Uganda CON Trip | Wednesday, August 5: Pray for Crazy Faith

"Pray for things only God can do. Crazy faith, Pastor Mike."

Sunday, August 2: The Boy on the Road

Monday, August 3: Remembering Barlonyo 

Tuesday, August 4: Children of the King

This will be my last post about my time in Uganda. There is so much to write and reflect on, but just providing these four posts was both an emotionally enriching and draining exercise for me in the midst of the flood of memory. For the rest of my time in Uganda beyond these posts, Wednesday and Thursday are the days I was involved in a seminar with Pastor Tom Sparling from The Journey for Ugandan church leaders and Children of the Nations staff. I was able to share about The Story of God and our Gospel identity He's given us in Jesus, and Tom shared about how we approach the Scriptures with wisdom and humility, and how we walk in the ways of Jesus based on His Sermon on the Mount. And then Friday was a day of rejoicing with our new Ugandan family, laughing and dancing with the kids, and saying our goodbyes.

So much to remember. So many to be thankful for. 

What God did in our small team of eight people – two from Emmaus City and six from The Journey, two churches in our city of Worcester – in relation to our time with our Ugandan brothers and sisters in the photo above, I pray, will not only be memorable, but will connect more people from Worcester to Lira. The faith of the Ugandan Children of the Nations staff, as well as the vision for how to provide for the children in the years to come, is worthy of recognition and service.

What's next? Only God knows. What He has done already through Children of the Nations in Uganda is remarkable. And what is next is most likely more than I can ask for or imagine. 

Wednesday, August 4, 2015 | Praying for Crazy Things Only God Can Do

This is the tree where Children of the Nations held its first class of less than a dozen students. Today 58 children live on the grounds in Children's Homes through full care provision by donors. Nearly 300 children are part of the Village Partnership Program. And they are faithfully feeding and educating 150+ children with no sponsors from the nearby village trusting that God will provide from His abundance.

In the past eight years, God has provided Children of the Nations with land, a container for storage, houses for children, workers and plans to build the school and guest house, and a growing number of staff.

The Ugandan government has recognized their growing school as one of the best primary schools in the nation. Their students are hungry to learn and growing in skills and understanding in a rural setting far away from the capital of Kampala.

Next steps are to develop nearby land for a secondary school, build dormitories for a boarding school, complete a second primary school and a technical school, add solar panels for greater sustainability, dig cleaner wells less infected by typhoid, and hire more staff so more children can be cared for and taught throughout all their schooling.

Is this possible? 

Mama Norene believes it is. This wonderful woman has a compelling story that I won't go into too much detail about here. She and her children have greatly benefited from her ability to work for Children of the Nations. She has been protected by God from a great many things and she is beloved by the staff and the students. She lives in one of the children's homes where she cares for a house of more then ten.

Mama Norene is one of many people I could tell you about and came to love as family. I could speak of Thomas, Justine, Moses, Pastor Richard, Nadrene, Walter, Pastor David, Claudia, and many, many more.

One more I will mention and provide a little more detail about is Tonny (with two "n"s; he's in the back row to the far left in the photo at the top). Tonny stayed with us in the guest house all week though his home and his family are in another village. He brought us bottled water. He turned on the generator for us to give us light. He locked up the house when it was time for us to rest. He guarded our home and slept in the room attached to the house. He was a leader, and a friend, and a servant all wrapped up in one person.

In so many ways, Tonny was like Jesus to us, a faithful watcher and protecter. And he shared with me words that I hope are not only his prayer for me, but a prophecy that God will make come true in my heart and life:

You have to have 'crazy faith' when you follow God. Whether in Uganda or with Emmaus. Pray for things only He can do, Pastor Mike. Keep praying. There's nothing else better you can do. Crazy faith, Pastor Mike.

God, give me crazy faith as big as you've given Tonny and these hearts in Uganda. Help me to dream dreams as big as You are.

Another privilege of being with my beautiful family in Uganda was beginning each morning praying, and singing, and listening to God's Word, and worshiping Him with them on the other side of the world from Worcester. 

One of the passages that was shared during our time has not only stuck with me, but provided a framework for remembering this week:

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his deed. Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. What is desired in a man is steadfast love, and a poor man is better than a liar. The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm. – Proverbs 19:17, 20-23

We not only learned these truths of wisdom deeply in Uganda, but we can also continue to know and be confident they are true because Jesus was kind to the poor (Luke 4:18-19); Jesus listened to instruction (John 5:30-32; 12:49); Jesus acknowledged the rule of God (Mark 1:14-15); Jesus understood money does not bring joy (Matthew 6:19-21, 24-25, 33-34); and Jesus revealed that the fear of the LORD leads to life (John 14:6, 23-24).

And why do we trust this Jesus? Because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

And let me tell you, we sang You Are the Same, along with songs like The River and Lord, I Need You, like I've never sung them before with my sisters and brothers in Uganda. The YouTube videos can't compare to what one guitar, one drum, and a collection of people outside of Lira can sound like when they are unashamedly crying out to God with joy for giving us life. How can you not but give glory to what God has done and is doing in this place near Lira town? And He is doing it through wonderful people and children whom I love dearly.

When the kids would see us drive down the road, many of whom had only seen a few if any white people, they would smile, wave, and shout, "Muno bye!"

I also had to give my goodbye to Brenda, Milly, and Simon – the three children our family sponsors. I hope to return to Uganda to see them all again and perhaps bring some of my family, too. Multiple times Brenda asked about my wife saying, "Where is Julie?" I would love to see a future when they can meet face-to-face. 

I also hope to see Jesus' Church flourish and multiply in Lira. I hope to see Children of the Nations double the amount of children they are loving, serving, and educating in Jesus' name. I hope to drive through Kampala again and connect with Sojourn: Uganda. I hope Emmaus City can support more of God's work He is doing in this country. I hope.

And for now, I also hope for a crazy faith, recognizing the One my Ugandan brothers and sisters call, "Master Jesus," to be my Master and King.

Jesus, You are our Master and King. You reign. Bring Your Kingdom come to Uganda. Shepherd them and shelter them. May many more servants be brought here to join Your mission in Lira town. Continue to bind our story together – Emmaus City to Uganda – if it will produce a great display of Your gospel of the Kingdom in the years to come. Give me crazy faith that You will. And give Emmaus City crazy faith that You can do things in us and through us in Worcester like you have with Children of the Nations in Lira town. I pray this because I'm praying in the name of our Master and Savior Jesus, Amen.

This series of posts began with a sunrise and now I will end it with a sunset. I love you Uganda. May the sun rise for you again and again. And may the Son bring many more resurrections in your towns and in Worcester for the praise of His glorious grace.

Learn more about how to

sponsor a child in Uganda through Children of the Nations.

– Sully

Email Pastor Mike | Facebook Us | Join Us | Support Us

Uganda CON Trip | Tuesday, August 4: Children of the King

Who is this noble woman-child who stands next to me?

Previous posts:

Sunday, August 2: The Boy on the Road

Monday, August 3: Remembering Barlonyo 

Above is a picture of my Brenda and the home where she lives. She is the first girl my family sponsored through Children of the Nations. My wife has written to her. My children have prayed for her. And now I have met her face-to-face.

Brenda's father was a fisherman who was killed by a crocodile and Brenda's mother lives in another district and is sick. So Brenda now lives with her father's brother's cousin's wife with many other children this woman generously shelters in her two-room home.

We went to five different homes on this day to meet with children that were sponsored by people on our team. Each home showcased the tremendous hospitality and warmth of the Ugandan people, and each person we met and spent time with was a gift.

And for me, Brenda was the greatest gift of all.

Tuesday, August 3, 2015 | Meeting Daughters and Sons of the King

I don't deserve this.

My memory is still awash with the impact of arriving in Lira town two days ago and receiving a king's welcome.

The children's voices were harmonious and beautiful. Their faces were radiant. And the reception was worthy of the One whose name I'm associated with, but who I am unlike in so many ways. 

From the beginning, the hospitality of the Ugandan people has humbled and astounded me. It continues to be extraordinary.

I love how the first thing they say when they meet you is, "You are most welcome. You are most welcome here." 

What a beautiful way of describing the gracious hospitality of the Father, Son, and Spirit who opens wide perfect love and invites us in by saying – in the loving gift of salvation, redemption, justification, union, new creation and adoption in Jesus Christ – you are most welcome here.

These beautiful followers of Jesus, young and old, are truly daughters and sons of our Servant King. They are the ones who have faced horrors like the massacre in Barlonyo, with some of the older children with Children of the Nations having experienced and endured horrific atrocities physically, mentally, and emotionally that I can't even imagine. Who can come back from watching your parents burned, your siblings crushed, and your childhood raped? And yet the love of God shared and shown in the Gospel of Jesus is what they say brings them joy, contentment, and hope.

With the life they have already been given, they begin each day thanking God for the gift of breath and health on this day. They have a heavenly royalty all to their own. And I am thankful we get to walk the roads where their feet have brought the Gospel of peace.

When we went with Stephen – a child sponsored by Dan on our team – into his home back in an alley off the main road, his mother received us with joy. In her main room, barely the size of a walk-in bathroom, she sought out anything for us to sit on as we listened to her story and Stephen translated for her.

She and her children have great need, and yet, she is taking care of two children not her own whose mothers also have great need. She receives and trusts that God will provide for all of them.

She treats us as her honored guests. But we are the ones honored to be in her presence. She welcomes God. She welcomes us. Her life is an open hand.

Brenda was there with us, too.

Before this day came, I wondered which one was our Brenda. I looked for her at school and tried to recognize her.

I have looked for her each day. But this day I not only met her, I was invited to her home.

As I sat with her on the ride to her house, my thought was, "Who is this noble women-child who sits next to me?"

She looked at me and weighed my words with concentration. And when she answered, she would do so in a strong whisper, assured and vulnerable in equal measure.

"What does life look like through her eyes?" I continue to wonder. "How does she see the world as she rides her bicycle to school, navigating the labyrinthine streets of Lira with a hidden wisdom built through experiences that are hers and hers alone?"

And then I arrive at the place where she lives and hear her story of losing her father, living away from her mother, taking care of children with her new mama in her home in another district, and I am amazed once again at her strength.

Who is this sharp spear of a girl whose eyes focus so intently on me and whose words pierce me? Sometimes she looks away, but then comes back to me focused, hurting, yet not without hope. She thanks me for coming, carving more love into my heart with a few words, her strong whispers quickly exhaled.

Her new mama was a humble woman who prayed for me – "Pastor Mike" – blessing me for coming, for sponsoring Brenda, and then asking God that He would provide me with more so that I can sponsor more children. She did not mention this for her own benefit, but for the children who need it throughout Uganda.

As I was getting ready to leave, Brenda revealed the biggest smile I had seen her share so far. She looked at me and said that she will see me again soon before I leave Uganda.

And I wonder in the meantime, "How will she continue to pierce me and heal me until then?"

Next post: Uganda CON Trip | Wednesday, August 5: Praying for Crazy Faith

Learn more about how to

sponsor a child in Uganda through Children of the Nations.

– Sully

Email Pastor Mike | Facebook Us | Join Us | Support Us

Uganda CON Trip | Monday, August 3: Remembering Barlonyo

Were You there when they were crucified, my Lord?

Here is the previous post:

Sunday, August 2: The Boy on the Road

Today was a particularly hard day to take in. We were taken to the memorial of the Barlonyo massacre where reportedly more than 300 people were killed by Joseph Kony and the LRA. 

Kony's tactics in brutalizing and dehumanizing the children of the villages he raped and pillaged were reported to us by the people in Lira town and the surrounding villages. Crushing infants and drinking human blood were not beyond his tactics.

On this day in particular, fields were destroyed, families were severed, residents were burned alive inside their huts, hacked to death with machetes, stabbed with bayonets, clubbed with sticks and shot as they fled. The bellies of pregnant women were slit open, their not-yet-formed babies thrown into the fires. Children were abducted and marched north into Acholi-land to become child soldiers or sex slaves. Many died in captivity of violence, sickness, or starvation. The ultimate fate of several abductees remains unknown. More about the ramifications of this horrific day can be read in Kill Every Living Thing: Barlonyo Massacre by the Justice and Reconciliation Project. 

Barlonyo, which means "bountiful land," has never been the same since. "Far as the curse is found" resonates in this place stripped bare. The blood still seems to cry out from the ground and the land groans under the weight of the inhumanity that was displayed. But is the Spirit of God's groan deeper and more powerful? Does the cry of redemption overcome? How will restoration be brought here?  

Monday, August 3, 2015 | The Memory of Massacre in Barlonyo

The smiles. The downcast eyes.

The curiosity. The uncertainty.

The laughter. The silence.

We share the same reactions as we step into this place, the children of Barlonyo and the visitors from another land.

I don't know what to say as I soak in a fleeting visit to this haunted village where they all will grow up.

I come in a bus. I leave on a bus. They will remain.

But today, we walked the same ground for the span of an hour.

How much stronger you must be than me.

You are able to shed your tears. And you wipe the tears of others. You are together. You must see so many come and go to the place you live in the ruins of. And I don't know how to express for this moment the grief that I feel. Thank you for teaching me. Thank you for showing me how to grieve and move on and grieve again.

As I walk among the children, I pray that they will have each other, that no more blood will be spilled on the ground where they will stay as I drive away hoping for a movement ...

From tears to smiles.

From crying to laughter.

From trepidation to exultation.

From loneliness to community.

From silence to praise.

From emptiness to abundance.

From devastation to peace.

From famine to fruitfulness.

From lost to found.

From in pain to in care.

The distance between these God? How wide is the divide in a place like Barlonyo? 

What was it like to live in a time when a sunrise could break a new dawn of a day when the LRA might attack? What does it look like to see an army of destruction coming for you? What does it feel like to run not knowing where you can hide?

The underground story of how Kony and the LRA were pushed out of Uganda is one of spiritual forces battling beyond Western comprehension. It's downright biblical and modern audiences may balk. But if Kony's horrors are to be believed, how could one not be moved to pray that somehow he would be met by the hand of God?

Joseph Kony is known as a wizard in northern Uganda. Some told us that he and the LRA had a strategic water way they could cross, but any other humans and animals would perish around the river if they came into close contact with the water. Ugandan soldiers fighting the LRA reported that when pursuing the enemy, they would receive crossfire from seemingly invisible forces. And to showcase their dark invincibility, the LRA would leave a trail of altars with burned bodies and severed heads on spikes after forcing kidnapped children to participate in the destruction.

In desperation after years and years of war, the Ugandan government brought in witch doctors from other countries in Africa, and from as far away as Asia to combat Kony and the LRA. But their spells and incantations did not hinder him, but only gave him more influence and power. So as a last resort they asked the Christian pastors to go with the Ugandan helicopters and pray over the areas where the LRA reportedly had strongholds. That week Kony and the LRA left Uganda and never came back. Later, a pastor went to the water way of death mentioned above, prayed over it, drank the water and lived, in the midst of several Ugandan soldiers who became shocked and amazed. Many believed that day and were baptized in the water. This was in 2006. 

Could it be possible that Jesus reigns, breaks into our broken world, and brings His peace like this?

I believe this. And yet, how many rested in peace on Saturday, February 21, 2004 in Barlonyo? 

But how many rested in pieces? How many families were torn apart? How long do the fires of memory burn? How long will I remember this memorial? How long do I need to remember? 

The great hymn provides the haunting melody for my memory: "Were you there when they were crucified my Lord? Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble." And then I begin to ask Jesus, "Were You there when they were crucified, my Lord? Sometimes this causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble." 

So I pray, "Please bring Your healing, God, to these people in this place. Make Your blessings flow far as the curse is found. Bring unspeakable joy beyond our human understanding."

The distance between the curse of death and the joy of life seems too wide a divide for me to cross on this day. It seems too much for humanity to bridge in a generation on our own.

But not for You, God. Is Your gospel that powerful?

Do You cross these distances by Your grace each and every day in millions of hearts? I believe You do. Help my unbelief.

May we see a million more hearts experience Your grace through the victory of Your cross bringing reconciliation and restoration between God and humanity, human to human, and throughout all Your creation.

Especially in Barlonyo.

Next post: Uganda CON Trip | Tuesday, August 4: Children of the King

Learn more about how to

sponsor a child in Uganda through Children of the Nations.

– Sully

Email Pastor Mike | Facebook Us | Join Us | Support Us

Uganda CON Trip | Sunday, August 2: The Boy on the Road

We are here in Uganda. God,  where are You here with us?

The next series of posts are going to be very personal. Each post will include reflections and images from the dates of Sunday, August 2 to Wednesday, August 5 while I was in Lira, Uganda. 

It has taken me a few weeks to gather my thoughts on the impact Uganda and Children of the Nations have had on me. I most likely will continue to gather more throughout the rest of 2015. What a sobering, humbling, undeserved privilege to go across the Atlantic into this country and be with these people made in the image of God and shaped in the image of Jesus. 

This post and the few following posts will barely capture all that I have already received from the beautiful people of this beautiful country in Africa. Don't expect a chronology of events as much as a menagerie of visions and prayers.

The collection of questions and cries I am able to put together will be from what stirred in me initially while I was there. Special thanks for most of the photographs that illuminate these brief thoughts and moments goes to my friend and sister, Andrea Gordon, who was part of the eight-person team from Worcester, and who serves our city with Emmaus City Church. However, special recognition for the photo at the top of this post goes to Carla Lopes from The Journey Community Church who promised to share it with me after we were staring out of a bus window at the same scene.

Thank you for taking the time to glimpse part of this journey with me. I hope it provides you with a vision for what an all powerful God is doing on the other side of the world and what we need an all powerful God to be doing in our hearts. 

Sunday, August 2, 2015 | On the Road to Lira

Good morning, God. Are You watching over us?

Does Your sight see beyond where light touches and where darkness recedes?

We are here. God, where are You here with us? Be the mighty Emmanuel You are today. 

Father, love us. Jesus lead us. Spirit, fill us. You are great and greatly to be praised.

Why am I here, God? Why did You send me? Please open the eyes of my heart, God. Please bring Your healing presence to Your body in Lira town in time and place today. 

Move through the streets of Entebbe and Kampala and Lira town today. Make us one as You are one. Our bloodline is the bloodline of Christ. Please come now in power and let our chains be broken. Pour out Your Spirit, Jesus, our hearts are open.

Thank You for the smiles of strangers. Thank You for the beauty of red clay. Thank You for drives down full roads brimming with people who – through You – live, breathe, move, and have their being. 

Thank You for calm walkers who infiltrate traffic with the wisdom of traveling sages. Thank You for the organic flow of movement on the roads where spaces are filled in by a mysterious rhythm that beats to the drum of Uganda's many heart beats.

Thank You for hands that are held with love and for protection. Thank You for eyes that look out windows with curiosity and wonder who the person is in the bus next to them as we both acknowledge each other in this moment, in this time, in this place.

Today is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24).

Lord, what are we to rejoice in today? Where are we to look for the movement of your righteous right hand? Where is Your Spirit moving to and fro across the surface of the earth today?

Where are You among the cyclists and motorbikes that curve between people and vehicle?

Where are Your servants serving? Jesus, our servant King, who are You interceding for among all these people I see?

Will Your abundant goodness satisfy them on this Lord's day?

For the boy who looks out on his city, will You give him eyes to see You today?

Will he see the beauty of Your creation?

Will he find faith, the assurance of things he hopes for?

Will he find evidence of things unseen?

Abba, where are You? Papa, where are you?

Father, the image of this boy is seared in my mind. He could not have been more than three. 

His face was focused, taut, scanning the busy street and market for his guardian to come back. Two jugs of oil were lifted off the ground by his small arms. His shirt barely hung on his body with one sleeve clinging to his right arm.

Are You holding on to him, God? Will You keep him safe? Would You do the same for Xavier if he were here now searching the horizon for me? What if we were here and he was waiting for me, each other all we have?

How would my son's eyes look for me?

How do my eyes look for You, God?

What do I have in my hands and where will we go when You come and show me the way? Where will You take us?

But first, are You coming back?

Help me to know how to wait like the boy on the road to Lira town.

Please walk these roads with us, Jesus. May it be in Uganda as it was on the way to Emmaus. 

Next post: Uganda CON Trip | Monday, August 3: Remembering Barlonyo

Learn more about how to

sponsor a child in Uganda through Children of the Nations.

– Sully

Email Pastor Mike | Facebook Us | Join Us | Support Us