We started this day like many days we had in Karamoja. Running water, but no electricity. But now we are no longer in Karamoja, but back at the guest house in Soroti. Apparently there are times, even here, where the electricity goes out. It's amazing how quickly we can re-acclimate ourselves to the comforts of home. No problem, we can do without lights... but we really miss the fans.
We greeted the Timothy Children at the retreat center
today and started our day like most days here, with praise and worship. We sang, praised God, danced together, and had an amazing time. We are beginning to learn some of their songs. Rebecca started the teaching part of the day by taking us through the creation. I have quickly realized that not only is our team working well together, but we have very talented and creative teachers who continue to amaze me as they've worked with the students. Arlene followed in her expressive way and as she and the others from our team had the students singing and dancing and laughing through the Hip, Hip, Hippopotamus song (see video below). Even these older students love to act crazy. Great fun.
After our initial segment, Michaella explained how to write "life maps" and Rebecca used her life map as an example. We had hoped, by doing this, it would open the students up to sharing their lives and testimonies with us. This worked well and we were able to take in many testimonies from the kids as well as many of the CLIDE staff. I only wish we could have heard everyone's story. This might be a project for future teams to document histories to give us an opportunity to better understand these kids' struggles and how to pray for them.
We enjoyed lunch, came back to praise and worship (this is always led by the kids), and then Katherine launched back into our program in addressing the life of Jesus. She has a very effective way of involving the kids in skits as they acted out the events surrounding the birth of Christ.I (Bryan) then addressed the events leading up to the Crucifixion. The kids were very attentive throughout all our presentations. It was nice not having to use translators. Even though our pronunciation is a bit different, they didn't seem to have any trouble following our spe
akers. Jenny followed with an explanation of the cross. She talked through the concepts of Substitution, Redemption, and Triumph. It was a really good transition from the difficult story of Jesus' death to moving forward to the glory of his resurrection.Steve then presented the hope that we can have through the power of Jesus victory over death through his resurrection. Two young men stepped forward and gave their lives to Christ as Pastor Joseph led them in prayer. It is so amazing to see God work in the lives of these kids and a privilege to be a part of sharing God's love with them.
During this day we began the process of tie-dying shirts with the kids. It was nice that they are older and could be more engaged in the process than the younger kids. We had a great time and the kids seem to be excited to create their own designs.After our tea, Pastor James and Dr Moses shared their lives and their own testimonies under the coolness of the trees outside the classroom. The afternoon sun was making the rooms quite warm.
In the evening we had scheduled to show the Jesus Film. However, we had some technical difficulties and just spent the evening having dinner and hanging out with the kids. We returned to our guest house and to our restored electricity... and our fans. However, an evening storm blew through and knocked it out again and looks like we'll now be without it for the rest of our time here. The guesthouse does have a generator but they can only use it for short periods of time... we really miss the fans. It was a great storm though and reminded me of my days as a teacher in Zaire (I am certain the entire team is weary of my Africa stories. But I see this as an opportunity to teach them perseverance as I relive my younger years. So far they've been kind. So far...)
Video: Hip, Hip, Hippopotamus
Posted by Bryan
very excited to hear of the two young men who accepted Christ! Will be praying for them as well as all the other children.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Lost our power here last night, so I finished a project I was working on by candle light. We are blessed to have electricity that is almost always dependable here.
We are all glad to share you folks with the Ugandan people, but please know that your absence leaves huge voids in our lives and worship services here! Shawn started a new 3-sermon series today having to do with the Christmas story, but with an initial emphasis on the immensity of our universe and how Jesus worked with the Father in creating it all. We'll look forward to sharing the next episodes with you beside us. It has been very cold here, but we'll try to love you guys up as soon as you return to us! In the meantime, we know you will continue to pour yourselves out on the people there.
ReplyDeleteDarryl
Thanks, again, for sharing! :) Love the updates! So excited to hear what God's doing... hugs and loves to Dad and Mom (and the rest of you, too). :)
ReplyDeleteStacee
Laurie and Steve,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to let you know that there is a breaker completely shorted in your garage, kitchen, hallway. The freezer in the garage as a result was off for a few days. I'm sorry I didn't catch it sooner. I noticed the lights wouldn't work last night and checked the frig/freezer in the kitchen, but I didn't think about the garage freezer until later. I think the food is still good, although you will probably want to use it quickly. There was still some frozen ice in the water bottles, but the meats, berries, juices, veggies etc were completely thawed (although very cold thanks to our low teens weather lately). Basically I think it was kind of like a frig in there and not a freezer. Joshua helped me try to find the location of the short but didn't find it. We ran an extension cord so your freezer is back on. Please let me know if you want me to do anything else, call anyone to check on this or anything else. I think because the breaker is off that even if you have a short in the walls somewhere everything should be safe. I'll keep a very close eye on things just to make sure.
I didn't know what decision to make on the food in the freezer. I cleaned up the juices that were all over and turned it back on. Please tell me if there's something else I can do or should be checking.
Love and prayer. Looking forwards to seeing you soon!
Bethany