Sunday we were blessed to go to church. we had to wake up early and get on the road by 7am. Church began at 8 and we arrived a few minutes after 8. Breakfast at the retreat didn't start until 8 so I was a bit hungry with only having a few protein bars.
The congregation had probably 1000 people in it. It was a HUGE building that looked like a cattle barn at the State Fair. There were chairs lined up and a large stage with a lot of vocalists on it. An electric guitar, piano, and trap set were instruments. What an experience!! The sermon was wonderful too. Very convicting!
After church, I needed to use the restroom. The bathrooms were around back in the school yard. First you took your toilet paper bz where the co-ed sink was. Then you walked around the brick wall to find 2 stalls. It smelled like an outhouse; it looked like an outhouse. But it wasn't quite as nice as an outhouse. It was a stall with a hole in the ground and some tile around the hole.As a farm girl, I am pretty comfortable about relieving myself in the woods so I thought I could use just about any type of facilities. I guess I found my loophole in "about." I did use the facility though...so I guess I conquered.
After church we had a light pastry for snack and went to the Baby's Home. We were there for feeding and nap time. It was so great to be with the children. I have already started to bond with a couple of them. There are a couple boys who just have my heart in the palm of their hands.
Then came the indoor mall for lunch around 2pm. This was a new experience dining in a Ugandan food court. The waiters come and flock you before you sit down and all try to get you to order off their menu. It is quite different!!
Following dinner we were on our way to an African culture dance show. Very fun! But while we were there we didn't eat supper and we left around 9:30 at night. I was quite hungry by then. When we got home we talked about skipping the two meals of the day and I complained my share. Then Dan said, "Boy aren't we spoiled. We skip one or two meals and we go hungry for a couple hours. Imagine what these Africans go through." That was really convicting. I went to my hut and decided to talk to God and journal about that. I felt pretty pathetic after letting that soak in.
This country has raised so many questions in my head. How do we, as Americans, accept that we were born into one of the most developed countries in the world but still remember those who were born into less developed countries and try to help them? Especially the widow and the orphan (James 1:27). Many of these people have to walk hundreds of yards or even several miles just to get to their daily jug of water to use for their daily activities like washing clothes and dishes. How do I move forward knowing that there are people out here who have to do such things? I have been around poverty. I grew up around families in poverty. But I am not sure how to define poverty anymore. Is it income based? Is it based on what you have or don't have? My own grandma still uses a 1950s laundry washing machine and walks everywhere she goes because she doesn't have a working vehicle right now. But when you offer her money she does not accept it. She believes she must work for what she has.
On the alternative, if you offer an adult beggar something here, you are giving them a reason to keep begging. It is a state of mind.
I would like to continue on these thoughts but the internet cafe is closing....more tomorrow!!!
Sunday's photo will have to come in the next blog!!
GOD BLESS!!!!
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