Today we attended Watoto Church. As we walked down the African rich red dirt road this morning, children ran out of their huts to greet us (the "munos"- white people), and the sound of worshipful singing filled the air. It was beautiful. We entered the church and I began to pray. It was incredible to catch a glimpse of what the heavenly kingdom of God will be like; many nations praising and worshiping Christ in every language and tongue. We felt so welcome.
The Pastor mentioned something that was so powerful, he said... "When you came to know Christ and were born again, God did not immediately take you up into heaven to be with him because you are suppossed to rub shoulders with His loved ones, the needy of the earth." He went on to speak about Christ and how we have all be called to love and serve those who are suffering. He spoke about the needy in the community here, and encourgaged the body of believers to reach out and love them. We also partook in communion with one another- a beautiful demonstration of the Spirit that we share.
Humanity is humanity. There is nothing new under the sun. Gulu is beginning to rebuild and there are some people here who are prospering, but there are many who are suffering, very many. It is very similar to our own communities. We often turn a blind eye to those around us in the U.S. who are hurting. Our eyes, all of our eyes, must be opened to the least of these in the world. Those who Christ loves and has called us to love. Chris and I hope that yesterday's post did not come across as our saying that we, or you, should not be reaching out to the people in Northern Uganda (or other developing nations)- we are just trying to encourage thoughtful consideration about how people should reach out... as Christ did... with real relationship, education, and sustainability. We know that we have been called to serve here. If you think about it, all of our bible studies, prayers, songs, and services mean absolutely nothing if we don't actually live a life that resembles Christ's... one that fully loves God, and wholeheartedly loves others in such a way that we die to ourselves so that it is not we who live, but Christ in us and through us into a lost and broken world.
We love you guys. We go to Anaka tomorrow... so the next update will be in about 5 days. Keep us in your prayers. :)
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