Hospital Visit:
It broke my heart to go to the hospital and sit in a waiting
hall of lots of babies who were sick. Some had IVs, some were coughing, some
with infections and some extremely lethargic. The child I was with was
diagnosed with some sort of infection on his head and a hernia. They would not
treat the hernia because he was too young and it may come back. They gave him
an antibiotic and a pain killer. While I was waiting, a woman thrust her baby
at me and said she would be back. At that point I started praying she really
would be back. If I was left with a baby I wouldn’t exactly know what to do
other than take it back to the orphanage. I lifted the blanket off the baby’s
face to see a very deformed head. My heart was crushed! This sweet baby was
tiny and frail. I prayed that God would help that baby, whatever his condition,
to feel handsome and loved all his life. I then prayed for healing on all the
other children waiting in the hall. The medical facility was not much but they
do their best with what they have.
Taxi Ride to Jinja:
I am no expert at choosing taxi vans. They are all trying to
get passengers first. But if the van is not full you sit and wait til it is.
But I enjoyed the experience even with a long wait. Since I had a baby strapped
to me I got to sit up front. The taxi stops and picks up/drops off people along
the way to Jinja. The taxi holds about 14 people.
Jinja Community Church of Faith:
We were supposed to go to Acacia Community Church, but no
one in Jinja knew where that was and I forgot to write it down. We ended up
going to Jinja Community Church of Faith. I was the only mzunga there. The message
was preached in English and translated to Lugandan, but the singing was all in Lugandan.
Here is what I witnessed: I saw a church that had a total of 5 outdated
microphones, three of which had cords. The sound system consisted of two
speakers. The band was the sound man playing a drum beat and chords on a keyboard.
No one complained about the music being too loud. No one complained about what
songs were played. No one complained about the sermon being long. The worship
leader didn’t tell people how to worship, making them raise their hands or spin
around. Everyone worshipped in their own way. Some sat still, some raised their
hands, the choir danced, some yipped and others just sang…and it was ok! But
what I noticed most was the overwhelming sense of God’s presence. It wasn’t
about show or pleasing people like it so often feels like in America. Here they
don’t worry about what others will think or how many people showed up that day.
We are so political about how we run churches in America today. I cannot remember the last time I was
overwhelmed by God’s presence in my worship service at home like I was at this
sweet little church in Jinja, Uganda. Because they have so little here and
are thankful for what they have, those issues aren’t present. They focus on one
thing- worshipping God. We have lost that I’m afraid. We spoiled Americans make
it so much more difficult than it has to be. I am appreciative of what we have
at my home church. But I almost wish we didn’t have all that we do. It feels as
if people spend more time complaining than praising. Even as a member of the
praise team, there are days I get bogged down in all the technicalities and
fail to just worship. Even though I
couldn’t understand what they were saying in this song service, you could see
the hearts of worship these people had and I couldn’t help but to close my
eyes, raise my hands and just praise along with them. If I could fly to Uganda
every Sunday, I would.
Children:
Today I set my laptop on the front porch and a bunch of kids
came and huddled around it to watch a movie. It was the cutest thing ever! Next
time I’m gonna get a picture. We were just too tired from our trip to Jinja
that day so we sent all the kids home.
Eva started school today J
She was so excited! She came home all smiles. While Eva was at school, little
Eva, Joseph, and I watched Ratatouille.
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