As I lay here in the hotel (I use the term hotel very
generously), I can hear the party going on outside that sounds like it's
directly beneath me. Yikes! Anyway, it's been a long day, but tomorrow brings many opportunities. I just finished preparing a sermon for 30 teenagers
tomorrow about Christian dating. It will focus on respect, purity, and putting
our Risen King first and foremost. Lauren was sweet enough to send me to Africa
with a picture of us, that also has a verse on the back, which I will gladly
show off to my audience tomorrow.
We will also hold Day 1 of our men's
conference tomorrow afternoon which will bless us with the opportunity to share
our Lord's message. It was through this conference last year that Pastor Sam
Msweigwa instilled in me the courage to speak up about my faith. His simple
advice to "be bold" has stuck with me and helped me tremendously. Thank God!
I'll never forget the first day of last summer's conference in Palissa. We were having a group prayer before dismissing early due to an impending rain storm. We first prayed alone for different subjects, then
with a partner, followed by a small group, and finally one person out loud
to the entire group. We were praying for strength in our group of four when I experienced God's touch for the first time in my life. I remember thinking that the
rain was pounding on Pastor Sam's roof but when I looked up I realized it was the sound of all the different pastors praying in their native tongue vibrating off of the walls. I then felt what I thought was Mitch putting his arms around my shoulders from behind. I turned around to see nobody behind
me, and all the hair on my arms sticking up. It was truly incredible!
On our
drive we stopped at Ebenezer Children's Ministry for a few hours to play with their kids. The
amount of work that they have gotten accomplished around their property this
past year is just astonishing. It hardly looks like the same place. The kids
were beyond excited to see us. When Derrick (the child my mom and Mike
Dougherty sponsor) recognized me, he didn't let me stop holding him for the
rest of the evening.
Tonight, the men that will be preaching tomorrow prepared
their sermons while the ladies prepared vacation bible school supplies for
about 350 kids tomorrow. Pray for our safety as we are on the Western side of
Uganda now, and for the hearts of all the men that will hear messages over the
next 24 hours to Man Up and have more families and less orphans. God bless! -T
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| Me and Derrick at Ebenezer Children's Ministry. |
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