Uganda--A Visit to the Schools

SOS Ministries set up and arranged for us to go and speak to four government schools in the surrounding villages.  The schools gave us free reign to say and do whatever we wanted in our presentation.

I think our team was most apprehensive about this day because we had been given such little information beforehand.  We Americans like to be able to plan and prepare.  Yet, in true African fashion, the information we received kept changing.  We were told we were going to two schools, than it changed to four.  We were told there would be about 100 children at each school, than we were told there would be 500 or 900 students per school.  We were told we would need to split up into two different teams at each school, but then found out we wouldn't.  We had bought 500 salvation bracelets to make with the children, yet we really didn't know if we'd have enough for even one school.  Would we be outside or inside?  How much time should we plan for? At some point we realized we needed to quit worrying about preparing and just start praying.  

Before leaving that morning, we gathered full-circle, hand in hand.  I found this time of prayer with my team to be the sweetest yet, for  uncertainty creates a dependency on God that brings about the most genuine of prayers.  

We lifted up our promised-filled requests: 

'Do not let your Word return void...supernaturally speak through us...be our strength in our weakness...Your grace is sufficient...we are weak, but You are strong...Holy Spirit, fall down upon us today...we may not know all the details about today but You do...'  

His Spirit met ours, calming us and reminding us that He had every bit of this under control.

Our loosely held plan was:  begin with Jessica sharing her testimony, followed by our Gospel skit, making bracelets (if the environment and the amount of students was conducive to doing so), singing some songs, then ending with Brad giving a Gospel- centered message.  

Jason and Charles would not be with us.  Instead, they would be speaking to/teaching Ugandan pastors.  The rest of our team plus three interpreters were being driven by Damon in SOS's truck:



Off we drove, bouncing along the dirt roads to the first school we were speaking at.  

It's amusing to me how 'safety' conscious we are in America, yet here we were--us and our children--riding and hanging off the back of a truck down the roads of Uganda.  I honestly can't say that we were going all that slow.  And if you didn't pay attention to upcoming branches--well, you'd be clothes-lined for sure.  

Strangely, none of us seemed all that concerned.  Maybe it was because there was something freeing and relaxing about riding in the back of a truck, the wind hitting your face and blowing through your hair. 

Maybe it was because one couldn't grow tired of looking at the beauty of the green landscape against the brown-red dirt.
  

Maybe it was because it never grew old waving at the children shouting 'Mzunga!'

One thing is for sure, I would jump at the chance to ride down those roads again.

After about 15-20 minutes, we reached our first school.





This school was a high school and many of the students actually lived there.  Upon checking in with the principal, it became apparent that he wanted to take us on a tour of the school.  He showed us their computer lab, which reminded me very much of the very first computer lab that my high school had in 1986.  Only this one was in a room about the size of my bathroom.

Next he showed us the dorm rooms where the students lived and slept.

Then, as he proceeded to lead us to a room where we would speak to the students, he told us we had five minutes to do our presentation.

We tried not to act ruffled but I know every adult around me was thinking the same thing:

 'five minutes???!!!'  

Quickly, we decided Jessica would do her testimony and then we'd do the Gospel skit and go from there.  We knew that was longer than five minutes but since we were operating on African time we decided to use it to our advantage!

High school students packed out the room:

Jessica began sharing her testimony.  As she spoke to them about her struggles as a young high school student and growing up without a father figure in her life, the faces in the audience seemed to connect.  She explained how a fellow student/friend had introduced her to Jesus and how He ultimately met her in her neediness and changed her life forever.  

Next, we did the Gospel skit.  Then, Brad followed up with a Gospel-centered message that was so eloquent and strong.  All the while, Edward translated for us.  After Brad spoke, Edward got going for at least five minutes.  Edward is the pastor of the church at SOS.  We could not tell what he was saying, but he spoke with such passion and tenacity, it was obvious that he was preaching.  It took all that was in us to not shout 'Amen!' and 'Preach it, brother!'

I am not sure if I can describe in words how very present the Holy Spirit was in that room with us.  From the moment Jessica began speaking about Christ to the moment Edward finished, He was there translating His Word. 

When we were finished, the principal of this school (shown in the above picture) walked with us out to our truck.  He told us that he was a born again believer and thanked us profusely for coming.  Then he said something that I believe was a message straight from the Lord, a message to carry with us throughout the rest of our day:  

'You are doing a very important work.  You are planting seeds that are one day going to sprout into a beautiful blossom.'  

I still get goosebumps when I think about that.

The next school that we drove to was an elementary school. 





This school, like many of the schools we visited, had many positive messages written on them in English.  I suppose it is very similar to the many messages we have displayed on the hallways of our schools in America (such as 'Say No to Drugs', 'Be the change you wish to see in the world' or 'Knowledge is Power').  

Yet, many of the messages I found unsettling, reminding me of the very real problem of child-trafficking and prostitution:

Compared to the last school, the kids here were more raggedly dressed and poor; many were barefoot and dirty.  If they did have on shoes, they were usually way too big or too small for their feet.  

There was far less order at this school and as the kids pressed in on  us, it didn't appear that anyone was really in control.  Damon had told us that the quality of education in most of the government schools was very poor.  We were witnessing this firsthand. 

We made the mistake of trying to pass out a few paper tambourines.  The children swarmed Colton, each of them trying to grab one.  

Because of the chaos, we quickly realized that making salvation bracelets wasn't going to work here.

We finally were able to get the kids to stand back far enough to listen to our skit and our testimonies.  I looked around at the faces as we presented, noticing children who were focusing intently on all that was being said.  As His Word was spoken and taught, I realized that God was bigger than chaos.  Remembering this helped me relax and forget about the disorder.  As we presented and Edward translated in Lugandan, I again felt the Lord's presence among us.  

I was reminded: 'you are planting seeds that will one day sprout into something beautiful.'



Here, the children are responding to a question Edward is asking them.



After our presentation, we played.  They spent much time touching our skin and laughing such joyous laughs.  

They never tired of getting pictures taken and looking at their images on the screen.

Damon picked up lunch for us in the village from a small shack of a place that sold Rolexes.  A rolex tastes kind of like a chicken pita or taco and is quite delicious.  Here is a picture of what one looks like:

Ours was obviously not served on a plate but wrapped in foil.  We ate our food as we drove to our third school.

This third school was also an elementary school.  The school we had just left was situated right in the heart of the village it was in.  Right outside the school were lines of shacks serving as stores, restaurants or bars.  However, this school felt like it was out in the middle of the country.  The contrast between the children here compared to the school we'd just left was also extraordinary.  Whereas the children at the last school had been loud and rowdy, the children here were subdued and quiet.  Almost too quiet.

They were quite standoffish at first and we were told that they had likely never seen white people before.

These shy children had some of the sweetest demeanors.  Even the uniforms made of light blue gingham seemed to call out preciousness.  There was something about the eyes of these children that made you want to gather them up and protect them--protect them from the difficulty, the disease, the death.   






Our time we spent here may have been my very favorite moments of our whole trip.

As we had at the other schools, Jessica shared her testimony, followed by our Gospel skit and finally, Brad's message.  While I was very aware of God's presence amongst us, it felt different here than the other schools.  There was a gentleness and sensitivity in the air, reminding me that God meets with and touches people in ways conducive to the given moment.

After Brad spoke, we reviewed the Gospel skit by making salvation bracelets.  We were so excited to finally get to make these.  Oh, how the children loved them!

We ended with Weslan playing his guitar and Olivia playing her violin as we sang Blessed Be Your Name.  I don't have to tell you how special of a moment that was.



Leaving this school was hard.  We could have stayed all day.

But we had to leave because we had one more school to visit--a high school boarding school.

This school was definitely the most prestigious one of the four (not 'prestigious' in our known sense of the word, but comparatively).

When we arrived, the majority of the students were finishing up exams.  We waited under a big tree where an art class was taking place.  The students were drawing a portion of the tree trunk.  The teacher was very friendly and allowed many of our team members to join in and draw along with them.  

Soon it was time to meet with all of the students.  They conjugated inside one of the large classrooms.

We decided to make salvation bracelets with this group, too.

We all sang Blessed Be Your Name once again (this song will never ever be the same for me again...Uganda will always be attached to it every time I hear it!).  Then, Olivia closed out our time by blessing us with the song Amazing Grace:

'Amazing Grace, 

How sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me,

I once was lost, but now I'm found,

Was blind, but now I see.'

That evening, as we gathered together and discussed the day, we marveled about how the Lord had shown up in so many small ways that day.  For one, we were gone for eight hours and not one of us had had any bathroom issues.  In fact, even amidst all of our water drinking, not one person ever even needed to go.  Secondly, it seemed the Lord had the details of our bracelet distribution completely under control as we came home with only a handful left.  Third, God had once again used each of our unique abilities in a way that allowed us to work beautifully as a team.  On a personal note, I hadn't had one problem with my eye allergy--a huge praise being that we had been driving along dust ridden roads all day.

Just as the physical laboring over kitchens had been satisfying at the end of a hard day's work, this day was just as satisfying in its own way.  Rather than spending the day sweating, we had spent the day speaking.  While kitchen making, our sweat had sowed something tangible; While presenting the Gospel, our speaking had sowed something intangible.  Both the tangible and intangible are representations of a Father who is lovingly drawing these people to Himself.

I loved each and every single day that we ministered in Uganda.  But this day was by far my very favorite.  This day changed me the most, stirring up a fire in my soul to make the most of every opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Now that I am home, this day of our mission trip is the one that has lingered with me as I go about my life here in Paducah.  It's the one that stirs within me, reminding me to 'go and tell'.

The other day I realized something quite profound.  Our FCA ministry here in Western KY is to reach students in the public schools with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That's exactly what we were doing on day five of our mission trip--it just happened to be in Uganda, instead of Paducah.

It was in that moment that I understood why this day was my very favorite of all.  It's my calling.