Happy Easter!

This weekend we went to the Luwero district of Uganda to meet with some ministers and learn about their ministries. We arrived thursday evening after a 4 hour drive that was only supposed to take 2, but Danielle and Erin kept us entertained with ridiculous singing and joking so it wasn't so bad. At one point our van was turning around near a boda-boda park...perfect opportunity to be harrassed. One driver was saying something to us in Luganda about love (kwagala) to which Danielle responded out the window "banange," (my friends) - an expression used sort of like "my goodness". The driver continued harrassing so Danielle said, "tu swala" (you're shaming us) and closed the van window. At this the entire line of boda drivers busted up laughing and clapping for us - it was quite a showdown!

For Good Friday we got to be a part of an incredible program hosted by some of the churches in Luwero. It is an event in which Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Lutherans, and the Church of Uganda all come together for the way of the cross. I've heard of churches in America doing the "stations of the cross" before, but never quite like this. In Luwero, they do a dramatic presentation and actually act out the stations of the cross. The first two were held in the catholic church, and then we all proceeded out into the streets following the actors as they continued to reenact the events. There were about 1000 of us walking as one large mob around the actors, led by a pick-up truck with massive speakers. Some of the bishops rode in the truck and through the speakers, read the scriptures that corresponded with the acting. They also preached a little as we went and we definitely drew crowds around town. It was really an amazing way to take the Gospel out into the community. It was also an unforgettable experiencing that really made the story of Christ's suffering come alive in a new way. Walking for 2 hours in the hot sun in a crowded mass of hundreds of people, following a man carrying a cross and being "beaten" almost the entire way...I felt like I was really part of the crowd walking with Jesus 2000 years ago. A lot of people in the community joined us along the way simply out of curiosity about what was going on, and it made me realize that when this actually happened to Jesus, most of the crowds probably had no idea what was going on. I had thought about this before but it sort of hit me in a new way, being a part of it. We ended the walk at the Anglican church and they "crucified Jesus" to the cross and ended with a closing service.

After the most incredible Good Friday of my life, the day got even better as we met with Father Jerry, a local Catholic priest for tea. This guy has such a heart for ministry and just seemed like one of the most sincere people I've ever met. After meeting with him, we were invited Bishop Kisseka's house for more tea! He is an Anglican bishop and has the nicest house I've seen in Uganda thus far...Bishops are pretty highly regarded here. He has actually ministered in America for some time, so it was interesting to hear about the differences between ministering here in Uganda and ministering back home.

I just can't believe what amazing people I'm meeting here in addition to the families I've stayed with. I am loving my Mukono family more and more all the time. Yesterday we had a huge lunch for Easter...Chicken, beef, pork, irish potatoes, pasta, cabbage, greens, 3 kinds of sauce for each of the meats, rice, matoke (of course), pineapple, and soda. We all ate so much! 3 plates each at least! Even after my 3rd full bowl of food, our friend Godfrey who was over for lunch said once again, "Sharon, you have eaten like a mosquito!" And after telling him I couldn't possibly eat anymore, he said we needed to get up and dance and jump around to make more room for the food! After we had all eaten way too much we all just relaxed and talked for the rest of the afternoon. After all that talking we decided it was time to do something so the rest of our evening was filled with dancing! I know I'm a Wesleyan, but I figure maybe social dancing is okay when its with your family!

The Sunday morning service really wasn't all that different from a normal service except the cathedral was completely packed, we took communion, the liturgy was a little different, and the focus of the whole service was on Jesus' resurrection of course. So even though Easter Sunday wasn't vastly different from how I've experienced it in America, it was definitely not a disappointment. It rained all day but here that is a blessing...you start realize this when your family's water tank is overflowing for several hours! Mukama yeba zibwe! Praise the Lord!