As you will read towards the end of this journal entry, I asked God to one day allow me to hear the voice of Patricia among the angelic songs of these precious children. That prayer was answered this past Sunday as I once again sat in the presence of God in Ebenezer Baptist Church in Mbale, Uganda in the midst of a pool of tears(this time though they were tears of uncontrollable joy) watching for the first time my precious Ugandan daughter, Patricia, as she stood before the church, and before God, lifting her voice in praise!!! It took five years and eight trips but God proved His faithfulness once again!!! YES, God WILL make a way even when there seems to be no way!! THAT'S MY KING!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!!
Thank each of you from the bottom of my heart for standing with us in this amazing journey ... one that this week has proven over and over again has only just begun!!!
HUMBLED AND BLESSED!!!
Warren
DAY 5 --- Mbale, Uganda and Ebenezer Baptist Church
"This is the day which The Lord has made; I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24
Our journey today carried us to Pastor Fred Mazune's church which is in the heart of a large slum. You see, this ultra-poor "community" of humanity has developed, as have so many in this region of the world, around the most viable means of survival known to these people...a landfill covering acres upon acres of land...their jobs, digging through massive mounds of trash for anything of value that can be sold to buy food while always holding onto that thread of hope that they might even find a morsel of consumable food to temporarily silence the rumbling hunger pains crying out from their body! From the toddler to the very elderly this is “life” as defined by the need to survive.
This pastor heard God's call for someone to "stand in the gap" on behalf of His people in this environment of unbelievable filth and stench and simply said "Here I am God, send me!" More than that, several years after establishing Ebenezer Baptist Church, he and his family chose to stay and continue to trust God even after the city government of Mbale decided to literally build a road through their church building. This resulted in the destruction of most of their church building, rendering them the challenge of continuing to trying to minister over 300 children, most of whom were orphans, by keeping open the school which the church ran for these children. Although they received no compensation for the destruction of their church they strung up tarps on make-shift frames and have continued to minister for over three years under the tarps and in what was salvaged of the church which is now less than the size of the dens in most of our homes!
Pastor Fred in the midst of his people!
Unlike the previous 4 days; TODAY HURT!!!! God, I know that You are sovereign, that You are all-present, that You truly are Love and I believe this with EVERY ounce of my being... But Father, my heart still cries out “WHY?" And yet even while my heart is crying out "WHY", my Spirit is rejoicing that You my God, in Your perfect love, allow me the freedom to ask this question with absolute peace that Your view of me as Your precious and cherished son will not waver! Oh the sweetness of having learned to LIVE in the FREEDOM of God's grace rather than trying to SURVIVE under the BONDAGES of religion!
How do I begin to describe this day? EASY? Yes, easily one of the most difficult days in my 56 1/2 years on this earth! All had gone pretty well as up until now my day had followed the typical course…being surrounded by a sea of dancing eyes and mile-wide smiles and singing!!! But then God choose to bring this precious child into my path to turn my perception of what matters in life upside down!!!!! The rest of my day, with the exception of one long hour, an hour spent in the above stated dialogue with God, in which I was temporarily separated from this precious daughter of the King, was spent with Patricia, a four-year old whose precious little body bore the scars of the hell that life continuously threw at her. When she first appeared by my side, an appearance signaled by a gentle tug on my shirttail, I was stunned as I looked down into hollow, bloodshot eyes buried in a face filled with scars; not the lively eyes cradled by a mile-wide smile that I had become accustomed to over the previous few days.
I began trying to free myself from the sea of children, children who possessed some of those smiles mentioned above, that were clinging to the fingers of both my hands in order to reach out to Patricia. After finally freeing up my right hand her fingers immediately latched onto my middle finger and instantly I knew why her eyes didn't dance...this little girl was burning up with fever! We made our way to the make-shift tent and I sat down and coaxed her to climb into my lap and offered her some water. We sat there for a while, her little body feeling hotter and hotter against my chest, until the line at the clinic dwindled down and I took her in my arms and made our way to get some help for her. Diagnosis-malaria :(
As we left the clinic I had a picture taken with her because they were carrying her to find her mom to give her the medicine that would bring healing to her broken body.
As she left with one of the church volunteers that worked with Pastor Fred in ministering to these precious children I figured that would be the last time I would ever see her. However, about an hour later I felt another tug at my shirttail and my little Patricia was back, still hot and weary eyed, but this time a weak smile spread across her face which said more than words could ever say! I spent the rest of our time in the village with a small set of arms wrapped around my neck and a beautiful little head with hollow eyes and scarred cheeks resting on my shoulder. The only reprieve to this was for the three minutes it took for the penniesforposho.org team to take her sponsorship photo...a sponsorship arranged by the King of Kings... Welcome to our family Patricia Monodo :)
As we exited the sponsorship area a young girl about 7 walked up and took this precious little angel's hand and led her down the litter-strewn "street" towards home!
Patricia and her sister (orange skirt) in the center of this picture
As those two children walked away from me, the words of a song by Don Moen began soothing my hurting heart-- "God will make a way, when there seems to be no way ..." Thank you God for assuring me that Patricia is safely wrapped up in your protective arms.
As the bus drove away from the village amongst the joyful sounds of children I could only hope that maybe on my next visit to Mbale that little Patricia's voice will be leading that joyful song!
Yes God, as I bounce along these bumpy roads some three hours from the safety of our hotel, this one thing I know. As the end of this day's journey into uncertainty and unanswered questions draws closer with every jolting bump, this simple-minded country boy has been richly blessed through seeing Jesus living HIS incarnate life through my mortal body. In spite of the pain of a broken heart I will rest well knowing that seeds of hope have been planted on both sides of the relationships formed during these God-ordained appointments some 8000 miles from the comfort of my air-conditioned, padded-pew church. Father, I thank you that in the midst of the heart-break that I felt today that you met me and in that meeting I can say that I have learned what it means to truly “Experience God”!!!! REWARDING? Beyond anything my mind could ever have ever hoped to comprehend!
But since we are being honest with each other… for tomorrow Lord... I really could use some more of those "big smiles and happy eyes!"
And before I forget Lord, thanks for closing this day with a sweet reminder that you're still in charge...
Philippians 4:19-"ALL my needs are fulfilled in Jesus"
Blessings from Uganda!
Trusting HIM in the trenches!
Warren <><
Romans 8:37
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