October 26, 2012 - Crusade

In the morning we went out into the local village with our list of needy individuals again.  We had a little 7 yr old boy named Joshua as a guide this time.  He took us to the home of an elderly woman who was caring for her grandsons.  We were taking a mosquito net to her.  She told us her hands hurt all the time, and her knuckles were all swollen, so we were guessing it was arthritis.  Lori asked me to pray for her, and I did.  Some others prayed as well, and as the time passed, she said her hands were getting better!  Richard gave her the gospel story, she had not heard about Jesus, only His name before.  She liked what he was telling her, but she said she was afraid to make the choice because others in the village might hurt her.  (the Muslim neighbors)  Her two grandsons were there too, listening, and they decided to give their lives to Jesus.  (See before and after pictures)  

Later that day, the Crusade began.  They started worship around 3 or 4 I think, we could hear it back at our place.  We showed up around 6 in time for Chris O to preach.  We walked in through the crowd like a pack of celebrities, it's a very strange feeling - all eyes on us, kids rushing in to grab our hands and be the ones to walk us in...  We got up on the stage and took our seats behind the worship dancers.  I love African worship so much!!  It's so filled with joy!  I was kinda bummed we only got to be there for a couple songs.  Chris preaches like an African preacher, screaming the whole time.  Add the translator working at the same intensity, it's comical, but I don't handle the loudness too well.  Chris preached an awesome gospel message and many people came forward to get saved at the end!  

October 25, 2012 - Kampala

Today we headed into Kampala to do street ministry.  That's another new one for me.  It's a super crowded city, a little overwhelming to the senses.  I was on a team with Michael and Judy and Paul came along as our translator.  We didn't get very far before Paul spotted someone he knew and we stopped.  Michael started talking to the people sitting there on the street corner and we ended up just praying for a bunch of them right there.  One man got his back healed and that was a lot of fun to see the huge smile on his face when it happened.  The weird thing about praying for healing here is that the people often just walk off after the prayer without saying anything.  When you ask, they just say they're fine now.  I wonder if they're just being nice, or if they are so used to the supernatural here that it isn't a big deal.  It's strange.  But at least there are those that get really excited, so it's easy to tell that it really did happen.  :)

Walking back to the bus, Jennie and Jordan and I went into a restaurant to get a soda.  Jennie asked at the counter for a bottle of Coke.  A lady led us down a dark hallway, it felt like we were being taken to a back alley or something weird.  Finally she motioned toward a door.  Jordan went over and opened it to find a squatty potty!!  We were laughing so hard, and when the lady caught on that she had misheard, she was laughing too.  We got our sodas and headed back out to the group.

We had dropped half our team off at a hospital, so we went to pick them up.  We parked at a car wash while we waited for them to come out.  The team jumped off the bus and just started talking to people.  At least a couple ended up getting saved and at least one was healed!!   This guy (left) got his knee healed and he just started jumping up and down and shouting "Jesus healed me!" and telling everyone around.  It was really fun!  Then after he settled down, Richard told him the gospel and he gave his life to Christ.

October 24, 2012

This trip has been so incredible!  So much is happening in my heart that I'm not sharing on this blog.  He is teaching me so much about His love, not just for these Ugandan people, but for me.  It's been an awesome growing trip!  Today's journal entry starts off with my awe at this amazing group of people who God brought together for this mission trip.  Very few of us knew anyone else, we just all signed up and were chosen to go.    I have never been a part of such a group.  I am writing about this because the assembly of this team was a miracle too, not just all the healings we saw.  We've all been in groups of people before, and it is inevitable that there is at least one that you can't stand.  That was not true here.

We were 30+ people and every time we came together for a meal, there was no high school lunchroom style table choosing.  We were all commenting on it.  We could each just set our stuff down at any table and it was great, it didn't matter who we sat with.  The only answer to how this was possible is that God was our focus.  It says in Galatians 5:16 - "walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."  I have never seen that verse so clearly as I did with this group.  Every bit of our time was following the Holy Spirit, so there was no sin present among us.  We all chose to love one another and look out for one another.  If anyone was down, there was a whole team of people to come around and lift them up.  It was like being in Heaven I think.  A Kingdom community of people is the best place to be!  So much freedom and safety to just be who we are.

Today we hosted a Pastor's Conference at the compound.  That meant I didn't have much to do until later in the day.  We did prophetic booths again that day.  I had gotten a word from 2 different people prior to this that I would give out of what I knew, the Word.  So I brought my Kindle to the booth and God helped me to find verses to give to the pastors that came to our booth.  It was interesting because only one of the verses I got was a familiar one.  The rest were totally random.  The first one I read to a man made him cry, so I would say God was really speaking to me because that verse didn't seem all that profound to me, but the pastor sure got something from it.  ;)

This picture is Pastor Bob - I thought he was the most adorable man ever!  Such a huge smile all the time, so much joy!!

Oct 23, 2012

Tuesday - This week started out easier.  We are hosting a pastor's conference here at Field of Dreams.  We split up into 2 groups to go to either a school or a clinic in shifts while Chris and some of his leaders were speaking to the pastors.  I chose the school of course.  This time we took the kids to the big field down the street and played some games with them.  Duck duck goose with that big a group, and not speaking the language turned out to be pretty funny.  We just ended up with a lot of kids running in a circle, being chased by mzungus.

I watched a group of teachers sitting on a termite hill suddenly jump up all at once and run away from the hill.  I wandered over to them to see what the commotion was all about.  This is what I found.
I walked over and picked it up, which isn't something I'd normally do.  That really freaked them out!  One man asked me, "aren't they poisonous?"  to which I responded, "I don't know."  : )  Check out the brave mzungu!  LOL  I don't know why they're so scared of lizards.

Oct 22, 2012

Monday - Day off after a super busy week.  We drove into Kampala (capital city) and went to the craft market for souvenirs.  I didn't have much to spend, but I had fun seeing what all they had and I did get a Uganda Cranes jersey.  Adidas brand, only $10 basically.  : )  We stopped at a big mall and went to a restaurant that had internet access for those with phones.  I had a burger that was just a little odd, and a heavenly fresh pineapple juice to go with it!

Back at the compound that night we watched Father of Lights.  I'd seen it when they premiered it at Bethel a few months ago, but watching it here in this setting was just extra powerful.  I was happy to see Bill and Kris when they popped up for their moments on screen.  They are amazing!  It was also cool that our team leader, Chris Overstreet, is actually in the movie.  : )
http://fatheroflights.wpfilm.com/

After the movie, we were just instantly moved to worship, so we plugged in an iPod and went at it for an hour and a half until our quiet time curfew and Chris had to shut us down.  It was an incredible night!  God's amazing goodness is so worth celebrating!!

Oct 21, 2012

Sunday - Today we were split into teams of 3-4 people and spread out to a bunch of little churches in the area.  I went with Lance and Brittany to Pastor Bob's church.  We were met by Sylvia, his wife, and led on a walk that took us out into the middle of nowhere where we found a "church" made up of sticks covered with tarps.

I had a chance to speak briefly here.  I gave them a word of encouragement.  I don't really look forward to public speaking, but of all the times I've done it, I'd say that this one came the easiest.  No worries.  After Lance gave his message, we prayed for people.  This time I didn't have a big team to hide in and I had to step up and be brave.  I had a line up of people asking for prayer and I went for it.  Thankfully a young man stepped in and translated for each of them so I at least knew what they were needing prayer for.  It's a strange thing here, they are so in tune with the spiritual realm that it doesn't seem odd to them when a prayer brings a healing.  There isn't always the same excitement that we would see here.  So when I would pray, the person would just turn and walk away.  I asked the translator and he would say "yes, they're healed." and just move on.  So I don't really know what to think.  Sometimes there is no doubt, when you see a person's face just light up, you really know that they got healed.  I was blown away during this prayer time when most of the children that came to me asked for wisdom or knowledge.  How cool is that?  Kids that really understand the importance of such things.

After we finished, we walked back to the place where we would meet up with the rest of our team, the same building we were at yesterday for the feeding of the kids.  Suddenly, that same little girl was standing next to me.  I guess she goes to that church.  I picked her up and sat down inside while another team finished praying for people at that church.  I was just trying to show her love again, and this time she fell asleep on my lap and drooled all over me.  : )  I'm glad she at least felt the peace.  I felt bad when it was time to leave and I had to wake her up and deposit her on the ground.  I just pray that God will continue to minister to her heart and heal whatever it is that makes her so sad.

In the evening, we went back again to meet with the teenagers of the village.  Jacob shared his testimony with them (with this really funny translator who copied his every move) and then did some healing and taught the kids to pray for each other as well.  Then we fed them each a really yummy bread roll and some tea/milk drink.  We were only planning to feed the teens, but there were so many little ones running around as well, we were glad that we ended up having enough for everyone!  

Oct 20, 2012

This group I am traveling with is so amazing!!  We are about 30 people - very few knew each other prior, and we have come together and had an instant connection!  Everyone here is so Kingdom minded and Holy Spirit led, there are no conflicts, no issues at all among us.  This is a beautiful and unique thing.  I am so blessed to be a part of this amazing team!  I can only imagine what kind of impact this kind of a team could have on a community if given more time.   hmmm...  :)

Today we went to "Say No to Hunger" - Show Mercy's program for feeding needy children.  We got to hang out and play with the kids for awhile, then we brought them inside the building and began handing out bowls of food.  The food came in large quantities, bowls full of rice, cabbage, and meat, piping hot and these little kids were eating it with bare hands.  The toddler sized kids ate so much more food than even I could pack away!  I guess when you don't know when your next meal is, you make it work.  : (

In this place, I met a little girl that really touched my heart.  I don't know her name, she appeared to be about 4 yrs old, she didn't speak, didn't show any kind of emotion whatsoever.  I sat her in my lap and she just stared off into space.  I just held her, trying to love on her with the love of God the best I know how.  I have no idea what she's been through, maybe she has lost her parents, maybe she's been abused.  I just sat with her and prayed over her heart, asking God to bring healing and comfort to whatever is going on inside of her.  I set her down when it was  time to go serve the food, but she followed me, so I ended up just holding her until she got her bowl of food.  So sad.  So many precious little ones with no one to care for them.  The need here is so great.  

If anyone wants to help with this awesome program, you can donate to the Say No to Hunger program over at Show Mercy International.  This is such a great opportunity to partner with this wonderful group of people and make a difference in the life of children.  Right now they can only feed a handful of children, but with more donations, they will be able to expand that program and touch more lives.  

http://www.showmercy.org/donations/cart.php?m=product_list&c=15

In the afternoon, we hosted the teenaged kids from the Hope Children's Home.  During this meeting, we prayed for the baptism of the Holy Spirit to come on these kids and we were treated to a life changing time of Holy Spirit fun!!  He showed up in a big way and these kids were changed forever!  (We got to meet with them the next week and find out how much life had changed!)  After the big event, we set up prophetic booths and were able to give each kid some encouragement and words of identity and purpose.  We had prophetic art and transcribed the words that were given, so each teen got to take home something to remember this day.

Today was a day that I started to see myself doing new things.  I began to discover my place in the team.  I realized that I don't have to do things the way everyone else does, God has created me unique, and has given me my own special way of relating to Him and to others.  I began to feel comfortable doing things in my own way and not having to copy everyone else.  During the prayer time, I am never comfortable just praying for people in the traditional sense.  Today I stepped back and remembered that I am a Worship Warrior, so instead of praying, I began to sing praises over what was happening.  To give glory to God and see how He shows up, that is my gift.  It was awesome and empowering to do what I was created to do!!