Strength and Teamwork

The last two days have been incredible. We have really been able to see God work here in Uganda, but we have also been experiencing a little bit of spiritual warfare. Every member of our team has been feeling a little under the weather. There is a nasty cold going around, and I’m sure playing out in the rain didn’t really help either.  So please pray that we are able to overcome this sickness and pray that it does not hinder us from doing what God has brought us here to do.

 On a lighter note, we have completed our first two days of VBS! The first day was a little rough because we were still learning how to engage the kids in this culture, but overall it was a success. There was a lot of worship music, prizes, bubbles, and fun to be had with the sports. The kids had a really good time learning dodge ball (or attempting to), kickball, and basketball. The theme of the day was strength so we did a skit on David and Goliath and the kids found it absolutely hilarious.  We applied the concept of strength from the Lord both to the skit and the sports we taught them. We really enjoyed this time with the children because we were able to teach them things that will be important to their lives long after we leave this place. The 100+ kids that came to VBS the first day hopefully found it to be educational and fun, because I know that is how we felt about it.

Today, we had even more kids come. They were a lot more excited and interactive today which was really encouraging. Cris opened the VBS by teaching them “Simon Says” and they absolutely LOVED it. From then on out the tone was set. They were so excited to participate in hand motions during worship, games, and other activities. Our theme today was teamwork and we did a skit about how Moses and Aaron worked together. Then in the sports we told them how to use teamwork to succeed. We taught them some mechanics in basketball, soccer, and volleyball so that they could not just play mindlessly, but actually hone their skills in each of those sports. The kids responded really well to everything we were teaching them. VBS actually went an hour long today because after our time of sports we played more Simon Says and sang more worship songs because everyone was still so pumped up.  Afterward we were all exhausted, but we were thrilled because of how well everything went.

So that has been the main thing happening with us here in Uganda. The only other huge thing of mention was that yesterday we attended a traditional Ugandan funeral. An 87-year-old villager named John died and Pastor Bill was asked to speak at the funeral. In Uganda, apparently it is a huge honor to have mzungos (white people) at your funeral, so Bill asked us if we would join him and pay our respects.  We obliged. We walked through the village to where the ceremony was being held. It was very different than what we are used to. They wrapped the body in bark cloth right in front of us and then placed it in the casket. Bill gave his sermon, there was a eulogy (at least we think it was, but it wasn’t in English), and then we proceeded to the burial site where they lowered the casket in a hole and buried him. It was odd though because a lot of unexpected occurrences happened. The person who was doing the eulogy answered and talked on his cell phone DURING the eulogy. A crazy man came up and started talking during the service. The casket was dropped and the body spilled out as they were trying to lower him into the hole. Cris was actually given a shovel and asked to help bury him. Overall, it was a good experience to see their village and their culture, but it was a bit uncomfortable. We walked away feeling terrible for the family, but thrilled that we have this life and this opportunity to honor God—and we have life with Him after.

We still have three days of VBS ahead of us and we are excited to see what God does with them.  As long as we are able to ignore the sickness and focus on God and these kids, I know it is going to go well. Please continue to pray that God fills us with His Spirit so we are able say the right words and do the right things to make an impact on these kids. Please also pray for healing as we battle illness while trying to maintain a joyfully, upbeat attitude during VBS.

For more pictures from the last two days, go to Uganda 2012 Album 3