Follow You into the world
Just before we left Canby for Uganda, we sang a song in our worship service. It was a friendly song called "Follow You" by Leeland. The second verse of the song and chorus are:
Use my hands, use my feet, To make Your kingdom come.To the corners of the earth Until Your work is done.'Cause faith without works is dead, And on the cross, Your blood was shed, So how could we not give it away so freely?
And I'll...I'll follow You into the homes of the broken, I'll follow You into the world. Oh, meet the needs for the poor and the needy, God, I'll follow You into the world.
What happens though when we really DO follow Jesus into His world? Well, I had the chance to get a small taste of that today. My friend John Mugowa has started a ministry, Develop a Child Africa Ministries, in the Katoogo slum in Ggaba and he took me there this afternoon to show me the work Jesus has him doing there. Walking off the road in Ggaba, we took a trail down into Katoogo. John was immediately greeted by people there with smiles and warm greetings and children flocked to him. They were also a little curious to see the muzungu coming to visit.
One of the first stops we made was to the home of a young boy named Albert (his Ugandan name is Abudu). John told me that Albert is 13 years old and his mother had abandoned him and his grandmother is caring for him. He called into the home and asked them to bring Albert out to meet me. I wasn't prepared for what I saw at all. At 13 years old, Albert couldn't have weighed even 50 pounds. He was carried by a woman who I later learned is a witch doctor. In the picture below, you can see me with Albert, the witch doctor (holding Albert) and his grandmother.
As I tried to pray for the boy, I really didn't even know what or how to pray. All I could do is to plead with God to help this boy. [NOTE: Since I first wrote this, we have been able to arrange to get Albert to a hospital to be examined to see what medical treatments or assistance may be available. Please pray for him.]
We went deeper into the slum and the smells were almost overwhelming. John was telling me how badly this area floods when it rains hard. What he was showing me meant that virtually every house would be flooded when it rained. The sewage flowing freely and openly through the area smelled so bad - I could just imagine it flowing through people's homes in the flooding. But I didn't want to even think about it.
John was telling me how he comes there sometimes when it rains and he needs to get rubber boots, and even then there are places he cannot get to. But there are some who come from Ggaba Community Church to minister to the people who simply take off their shoes and carry them as they follow Jesus into His world. Would you or I have the grace to do that?
We went on to see the work that John is doing in Katoogo. It really is amazing what he is doing with a small amount of money and resources. He is renting two separate buildings. One is for teaching tailoring (sewing) and as you can see they have done some beautiful work.
Also, John has another building where he is teaching piano, computer, hair braiding and other life skills. John is truly salt and light in ministering to these children of God.
Next, John took me to the local church. It is called the "Great Commission Church". The pastor's name is Pamela and she has such a great spirit about her and a heart to spread the gospel of Jesus' hope into this Katoogo. There are many challenges that I won't go into now that she faces. I only had a few minutes to talk with her but did have the chance to pray for her. As we parted, she told me that she was having a pastors conference and worship service at her church from 5-11pm with pastors coming from all over the area.
As I'm under my mosquito net once again in the quiet of the night, there are so many things to think about. My lesson for the day is that when we say (sing) that we want to "follow You into the world" we should prepare for where He will lead and be ready to Love as Jesus loves. After all, church starts on Monday... God bless and keep you!
And I'll...I'll follow You into the homes of the broken, I'll follow You into the world. Oh, meet the needs for the poor and the needy, God, I'll follow You into the world.
What happens though when we really DO follow Jesus into His world? Well, I had the chance to get a small taste of that today. My friend John Mugowa has started a ministry, Develop a Child Africa Ministries, in the Katoogo slum in Ggaba and he took me there this afternoon to show me the work Jesus has him doing there. Walking off the road in Ggaba, we took a trail down into Katoogo. John was immediately greeted by people there with smiles and warm greetings and children flocked to him. They were also a little curious to see the muzungu coming to visit.
One of the first stops we made was to the home of a young boy named Albert (his Ugandan name is Abudu). John told me that Albert is 13 years old and his mother had abandoned him and his grandmother is caring for him. He called into the home and asked them to bring Albert out to meet me. I wasn't prepared for what I saw at all. At 13 years old, Albert couldn't have weighed even 50 pounds. He was carried by a woman who I later learned is a witch doctor. In the picture below, you can see me with Albert, the witch doctor (holding Albert) and his grandmother.
As I tried to pray for the boy, I really didn't even know what or how to pray. All I could do is to plead with God to help this boy. [NOTE: Since I first wrote this, we have been able to arrange to get Albert to a hospital to be examined to see what medical treatments or assistance may be available. Please pray for him.]
We went deeper into the slum and the smells were almost overwhelming. John was telling me how badly this area floods when it rains hard. What he was showing me meant that virtually every house would be flooded when it rained. The sewage flowing freely and openly through the area smelled so bad - I could just imagine it flowing through people's homes in the flooding. But I didn't want to even think about it.
John was telling me how he comes there sometimes when it rains and he needs to get rubber boots, and even then there are places he cannot get to. But there are some who come from Ggaba Community Church to minister to the people who simply take off their shoes and carry them as they follow Jesus into His world. Would you or I have the grace to do that?
We went on to see the work that John is doing in Katoogo. It really is amazing what he is doing with a small amount of money and resources. He is renting two separate buildings. One is for teaching tailoring (sewing) and as you can see they have done some beautiful work.
Also, John has another building where he is teaching piano, computer, hair braiding and other life skills. John is truly salt and light in ministering to these children of God.
Next, John took me to the local church. It is called the "Great Commission Church". The pastor's name is Pamela and she has such a great spirit about her and a heart to spread the gospel of Jesus' hope into this Katoogo. There are many challenges that I won't go into now that she faces. I only had a few minutes to talk with her but did have the chance to pray for her. As we parted, she told me that she was having a pastors conference and worship service at her church from 5-11pm with pastors coming from all over the area.
As I'm under my mosquito net once again in the quiet of the night, there are so many things to think about. My lesson for the day is that when we say (sing) that we want to "follow You into the world" we should prepare for where He will lead and be ready to Love as Jesus loves. After all, church starts on Monday... God bless and keep you!
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