This morning it was raining, quite normal for the rainy season here in Uganda. But, this morning was a little different then most Sunday mornings.
Back Story….
My flat-mate (not the furry four legged one) is a Short-Termer that has been working with children at Dwelling Places. DP, as it is called for short, is a home for children here in Kampala. Many of these children have come for various reasons: orphaned, former street children, poor home environment, and the list goes on. Carolyn, that is her name, has been working on a puppet show with the younger kids at DP for the last few months.
This is no simple show! She is telling the main Bible sorties back to back with conclusion of the gospel! The kids have colored the puppets Carolyn has put together. Everyone has been working very hard on this show and is proud of it, as they should be. The aim of the show was to bring the children together, allow them to be creative (that is why there is a purple zebra on the ark), have them learn about the Bible stories, and to instill self confidence in them for their hard work. This aim was met and the other child and staff at DP loved the show. But God was not done…He had plans for the little show. Carolyn and the kids were asked to come to another local church and perform the show for the Sunday school kids for two services. God clearly wanted to use this show to have His word told to other children in Kampala outside of DP.
Back to Today…
Carolyn invite me to join today. I was excited to see the show and meet the kids she has been talking about. So, last night we made plans to have our boda friend come pick us in the morning and take us to DP to collect the kids. Well you’d you know….it was raining in the morning. We are very use to that this time of year but it does make life hard. We got ready and prayed for it to let up so we could make our way. We hung around the house for a while and then saw our chance and we made a run for it. Our boda friend met us and we were off to get the kids.
Now you must know that is part of Kampala is unpaved. Yes, that is right it is dirt roads and yes, it had been raining. So here are the two of us dressed for church on the back of a boda on muddy roads. Looking good and staying clean is short lived out here. Once we got DP we were greeting by sweet wet kids and we greeted them back just as wet and drippy as they were. In time, nothing is fast here in Africa, we gathered the kids and started walking to get a taxi to the church. Well you’d know there were no taxis at the taxi stage by DP, why would there be?! So, Carolyn, myself, and one DP staff with nine little ones walked down the muddy road to find a taxi at the next stage. By the time we got to the next stage everyone was as wet as could be! But by the grace of God we were able to get a taxi and head to the church…even if we were over an hour late. This is Africa after all.
Once we got to the church we stop on the side of the parking-lot where some rain run-off was flowing. We all took off our shoes and washed our feet, legs, and shoes. We were not about to walk in covered in mud even with our clothes dripping. After we were clean and in the Sunday school room we slowly got ready for the show. First service was ending and we would be all ready for the second one.
It was a blast! The kids were so proud of their puppets. It was a joy for me to be apart of. Yes, I work in the AIM Central Region Office and the work I do is to support others in their ministry...that is what I did today in the rain.
Carolyn did a great job with the show and the kids. It makes me understand my role when I see others thriving in theirs! No matter the role we play we are in this grand show called life. We have the option of going with God’s amazing script or writing our own. God’s is one of peruse and love. To understand His love and then to pour it out on others, even if one is wet and covered in mud!
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