Ups and Downs

A lot has happened since I wrote last...where to begin?

Wednesday night of last week we had our overnight intercessory prayer service at the Cathedral, and it was quite an experience. Since we had classes the next day we only stayed from 9pm-1am and we actually would have stayed another hour or so, but we were already an hour late getting Betsy home. I don’t know why I haven’t ever written much about the other USP students yet (Betsy being one of them)...we have so many crazy experiences together and are such good friends...I can’t believe I haven’t talked about any of them as of yet! I have so much to write about from the weekend, so some other time I will share some stories of our adventures, but if you follow the links you can read some of their blogs and get to know them a little better.

Anyways, for the first 3 hours of the prayer service we actually just had a time of praise and preaching. The preaching was pretty intense, and the power went out a couple times making things even more interesting, especially since the purpose of this service was to pray against all the witchcraft practiced in and around our area. I was misinformed when I said in my last post that they would be having a similar service going on simultaneously. The reason this service was focused around this issue was because those who practice witchcraft here usually gather privately, but now they want to worship publicly and build a cathedral. We were also praying for our pastors and their families and churches because they are all under attack. Those who practice witchcraft have recently been sending some of their members out as agents of evil to attend churches in the area on Sunday mornings. They seek to bring discord and harm to our congregations, and especially our pastor’s and their families. To give you an idea of how prevalent this is in our town of Mukono, apparently last year we had the highest number of child sacrifices in Uganda – 52. As you can see, this is an ongoing thing that we could use prayer for all the time here. So we finally had the first time of prayer from about midnight to 12:45, and they continued to alternate between preaching and prayer throughout the morning hours. The presence of God was so heavy and so obviously present – it was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, hearing hundreds of people praying aloud in their native languages for 45 minutes straight. It was so hard to leave – we all felt like we could have stayed all night had we not had class the next day.

The weekend was full of excitement, but Saturday morning was rough. I woke up to find that Grace would be leaving in a few minutes to go home with her brother and go back to school. It came as a shock to our whole family, as her brother just showed up that morning to take her home without warning. When I told Grace that this made me very sad she said, “Even me, I am not happy.” The whole situation was really hard on everyone, especially Grace. She is the most amazing 13 year old girl I know – what 13-year-olds do you know who would gladly clean, do dishes, look after a 2 year old, and cook for a family of 8 every day? I am going to miss her witty sense of humor and even her laugh. Our family jokes that though she is so young she already has her masters – in laughing! I am thankful to have had a month with her but we all miss her so much.

Some of us had been planning to go to Kampala for the day on Saturday and it was really good to get out of the house after such an unexpected goodbye. Becca, Betsy, Caroline, and I set out with our sister Rittah to the capital city for shopping, American food, and cello playing! We took a 45 min. ride in a Matatu (taxi van) for less than a dollar to get there. Since we had to be home before dark we were pressed for time and didn’t end up going shopping, but we did have a late lunch at the “New York Kitchen” where we got calzones, lasagna, and mac & cheese! You’d be surprised at the kind of foods you miss when you’re here! After lunch we took a taxi to the YMCA where, low and behold, they really did have a cello! I got to rent it for half an hour for about $1.25. It wasn’t the same of course, because the cello wasn’t the best quality, but it was actually in better shape than I expected. There was so much I didn’t get to play because of time, but it was well worth it – just enough to tide me over for another month or so!

The ride home was an adventure all its own as we had to take 3 different Matatus to get back! The first was just to get to a different side of Kampala where there would actually be taxis going to Mukono, and the second one got a flat tire halfway home. This happened just as it was getting dark and we had to find another taxi to get us the rest of the way home. Since it was getting dark and we weren’t back yet, Musumba was worried and prayed for us...praise God the flat didn’t cause us to get into an accident. Have I mentioned yet that Uganda’s roads are the 2nd most dangerous in the world? Feel free to add traveling safety to your list of ongoing prayer requests!

Sunday morning Betsy, Becca, and I went to a nearby high school for their Sunday morning service. We preached a very short sermon about trusting God, and just enjoyed worshiping with about 25 teens. I have never experienced such sincere worship with a group their age. Apparently something they’ve been learning lately is to really mean the words when they sing and I could tell they are really getting it. Being a part of this school ministry is something I feel I need to be involved in on a regular basis, which I never expected before I came here. I wouldn’t be preaching every week of course, but I would love to get to know these students better, counsel and mentor them, and continue to learn from them.

School work is getting tougher, and USP is keeping us all busy with trips and meetings, so unfortunately I won’t be able to post as often...this weekend we are going to see a traditional Bagesu circumcision (also something I didn’t expect before I came!), so I’ll tell you all about it next week!

Prayer requests:
-I am getting very accustomed to everything here and I don’t want to take it for granted...I want to enjoy the time I have here and not let it pass me by.
-Rittah had started school again last week but now she cannot attend because she can’t pay her school fees. Please pray that God will provide quickly...this is her last year of school before going on to University. Note: I am asking only for prayer, not money! Sending money from the U.S. would cause more problems rather than solve them, so thank you for your prayers.