SUNDAY NIGHT IN MBALE

I got to chat with Steve online again today. It was midnight in Mbale; therefore, it was 11:oo am here in Washington. He had just gotten in from the evening crusade and I'm thankful that he was able to log on before heading to his hotel room.

The itinerary I was given had the team leaving Mbale after church Sunday morning, but they've stayed on and had another crusade meeting. And I learned where "Nowhere" is. It's pretty sobering. The crusade meetings have been held in Rongoro, outside Mbale. "Rongoro" means "wrong way" and was the site of much of the slughtering done by Idi Amin. If you, like I, remember the dictatorship of Idi Amin, you'll recall that he was know as the "Butcher of Africa." In this place where much killing was done, the good news of eternal life is being shared. That's awesome.

This morning the team was divided into four groups, each visiting a different church. Steve, and the other team members with him, arrived at church already in progress. The two other team members were invited to share their testimonies and after the choir sang, Steve was invited to preach. He shared for an hour regarding Ephesians 4. I looked it up and Ephesians 4 speaks of unity in the body of Christ and living as children of light. I want to hear this one in its full version!

Steve described the church service as "AWESOME." He said that there were about 80 people with plenty of singing and dancing. Afterwards he and the other team members were invited to the pastor's home to eat. Steve said that their hosts carried their backpacks, seated them, gave them soda pop and put on Christian music tv. He said that just one person ate with them; the others waited in the other room until they were all done. He said that it is very humbling to be there.

Tomorrow team members are going to hike a mountain or go shopping. Steve thinks he will stay at the hotel, sleep as late as possible, and write in his journal. He's ready for some quiet time alone before the 6-hour ride back to Kampala.

Thanks for reading.
~Cindy