Sharon, one of our class shepherds, is sharing her experiences today from her mission trip this last month to Uganda with our 5th grade Sunday School class. These are my notes from her presentation. I tried to record her session with video, using both Ustream and QuickTime player, but was not able to do so successfully using my netbook today. More information and photos from this Uganda missions trip are available on the team blog.
“You go nowhere by accident
Everywhere you are – Got has put you –
Everywhere you go – God is sending you –
The Living Christ, who dwells in you –
has a purpose for you – to further his kingdom”
Sharon went to Uganda with our church mission group last month, and is sharing experiences she had there
Trusting and believing in Jesus
– if you believe in him, you will live with him forever
– you will see Him and meet him
– you will also see those who have died before you and believed in Him
None of the Ugandans have any mirrors
– we would take photos of them and give them to them, as well as their pastor
The people have lots of crops they grow
– they would separate them inside their houses
Sharon’s husband, Henry, was asked to participate in several healing ceremonies
Sharon shared her testimony at the prison, and on the crusade
– each afternoon they had a ‘crusade’ which was a public preaching event
One person asked Sharon to take her baby back to the United States, when they were at the clinic
People in Uganda have a pure and true love of God
– they don’t pray to themselves, everyone prays out loud at the same time in different dialects and languages
– it is a very powerful and moving experience
New church we planted
– the first day
This year we went to a prison, as we did last year
– it was very scary at first
– we brought soap and other items to give them
– 77 inmates were there, only 1 was female
– Sharon was able to talk to the female by herself with an interpreter
— she was in prison for adultery, her husband had put her in there, she had been there for 4 months and was still awaiting a trial
– if families don’t take care of people in the prison, then they really get forgotten
– Henry preached in the prison
Some went to the schools each day
– drilled a well, took multiple times
– life expectancy is just 39 in Uganda, AIDS is a big part of that
– the President of Uganda and his wife are Christians and are working to address health issues
15,000 people heard the word of Christ and gave their lives to Christ as a result of our mission work in Uganda
God’s Holy Spirit really worked on me in writing my testimony, at the prison and during the crusade
Got up at 6 am each morning, were gone all day
– would come back to the hotel for dinner at 6:30 or 7, we would regroup and recap on the day
– discuss experiences and what happened
Saw a magnificent rainbow (a double rainbow) one of our last days there
– it is the rainy season there now
We saw children scooping water out of potholes in some cases
– Malaria is still a big problem in Uganda
Someone said last year that we can’t save the world, but we can save lives
– this really was something we held onto to not become depressed
When you are in one of these huts telling people about God, you really feel God’s presence
– it is hard to find the words to describe what these experiences were like
My prayer this year was to have the words to share, not to be dependent on reading the tract documents we each carried
The land where the orphanage where we worked used to be owned by Idi Amine, and were part of his “killing fields”
– over 80 Presbyterian churches have been planted in Uganda now
– those groups purchased that land and built this orphanage, children receive 3 means per day
– they are equipping those children to become leaders and go back into the community
Lewanda Orphanage (spelling?)
Children are so happy, always smiling
This year, since it was the rainy season, the children could never get clean because of all the mud
Men’s shirts were always pressed, looking very nice
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