Out of Africa: Other Areas of Ministry

Besides the festivals where most of my time was spent, there were various other areas of ministry in which our team of 57 served. It was such a vivid picture of 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (CEV), where it so wonderfully states, "There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but they all come from the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve the same Lord, and we can each do different things. Yet the same God works in all of us and helps us in everything we do. The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others."

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There is really something special about seeing the body of Christ come together with all of our unique and special gifts to work toward one goal, which was to serve the people of Uganda in every way we possibly could. Few places in life can you find a nurse, a mechanic, a developer, a pastor, a student, a mortician, a teacher, an artist, an accountant and every other occupation you can think of working diligently at their respective jobs harmoniously.

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of everything we accomplished, such as the many schools, hospitals and prisons that were visited. Those that did their work in these areas were overwhelmed and touched by the people they ministered to. Some of our women even led a women's conference that was so well received by those that attended.

The well-drilling team was amazing. They tirelessly worked around the clock in twelve hour shifts, rain or shine. It was pain-staking work, as there would be times where it would take an hour to simply get down a matter of inches through solid granite. The RSA team was unable to reach water before leaving, however, during the daytime hours, they were training a group of young widows to finish the task. RSA purchased the well-drilling machine with just this thought in mind: to be able to train those who are able and leave the machine with them to start their own business and drill more wells.

Joy Dull, with Bless the Children and a member of Court Street, also drilled a well near Gulu while we were there. Ben was privileged to have been on location with her Ugandan partner, Moses, as their machine hit water. It was a wonderful experience and such an incredible blessing for the community, as wells are few and far between. In fact, usually after walking incredible distances, one would most often have to place their water canisters at the end of a very long line to wait their turn.

As a fun activity, and to draw hearty crowd, RSA had arranged for a "friendly" game of soccer between the Americans and Ugandans. Eleven of our men stepped forward to participate in this game to be held at one of the displacement camps. Although the plan was to "take it easy" on them, they decided to wear their matching t-shirts to really look like a team. Their pale skin turned absolutely ghostly white when we entered the camp to see a disheveled soccer field with a fully uniformed Ugandan soccer team warming up in perfect unison around the perimeter. There was also a yellow-jerseyed referee there to call an official game. The plan quickly went from "take it easy" to "score at least one goal to save face." The Americans, gasping for air, lost 5-0 to the amazing Ugandan athletes, but it made for lots of laughs and also provided an opportunity to share the gospel with the hundreds in attendance during half-time.

The two Sundays that we were in the country, our large group divided into teams of three or four and attended dozens of area churches to preach and encourage their congregations. The churches ranged from small mud/manure huts to larger concrete structures. I had the joy of preaching for the first time at one of these churches. It was a great experience. Evidence of God's hand in our time there became evident on the second Sunday as all churches had first time attenders who had given their lives to Christ at one of the festivals we had put on during the previous week. It was wonderful to know that these people were already getting plugged into their community church and would be cared for by the local pastors there.

Ben had the joy of putting together a pastors' conference, where almost 200 Ugandan pastors attended to soak up as much insight and information as they possibly could. Between the four pastors that were on our team, they provided these wonderful men with study Bibles, reference material and hours upon hours of training. It is a comfort to know that the new believers will be properly discipled in their walks.

Finally, we had a fully staffed medical team that facilitated a week long medical clinic in the displacement camp of Opit, one of the larger refugee communities. Everyday from 8am - 4pm they would listen to the ailments of those in need and do their best to help them. With medicines treating everything from Malaria to a simple headache, and enough bandages to treat every open wound that came, their efforts were enormous and so welcomed by the people. I was able to help there one afternoon and it left a lasting impression on me. The need is so great.

There were certainly moments on the trip where the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing, as would be the case with any group this size. But overall, I was simply amazed at how smoothly everything went and how much ground we were able to cover. The problems and the needs seem to be unending, and if focused upon would surely be a discouragement because it is simply impossible to cure the situation in two weeks time. We just had to keep our focus on doing all that we were able, knowing that we did, in fact, make a difference. We left a permanent and positive mark on that corner of the globe, or rather God left His mark and we were simply His vessel in doing so. That's a good feeling. God is good. All the time.