Day 4, Sunday June 29 Church day of course. Guess you sorta kinda havta go to church when you are on a mission trip right? Well today, there was no making. We were all up early and raring to go to church, WATOTO Church that is. This place was Ah-mazing! Of course many of you are familiar with their childrens choirs that travel around and perform that always do a great job while helping the orphan children at the same time. Well, the church was just as impressive. We went to church at 9, the second service of the morning at the Central Campus. We arrived early to have to get a seat. Really? As soon as the service was over, the previous capacity crowd left the sanctuary to the rear and stage right while we were waiting outside. The doors opened on our side of the sanctuary from the outside where we were and people started moving as quickly as possible to pile into the sanctuary. The locals knew what the deal was, and fortunately Ben and Capulan and our trustee Dennis did too so they had as poised as a lion watching for its prey. Shew! We made it in the main auditorium and even got to sit down on the floor area and would not have to sit outside in the sun or in the overflow tents or up in the balcony. With no air, this was a special treat. We wanted to worship and see it in person, not from the screens. This service was one of 5 today at this location alone. In all, 22 services throughout a weekend at 8 campuses and we were told that many are just as we witnessed firsthand this morning. Building capacity? Not sure although shaped like and a I would guess larger than First Baptist Paducah with aisles on the side and a wider one in the middle. Choir loft capacity? No one cared, they stood sideways and tighter than shoulder to shoulder; tight enough that I could not count the number of people in the loft. Dont reckon they have fire marshals in Kampala.... Is it all about the church? The church is super impressive and incredible the work that they are doing around the world. Go to watotochurch if you want to learn more about them. But we werent there just to check out a church. We wanted to worship with the people. And boy, did they not disappoint! What is it about Ugandans and church that is so intriguing? I cant remember the last time that I was in a place of worship where the capacity crowd was so in tuned, so enthroned, so enthralled, so captivated by the Spirit. These people didnt have their own pews, they didnt have cushions on their pews for goodness sakes. Guess the first 45 minutes or so that didnt matter anyway as no one even thought about sitting down. The people in Gods House let go and worshiped their Lord and Savior and did not care who sat where or even if there were mzungus (white people) in the house. I was even surprised to see many singing in the choir. Today was Watoto 360 recognition day where they recognized college age students from around the world that had applied and been accepted to come to a 6 month intensive, immersion program to develop their leadership skills in a 3rd world country. Back to that worship thing, holy moly! The choir packed in the loft on the stage just as the rest of us did in the seats. There were no seats, no music, only rags laying around in random places-yep to wipe the sweat away while they sang and danced. Most if not all truly sang to an audience of one. No one was anywhere close to out of hand or would even come close to making even a conservative Baptist uncomfortable. They just simply praised their Lord in their own way. Cry out to Him, echoed the song leader, although the unruly crowd had not waited for his encouragement. Shout to The Lord....think you were too late on that one too my friend. Sing out to our God and give him praise.....DUDE are you not paying attention? Not sure anyone else in there (maybe the pink skinned people as someone referenced recently) could give any more during the worship part of the service. One of my favorite parts was the prayer portion immediately following the worship time. Everyone was on their feet from worship and he asked people to break into 2s or 3s or 4s in their pew and pray. Obviously this was no surprise or caught anyone off guard in there. I prayed with Allie and Max and we finished long before the others. I just stood and listened as I felt the goose bumps begin to rise on my arms and the hair on the back of my neck as a standing room only crowd surrounded us in every direction and they were praying out loud to their God. They were pleading for Him. Most of which I couldnt understand or even tell if it was English or Lugandan or a mixture of all 56 tribes and languages recognized in Uganda. But the best part is-IT DIDNT MATTER! Not to me, and certainly not to anyone else in that room! They had one focus in mind and what I or anyone else thought about them didnt even make the list. The Pastors message was a universal themed message that was good for us all to hear. I should mention that the entire service was in English complete with words on the screens to the songs. English is the official language of Kampala in the business district so the church at this location anyway has adopted the same policy. One of the associate pastors came to the platform to recognize the Watoto 360 students and while he was there he took up the offering, where of course, another time of praise broke out. These people even celebrated then!! I am quite certain my pastor would fall over or run out the back door if the same level of celebration happened during the offering. Then the pastor paused to thank the choir to an eruption of applause, and the security guards outside-applause, and the ushers-applause, and the greeters-applause, and so on down to the last person. So many volunteers that I couldnt even been to guesstimate much less attempt to count. They appreciate each other and praised The Lord for each other. They wanted to be there and they didnt care about anything. The Pastor spoke about being involved in cell groups and being connected with a small group. He had been in Miami last week meeting with mega church leaders as they discussed how to break down the mega church. As they continue to grow, they have to continue to get smaller. He encouraged every person, member or not, to be part of a cell group where they could be connected and accountable. Very interesting sermon, even interesting enough for Max to take notes?? Where is my son and what is going on here? Soon time came for the 2 hour service to end and for us to leave. We left as quickly and as orderly as we came and the next folks were coming in right behind us, 4 times they would do this process and apparently everyone was used to it. Not as much fellowship in between as I was used too, and no coffee bar. Once outside, it was mayhem. The road around the church had police everywhere but to no avail. Many of the people waiting had simply turned their cars off and placed them in park in the middle of the street for several blocks while they waited. No cussing, fussing, honking or even loud talk, just waiting for their turn to go to church. WOW! Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but it sure seemed awful convenient that there was an outdoor market a block down the street from the church. So of course, we had to visit and browse. Wasnt in the mood to shop as we still have no room in our bags before heading out into the village. Soccer balls and cleats litter the floor in our room and a few pairs will have to be tied on to the outside of bags since we evidently didnt repack as good here as did when leaving home. But from here, it is easier with some stuff going inside the bus and the luggage on top of the bus has no weight limit. Well other than the fact that it has to be lifted 10 feet of the ground to the birds nest that sits atop of the van. Speaking of packing-BREAKING news!! We received 1/2 of our supply totes last night when we got back to the hotel. YES!! And I think if we could pick the 5 that we got vs. the ones that didnt, the right 5 came in. The first one we saw contained a wedding dress that was given by a very special couple back home for a special lady over here. Although minor to some people and maybe even so compared to the amazing day that we had had, a celebration broke out. After shopping briefly, we placed our order for lunch at a nearby restaurant but we wanted to take advantage of our time today so we went to Hopes Closet. Hopes Closet is a consignment store that is supplied from the US with donated clothes. The only cost is the shipping to here and then the clothes are sold with the proceeds benefiting Beyond Uganda. The shop was located on the 3rd floor and doesnt have a get steady stream of traffic yet. The first floor was meats (raw and live chickens) and the second floor was all produce and was the busiest level of the building. The retail shops were on the 3rd floor and our location is right by the stairs. Just not sure how much traffic is in the newly remodeled governmental subsidized building. But it does give my retail minded brain something to ponder. Lunch was good and a great time to relax and unwind. We were seated on a covered outdoor patio with a cross breeze and the mountains in the background. I think that we all needed this time just to chill. From here we had a special treat, although church was amazing, I believe that the next segment of the day was my highlight. Dennis (in case you are just joining us) our translator, wanted to take us to see his new bachelor pad. So proud and we so proud of him. To know from where he came from and to where he is now, truly he is blessed. We packed in small room (by our standards) and listened to Dennis tell us life story of how when his father passed away at 3 years of age, that his mother began to struggle to feed all 7 of her children. By the age of 7 he was accepted into the Compassion program and he credits this for the impact on his life. Not as a negative that he had to go, but for the blessings that his entire family received benefits for years from this awesome organization. To interview and to listen to him tell his story was priceless and a great reminder of how precious the relationships that we have with our Compassion children even though most of us have never met the child. Dennis never met his sponsor. After a brief rest period (nap for the old folks) wifi time for the young ones, it was time for cultural dinner complete with BBQ. Dont even try it-wifi time for me not a nap! Yes your mind has probably beat me too it, not the typical BBQ. Chicken, pork and goat with the typical African side dishes of rice, fruit, chapati, and some sort of banana dish that really didnt have a flavor. 4 hours plus of rich heritage, tribal music and dancing and entertainment. All kids were invited down to the stage to participate and dance. We were seated at the top of an amphitheater style venue and dusk began to settle in. So I was surprised and relieved at the same time to see Allie hop out of her chair and bound down the steps to join her brother who was the first out of his seat. Even though 14, she just accidentally included herself in the children with no prompting from me. The final act of the night came with a surprise for Allie. Thanks again to Cap and Dennis, her birthday surprises continued on. She was brought to the stage and of course everyone sang happy birthday to her (again) and then the involved her in the program. They used moroccos to scan her and that sat her on the stages edge in a chair while the dedicated the nights last performance to her. Although she was a little bit red, I thank she loved every minute of it and this will be a birthday that she will NEVER forget. Oh what a day! Tomorrow we pack up, load up, and head for the village of Bugiri, about a 3 hour bus ride as long as all goes well......
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 17:21:54 +0000
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