who never
lived without the Internet, many of whom have been jaded by wealth and
complacency to the church (I include myself in this group).
The Point
So I believe the Lord had me in Uganda for a reason. Before leaving the US and along with many of
your gracious prayers, I was sending up my own: that the Lord would reveal why
I was there, that I could serve selflessly, that I could be “out, not in” so to
speak. Welp… He answered.
I read a book while I was in Uganda. One that I bought
several years ago but had never started until this trip. It’s called The Irresistible Revolution
by Shane Claiborne. I’d recommend it to
anyone. This book, using heavy
scriptural support, calls Christians to literally live as Jesus suggests
through his words in the gospel:
Actually spending time with the poor.
Actually being willing to give up comforts in our lives to honor our
specific callings. Having the courage to
not write off the burning in our hearts to fulfill His will for our lives.
Without getting too specific, I want to say I don’t agree
with everything in the book. The Bible
says to test everything, holding it up against the one true Word of God (1 John
4:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:21)… pretty much, don’t believe everything you hear
right off the bat. However, I think this
book has great things to say, and more times than not, it’s spot on.
Among other amazing friends I made while in Uganda, two men
had a huge impact on my life. They were
other volunteers like me, except they are staying with Come Let’s Dance from
early May to September. Travis is 29
years old, Rob 28, both from our panhandled southern neighbor, Flordia. These men have amazing stories. I was privileged to hear both in the time I
spent with them. To spare you too many
details, they have similar stories. They
worked their way through school, arrived at the corporate ladder, and began
climbing at a fast pace. However, these
two guys, who grew up as good friends, realized they were not living the life
Christ wanted for them. The “American Dream” as it were, was unfulfilling, even
though it had given them wealth.
Travis and Rob (or “Rub” as the CLD Ugandan intern Linda
called him) had a huge impact on me.
It’s not crazy to me that they were “fortunate enough” for the Lord to
impress his will on their hearts. I
believe the Lord speaks in his small still voice to everyone in His own way for
them. No, these guys had the courage to
say that they were willing to try the Lord’s way. As they moved away from their old lives and
into lives for the Lord, Rob and Trav became studiers of the Word. It became more than an interest. It was an obsession. They couldn’t live without it. Every decision, every conversation, every
breath comes with immense respect to scripture.
They fear God and scripture more than man. They’ve given up the culture they grew up in
to follow Christ. And now they’re in
Uganda for 4 months with no idea what they’re going to do when they go
home. They are living with ears
straining for God’s voice. It’s like,
“God, I literally don’t know what I will do next unless you tell me. So here I am.” I mean dang.
That’s tough. As Americans
(myself included) who plan on their phones and laptops what the next few hours
will look like, this is pretty compelling.
So I want to share with you the point now. The point is what
God brought me, and he used Rob, Travis, and Claiborne’s book as avenues. Though I learned a wealth of information
about myself, about Uganda, about the church, about Christians, about
community… Here’s the point. It’s such a
Beautiful Picture. I get chills and a
fast-paced heart just thinking about it.
And it’s based on Truth (aka scripture).
This means we can heap the weight of our lives on it and it’ll always
hold true. It’s a rock to stand on.
If this is a Beautiful Picture, Jesus has the paintbrush.
Jesus died for your sins (everyone knows this, right?). He came for you. He looked at yours and my wretchedness, our
un-fixable sin, and he fixed it (elementary Sunday school lesson, got it).
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes of his
established authority and purpose in Christ.
He wants Christ to be glorified by his life, whether it’s through his
death or living (1:20). Then he makes
the black and white, literal statement: “To live is Christ and to die is gain
(1:21).” There’s a lot to unpack here in
this short verse, but let’s focus on the first part: “To live is Christ.”
As we grow in Christ, our lives should in some way (and
ultimately in every way) be a reflection of Christ’s (again, I know this is
Sunday school stuff, but bear with me). Christ
came to us, in our sin, though we didn’t deserve it, and liberated us. Should we not do the same for our own
brothers and sisters in Christ? If we
have the means, the monetary resources, the ability, the blessings of this
world, should we not carry them to other, less financially blessed believers in
Christ? Are they not the body? Are they
not part the church? Do they deserve
it?? The answer to this last question is no. They don’t. The homeless man, the believer in Christ on
the Atlanta sidewalk does not deserve my time or my money. He doesn’t deserve me
to aid him, to be his friend, to love him.
But neither did I. I didn’t for
one moment deserve the grace of Christ.
And if I’m going to find a way to live my life as a reflection of him, I
better find a way to start dishing out some serious grace. My friends, you and I were “blessed to be a
blessing” as the saying goes. This could
look like a million different things.
I’m not saying everyone should be in homeless ministry, or be a deacon
in the church, or go to Uganda. What I’m
saying is that everyone in the body of Christ (rich, poor, black, white,
educated, incarcerated, addicted, afflicted) is blessed to be a blessing.
…have you not then
made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has God chosen
those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom,
which he has promised to those who love him?
James 2:4-5 (ESV)
If you were wondering what the poor have to offer the rich,
this answers the question. The
fatherless children singing praises to Jesus as night falls… they have a lot to
teach me. I went to Uganda thinking I
was going to bring my donations, my love, my American know-how, and “bless the
heck out of” these people. And through
these things I just mentioned, CLD and their volunteers have blessed many a
Ugandan, literally acting as Jesus to them.
But it’s a two way street. Every
day, Ugandans were Jesus to me and other Americans. They gave me gifts of those who are “rich in
faith and heirs of the kingdom.” This
exchange is the Beautiful Picture.
Christians blessing Christians.
That's what the church should look like.
And I’m not just making assumptions.
Acts 2 talks about the new church after Christ ascended into heaven.
And they devoted themselves
to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the
prayers. And awe came upon every soul,
and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And
all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and
belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together
and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and
generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day
those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)
Beautiful Picture!
The Lord revealed things to me in Uganda that have been in
front of my nose in scripture the whole time… I just got to live it, experience
it, have it etched into my heart. My
soul wells up with pride and appreciation, as many of you reading are the
reason I was able to get on the plane and go.
So I thank you, my brothers and sisters in Christ!
Much love and in Him always,
John
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