As I sit on a couch in the room beside the common area to my current residents of Ntinda, Uganda I am in aw of Gods majesty. You see in the common area there are a group of people worshiping the Lord in an unorganized fashion that just happened to occur after a Sunday school meeting. A Ugandan man who goes by Billy is playing guitar while others from all walks of life are lifting up his name. A girl from Texas, another from Minnesota, and another from North Carolina, a married couple from Pennsylvania, two other Ugandan men one of which is the founder of this organization, who if you heard his story would have a hard time arguing there was not a God, all lifting up the praise to one man, Jesus Christ. This is only a small taste of what my experience here has been like. God is so good.
Thus far the experience has been great. That comes with a grain of salt of course, as some would have a hard time understanding with no AC and an average temperature of 85 degrees plus, no warm water (shaving is no fun), repeat meals of the same foods only in different variations (rice, beans, posho, vegetables, eggs and pineapple), the washing of dishes by hand, washing laundry by hand, and other things such as bugs and little lizards crawling around. With all of this in mind it has been awesome. With all of this I am left saying God is good.
We have been serving mostly in schools, primary (elementary) and secondary (high school) schools. At the primary schools we mostly share a bible story, sing songs, play games, and sometimes make crafts. The kids get so excited to see Mzungus (white people) coming and spending time with them. The secondary schools are also breath taking. We go and have lunch hour worship services, were kids skip lunch to sing praise with nothing but the clapping of their hands and maybe a djembe drum. We then share a message with them and again they are so grateful for our coming and sharing with them. We have also been doing feeding projects, visiting villages, serving in a baby’s home, as well as a children’s hospital. My first day on project I was blessed to lead the morning devotion as well as share stories at two primary schools. Since then I have spoken at another primary school as well as lead games at another. This week I will speak at a secondary school and another primary school and leading devotion. They have asked me to preach on Sunday at church. This was a humbling request. I agreed to do so and for the first time I will be speaking in front of a church on a Sunday morning, Easter Sunday of all Sundays. The church is in a village where roughly fifty villagers meet under a hut to worship the Lord. Prayers for my message to be clear on Sunday would be greatly appreciated in that I will have a translator and things can get lost in translation. Just pray that the Lord would speak and use me in this time.
The Lord has also been bringing to light this call I have felt to be a pastor. Two different Ugandan friends, Wilson and Jonah, have told me they have felt on their spirit when they first met me that I was a pastor. This was very encouraging and having talked to Wilson, the founder of Empower a Child, about my struggle with the calling it has been an encouragement to see that he wrestled with some of the same things I am when he felt Gods call on his life. Just need to keep seeking the Lord for guidance in this area.
The people have accepted me as family. The relationships I am building are ones that I know will last a lifetime. They call me many names aside from Tyler. Actually I probably get Tyler the least. Other names that I have developed in the past week are as follows; Taylor, Tyla, Beast, Transporter, Roonie (Wayne Roonie), Pastor Tyla, Reverand, and of course Mzungu. I was able to go and visit Jinja today which is the base of the Nile. Got a little sun burnt but nothing too terrible.
Well that is a wrap for week one. Prayers for a man named Unis would be greatly appreciated it. He is our driver, a Muslim man that the Lord has really put on my heart. We are becoming good friends and I ask continually that the Lord move in His heart. As for me I ask that you would pray that God would keep using me effectively, that my energy levels would stay up and also that I would remain vulnerable to His will for my life. If anyone has prayer request from the States please feel free to send them my way!
Best
Sweet Lou
No comments:
Post a Comment