We started out the day surprising 2 of the women that sang for us last night by letting them know that they had been sponsored. The lead singer, Monica, was a young, beautiful widow. She has 3 children. We arrived at her house and she wasn’t there! She had went to the market…but word had reached her at the market so she showed up about 10 minutes later. Once again JJ’s family back home sponsored her. We showered her with gifts and she was overwhelmed to say the least. Then we headed to ‘Evangelist’, a crippled woman that lived in the village. She also was overwhelmed and everyone gave her gifts. She makes baskets for a living so several people bought her baskets.
Off to see the orphans…today’s project was to build a house for a little orphan boy named Brod. We had to drive thru some treacherous roads…I don’t think they were roads really…more like paths It felt like we were driving thru the jungle as the weeds and trees touched each side of the bus. We were late so the whole community was there waiting for us. They started out with a drum cadence presentation and then the community leaders had a couple of speeches to thank us for coming. They introduced the widows, the orphans, the disabled…the place was packed! Once all the formalities were over, the fun began. The guys started digging trenches for the foundation of the house. I tried to dig but the locals teased me the whole time because I wasn’t doing it right so I retreated and left the digging to them…and then I played with all of the kids. The Doc had many people waiting to see him so he spent all afternoon treating people.
The kids love to see their faces on the video screen while you’re taping them. You could spend all day just doing that because they are not used to seeing their own face and it cracks them up. With digital cameras, you can take their picture and show them right away…they love that too. I had soooo much fun with the kids. I showed them pictures of Kasey, Jessie, and our small group…I showed a few of them a picture of Kenny and I kissing at our wedding and they were embarrassed so I put that one away. When it was finally time to go, I was standing with a group of older school kids and I asked them to sing me a song…and boy did they! They began singing a “Welcome To Uganda”song to me and the group of kids got bigger, and bigger, and bigger…it was crazy. I was standing in the middle of 50+ kids singing with me in the middle. It was amazing, I’ll never forget that song. Ben motioned to me that we needed to head to the bus so I motioned to the kids to start walking down the road with me…all of us clapping and singing…by the time we made it to bus, there had to be maybe 100+ kids singing in front of the bus…I thanked them and cried…it was a true blessing and something I probably will never experience ever again…It was like Heaven …I don’t think I have ever felt such feelings of joy, compassion, and gratitude all at once. I truly felt God’s presence.
Off to see the orphans…today’s project was to build a house for a little orphan boy named Brod. We had to drive thru some treacherous roads…I don’t think they were roads really…more like paths It felt like we were driving thru the jungle as the weeds and trees touched each side of the bus. We were late so the whole community was there waiting for us. They started out with a drum cadence presentation and then the community leaders had a couple of speeches to thank us for coming. They introduced the widows, the orphans, the disabled…the place was packed! Once all the formalities were over, the fun began. The guys started digging trenches for the foundation of the house. I tried to dig but the locals teased me the whole time because I wasn’t doing it right so I retreated and left the digging to them…and then I played with all of the kids. The Doc had many people waiting to see him so he spent all afternoon treating people.
The kids love to see their faces on the video screen while you’re taping them. You could spend all day just doing that because they are not used to seeing their own face and it cracks them up. With digital cameras, you can take their picture and show them right away…they love that too. I had soooo much fun with the kids. I showed them pictures of Kasey, Jessie, and our small group…I showed a few of them a picture of Kenny and I kissing at our wedding and they were embarrassed so I put that one away. When it was finally time to go, I was standing with a group of older school kids and I asked them to sing me a song…and boy did they! They began singing a “Welcome To Uganda”song to me and the group of kids got bigger, and bigger, and bigger…it was crazy. I was standing in the middle of 50+ kids singing with me in the middle. It was amazing, I’ll never forget that song. Ben motioned to me that we needed to head to the bus so I motioned to the kids to start walking down the road with me…all of us clapping and singing…by the time we made it to bus, there had to be maybe 100+ kids singing in front of the bus…I thanked them and cried…it was a true blessing and something I probably will never experience ever again…It was like Heaven …I don’t think I have ever felt such feelings of joy, compassion, and gratitude all at once. I truly felt God’s presence.
2 comments:
Hi Angi-
We've been keeping up with your time in Uganda. Know that we love you and are praying for you.
Hey Angi, been praying for you and your team and especially for the people that you're ministering to. My pastors have joined in prayer for you as well.
What an amazing adventure! Continue to call on Jesus in all things and may your efforts result in hundreds of souls won and lives changed.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May He lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Continue to be a carrier of His perfect peace and abundant joy. We love you and are praying for a great harvest and your safe return.
Love, Shan (Smith)
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