MOVING INTO THE UNKNOWN
(Am catching up after a long week of no internet)
I have stepped further into the unknown! Even before arriving in Uganda, there was a small sense of foreboding well before getting on the flight. However, I attributed it to moving on to East Africa which was new, to too much change, and fatigue… certainly valid. Arriving in Kampala, I was thoroughly exhausted from a night flight and long layover in Nairobi. This faded as I was warmly received by Pastor Michael Lutalo and his long time ministry assistant, Phillip. I had no way of knowing how strongly I would feel bonded to them by the end of 10 days.
Hospitality and greeting is part of the culture of Africa. I still have much to learn about honoring their gracious hosting when I stay in the homes of my African friends, allowing them to show respect in their own ways and go to great lengths to treat me well. More than once, I have heard the comment, “You are my responsibility until you leave the country.” In central Uganda, even before colonial rule, there existed great rituals of honoring guests, including bowing before elders. I began to understand this when on my last day, the last hours in Phillip’s home, his wife Rebecca lovingly bent to her knees in their humble home to offer me a glass of water on a tray.
The first afternoon, I rested, visited, met family members, and enjoyed the lush surroundings of the developing region, once a jungle. Many homes are build on hillsides, built into the red rock with soil where anything will grow. From my bedroom window I could see the tip of Lake Victoria and felt it’s breezes cooling the afternoon air. The headwaters of the Nile River begin there. Wow!
I spent the next day with Chris and Jane Palacas who are vetern missionaries with CHE (Community Health Evangelism), enabling multitudes of churches to be planted with strong Biblical teaching, reliance on the Holy Spirit’s empowerment, and ministry to the whole person. They filled me in on much of Uganda’s spiritual issues including strong denominational divisiveness, reminding me that AIDS began in this country and that the LRA rebels in the north have only loosened their grip recently after nearly 20 years of war. (Try the internet on this topic.)
Sunday followed. I accepted an invitation to preach at one of their small churches in the slums of Kampala. Initially, I said I don’t preach, but God convinced me that I had something to share after a few scriptures were strongly impressed on me that morning and I yielded. It was one of the best things I could have done! I found in my words God’s Spirit speaking about the topic, Katonda ali nafe (God is with us). It seemed so clear as I spoke that God wanted people to know of his presence even in their suffering and grief. That, in their pain, he is present and wants to walk through it with them. I was well received. As Phillip was my interpreter, we had many times to speak of Katonda ali nafe in the week to come.
